Belgian Wafer Ride 2022

 The Belgian Waffle Ride AKA The UnRoad Race that I had sworn a few times to never do again. Just to clarify, though, I've survived 2 previous editions of the Wafer (the shorter ride) rather than the full Waffle. I had signed up to do the full Waffle in 2020, but then COVID-19 came to town and all mass events were swiftly shelved. The stars didn't align for me to for the 2021 ride, and they weren't much in agreement for this year's either. But then a few things changed. 

My good buddy Suzanne had signed up to ride her first Wafer this year, but her riding buddies all dropped out, and rumors were abound that Mike Marckx had been out scouting changes to the route (the 2018, 2019, and 2021 routes were essentially the same) that would alleviate the bottlenecking problem entering the first dirt sector at Del Dios Gorge Trailhead (AKA Lemontwistenberg). So, the prospect of actually having a riding buddy this year, along with a significant change to the route that I had done twice before gave me the much needed excuse to actually ride... but to downgrade to the Wafer rather than the full Waffle. 

To be honest, I wouldn't have survived the 135 miler this year anyhow. 

As per BWR tradition, we didn't have a confirm official route until just a few days before the ride, even though most of us that have done this thing before in the last few years had a good idea of what it'd look like, thanks to Michael Marckx (BWR's godfather, so to speak)'s frequent email teases. I wasn't jumping for joy at the prospect of starting the day off climbing most of Double Peak from the north (and dirty) side, and still having to scale the whole of it again from bottom of Questhaven Dr in the final 8 miles.  

But the real unknown on the Wafer route was really Raptor Ridge, the mountain bike trail connecting Mule Hill and San Pasqual Valley. In its usual firm dirt condition, the singletrack west of the summit of Raptor Ridge is rideable if not easily so (there is a couple of very steep narrow ramps you could punch up them if you know where they are and have good traction approaching them... and low enough climbing gear, of course). 

Alas, a not so thin layer of soil was dumped on Raptor the week before the ride, which obliterated any traction to be had, and the singletrack turned into a hike-a-bike sufferfest for the fit and the pudgy (like me) alike. It also made the wider descent to the east more hairy than usual of the 'let your bike run and you might fly right off the cliff at the next curve' variety. 

Raptor Ridge proved to be my kryptonite for the ride, thanks muchly to the hike-a-bike festival that happened to coincide with the first day of Aunt Flo's monthly visit. By the time I crested the ridge I had a persistent cramp going where the sun doesn't shine, that soon spread to both quads. The rest of the climbing on the route was done in endless zigzags that would put any paperboy to shame... My awesome riding buddy Suzanne N waited for ages for me all the way to the top of Double Peak, the day's last substantial climb, and her equally awesome brother even popped up on Harmony Grove Rd to revive us with ice-cold cans of V8 to keep our muscles firing. 

It took us a long while, but we finished the ride and even remembered to shift down for the post-finish-line-concrete ramp. It wasn't a pretty performance from yours truly, but with a lot of help from my friends, it was still a finish... and quite a motivation to return for a rematch (or perhaps even a full Waffle... if I can manage to stick to a training regimen to be in good enough shape next year!). 

 

It took a long while before I managed to put the recap video together, I'm afraid. Much of it had to do with the shock of losing Mo Wilson less than two weeks after the ride. Mo had obliterated the field with the ridiculously large winning margin of 25 minutes ahead of Flavia Oliviera, the runner up. We expected to be following Mo's rising stardom for years to come, and then just two Wednesdays after BWR the news broke of her having been murdered in Austin, TX, just a few days before her next race. 

Murdered. It wasn't a plane crash or a car crash or a bike crash, but a murder. And I don't know anyone nicer and kinder than Mo... 

Her family is raising money to fund community organizations to help youth find self-confidence, strength, and joy through biking, skiing, and other activities that Mo was passionate about. 

Kaitlin Marie Armstrong is a fugitive wanted for Mo's murder. She may be going under her sister's name, Christine Armstrong. She was last spotted in New York and may have crossed the Canadian border. 

Here is her wanted poster by the US Marshal Service.

If you see this woman anywhere, please contact the US Marshal and help get her caught! 

Edit (06.30.2022): Kaitlin Armstrong was finally captured by the police in Costa Rica today. She will be extradited back to the states to answer for her crimes!

Happy Bike to Work Day 2022

This past Thursday was the annual Bike to Work Day, the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled just about all mass events in all the cities. Yours truly has been working from home more or less ever since, and really enjoyed the luxury of making up my own 'bike to work' route. 

Predictably, the route involved some gratuitous hills along with the inevitable ones. It isn't so much that I like to climb as there is something psychologically less defeating in electing to ride up a hill I know I'll have to suffer through than having to go up one because it's on the only possible way home. 

Some analgesic views along the bike commute from my front door to the rear one.

And, since my neck of the woods seems to consist of hills that only range from ouchy to murderously ouchy... I'd just as well opt for the latter to get more bang for the ouch. If you weren't a masochist before taking up cycling, taking up cycling seems a sure way of making a masochist out of you. 

San Marcos Civic Center pit stop on Bike To Work Day 2022.

Tho, on Bike to Work Day, the masochistic pain is more bearable than usual since there are many more people out on bike to commiserate with. And, there are bike-commuting-oriented pit stops all around town manned with cheerful people who can't wait to feed and ply you with nice (and very useful) swags. My pit stop this year was at the San Marcos Civic Center, manned by the lovely folks of the city's Park and Recreation Department. Thank you so much!  

Wheeee!

If you rode your bike to work last Thursday and found it enjoyable, why not do more of it through out the year? It's so nice to spend more time outside and away from the computer screen, getting to know the town a little better (so many little nice things are missed when you speed by in an automobile), and save quite a bit of gas money and your area's air quality in the process. 

Happy Holidays 2021

 Well, folks, we survived year two of the COVID 19 pandemic! Here is wishing you all good health and a lot of good adventures and memories on and off the bike thru the holidays and 2022! 

 

May the bike be with you! 

Veterans Day Arms Service Memorials Ride

 This year's Veterans Day fell on the first day of a really hot Santa Ana Wind event. I was hoping that the heat wouldn't arrive until closer to noon, but the mercury was already in the 80s when I descended into Mission Bay to meet up with a couple of friends at 8:30am. The messenger of the gods obeys no cosmic speed limit when carrying a big load of hot dry air!

Mission Bay Beach Club meet up spot. A huge improvement to the old MB Visitor Center!

My friend Bill R was the day's ride master, and he had plotted us to visit the many military memorials scattered around town. First on the list, especially on a hot day like this, of course, is to get the Veterans Memorial Cross on Mt Soledad out of the way as soon as possible. 

Climbing thru the Muirlands.

We took Fanuel St thru Pacific Beach and scooted clockwise around the mountain via La Jolla Hermosa and La Jolla Bike Path to start up the hill on Nautilus and then Muirland Vista into the Muirlands and then La Jolla Scenic Dr for a more scenic (and less trafficky) ascent. 

Veterans Memorial Cross on Mt Soledad.

On a clear day you can see almost forever!

The Mt Soledad cross was giving good visibility payback to its visitors. It was so clear across the county that you could see tens of miles away and identify most of the mountains in the distance. We didn't linger for long, mind you. It was to be a 50 miles ride and there are more hills to scale in the ever-warming weather, so we took the fast descent down Cardeno Dr and traverse Mission Bay on Ingraham Dr (pretty safe to bike on between Crown Point and Dana Landings), making our way to Ocean Beach on the posted bike route before climbing to Ft Rosecrans National Cemetery via Catalina Blvd. 

Ft Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Most of us know or are related to someone interned at that green lawn overlooking the Pacific Ocean, so we lingered a bit longer before heading back down the hill via Canon Dr... and into the Naval Base for our third stop, Ballast Point - the actual historical whaling station rather than the popular local brewery! 

Along with the Ballast Pt marker, the same site also holds 3 military memorial markers... and quite a fantastic view of the San Diego Bay, North Island, and Downtown. There is also a convenient store nearby to refill our water bottles. The warm dry wind was starting to pick up, and I was going the way of the over-sunned beef jerky.

We were mostly done with the hills for the ride, though, and spun through the scenic and flat Harbor Dr into the Marina District to the USS Midway Museum and the USS San Diego memorial just north of Seaport Village. 

USS San Diego Memorial by Fisherman's Warf

After a quick swing through Balboa Park and Mission Hills, we stopped at the top of Presidio Park to pay a visit to the Mormon Battalion Memorial and Fort Stockton's Historical Marker in the peaceful hilltop clearing overlooking Mission Bay.  

Fort Stockton (1828-1848) changed hands many times during the Mexican War, was last occupied by the Mormon Battalion that had walked here from the Midwest and got here a bit too late to join in any fight. They have a museum just down the hill now, across the lane from the Old Heritage Row of well preserved Victorian Era houses in Old Town San Diego.

One of my dream bucket list items is to mountain bike the Oregon Trail from Independence, MO to Waiilatpu, OR (Honore Morrow's On To Oregon being one of my favorite childhood books. Of course, I've since read Catherine Sager's Across the Plains in 1844, so my perception of the trek is now a bit less romantic). I could hardly imagine doing a 2000 miles trek on foot and pushing or pulling at a hand cart full of belongings and supplies, though. 

Incidentally, once we are done with our late fall bouts of Santa Ana wind, it should be cool enough again to go roam the eastern side of the county, and visit the slot canyon spot that still bears the groove that the Mormons had carved in the process of pulling the handcarts up to the Old Stagecoach route out east of Julian. 

But, that's for another ride... For the day, we finished our 50 miles loop back at Mission Bay Beach Club in the early afternoon feeling thankful both for the friends we get to ride with and the far too many military personnel who had perished in the process of providing us with the peace time we enjoy. Thanks on many fronts, Bill! 

De Luz and the Painful Plateau

The many surges of the COVID19 pandemic had taken the shine out of group riding since the first major shut down in spring of 2020. So, I have been getting back into the old solo riding out in the wild mode. It's one of the perks of living in San Diego's North County (rather than the old dig in Uptown) that it doesn't take much riding from home before 'the wild' starts. 

A favorite car-less riding ground for yours truly is, of course, the magical low hills of De Luz and the lovely big sky country that is the Santa Rosa Plateau. Both less-accessible by heat-phobic me during the summer months. 

Santa Margarita Preserve lot has nice port-a-toilets, water spigot, and picnic tables.

After the ride in on the main motorways of E Vista Way, Hwy 76, and S Mission Rd (so early in the morning that the drivers hadn't made it into their car, yet), the awesomeness began with the wiggly drop off down De Luz Rd from Fallbrook's quint Downtown district. I opted left at the Y-intersection this time to take the meandering De Luz Rd climb instead of the more abrupt Sandia Creek Rd (besides, the former was repaved earlier this year and was nice and smooth for a change). 

Oh, on the right just after the intersection with Sandia Creek Rd is the Santa Margarita Preserve with a set of nice port-a-toilets, water spigot, and picnic tables. This is the last restroom opportunity for the next 20 miles. So, whether you need to go or not, it's always a good idea to stop and do the loo business before heading up the hills.

The repaved first couple of miles on De Luz Rd, climbing NW from the creek bed.

De Luz Rd is a chain of curvy rolling hills.

After the first long-ish climb to Harris Rd, De Luz Rd becomes a series of curvy rolling hills through lush valleys and lovely little glens. A welcoming widespread ruralness away from the cities. Needless to say, being self-sufficient is the name of the game when out riding in places like this. Carry more than enough water, food, medical and repair supplies with you, and a printed out map (cellphone reception is spotty at best), especially if you are riding solo. 

A bit after the CDF Fire Station (water spigot available) the road split again at a Y-intersection. I veered left for a side excursion to inspect the base of Tenaja Truck Trail for future rides and found it quite sandy (both for my pudginess and for the 28mm road tires). Will have to wait for a good rain to firm it up a bit before attempting that scenic dirt route up to Fisherman Camp. 

So, I retraced back out to the Y-intersection and took De Luz - Murrieta Rd up to the oaky country from the dry creek bed, stopping by at the Old De Luz School and Post Office for a snack break while perusing the hiking map of the nearby trails. 

After De Luz School the road gently climbs back toward Camaron Rd in series of oaked-in curves. It's a lovely place, though the tree shade makes the many little dimples and groves on the pavement very difficult to see.

The fastest way back to civilization (and if you don't feel like much more steep climbing) is, of course, to continue on De Luz - Murrieta Rd into Murrieta (it becomes a nice curvy firm dirt downhill in the last couple of miles and runs into the Murrieta flat land as Guava St), or to endure the boring shadeless climb up the west side of Rancho California Rd before dropping into Temecula just north of Old Town. But the day was still young for me, and the air cool enough to entertain the thought... so I veered left up the steep climb on Camaron Rd, then veered left down and up and down the rarely level Carancho Rd instead. 

Of the many hideously steep monsters hiding in this part of the hills, Los Gatos between Carancho and Avocado Mesa is the only one that gets all the attention. In a way, it should... the gradient there is just ungodly... for a long long long time. Though, if you are a cycling hillbilly, the whole of Los Gatos (from Vista Del Mar and not just that one section that starts at Carancho) is like one of those irresistible Greek tragedies one has to try and cry on (if any breath can be spared for the latter). 

I did much slow-grind hiking on mtb shoes on that death march than I'd like, and had much less breath to cry than to reoxygenate all the screaming muscle and lung tissues. But... I survived and got to see a lot of view to boot. I don't ever want to do it again... but I probably will. Hills like that are something like a very addictive form of mental illness. It is a lucky thing that once you've made it to Via Volcano, then you can come down the Plateau via Clinton Keith Rd without having to climb any more hill for a long while. Gosh knows you legs won't even like a pedal push to clear a speed bump for a few miles after that ordeal. 

There aren't many 'big sky' space left in this part of Southern California, and the Santa Rosa Plateau is one worth lingering in after having earned your way up it. Traffic is next to nothing during the work week. It's a fabulous place to pedal very softly, bird watch, and drink in the view without rushing back into any of the towns below.

Rolling down the hill on Clinton Keith Rd is a blast with the caveat that much of the 'bike lane'/shoulder is actually not usable. It's steeply canted from the fog line to the pavement edge... so, avoid it and stay in the lane at least until the fire station. It's too fast a downhill to risk a stupid crash on. 

A quick pit stop at the Albertson's on Washington St, and then a quick bypass of Murrieta via Adams St (the most pleasant north-south road to ride on, really, all the way to Temecula, as it dead end for cars in two different spots) before merging my way thru Temecula traffic (I crossed I-15 via the 1st St bridge rather than staying on Jefferson in order to avoid the freeway interchange craziness). 

Then the curvy climb up Rainbow Valley Blvd earned me another long downhill/flat stretch back to Vista via Old Hwy 395 and Hwy 76 (busy fast road, but pretty flat with a wide shoulder to ride on). It's a long day on the bike (but it doesn't have to be that long if you have a car and just start/finish in Fallbrook)... just the way I like it, even if the quads doeth protest too much.  

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