20+ hours in the van that can

Canada, oh how I've missed you. After 20 some odd hours on the road, the "Man Van" arrived at the Canadian border. Full of 3 riders and more bikes, waiting to get in, take a nap, and let the good times begin. No big deal right? Wrong, Apparently large conspicuous vans don't pass through the border too easily. On the positive side, while we were forced to sit in the border inspection office while my vehicle was searched, we got to watch some World Cup soccer. The whole ride wasn't a bummer however. Plenty of good tunes were heard and pretty vistas viewed. We were lucky enough to come across an old rail road bridge with a rope swing over the Shasta river. What better spot to stop and make some peanut butter sandwiches. After putting on our best swimming attire we made our way past the interesting locals and showed them how we rope swing down in So. Cal. They were quite impressed. A couple flying squirrels and a torn callus later, we dried off and set back out on Interstate 5 for the great white north. 

Our next big stop was in Portland at Voodoo Donut. We arrived in Portland around 12:30 and made our way to the spookiest and hippest donut shop this side of the Mississippi. After waiting in line with an assortment of people varying from vagrant teenaged skate bums, to punk rockers, and even a group finishing off their night of celebration for a bachelor party, we made our way into the tiny little hole of a shop. After perusing the menu of equally interestingly named donuts, I decided on a Maple blazer blunt, and a Portland cream, (their signature donut). Though the Butterfingering and triple chocolate penetration were close choices.Though, I do always have the way home to try them as well. After our sugar buzz started to wear down we had made our way just past Seattle and decided to cash in the chips just south of Ferndale. After a few hours of rest we got back on it and were on the road again. After a brief stop by the Kona Bikes office in Ferndale we finished up the drive to North Vancouver, our first destination in this week of cycling migration across B.C. 

After settling into the hotel we checked in with Andreas Hestler and Dave Howell, we were invited over to Dave's for a BBQ and hang out while discussing the coming weeks daily epic rides. Dave is involved with the BC Bike Race and was a wealth of knowledge. After spending a few hours hanging out at Dave's we left stoked more than we were just hours before, excited and nervous about the trials and tribulations the trails would be soon putting us through, all in search of the most epic and fulfilling single track experience we can find. Now, we rest. Tomorrow is just the beginning. 

Ride Free

http://declinemagazine.com/#

Photos

www.sgtoepfer.com

sgtoepfer.tumblr.com 

Cool people

Who doesn't love cool people. I mean, check this guy out!

And speaking of cool people. Gotta respect the forefathers of mountain biking. Look at some of the first Klunkers back there. Motorcycle forks, drum brakes, and wide bars on WW II era Excelsior frames. Awesome. Go ride

One day, I will

 

  So, I've done a real good job of not keeping my word and updating this thing. The days have been going by too fast and I don't have enough hours to keep everything on track. Training for BC Bike Race has pretty much all but consumed any free time I have outside of work. Apologies to all who have been flaked on or forget what it feels like to be made fun of by me. Speaking of, be sure to check out itsbetterinthewind.com My good buddies have continued on making some killer trips on the motorbikes the last few weeks and left me here bummed and jealous while I spin circles for hours wishing I could just be havin fun roamin the desert. Ah, enough self pity I did sign up for this. Anyhow, I have mixed some good times in with the training, as naturally one should. This weekend hoping to get up to Mt Pinos with some guys from work and do some altitude single track work! Anybody who wants to come up is more than welcome. Last weekend was the Tour of California. What a blast that was. With the exception of being way to easily talked into climbing that infamous section of Mulholland on my tall bike. Think I should check the record books as it may be the first ascent by such a cycle in all of history! I digress, to those of you who made it out to the TOC, you already know the partyin that went down and for those that didn't, I'm much too tired to tell you. You blew it. I'm a bit tired this evening and it's time to grab another bag of ice for my knee. Enjoy the pics. More to come... Once I'm not lazy and upload my own not everyone else's

Bonzai

  

Brap

Well, I've been a bit lazy and more than a bit busy to keep on top of this thing lately... I've definitely been slacking on taking pictures while out on the latest exploits. This weekend was no different. Although I don't have much proof, Idyllwild put on a great event and the Spring Challenge was a total success.  After Map Quest had some fun with me, I ended up meeting some local hill folk who offered to lead me back up the mountain to where Hurkey Creek camp ground was. It was like a run down moonshine highway following these people. Had the van power sliding corners shifting bikes and gear all around keeping up with our wife beater wearing tour guide and his race truck. We got to the camp ground around midnight and after cruising through the park found our group's campsite. We shifted some gear around in the back and and passed out for a few hours. After Colby pounded on my window I rolled outta the van and finished dialing in the new Jet9 I was going to be racing. With about 15 seconds to spare I rolled up to the start line and set out for the 30 mile adventure I had signed up for. I'll spare the details of my next few hours of emotions, though I will say it was a roller coaster. Several hours later I rolled into the finish area and felt like dog shit. It was a rude wake up call to my state of physical fitness and the weeks ahead to BC. The rest of the weekend was full of good times and bonfires. It's nice to get out see some new scenery and and hang with some friends. Nature is here to enjoy it, get out and see something new!

FTW

Sea Slotter

 Gettin rad in the man van! Corkscrew was seriously scary


I know I'm behind... Stay tuned for the full Sea Otter story soon. 

Party time

Windy and Windy

 
So, am I wrong or is that how 2 totally different words are spelled. The weekend was filled with meandering back country roads that wound throughout the central California coast. Adrian met up with us in Ventura and too us on some pretty epic roads up through the lovely towns of Taft and Maricopa. The petroleum highway was quite a site to see. After several hours of remote curvy roads we ended up in SLO. It's amazing that a relatively short trip to San Luis can be turned into a couple hundred mile one way trip. 

 After getting into downtown SLO we took a little stroll through bubble gum alley. I'm not a total germophobe but seriously!? That shit is unsanitary and disgusting to say the least. We next made our way to the visitors center where Brandon befriended a wonderful civil servant who was very interested to know that we ride motorcycles. We took a look at the local map and decided to head towards Moro Bay and look for a nice spot to lay our sleeping bags under the eucalyptus trees. We were successful. After one failed attempt we ended up at a pretty epic site right on the quiet bay. Quiet until we go there anyways. After finding some firewood we headed to town to take a walkabout. Moro is a sleepy little town with a lot of character and I was pretty impressed with the little Embarcadero they had, lots of cool shops and restaurants. I just remembered I did NOT get my salt water taffy! 

 We headed back to the campsite shortly after dark and set to makin our fire. What ensued was an experience that can not really be experienced unless you were there to witness and observe. I will say that the ranger did come to visit us a couple times and as usual, I was left amazed at people and their actions. It really is quite amazing, life, and how people live it. 

 After wearing ourselves out I dusted off a spot of dirt and laid out my new Big Agnes sleeping bag next to the fire. As I laid down staring up through the tall trees I could barely see the sky and reflected on a great day on the road, riding with friends. It's a great day when you spend the day coming around corners smiling from ear to ear and going over roller coaster type dips and rises on back highways at 100mph. Every time we got off after a fun section it was quite hard to resist high fiving each other and reliving our favorite g-out, or corner facing a beautiful vista on a sharp cliff. I went to sleep with ears ringing, lips chapped and burning, and a smile on my face.

We awoke early to the rising sun and decided to get a move on since shivering in our sleeping bags wasn't helping us see many new sights. We packed up and hit the road, hoping to beat the rain and stay dry we got on the 101 south and made haste. Aside from Scott's minor crash just outside of Pismo, the ride home was more of a challenge of will power and determination than anything. The wind was unyielding, and it seemed no matter which way the highway turned it was always a head wind. If we were lucky it would switch to an angled head wind which meant we had to fight getting blown into the next lane, or off the side of the freeway. (Scott's crash)

Oh how I wish a video camera was rolling for that one. After some minor road side first aid and prying on bent parts, we were on the road again with only a couple more technical stops on the way. Scott, we're all glad you're ok and it is a reminder in how quick things can go from happy and carefree, to disastrous. Which I guess is as good a spot as any to wrap it up. Although my weekend has spun past faster than I can realize, I feel completely satisfied knowing that while most sat around watching TV or surfing the web thinking of things to do, we were doing. Although we set out with no set destination or plan for a place to sleep. We had open minds, open hearts, and open roads to guide us. It is truly a blessing that many of us take for granted, the ability to just do. So many people are in positions they physically can't get out and do. They spend days wishing or dreaming of going outside to feel the wind, see blossoming flowers, smell new smells as the road blurs underfoot. Yet how many people, including myself, take that for granted. Sitting inside wasting beautiful sunlight, the world is one big adventure. It's little trips like this that stir that adventurous spirit around and shake the complacency of compliance. My ass is sore, and my hands hurt, but not like they do after sitting in a seat in front of a computer all day, this is a good sore, the type that reminds a person they have accomplished something, pushed themselves; and for that we are stronger, better, and happier.

Ride On

      

Random Ramblings

http://www.itsbetterinthewind.com/
  Well, once again I have fallen behind in what was once my vigilant attempt to join the tech revolution. I have found that taking time to do "real" life activities is more important and far too time consuming to stay on top of. However, that being said, I will be making a good effort to stay on top of this more. Training is ramping up SLOWLY for BC and as that picks up I'm sure I will have less time out running around bullshitting and more time working, riding, and relaxing (which may mean I'll be on the interweb) Anyhow, I'm going to blast a quick update on here and just upload a bunch of pictures of what's been happening and where I've been. First off, the link attached is for my friend Scott Toepfer's website. The site is for a project he's been working very hard on and I am lucky enough to be a part of, which naturally means it's going to kick ass. We went out a couple weekends ago and rode all around the high desert and into the mountains for some snow play. Be sure to check out the cool video.

  Onto other 2 wheeled activities. Been doing a good amount of riding lately. Gettin out for some road rides in the new hood. Riding with Sammy has led to a few good adventures through the Chevy Chase Estates below La Canada. We've found some pristine low traffic roads that put us out to the Rose Bowl. Aside from that, the Niner company rides have been a blast lately too.

Feel free to join us on Tuesday nights. This week we rode Caballero Canyon off Reseda up to the top of dirt Mulholland. After cresting the top of the Santa Monicas, we headed east on the dirt highway towards the old Nike missile sight, remnants from the Cold War, what a trip! After that we cruised around some more rode MG motorway/ Broken Arrow and headed down Cookies. I've got no possible guess or even a clever thought as to why a trail that gnarly would be given such a name. I will say, by the time I reached the bottom I had a half clueless, shocked grin on my face that may have resembled that of a kid after puking up a batch of cookie dough.

  Well, I think that'll about do'er for the ol' jibba jabba as MR. T liked to call it. Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more soon... FTW

       Happy trails friends

  

We Are Men, men in tights

So, it has been quite a while since I last updated the old blogosphere, but here I am better late than never.  Since I know you guys are so desperate and hanging on pins and needles to here of my latest exploits.  Well, I'll fast forward you guys to Monday.  I've got a new job working for Ninerbikes.com and I have been also doing some sweet stuff with the DECLINE magazine guys as well.  Can't get into it too much cuz it's top secret stuff you wouldn't wanna know... On top of that, I've been fortunate enough to be talking with Andreas Hestler for the last couple weeks now and we have finalized my arrangements for attending the BC bike race again this year.  However the crew has decided 7 days wasn't enough and this year they've bumped it up to 8! Lovely.  I'll be long gone again spending most of my free time away from work in the saddle, anybody who wants to join me I would love the company and motivation.  Ok then, that puts us up to this weekend.  Sammy (who I wont mention in the story got picked up at Neptune's Net cuz he couldn't finish the ride) Hatae, stormin Norm, Aaron (radio) as he's affectionately called, and myself made a commitment Friday night at Dago's birthday dinner.  Our pact was... RIDE, rain or shine.  We were going to be European and spend a good majority of the day riding and puttin down the miles.

  I've ridden in rain before, but nothing like this. After making a couple stops at the local bike shops to get Radio and Norm some rain gear, we hit the road.  By the time we climbed into Newbury Park the pouring rain turned to stinging hale.  The thunder and lightning were so close that I could almost feel the road shake under my wheels.  After questioning what the hell we were doing, we proceeded slowly down Potrero.  By the time we reached the old mental hospital the sun had momentarily come out so we decided to roll inside and eat while we took our shoes and socks off to let em dry some.  After a brief rest we headed back out through Camarillo and ended up on PCH by Pt. Mugu, and yes by that time is was pooring rain on us again, and I mean buckets!  We made it to Neptune's for a break and thats where our wolfpack of 4 lost one wolf and we became 3...  After some hot chocolate and standing under the heater the road taunted us, waiting for us to challenge the elements and mountains some more.  So, being the manly men that we are, we set out to finish the task we had started some 3 hours before.  And another hour and change later, we did.  Painfully and frigidly. Enough of that, here's some pics, couldn't get much more since no one had a waterproof camera.

     

See, I'm not always a downer

Today kicked ass!!  Got out with Mark and Scott from DECLINE mag and did some testing on new products and got to ride a sick trail in I would say, damn near perfect conditions.  Got to see RC down at the bottom doin a test for another mag in between runs which was pretty sweet...  Living in so cal we don't get much opportunity to ride in different conditions, today was an exception, and an exceptional exception to be exact!  Big slabs of rock covered in water, puddles, mud, (not the horrible band, though I would enjoy running them over, probably more so in my van) anyways, top speed was a bit lower than usual however that did not spare us from several near close calls and OH $#it$ as slick conditions forced us into less than desirable line choices and riding in more of a reflexive manner.  Lots of screaming today!  Well, unfortunately I was unable to get any pics of the days events due to our racing the rain, however I am able to share with you a rather entertaining video clip of me stepping off the bike on Suicide a few months ago, which led to me wearing that nice 14 inch bracelet around my wrist for 4-6 weeks, you may remember, it was that time period when I was very grumpy and couldn't ride my bike?

Anyways, enjoy and keep on truckin!!

BLAAAAHHH

   
   

Well, first off I'm gonna start by getting it out in the open, today was garbage and I have officially been pissed since about 11:30 A.M.  Today was my 2nd attempt at "racing" Fontana and what a pile it was!  My pedaling (or lack thereof) seriously had me questioning if there was something physically wrong with me! No shit, half way through the wall, rather than pedaling my mind began thinking of what possible disease I have which is what causes my legs to feel like they are pumping liquid hot battery acid and wont even support my body weight.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with not training at all and being a total pu$$?... Gotta be a medical problem I'm sure of it. Anyways,  even though I haven't been keeping up last couple weeks doesn't mean I haven't been up to anything.  Quite the contrary, the last few weeks have been some of the most exciting I've had in a while.  Lots of new things on the horizon that I'm very stoked about and I'll get into later.  At the moment I am quite tired from getting only a few hours sleep this weekend in the back of my van in FONTANA! Let me tell you, that place is a real gem if you're a people watcher. Pretty much the best thing you could own out there, aside from a concealed weapons permit, is a lawn chair! Park that shit anywhere and you will be thoroughly entertained and happy to kick back and watch the fine specimens of life cruisin around this lovely desert rose of a town.  I digress, so, weekend was fun, killer track, top section anyway, and good stuff going on.  

  I will say this, I will once again be doing the BC bike race, this time with some more support and documenting it for http://declinemagazine.com/ , so, I will most likely be asking my friends to support me and check their site often and let me and them know what you think of the trip and training leading up to my departure.  So, along with making some updates here I will be uploading stories, videos, etc up there until the event is finished and an article will be printed, which I will also beg you all to buy a copy of!! PLEASE.  Well, before my rambling goes off too much more and getting into things that have no reason being here I'll share some pics from an XC ride I went on last week and a couple fuzzy garbage shots from F-town.  Quality of the shots should summarize my state of mind after my race run... Oh, and I'm still pissed about it too.