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.

  

Patience is a Virtue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAaetr8a51U&feature=player_embedded

Wet n Wild

  I know my order is reversed here, but this ride was too fun to not share.  The day before the New Years ride Jen, Stef, and myself went out for a cold ride off the 14 in beautiul Santa Clarita.  The weather was an ominous foe turned friend on this ride.  The drive to the trailhead was marked full of doubt and fear, afraid that this new ride I was going on was gonna be cancelled due to muddy conditions.  Anger, how does it only rain on my days off! Anyways, enough about my inner turmoil. I got to the trail and although the rain had slowed to a drizzle, the wind was still howling through the canyon, taunting us to gear up and pedal into the fog soaked mountains.  Needless to say, we ain't skeered.  Helmets on, CamelBak's over our jackets, and up we went.  After a long grind up the fire roads and passed Viper, we got to the top of Nature Center, my first time on what had been described as a fast flowy singletrack, full of sweepers and walled out turns.  Who could resist?  As we dropped off the fire road and into the trees all I could think was if, Cradle of Filth were to make a music video about mountain biking, this would be it!  Skeletons of trees, fog so thick you couldn't see the next turn 'til you were half way in it and an eerie silence only broken by the wind rushing through the trees, or me yelling YEEHAW...  Well, after all is said and done, this trail kicked ass and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of a climb.  Take it easy and keep the rubber down!

    

1st. Annual New Years Eve Day Ride

  
   Well, it is now 2010 and I am still working on collecting all the pictures from the attendees.  However I will say, and I think everyone will agree, this ride was a huge success and everyone had an incredible time!   Well, the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words, and hopefully I'll have a lot more pictures coming soon, so why bother trying to compete... Enjoy and check back soon for more pics to come.

  

     

 

  

 

                                                                                                             

Suicide Saturday

Well, Saturday was a cold yet beautiful morning and there's no cup of coffee no matter the size that can wake you up like a nice ride down Sui!  What more could a guy ask for than a beautiful crisp morning nice tacky dirt and a gang of guys ready to have some fun... Unfortunately I was a bit short on time since I get the wonderful responsibility of working weekends.(lame)  Alright, so unfortunately I didnt get many action shots since I was rushed but hopefully soon I'll get to see some of the video that was shot from that day and put it up.  Hope to see you guys new years eve day, 31st for the folks who aren't so word wise, for a kick ass XC ride.

FTW

  

Merry Christmas Malibu

What a day!! Hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone.  Today I mixed it up some and broke my Christmas tradition of all day shuttle runs for a killer road ride.  At the moment I am still too hungry and whooped to get into all the events of the ride, (i.e. my blowout, helping weird hippy raw food lady, and penis flashing to name a few)  I hope to get some more energy after a glutenous Christmas dinner, however that may really do me in.  At any rate, after a quick lap around town with the old man, I met up with Colby and Aaron and we hit the tarmac, destination, PCH.  After headed down Mulholland a while we climbed up Old Topanga and had a killer descent down to PCH, cruised the highway and after some persuasion, made Aaron join us for the climb up Latigo canyon. He loved it!  Thats about all I got for now, enjoy the pics and stay tuned...

 

God, Guts, and Guns!

Are what made America great!
http://www.the-backup.com/

It Aint Nothin Fancy

So, after the last few weeks of doin rides outside the bubble here, Colby talked me into doin 3rd tunnel of Kanan.  He told me there wasn't much climbing, which was important since I had done a shitload the day before!  HE LIED, weird.  Long story short, we rode, trails were a bit sticky, nice dirt up high under the trees, more creek crossings, pinch flat, and all around good times!  I'm tired please forgive my brevity. 

FTW

Third Time's the Charm

  Ok, now I'm sure you are getting tired of looking at pictures and hearing stories of the same place, and I may be a bit of a creature of habit, but usually I do try and venture out some.  However, since Ian took me out to Chantry Flats I just can't sleep soundly or quit day-dreaming about what else is out there!  Needless to say, I went back. This will be the last time you will have to read about my wonder-lust for BSC.  Today, my buddy Scott Hart, from DECLINE MAG, accompanied me with an equal amount of zest and adventure.  With a bag that looked like he was going to be spending the night on the mountain, and myself in a hip-hop sized rain jacket, we hit the trail and the good times began.  As mentioned previously, (twice) the climb which is normally pretty mellow spit some new game at us today as the rain slicked rocks and mudslides pushed our tires nearer to the edge of an already narrow trail.  After a few close calls we were dropping our seat posts, via remote levers cuz we're in the know, and started dropping singletrack like Ike dropped Tina.  Now, Scott and I were fully aware that we were being total pussies at the creek crossings, but didn't mind waving our "socal" flags too high.  The water had risen with the recent rain and what may have been rideable last week was not a good idea today.  However, after tiptoeing around 5 or 6 crossings, our skills had sharpened and Scott went big, too big.  His uncustomized plastic shoes slid off a wet rock he was jumping for and in he went! Plunged to the depths of a 2 foot creek bed. I was next to go, he jinxed me and on the next crossing I was soaked too.  Now that our skirts were off, we had a blast trudging through the icy water and seeing who could ride em out.  Once we reached Robert's Camp we headed back up the mountain to a beautiful waterfall and took some photos. 

Our thirst had not yet been quenched so we headed further up the mountain headed for Zion peak.  After quite a steep and challenging climb, mostly because of the 8 inch wide trail cut into the side of a mountain with 60 foot drops to the side, we peaked the summit and relished our victory, victory over monday.  What followed was an incredible descent, strewn with big rocks, quick drops, and more switchbacks than crumbs in Rosie O'Donnel's couch.  We were dorks and knew it, the grins and high fives were out in effect today, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity and ability to get out and see and experience what so many who live just down the road will never know.  Till then, keep the rubber side down, and turn it up!