my son Liam, got accepted to UC Santa Cruz. during spring break we hit the road to tour the university.
Liam really likes it there! I'm sure the miles of sweet and gnarly single track right there on the campus has absolutely nothing to do with it!
While we were there Liam got to ride some primo bike trails with friends. He certainly had a blast. We used to fit 3 bikes inside our subaru while traveling and now that our bikes are bigger due to larger wheel size it doesn't work anymore. I left mine at home as i didn't want hubby to tie mine on the roof with his! that man can tie ice to a space heater! He's a master at secure knots! but i declined his offer anyway.
We rode Sandhills in Scotts Valley with a friend of a friend, Eve. She took us on an awesome tour and lent me a killer carbon Ibis bike! It was so fun, the trails were tight and twisty! thanks Eve!
After our campus tour on Wednesday the boys hit the trails! I was bike-less and sad so i decided to hike instead. i had a lovely 5.2 mile hike on the Emma McCrary flow trail! Flowers, redwoods and sweet berms filled the trail! i was missing my bike but got over it and just slowed down to enjoy the beauty.
Missing my bike on these berms for sure! smooth and fast!
sorry for the overload of photos. can't help myself.
we are creatures of habit, our family. we tend to repeat things we like. so, as usual we sustained ourselves on vegetarian burritos and tostadas at Taqueria los Pericos on Water St.
this trip to Santa Cruz we were fortunate to stay with hubby's friend and coworker Bill. What a treat that was! out in the country away from the busyness, bustle and traffic of SC. i regret not taking more photos. orchards, succulents, flowers and cacti galore! i woke to this view every morning! peace! bliss!
on our last day i was fortunate to have rented a demo bike from the Santa Cruz Bicycle Factory! what a deal! a top of the line bike for only $20/4 hours.
i got to ride a carbon 1x11 5010. yes, feeling a bit guilty. i cheated on Lavinnia. no more bike monogamy for this chik! and i must say i'm in love. called her stella blue. she climbed like a dream, the sound of her hub was music to my ears, 650b rocks and light as a feather! sweet ride for sure. i forgot about the dropper seat post as i don't have one on Lavinnia. so i didnt even use it. hahahah!
liam was off riding trails with his buddies. roy and i took off from the factory and headed to wilder ranch. a short ride on a bike path from the factory. (since we don't have a bike rack)
see that creature at the top of the map? yes, we saw one and yes, its a mountain lion. in broad daylight! holy crap, it was awesome!
we rode up to "twin gates" which was quite the climb and i was so happy to be sporting a carbon bike and not my solid but super heavy aluminum 29er.(no offense Lavinnia!)
Stella Blue
flannel everyday!
yes, that's the ocean!
my new love, Stella Blue!
sadly, i had to return stella. gotta figure out how to get my hands on $8600. that's a hell of a lot hats to knit! sigh! next time i demo gonna figure out how to get my bike to the better trails. nothing against wilder, but just not my style.
liam had a second ride planned later in the day so roy and i decided to check out the little town of felton. found a thrift store!
and scored! raspberry skirt is linen folks! damn, no matter what i do this photo is upside down!!!!!
while waiting for liam to finish his last ride i really really really wanted to have a beer at this joint! monty's!
but, we realized we had a long drive home including the frustration of bay area traffic.....we made the better decision of coffee at the white raven.
i will return for a beer at monty's! i did get knitting in too!
great trip! check out the subaru when i looked at it this morning for unpacking! HA! another successful family adventure!
i'm a lone rider. not a lonely rider but a rider who prefers riding alone. i tend to be a loner in most aspects of my life-a hermitess. i enjoy my own company. that being said, the fact that i am a slow rider does aid to my riding loner style. a few health issues which i am trying to resolve require me to stop now and then to breathe or stretch and i just hate having people wait for me.
another reason for my solo adventures is the solitude i enter into on my bike. its just me, Lavinia and the wilderness.
i am not a roadie, i prefer the sweet single track in the forest or mountains. i work as a 7th grade aide. 24- 7th graders 5 days a week can be mentally exhausting, leaving me little time for my own thoughts. the feeling i get when i jump on my bike and go into the forest fills every part of my being with peace and a sense of calm. it's a moment when i can forget about everything and just be. i find time to think things thru- i listen to birds, feel the trees breathe, sense the eyes of mountain lions on my back and dodge suicidal squirrels that cross my path. but when i am on the gnarlier trails i have to focus- "be here now" as they say! no room for other thoughts! which is a different kind of peace. these gnarlier trails take my breath away, get my adrenaline pumping and i feel so alive and full of exhilaration-like i'm flying or bouncing around like a crazed wombat! it's a stellar high!
lone riding does have its drawbacks. crashing when you are alone can be scary. Or when you come upon something like this in the trail- well, it is nice to have help.
with all this much needed rain we have been getting lately my riding time has been sparse. i did manage to sneak a ride in today in between storms! woot! i got to see how full the dam was and it was amazing. haven't seen it like this in years.
the great thing about the trails at bullards is they are not muddy in the rain, they are rideable. i can feel good about not wrecking up the trails! i saw my first dogwood just beginning to bloom today!
can you see it there in top center of the above photo? the flowers are just opening! the greens are so brilliant on the trails they seem surreal.
the photo doesn't do it justice. when i look at the lake i often wonder what Garden Valley looked like before they flooded it. must have been gorgeous with its steep wooded hillsides with the north fork of the yuba river wildly flowing thru the valley.
during the summer months these trails are not as serene. the blare of motor boats speeding with blasting classic rock fills the air. but for now, these precious months before the campgrounds open is bliss at its finest. solitary fishing boats dot the lakescape.
looking forward to my next ride! looks like a clearing in the rain coming up next week! so glad i chose to ride today instead of cleaning the house.
well, not really. this is more realistic to what i am doing:
im dancing around the house to "new order" one of my favorite bands, getting pumped for my mountain bike ride. my ride started out great. newly groomed trails done by BONC(bicyclists of Nevada County) ready for me to shred.
the rookery!
love riding under this tree! things were going great, i was cruising, and then before i could react there was a small branch sticking out in the trail-only about an inch and a half in diameter but connected to a bigger tree. the next thing i know i'm laying on my back, cursing on a pile of logs and branches. usually my crashes are slow motion. not this one! i layed there awhile checking in with all my body parts before i tried getting up. yes, i was riding alone. no one to help. here's some photos of my view point.
managed to get my phone out of my pocket-to take pics!
looking up at the trail!
this was the branch! i broke it and several others off the mother log so no one else ended up on the debris pile!
pain relief at home.....what super bowl? i'm just stoked that i got my best time down rebel ridge trail!
in the mountain bike community there's a suggestion that you never ride alone. i understand why this is said. its a safety issue. but if i followed this advice, what little time i have for riding would diminish substantially. there are times when i simply must ride alone. today was one of those days.
stormy weather on the horizon for the rest of the week. if i didn't ride today it would be awhile before i could ride again.
my ride did not start out well. the first 2.7 miles were spent getting off and on my bike as my seat kept falling to BMX height every 20-50 feet. this was most unpleasant. how do those effin BMXers ride like that? luckily liam was able to find me and help me fix it. love my ability to text in these moments. he had to get back to his studies so i bid him farewell and continued my journey.
my ride was going splendidly. it was beautiful. cool and misty.
the moss was brilliant and the ferns were dancing with delight from the recent rain. my riding was feeling good and strong. but then i hit this little spot in the trail, not a big deal-i cruised over it just fine. but earlier i was having trouble with my bike wanting to veer to the left side of the trail. the steep side. not sure why this happens but sometimes i ride right on that edge and my bike won't steer away. some kind of weird physics phenomenon. i was teetering on the edge several times remembering not to panic when seeing the steep downhill to my left but to shift my weight and point the opposite knee in the direction i wanted to go instead.
i'm not sure what happened. i just know that after clearing this log my bike went left when i wanted to veer straight up the trail. i knew i was going to crash and i would not be able to stop it.
luckily my crash was in slow motion. seeing the approaching logs i would soon be laying upon, i had a stern discussion with my upper left arm and shoulder. i just told them that they would NOT be breaking. i hit the logs gracefully with my bike landing on top of me. i just sort of laid there stunned for awhile. once i realized i was fine i was trying to figure out how i was going to crawl out of this hole. i was kinda stuck with my bike on top of me.....with no one to help me up. i managed a few photos from my vantage point.
i somehow managed to climb out and pull my bike out too. i consider myself really lucky.
sore and shaky i continued on only to come upon this fallen tree right in the middle of the trail. many a swear word spewed from my lips as my feet got entangled whilst dragging my bike threw this mess.
i was pretty ragged by the time i got to "Dark Day" and was thankful that my text to hubby made it as he was waiting there with the truck to drive me home. understanding fully the meaning of "don't ride alone" but knowing fully i would ride alone tomorrow if the opportunity arose!
.JPG)
