Today I did rode up Trabuco and down Bell Ridge with a pretty good sized group from Socaltrailriders.org.  It totally sucked hauling my DH bike all the way up Trabuco, but I was glad I had it when we got to the really steep DH stuff.  It was a beautiful day!  All the HABage was also good training for Vision Quest.  Tomorrow the wife and I are going to go do a couple laps at Hurkey Creek.  Last ride before we have to go back to work...

Pictures from today:

The group getting ready to roll out.

A couple of pictures of me dropping down Can't See Bottom.  This section is REALLY steep and REALLY loose.  I think two riders cleaned it.  I had one quick dab.

Nothing like a Guiness after a long hard ride.

Today we did another fun ride.  Why do I always manage to do something stupid on "fun" rides?  The good news, it isn't anything serious.  The bad news, both hands hurt pretty good.  Hopefully they will heal up before the first Fontana race.  Tomorrow is going to be another fun ride day.  I am bringing the Socom out for a trip up Trabuco to Bell Ridge.  Should be lots of pushing and hopefully some really fun descending.  Pics of some of today's fun...

Rocky switchback on San Juan Trail...

Viejo Tie Boulder...

I have been off work since 12/22 and have ridden every day except for 12/24.  Today the wife and I decided to have a rest day.  We still have a few pretty hard days of riding before we go back to work, so it seemed a good idea to rest today.

Both of our fitness levels have come up significantly in preparation for the coming races.  On 12/27 we did a race pace ride on Blackstar and I was very proud of Allison, she went gate to gate in 1hr 5min.  This is at least 10 minutes faster than last year.  There has been lots of debate about the pace one needs to maintain to make the cutoff times for Vision Quest, I think Allison is mostly ready.  The key is going to be keeping a solid pace and eliminating/reducing any time stopped.  I am also fairly confident that as long as I take a few Enduralyte capsules along the way, I will be able to avoid cramping.

Yesterday we spent the day riding with some good friends in the San Gabriel Mountains.  The trails were awesome!  We started at JPL, rode to the Cobb Estate, up Echo Mtn, up the fireroad to Inspriation Point, down Middle Merrill, across to Sunset, down Sunset, up Brown Mtn, down El Prieto to the cars.  The single track climb up Echo Mtn was pretty brutal.  I wound up climbing by myself, not fast enough to hang with Brian and could not ride the 1x9 slow enough to ride with Allison, Anne and Andy.  I cleaned everything except for two switchbacks (a left hander with stairs built into it, and a really loose and steep right hander).  The fire road climb to Inspiration point was very mellow and I was able to slow my pace and ride with Allison and Andy for the whole climb.  It was freezing cold.  I couldn't feel my feet and my hands were pretty well frozen.  We had a snack and put on some warmer clothes for the descent.  Things started out really rough for me, at the first chunky section I choked and nearly fell off a cliff.  I had Brian ride ahead of me.  The cold was effecting my ability to ride tech stuff and I didn't want to be in his way.  Brian then had a near miss, where he dabbed on a chunky spot and nearly went off the cliff.  We all were a bit off due to the cold.  Andy even lost it going around a corner and nearly slid off the side.  At this point I had resolved to not push my luck, I wasn't feeling it and decided to walk tech stuff until I had warmed considerably.  Not far down the trail Brian wound up doing a double back somersault off some exposure right in front of me!!!  It was a horrible thing to see him go through.  He was shaken but not severely hurt (thankfully).  I rode 2nd spot for the rest of the descending.  I did walk a couple of exposed spots that I could easily have ridden, I can always go back another time to conquer them.  The rest of the ride was uneventful but very fun.  Lots of little drops and rocks and some fast swoopy turns and tight switchbacks. 

 The beginning of the trail.

 Brian, me, Andy

Anne ready for some climbing on the Slowmad.

 Me climbing.

The spot where Brian fell.

Extracting the bike and rider while trying not to fall off the cliff.

The rest was uneventful but FUN!

 Allison near the bottom.

Both the wife and I have been working hard to step up our fitness to the next level for '08.  Right now our primary training goal is to prepare us for the Vision Quest put on by the Warrior's Society in our local Santa Ana Mtns.  Yesterday was another good training day.  We climbed from Hemet to Thomas Mtn. via Grouse Mountain.  The dirt was wet and sticky, and we ran into some snow up at elevation.  The wind also was working against us and due to the conditions we were unable to make it to the peak.  Here are a couple of pics and the profile of the ride.

This is where we turned around.  It was freezing up there and the wind was really whipping!

And the profile...

We attended the SRC Awards Ceremony today because I expected Allison to receive the Champion Jersey for SS Women.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out I got 3rd overall in Beginner XC Men even though I only raced twice!!

Next year I hope to be collecting a Champion Jersey for XC or DH!!!  They are truly awesome apparel!

 On a riding note...

Yesterday was a great long training ride.  Lots of miles  and TONS of climbing(39 miles, 8000ft).  I was really lucky to have great company as well in the form of Allison and Steph.