Post Thanksgiving Cranksgiving Dirt Paradise Ride.

[Hugh Smitham]

Three plus hours and twenty miles of pristine dirt single track around Carmel Valley in San Diego ' s North County was enjoyed by we five members of (SCAR) SoCal All Rounders. David Greenblatt, Mike Shiller, Tom Virgil, Curtis Mckenzie and I socalpedalpusher.

We all met at David's home and promptly dropped into Gonzalez Canyon zigzaging through dense chaparral with abandon. The weather was sunny and pleasant with a slight breeze. Apologies to the the Northern climes.

Our dear Tom had run out of time and made an exit, for he had Christmas tree trimming duty waiting for him,  it was great to see him but too short for me. Tom and I met the next day for coffee outside which was great.

As with gleeful joy on single track often a sacrifice is made to the trail gods. Our Mike Shiller was gallant enough to shed some blood for the cause when he and a tree had a disagreement, Mike' wounds were treated a red bandanna was added to his outfit (made him that much more gnarled) and off we went resuming our ride...by the way the tree was fine just in case you were wondering.

This has been David's playground for a while now so he put together a bow tie dirt event for us...he tied together two Canyons and a Mesa with next to no cars to contend with. Literally the GPS mapping is a bow tie as we crossed under the 56 freeway multiple times.

After Gonzalez we dropped into Penasquitos Canyon after climbing a short steep access road. We cheerfully glided down smooth undulating single track along the North side of Penasquitos Canyon  heading West where we crossed paths with the few hikers on our adventure. Soon we made a short stop at the Waterfalls for snacks, bike talk and future rides.

Continuing we looped back around and headed East up Penasquitos. David saved the best till last the Del Mar Mesa Preserve where the tunnels exist. These are scrub oak grown over making a tunnel canopy with yet more singletrack winding it's way down another small canyon a technical sheer blast! One had to be vigilant so as not to have your head smashed backward from low hanging branches. As I rolled through the tunnels hugging *(Ole Willy's) top tube I wondered how Curtis at 6'7" was fairing? He came through for the most unscathed a little bit of bark was seen in his vicinity.

Concluding our ride at Greenblatt ' s Ale House David was a great host lots of chips & dips, some Sculpin grapefruit ale and Speedway Stout was had, adding at least on my part 10% by volume the  extra cherry on the proverbial cake on the perfect day in the saddle. With the sun set...

...we parted ways I was left with the image of all the broad smiles while playing in the dirt.

Up next? Sweetwater Regional Park Camping.

Mike' Flickr images, https://flic.kr/p/qeA3nc

David's Flickr images, https://flic.kr/p/qbXzqG

My Flickr images, https://flic.kr/p/pXaLGJ

Tom's Flickr images, https://flic.kr/p/qe4Su2

* The name I've attached to my 2003 Rivendell Atlantis. 

[Deacon Patrick]

That is some tunnel riding! Looks like a great trail. Thanks all for the photos and vicarious ride!

With abandon,

Patrick 

[James Warren]

Awesome! Well, Hugh, you were jealous that I was up north, but now I'm jealous of your ride!

Sent from my iPhone

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[Mike Williams]

Great write up and photos Hugh!   Looked like such a good time,   Thanks for sharing!

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 29, 2014, at 7:21 PM, Hugh Smitham <hughs...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Jon in the foothills of Central Colorado]

Thanks for sharing.It brings back great memories of riding in Borrego Springs, Julian( apple Pie) and four wheeling in Anza Borrego/Salton Sea back in the 80s..

[cyclotourist]

JITFOCC: Did you go backwards in Mike's flickr?
Looks like he had some fun the Anza B: https://flic.kr/p/pTY6A5

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Cheers,
David

Member, Supreme Council of Cyberspace

"it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal

[Hugh Smitham]

Hey Jon,

Yeah cyclotourist has a point Mike's Flickr image's have a series of a bike camping adventure he did the weekend before down into the Anza Borrego. This ride recap was about a coastal day ride around Del Mar.

The Anza stuff is great though and has been calling to me for a while now! So a trip to AB is a definite.

And yes Julian( apple Pie) and four wheeling in Anza Borrego/Salton Sea back in the 80s.. is awesome and brings good memories to me also.

Cheers,

~Hugh

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

http://velocipedemusings.blogspot.com/

On Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 10:15 AM, Jon in the foothills of Central Colorado <row.n.2...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[stonehog]

Looks like another great ride, Hugh!  Love Ole Willys - all set up to kick up the dirt.

Brian

Seattle, WA

[Pondero]

Great photos!  It looks like so much fun.  It also looks like those albatross bars are working pretty well.

Chris Johnson

Sanger, Texas

[Chris Lampe 2]

I enjoy you folks who have easy access to that type of terrain.  Around here, it's a very long drive to either dirt/gravel roads or gnarly single-track that is only suited to adrenaline junky shredders.  Not really my thing.  Whoever heads the local club seems to like that kind of riding because an LBS owner mentioned that the most technical single-track (and the closest to me...by far) has 4 miles of trail stuffed into an area more suited to 2 miles.  He made the comment that there are so many tight twists and turns that you can never get up enough speed to worry about being injured in a crash.  My one trip to the "beginner" trails further out confirmed this.  I also think "beginner" is not an appropriate categorization of that trail and that the folks who built it suffer from being very good at riding and completely losing track of what is "beginner" level for the average person.  :(  

[dougP]

Looks like a bunch of stunt riders weaving thru the trees.  Good way to celebrate Thanksgiving; beats football, for sure.

doug

[Hugh Smitham]

Chris,

It was great fun with great camaraderie. 

Re: The Albatross Bars, It took me long enough to finally adopt em! Now I can't imagine riding without them. Homer still has the Albastasche??

Cheers,

~Hugh

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

http://velocipedemusings.blogspot.com/

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[Hugh Smitham]

Brian,

Yes indeed...though that NW still has it's siren call, this summer a greater Puget Sound tour.

Ole Willy is right at home in the dirt...handled it all with aplomb.

Cheer,

~Hugh

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

http://velocipedemusings.blogspot.com/

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[Pondero]

Hugh, currently, all my Rivs are albatross controlled.

(and stay tuned for the Atlantis reveal)

Chris Johnson

Sanger, Texas

[Tony DeFilippo]

Atlantis reveal teaser!?!!?  I can't wait! 

[Hugh Smitham]

Chris,

Alba ' s in Homers very near future.

~Hugh
   Los Angeles, CA

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[Geoffrey]

Really cool write up and pics!

[Hugh Smitham]

Thanks Geoffrey...s24o bound with another write up in the near future.

Cheers,

~Hugh

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

http://velocipedemusings.blogspot.com/