Go for a ride!

Don't get too hung up over your equipment, new riders. All you really need to explore and ride to places are a reliable bicycle - hopefully one with hills-friendly gear - as there isn't much flat riding to be had in San Diego County, a pair of comfortable cycling short or bib (because chafing down there really sucks), a little repair supplies/kit (and the know how to use it), water bottle and some food, the law doesn't require it for adults, but it's generally a good idea to wear a helmet, definitely some good research of the area you'll be exploring/riding in (escape/alternate plan B included), and a 'can do and will do' attitude.

The original Smorgmobile was an all aluminum Giant Defy 5 with triple crank and 11-26 cassette.

Style is nice, but substance is what counts. Go out and ride!

You don't need the lightest of bikes or fancy stuff, unless you are planning on racing with the elites. People go out and tour on their bike in all sorts of gear. Some of my local cycling heroes go out everyday riding their 30+ yrs old steel bike with downtube shifters, some ride in sandals, etc. Don't sit around thinking you can't ride this or that way because you don't have the $$ to shell out for proper road cycling shoes (that really won't allow you to do anything in them except for cycling on good pavement) or lightest clipless pedals or aero helmet or aero wheels or whatever. Plot out the places you want to go, check out the conditions (weather okay? any road construction along the way? any wild fire in the area? where would you be able to stop to resupply? if this road or that road turns out impassable, how would you detour?), grab the necessary supplies... and go!

   

 I'm serious... I rode an all aluminum (fork included) bike with platform pedals carrying a backpack and wearing loafer shoes for years before I 'upgraded'. And in those lo-tech years, I rode up and down all the vertical streets of Dictionary Hills, out to Borrego Springs and back, and to the top and back down the likes of Cuyamaca Peak, Mt Woodson, Mt Laguna, Monument Peak, Los Pinos, the three main roads to Palomar Mountain, San Miguel Mountain, Starvation Mountain, Double Peak, Mt Israel, (little) Mt Whitney, and all the possible ways up and down Mt Soledad, Mt Helix, and Grossmont. Would it have been a tad easier on a lighter bike, a pair of stiffer shoes, being attached to the pedals, etc? Perhaps... but not having those things is really no obstacle at all.

   

 When I was still golfing professionally back in 1995 I was doing my putting practice routine on the practice green during a tournament in Tucson, AZ when this old local bloke came up to me to challenge me to a putt out. You could tell he didn't have any money. He was putting with his one short iron (probably a pitching wedge) and a very very used golf ball that wasn't even round anymore. The thing had so many bulges on it it wobbles every which way on the thin grass. And he gave me a very good game for it. Of course I won... with my proper putter and a perfectly round ball (I do miss the 90's awesome balata wounded golf balls). But I ended up buying his dinner simply because he was the one teaching me a very good lesson. 

 If you love it. There is no excuse for not doing it. Just go and do... and live!

Musing: You can wait. A few extra minutes waiting to accomodate others won't ruin your life...

... And if it does, well, what does that really say about the life you are living?

When I got to college back in the late 1990's the internet was still just a few years from its birth and yours truly still spent most of my study time researching stuff using library index cards and checking out thick textbooks. It took hours to gather enough information to write a decent A-worthy paper.

Do you remember what a real book looks like? Me, too!

I still remember the first time I used the library computer to look up something from the NCBI database. There was no WiFi then, and the connection was slow. You'd click on a link and count off (sometimes more than) a few seconds before the new page would load. But it was still so much faster than sifting through the pile of library index cards to find the right books and then going to fetch the books and combing through them to the pages with the info you wanted. I didn't mind that the pages were taking a while to load. I was just happy that it took me minutes instead of hours to get the info I wanted.

I also used to drive... a lot. I bought my first car in the winter of 1993, and, because of my then job, I drove that thing 30,000 or so miles a year until I went back to college and became half-way normal, so to speak. It was great being able to get somewhere more than 15 miles away and back in hardly any time at all and without breaking a sweat. Before I bought a car I spent two years at a school in Southern California and lived on campus. I was too young to have a car then, so I got everywhere by bicycle.

Yes, it's narrow and steep, but Presidio Dr is still the mildest of all the other roads that lead from Mission Valley to the uptown Mesa. On some of the other roads, many of these guys won't be able to pedal up at all.

Two years of bike-commuting often in 95+ degree heat or in sub-40F cold and sometimes in thick wet fog or nasty stingy rain while hauling grocery and other types of load over rolling hills of varying degrees of steepness is an experience that stays with you a bit. It was relatively easy for me to chill and not get annoyed when I found myself 'stuck' behind a slow tractor (there were a few of them around out in the country) or a cyclist on narrow uphill bits of the many rural highways I drove on. A few extra minutes (if it takes that long... a lot of time you'll be presented with a break in traffic that would allow you to pass in matter of seconds) is a small inconvenience compared to what the tractor driver or the cyclist is going through. I remembered what it was like for a 12 miles commute to take a whole sweaty hour. It's easy to dismiss strangers' validity to justify being annoyed at them, but others' motive for doing something or being somewhere often is a lot less evil than you'd like to think it. Why are those slow cyclists riding up this narrow road and slowing me down? They should be banned from the street if they are too slow to keep up with cars! How selfish for the cyclist to be riding on this road! Even when they are doing the 25 mph speed limit, I could still be going faster if only they aren't in the way!

He's wearing lycra and riding a racing road bike, but he is also only commuting to and from work.

But what if bicycling is their only way of getting to places? And what if they are there because this narrow road is the least terribly steep way of getting up this particular hill, the top of which could be where the cyclist lives or where his workplace is? What if the cyclist can't afford to just up and move from his current house or apartment just to make his commute less hilly? Not everyone has the same choices that you are presented with. Not all cyclists are out on the road just for an exercise or for fun. And not every cyclist that ride in lycra are 'recreational' cyclist either (if you have ever ridden a bike 30+ miles in unpadded jeans, then you would understand why many would weigh down their backpack or paniers with additional clothes just so they can ride in lycra!). If you are willing to risk someone else's life and limbs just so you could get to where you want to go a minute or two faster (or not... if you then run into traffic lights), then who exactly is being selfish?

That someone else is somebody's kid or parent or brother or sister or friend, too. What if one of your daughter is out there riding her bike to get to work right now, what would you like the drivers that encounter her on the street to do? Real life isn't like the movies. If you hit someone, they get really hurt or die. And then what happens to the people that depend on them? All that just to get to drive a little faster? Is that really the kind of person you want to be? Just think about it a bit.

Best of 2013

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?' said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,' said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?'
Looking behind,' said he."
   - JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit.

And so, I'm both looking behind and looking ahead as 2013 fades with the daylight and 2014 arrives at the door. 2013 was a rather good cycling year for me. I discovered many wonderful (and not very well known) remote mountain roads to get lost on, found many new cycling friends to share sweat and pain with. My now nearly two years old aluminum road bike is still consenting to put up with me most of the time (and when it didn't, at least it didn't protest too loudly at me getting back on while covered in dirt and blood and other icky things that didn't add to both our look).

Looking back at 2013 on the bike...

Favorite roads:
1. Camino del Aguilar up Starvation Mountain: What can I say? It's scenic beyond belief, insanely steep for most of the way and no traffic at all to speak of. If only I live closer to Poway or Escondido I'd be riding that thing every week!
2. Millar Ranch & Miller Ranch Rds up Mt San Miguel: Another beastly climb with heavenly view and no traffic at all. A real mountain right on the outskirt of the city!
3. Montezuma Valley Rd (Montezuma Grade or hwy S22): Arguably the most scenic stretch of highway in San Diego County, and a great cat 1 climb to boot. Alas, it's quite far away from me even when taking public transportation part of the way, so I don't get to enjoy it often. And it's way too hot to attempt for much of the year. Winter is a great time to buzz up and down the Glass Elevator and visit Borrego Springs, though.
4. Harris Trail - De Luz Heights - Joan Ln - Cathy Ln variation from De Luz Rd: A lot of people ride the De Luz loop, but not many venture into the little gem that is De Luz Heights! From south to north this string of narrow country lanes is a scenic delight. From the opposite direction, a chain-stretching quads & lungs busting twisty series of all-too-vertical walls that makes your bike wish it's a goat.
5: Old Julian Hwy from Santa Ysabel to Ramona: Compared to the others on this list, this is a gentle climb when heading east and a lovely curvy descent when heading west. Gorgeous views along the way with lots of exotic animals sighting opportunities!

Favorite views:

Camino del Aguilar on Starvation Mountain.

Eagle Rock off PCT and Camino San Ignacio on Hot Springs Mountain.

The view west from the top of Mt Woodson.

Twisty Miller Ranch Rd winding its way up San Miguel Mtn.

Daily Rd & De Luz Heights view from Joan Lane.

Favorite San Diego weekend cycling groups:
1. Team Fun (sponsored by Carbon Connection Cyclery in Carlsbad): Rides start and finish at Carbon Connection Cyclery in Carlsbad. Usually starting at 8am Saturday or Sunday. This is an all-girls ride, but sometimes nice guys are welcome. The fast group goes really fast (20+ mph on the flat) and do challenging routes in the 40-60 miles range. Intermediate group go at a less taxing pace (around 15 mph) at 30-50 miles or so. The beginners group is 'no drop' and usually stay along the coast.

What could be more FUN than going riding on Saturday morning???

Team Fun is, well, fun! I like riding with them so much I'd ride 35-42 miles to Carlsbad in the ungodly early hours of Saturday mornings just to join them for a while before riding home. Great rando training for me. A 200km brevet every Saturday!

2. Sunday Road Riders (sponsored by Cal Coast Bicycles in University Heights): Rides start at 8am Sundays at Cal Coast Bicycle, whether in one or two or three groups depends on group size.

No one left behind on Sunday Road Riders rides!

I don't know about the fast group, since Sundays are usually my 'recovery ride' day so I haven't gone with the fast crew yet, but the intermediate group here is really easy going and go at relatively easy pace. Rides are 'no drop' and non-competitive with varied routes. Great socializing opportunity while seeing the town!

3. LUNA Chix San Diego Cycle: Sponsored by LUNA bar with a mission to encourage women to outdoorsy activities to stay healthy, and to raise fund for the Breast Cancer Fund, the LUNA Chix is a team of wonderfully supportive gals who ride safely and take great care of all ride participants.

A little LUNA push makes the hill more manageable.

The LUNA Chix rides take place all over San Diego County. Each ride is well planned and (wo)manned and usually break into fast, intermediate and slow groups. All of which are 'no drop'. Ride leaders are well trained and great at keeping group together. An ideal group to go with whether you're just starting out (and can use a lot of coaching on ride safety, etiquette and even some basic bike maintenance) or for seasoned riders to go for a sportive but socially relaxed rides and make new friends.

Memorable Cycling Moments:
1.On one of my rides around De Luz I stopped for a snack break off the side of Harris Trail when a big branch in the tree nearby did a giant sway. I turned around and saw... this.

A home-building red-shouldered hawk???

I think I surprised him as much as he surprised me. For long seconds we just goggled in place at each other. I think he even contemplated saying hello, but decided to hold on to the good cushiony branch he had in his beak instead.

2. Zig-zagging my way very agonizingly slowly up the hideously steep trail to Lake San Marcos radio towers in 90F heat with all sort of curse words bouncing inside my overheated head, and finally cresting the final ramp only to find all view blocked by the radio tower complex.

Guess I should have looked at the view while I was climbing, but when the climbing is all 10-20% grade, looking around was easier said than done!

And then deciding to keep climbing on the Ridge Line Trail to Double Peak instead of descending... If you weren't already nuts before you took up cycling, start riding a lot of hill and the nuts becomes you!

Hippy & Chris on Hillside trail on Mt Soledad.

3. Not getting dropped by the Hippy Chris during his Rapha Rising Mt Soledad Madness ride (we did 8 ascents together before I called it a day. I think he continued for another 5 trips up the mountain). It wasn't because he couldn't drop me, mind you, but that he wouldn't... It really made me appreciate the really great riders. They are beyond the 'I've got to prove it to everyone that I'm much faster/stronger than they are' mentality and are comfortable riding just fast enough to be good company to lesser riders while challenging them to get stronger all at once.

4. Getting dropped by Team Fun advanced group about 25 miles into our ride somewhere in Rancho Santa Fe. It was great! I had spent much of the year being the big fish in small ponds, so to speak, and not pushing myself for more speed, so being tested beyond my limit every so often is a wonderful thing. The nice lasses will try to excuse my blowing halfway into a ride with the fact that I had had a 35 mile ride in before their ride began, but truth be told I don't think I could have held their pace for another 25 miles even if I had taken the Coaster in instead. Being able to hang with them at their pace for the entire ride is a goal I'm aspiring to for 2014, though. Considering how the lasses could do sub-5 hrs century (which they did at the Palm Desert Century just a short while ago), that's going to take quite some work!

Team Fun advanced crew speeding along Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe.

At any rate, the day turned out to be a 115 miler for me, and the last 10 miles of it was spent in much agony; it didn't help that gluttonous me had picked up 5 lbs of persimmons from the Leucadia Farmers' Market along the way and felt all the extra weight my favorite deadly sin gave me climbing home up Torrey Pines and Juan St in Old Town. My legs were noodly for a couple of days afterward, but the persimmons tasted great and there is nothing more invigorating than finding a cool bunch of stronger riders that are willing to let me tack along!

5. Climbing Palomar Mountain by unpaved Nate Harrison Grade and running into ice and snow 1000 ft from the top. It wasn't bravery that landed me in that plight, but the sheer lack of good sense! I had known about Nate Harrison Grade for a long while as the gnarliest route up Palomar Mtn. It being a dirt road and me only owning a road bike made the climb a bit dicey, though waking up way too early one winter morning I decided on a whim to have a go.

Twisty Nate Harrison Grade from about half way up.

And what a go it was! The thing is 10 miles long at 8.5% grade with a few 14% grade ramps thrown in and a rear-tire skidding fest. Skidding tire is hairy enough when climbing, but skidding and always sliding to the lower edge of the really narrow road doesn't do much for one's nerve. Then on one of the 14% ramp I couldn't correct the sliding and had to put the foot down. On that steep and loose a slope, that meant hiking-a-bike until the slope became more manageable - which was aggravating. And to add more angst to the testy experience there was this guy parked somewhere off the right side of the road shooting off his rifle I don't know at what. I just kept hearing the bangs and the sound of bullets whizzing through the air and got more and more miffed at my inability to climb faster up the slippery steep slope to get away from the trigger-happy maniac.

Had to make it to the top just because I really didn't want to go down Nate's dirt road on a pair of 25mm slick tires!

Then, of course, a bit past 4000 ft elevation I ran into the snowed in road... It was pretty, but it wasn't bikeable! More slippery hike-a-bike up the slope for a good mile before I saw bare ground again... But I got to the top and got to descend down wiggly South Grade Rd and took Hwy 76 down to Valley Center Rd where this nice farmer lady at the fruits stand sold me a huge bag of fuyu persimmons for only $2.

My persimmons goddess on Valley Center Rd!

There still is no god, but the fruits sure tasted great after all that laboring!

6. During one of my easy-going Sunday morning rides with the Sunday Road Riders we were stopped at the traffic light on Navajo Rd at Jackson Dr in San Carlos when an SUV with open windows rolled to a halt beside us. In it were a pleasant young lad and his friendly mom. A few of us exchanged hellos with them and the boy enthusiastically declared that it was his fourth birthday. At that the whole peloton of us cyclists broke into the happy birthday song that ended with a roaring cheer and lots of bell ringing by yours truly.

Beware of the singing peloton!

And had the light not turned green again we probably would have tried to add a round of 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow!' in to boot! Of course, slow that I am I didn't catch the episode on film but hopefully the drivers that stopped around us would recall the flow of good will both from the boy and his mom and from the bunch of singing cyclists the next time they come upon a cyclist on the road. We are all neighbors... and most neighbors would try to help rather than to bite you!

7. Having my Jamul - Barrett exploration ride plan bombed by a cadre of local dogs who decided to escort me up Mother Grundy TT and refused to go home on their own!

Are you comin'? Are you comin'?

I'm still a cat person, but those dogs almost converted me!

So what am I looking ahead to for 2014? Doing a few proper rando brevets and permanents, of course, and more fun rides with good friends and meeting more wonderful people on the roads (friendly pedestrians and cheerful drivers included). Hopefully also getting to explore more unfamiliar roads in various corners of San Diego and even Riverside Counties.

Local roads (in no particular order) on my 2014 hit list:
- Cuyamaca Lookout Rd
- North Peak Rd
- Snuz Mountain Rd
- Muth Valley Rd (off Wildcat Canyon)
- Barrett Smith Rd (off Hwy 94 east of Barrett Junction)
- Rainbow Hgts - Rainbow Crest Rd - Mt Olympus Valley Rds (in Rainbow)
- Stewart Crest Rd (north side of Monserate Mtn)
- Red Mountain Hgts Dr (Fallbrook)
- Alta Loma Rd (Jamul)
- Shogo Mtn Rd (De Luz Heights)
- Lyons Peak Rd... is very iffy. Even park rangers can't access that road nowadays.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! Be safe and have fun on the roads!

Why I Like Riding My Bike Everywhere

Aside from no longer having a car, saving a lot of money while having a very environmentally low-impact travel and helping lessening traffic congestion in the city, you mean. But there are many more reasons to choose to get to places by bicycle even here in car-centric San Diego!

First off, you get to see more of the places you're riding through than you would driving a car. At slower speed and with the ability to just pull off the road at just about anywhere in the city (and not have to look for a parking spot)... just to wallow in views like these:

Shelter Island.

Embarcadero.

Sunset Cliffs.

And while you are stopped to enjoy the view, probably while munching on the delicious ice-cream from the off-street vendor, chances are you'll also run into some interesting people who seem quite more at ease talking to someone stepping off a bicycle than they would to someone stepping out from a car. It is a neat thing. Anne Mustoe, the English school headmistress who went riding her touring bike all the way around the globe and lived to write about it in the excellent book, 'A Bike Ride', observed the same phenomenon;

"I had been embraced into the camaraderie of the road. As the banter was exchanged and the well-meant advice given, I remembered a winter's day in Norfolk. I had pulled up at a similar stall in my Alfa Romeo and smart executive suit, to be cold-shouldered and treated to glances as frosty as the morning. Now, my bicycle had unlocked the first of many doors around the world and I was delighted to find myself so readily and warmly accepted."

I was rolling thru Mission Bay the other day when this cool guy not only chatted with me but also let me handle his magnificent Eclectus parrot!

Not only are pedestrians friendlier to bicyclist me, most drivers I've met along the road are great. Yes, even friendly smile-at-everyone me do draw occasional impatient honks, but those are far outnumbered by the number of times drivers have rolled down their window to cheer me up particularly steep climbs, offering friendly chats while waiting at traffic lights, and wishing me a safe trip as they roll off.

The Mother Grundy dog pack.

This friendliness even transcends species! I can't imagine that the four amazing dogs I ran into on Mother Grundy Truck Trail in Jamul would escort me for miles and try to protect me from other dogs and even the lovely Beacon Hill llamas had I been in a car rather than on a bicycle!

Talking about friendly animals, I get to see way more wild life from my bike than I ever did from a car.

Acorn woodpecker in Lyons Valley.

Steller's jay in Pine Valley.

Wild deers in Mesa Grande Reservation.

Ram in Dehesa.

Camels at the farm off Old Julian Highway.

Kestrel on the power line on Palomar Mountain.

Horned lark at Morley Fields.

Home building red-shouldered hawk in De Luz.

And, of course, all the house dogs riding around town in cars' passenger seat really love bicyclists!

California dogs have it made with these joy rides!

Living and riding near the coast, you also run into all sorts of interesting people and touring cyclists. It's good for motivation! Every time I start to get demoralized toward the end of my 120-140 mile ride, I'd remember some cool touring cyclists I've met on the road, like the twin French Canadians I ran into on the road two days in a row who rode from San Francisco all the way down to San Diego, or Mike the young Oregonian who was riding from Vancouver to the tip of Baja California when I caught him riding up Camino Del Mar...

Daniel & Claude Bédard cycled from San Francisco to San Diego in 12 days.

Bike touring is a real adventure!

.. and their mileage and heavy load, and all of the sudden quitting is out of the question. If those guys can suffer all the way to their finish line, then there is no excuse for me not to, too!

Of course, the on-bike suffering is at times very unpleasant, but it always helps when there are friends sharing in it with you.

Cycling friends know what an ordeal making it up that long climb without stopping is. And at the top of the beast, the victory tastes all the sweeter when you can trade hi-fives someone else rather than just silently congratulating yourself.

Then, of course, there are all these wonderful places where cars can't go and they're quite a chore to access on foot!

Well, 4 wheel drive cars can go on Nate Harrison Grade, I suppose.

Encelia Dr on Mt Soledad.

Miller Ranch Rd on Mt San Miguel.

Top of Mt Woodson.

Lake San Marcos Radio Towers trail.

And even in places where cars can also go...

Mesa Grande Rd.

Palomar South Grade Rd (S6).

Lyons Valley Rd.

Well, curvy beauties like these are just so much more fun riding down on a bicycle!