Back to Backbone, Howlers and All - 29 Nov - Santa Monica Mtns

  

• Place: Point Mugu State Park
• Trailhead: Sycamore Canyon
• Riders: Hector, Ron, OMMB
• Miles: 13
• Weather: clear, dark
• Temp: 50's
• Trail Conditions: dry, smooth, fast 
• Technical Level: 3 miles of very slight to 3 miles of steep incline up to 1200 ft...then the coolest downhill ride in the canyon! 
• GPS Track (entered manually, DingleBerry was dying)...

Notes: Back in Cali for OMMB! Surprisingly, Hector wanted to ride on my first full day in town...cool...I'll go get the 29er at Ventura Bikeshop (versus eating a real lunch).  Night falls pretty early this time of year so it was already getting dark when we left the trailhead. For only the second time in history, I was able to climb Backbone without a stop (other than the normal break where Backbone meets Overlook before heading to Guadalasca).  View from the top was awesome, city lights in the valley all around, with coyotes howling from down on the trail we were about to descend (yeah...okay).   The downhill was the usual rush, with headlight beams on the very fast single track for an added bonus.  Great ride!  Hector's batteries managed to hold out for "most" of the downhill, then lights out!  But he's Hector, he don't need no stinkin lights.  It was quite dusty chasing Ron and Hector down Guadalasca, next time I need to bring a bandanna for the face.  After the ride, I was treated to my favorite Fat Tire Amber Ale and Tortilla Chips...good times!

Tidbits: Remember to charge your lights when planning a night ride (you would THINK that goes unsaid, right Hector? hahaha)

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Looping with the Masters - 27 Nov - Swansea

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Library
• Riders: Chris, Elf #1 who's name we shall not mention, Sophie (Jesse's new girlfriend), Jesse, OMMB
• Miles: 7.7 by GPS (Elf #1 who's name we shall not mention clocked around 10 by odometer)
• Temp: 60's, the heat wave continues 
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1422600

Notes: I was happy to join the master trail builders on a few loops around their handy work.  A great pace lead by Chris with plenty of down time for OMMB to catch his breath!  Jesse and Sophie, a black and white Border Collie, had a great time tagging along.  Lots of energy at first, but they slowed down near the end.  Jesse did his best to tempt Sophie into the mud holes with him, but she wasn't buying (smart girl).  We ran into several Sunday morning riders along the way, some rode with us for portions of the trail.  Fun ride, looking forward to riding with this group again soon...

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Round Two...ready, set, HIKE - 25 Nov 11 - Swansea

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Library
• Hikers: (in reverse order of appearance) Barkley, Jesse, Bella, Sadie, Greg, Teri, OMMB
• Miles: 3.5
• Weather: real nice
• Temp: 60's
• Trail Conditions: all hike-able, some puddle areas from pre-Thanksgiving Day rain
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: oh goodness no (we all know how to walk fairly well)
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1419903

Notes: We took advantage of the great weather and the holiday visit by Sadie, Greg, and the two fourleggers and went for a hike around Village Park.  We climbed each of the rock ledges for a decent view.  The dogs ran, jumped in mud (mainly one of them), ran, climbed rocks, ran, ran, went swimming (two of them), ran...then crashed for the day.... good times.

Happy Trails,

OMMB

And J-Dog Makes Three - 25 Nov - Swansea

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Library
• Riders: Bob, OMMB & Jesse Dog
• Miles: 7.6
• Weather: nice
• Temp: 50's 
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Bob demonstrated a great way to crack your nuts on the top crossbar, whoops off a log "skinny" cross.  Good news is he did NOT land in the mud!
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1419475

Notes: A good little turkey burner ride with Jesse tagging along. Nice pace, enjoyable ride (Bob went easy on me).

Tidbits:  Here's a good look at the main trails at Village Park.  Both trailheads on the left, compass North to the right...

Happy Trails,

OMMB

T Day! - 11 22 11 - Swansea

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Library
• Riders: OMMB
• Miles: 5.2
• Weather: Perfect
• Temp: 38 (Perfect for a hairy Portuguese fella)
• Trail Conditions: Perfect 

Notes: Wanted to get one more nice ride in before the rainy weather arrives tonight.  The trails were in spectacular condition thanks to all who keep them cleared of leaves!  Had a real comfortable ride on the Kona, even cleared the hills that I usually can not (well, 2 out of the 3 anyway).  No Jesse Dog today, he was at the groomer getting poodled up (what a foo foo dog, next ride will cure that condition).

Tidbits: Happy 29th (again) Birthday Teri!!! 

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Trail Elf Wanna-be - 11/20/11 - Village Park

Notes: Hiked out in hopes of helping the "real" trail elves with some trail maintenance, but I found them (luckily) out riding their new trails!  Turns out the weather was so nice (over 60 degrees) that they decided to ride...good choice.  I stayed out and cleared off some of the slippery hill climbs.  It was good to see the area in "slow motion", amazing what landscape you miss when riding by. 

Tidbits: To think I skipped a day of riding just to deal with this...

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Bridges Freeze First - 11/18/11 - Swansea

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Library
• Riders: Al, Bob, Jesse Dog, OMMB
• Miles: 6.25
• Weather: clear
• Temp: 37, but felt colder
• Trail Conditions: good
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: An Oh Sheet for OMMB...

Notes: Kind of a sloppy ride today, with ice or something (mud?) under the wet leaves.  All of us experienced several slide outs around corners.  Good thing it was just an "easy" ride day, Bob trying a demo bike and me on the Roscoe frame for the first time.  Damn it was tough riding a 26 after being on the 29er for a few weeks!  Although the bike did provide a nice "soft" ride, but still some adjusting to do.  ...and the Oh Sheet; I was following Al and Bob over one of the widest, longest bridges and thinking to myself "hmmm, don't bridges freeze first?".  Well they do. And apparently they stay frozen the longest too, because even though Al and Bob cleared the bridge fine, half way through my bridge thought, the bike went out from under me.  So fast that the upper third of my body, face first of course, hung off the edge of the bridge to the point where there was no stopping my full front flip layout flat onto my back in at least 6 inches of water (and mud)!!! Damn was I soaked!  If Bob and Al had a camera rolling, the $10,000 prize (if not the 100 grand) would have been theirs on America's Funniest Home Videos!

Tidbits: November is not very good for swimming.

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Huffin and Puffin - 15 Nov 11 - Swansea, MA

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Bikeworks to Case Jr High
• Riders: Bob, Matt, Jeff, OMMB
• Miles: 10.5
• Weather: still a heat wave (as far as I'm concerned)
• Temp: 60's
• Trail Conditions: good, very little mud...oh wait, it's raining 
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1406793

Notes: Another nice romp around the park led by Bob and Matt.  Very little stops today; but I managed to "hang".  Less than 10 minutes of rest time and that includes begin and end down time.  Enough to cause OMMB's legs to feel a bit tight for a day or so.

Tidbits:  My old HiFi Plus has officially morphed into a 2010 Gary Fisher Roscoe 3... nice frame!  Hopefully going to break it's virginity tomorrow (or Friday)!  The old frame has donated all organs and is on it's way back to it's maker.  Many thanks to Bikeworks for handling the warranty.

Happy Trails,

OMMB

And Then There Were Trail Elves - 13 Nov 11 - Swansea, MA

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Case Jr High
• Riders: OMMB and JD
• Miles: 6.3
• Weather: feels like Summa in Novemba!
• Temp: 54 to 62
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: One endo yikes over a log hop (Elves one and a half got to see it!)
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1403920

Notes: The awesome weather brought a bunch of riders and elves to the woods this Sunday morning!  We first ran into Elf #1 (Who's name we shall not mention) and his Half Elf working on the new trail (between the markers on the GPS track above).  They had some serious trail building equipment with them!  At the other end of the trail we found Elf #2 (Chris) with his two dogs.  He was kicking the ass of some big stump (OMMB would have made the trail go around it...hahaha).  I told them I'd try to help out next Sunday.  I was told by Elf #1 who's name we shall not mention that the trail will be called "Two Guys"... nice.  We also ran into Tim and John, three times, a group of five riders, another trail elf (Dan) leaf blowing with his black dog, two other riders, and yet another elf (oh hi Bob), also leaf blowing. They all were really doing an amazing job.  Nice elves.  Be sure to thank them if you happen to ride by!

Tidbits: Another nice bridge by Team Elf at the bottom (left) of the long downhill, gets you over the little rocky stream.

Happy Trails,

OMMB

All Ones - 11/11/11 - Swansea, MA

• Trailhead: Bikeworks to the library
• Riders: OMMB plus 8 (not Kate)
• Miles: 11.5 (GPS), 12 (Bob's odometer)
• Weather: Cloudy
• Temp: "raw" 45 
• Trail Conditions: better than expected, butt loads of rain yesterday
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: A whoops by Bob when traversing a log cross over mud.  The log won, Bob hit the mud!
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1400961

Notes: A rare group ride on a Friday morning, many thanks to all our Veteran's!!!   Trails were a bit sloshy but all ride-able.  Great group of riders, no one left was behind!

Tidbits: Matt, Jeff, and Bob showed OMMB a little "hidden" trail very close to the school.  It has a nice bridge crossing over a gully (see POI #1 on the GPS track).   Although it was a bit slippery, it's a fun challenge...just don't screw up!   I assume the trail is "new" since it dead-ends...I'll keep checking it for progress now and then.  LOVE the trail elves...

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Night in the Ruts - 8 Nov - Swansea, MA

• Place: Village Park
• Trailhead: Bikeworks
• Riders: Al, Bob, Brian (Deagle-less), Jeff, Matt, Steve, OMMB (Jesse-less)
• Miles: 11.5
• Weather: NICE!
• Temp: 54 to 64 (and climbing)
• Trail Conditions: good, very little mud
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Some minor whoops by a few, nothing major
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1396999

Notes: Joined the crew for a great ride!  Those guys really know how to cover this place to rack up the miles, with very little repetitiveness.  I am glad they take a few breaks, because I'd never keep up otherwise.  A lot of the new stuff is looking good, thanks to those trail elves.  In fact, we ran into a couple of them, Mark (I think) and his young apprentice son.  They were hauling some pressure treated planks out there with a hand truck to rebuild one of the cool over-log ramps.  Gotta love em!  They are looking for help on Sunday mornings, I may consider donating some time.  Well I was following Bob up and over a boulder, one without a nice ramp on the down side, and got way off the back of the seat....in fact, too far off, because when I cleared the boulder I enjoyed a major taint scraper and balls smack, compliments of my seat. Thought my ride was over, but like all good things, the throbbing passed.  Another nasty event happened to Brian on single track near the "cliff"...the sound from over the crest of the hill was that of a tin garbage can being run over by a Mack truck.  We thought for sure he had lost it and tumbled off the cliff!!!  Thankfully, it was only his rear derailleur being devoured by his spokes...a totally mangled mess...might as well thrown the derailleur in a blender.  He had to hike out, but didn't miss much, since it happened near the end of the ride. Good times.

Tidbits: Got a glimpse of my factory replacement frame for the HiFi, which is being morphed into a 2010 Roscoe 3.  Looking good.

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Mountain Biking 4 Nov - Village Park - Swansea, MA

Notes: Apparently I went biking on 4 Nov and forgot to write about it (I have a GPS track to prove it).  Hmmm let's see if I remember..........nope.

Tidbits:  I do remember that I had a suspicious tick bite and the Doc has me on antibiotics.  So WATCH OUT for those wretched things!!!!

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Hang on tight ?""; (Jesse typed that last part)

• Trailhead: Case Jr High, Swansea, MA
• Riders: OMMB and JD
• Miles: 5.4
• Weather: nice
• Temp: 57
• Trail Conditions: still some water holes but getting better 
• GPS Track: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1389575

Notes: Went out and rode some of the routes from yesterday.  I made some minor adjustments to the Kona and wow what a difference it made...that bike flies!  My adjustments?  A thinner seat set all the way back changed the above bike geometry in my favor and letting about 20 pounds of air out of the tires (down to 25 pounds), suggested by Bob, was enough to do the trick.  Felt real comfortable on this loaner bike!  I actually made it all the way up one of my nemesis hills (don't worry T, I miss my full suspension).  

Tidbits: Jesse made lots of friends today... a nice weird guy and his dog, a trail runner guy, a lady with her brown boxer on a leash, and a father and son fishing team.  (Jesse's waaaaaaaaaay more social than I am) 

Happy Trails,

OMMB

PS-He actually did type some of the title...by laying his head on the keyboard.  Weirdo.

Back for the punishment! - Village Park - Swansea, MA

• Trailhead: Bikeworks to Case Jr High
• Riders: Bob, Matt, Al, Jeff, OMMB
• Miles: 12
• Weather: Chilly approaching cold
• Temp: 38
• Trail Conditions: still wet
• Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Jeff, one month new to trail riding, had a couple of spills...nothing bad
• GPS Track: Mind of it's own GPS app decided to go haywire, missed out on a good track.  Thankfully Bob has an odometer.

Notes: Back with the Bikeworks crew for more off-season riding.  Matt and the new improved skinny Al ripped it up while Bob babysat me and the "new to the trails" Jeff (although you'd never know he has only been riding MTBs for a month).   Bob carved out a nice 12 mile ride zig-zagging around the forest and showed us the now finished new trails.  It was great to do a substantial ride without feeling too bad...maybe I'll be able to take the punishment this year!

Happy Trails,

OMMB