…but a controlled burn in Henry Coe state park. Cross Canyon hasn’t seen a natural fire in over a hundred years, apparently, and the large accumulated pile of flammable brush and debris would pose a serious hazard for next fire season…

A fantastic Indian summer we’re enjoying here in CA by the way. We’ve had just enough rain to get rid of most dust, and conditions and weather have been stellar the past weeks/weekends: warm but not hot, brisk and not cold, and crisp skies everywhere. You could even *see* the entire Monterey peninsula from Wilder Ranch the other day…

for middle aged guys
for those who don’t shave their legs
for mountain bikers who are over 180 pounds and 6 feet

Great article in the NYTimes on Dave Wiens…

It’s all I hoped it to be and more.

A bit over a year ago, I was still a big-wheel virgin. I finally tried one out during one of the demo-at-Demo days hosted by the fine folks of Trailhead Cyclery; an Intense I believe. And I was sold. I never cared too much for the 29er hype and zealotry, but there are some pretty obvious advantages to it, in particular if you’re somewhat tall. Half a year later, I bought a frame and had a summer project. Another half year passed (yes I do like to procrastinate) and I got a 29er.

The larger wheel in front of you gets rid of that ‘help I’m gonna endo’ feeling on drops and steeps; the extra traction of the wheel because of the increased radius of curvature is definitely noticeable on climbs and in turns; my favorite 29er advantage though is the ‘freight train’ effect: the increased rotational inertia, with respect to the total weight of the bike, makes you more efficient on ‘rollers’ and it feels like you can blast through the stuff the trail throws at you so much faster. The Mamasita, being a light race frame, especially stands out in this regard. I can’t believe how much more fun my usual trails in the ‘hood became again. Alas, no pain no gain: the seatstays of this hardtail may be made of carbon, but your bones will be seriously rattled on long bumpy descents…

The course was surely off the beaten path: calling French Meadows a remote location is rather understated. But it was as pretty as it was isolated. I ended up being quite happy with my race: I finished without getting all too hurt, a bit faster than I expected, not troubled too much by the heat, my back took a break in acting up and the whole event was a bunch of fun. My full writeup is here on MTBGuru, results are here, and there is a Cycling News report as well.

And I’ve also officially drunk the 29er kool-aid now: the new bike felt like a high speed freight train on the flats and descents and had excellent traction in the corners. Being a hardtail it climbs and accelerates like a mountain goat, the only drawback is of course the bone rattling nature of fast techy descents on it…

…with a new ride, sore back and expecting unpleasantly toasty temperatures.

The bike is awesome, more about that in later posts, below another teaser pic. I’m taking a bit of a risk doing such a long ride with it immediately - nothing like an imperial century on dirt to break in a new bike! But last weekend I took it to far more technical terrain than what we can expect in the Tahoe Sierra 100 and it held up perfectly (after tightening up things here and there). And it feels so damn fast - maybe I should call it the ‘Red Rocket’ (now if only I could ride it real fast, but that’s another topic).

Tylenol should take care of the sore back (a bruised vertebra? old age? my entire lower right side and leg are acting up these days). I’m kinda dreading the heat though, my frail Northern European constitution is more set up for cold. Anyhow, my goal is just to finish it, preferably way before darkness falls… it should be good masochistic fun!

…with my summer garage project. More to come soon.

As soon as the snow melts, the high country awakens and goes into full bloom – elevation dictates when things take off. Ride Tahoe early in the season, and it feels like the clock has been set back a few months. It’s spring and wildflower time all over again: seas of sunflowers, lupine fields, the occasional Indian paintbrush, snowplants and dozens of other species are all over the place.

And the riding is pretty fantastic too, of course. (Stanford Rock!, TRT!)

The big lake is stunning in its beauty as always.

More…

This weekend: to Downieville or not to Downieville?

In favor: fantastic trails, lotsa climbing and technical descents. Rugged and tough riding, serious dirt.  Entertainment in town. Chance to check out Lopes, Weir and co.

Against: probably will be hotter than hell on that exposed fireroad climb. Four hour drive one way.

Conclusion: We’ll See. Meanwhile, I keep myself busy armchair racing by checking out the updates and reports on these amazing Great Divide races. Or, daydream about riding Kodiak Island… after seeing this thread on mtbr, I so want to go there.

First, it was the great Lick Fire. Then came the California budget crisis. And now, behold the third coming of the Monster that Wants to Eat Coe: Assembly Bill 2923.

This is a bill that intends to turn a number of state lands in California into designated wilderness area. We have nothing against creating new wilderness areas, au contraire, but it is ludicrous to apply this to places such as Henry Coe, Cache Creek and the likes, where it is merely a thinly veiled euphemism for a ‘let’s kick bike riders out’ policy change.

I can’t even start to stress how braindead it is to include a place like Coe in this bill, where mountain bikers live in near-perfect harmony with hikers, equestrians and rangers and where, given the size of the park and the range of mountain bikes, riders are the ideal stewards of the land. A place so big you can ride all day and all night, that fosters a crowd of die-hard fans, trailworkers and regular visitors; yet so close to a major urban area. I can’t imagine a better example of proper and responsible use of state lands.

IMBA recommends to take action and write/fax/bug our state representatives. We’re doing so and urge you to do the same. Write some lines expressing ‘you’re out of your mind to even consider this and I will never ever vote again for you if you allow this to get through’, but much, much more politely; here’s a sample letter from Passion Trail Bikes (warning: .doc file link).

Remember last week’s thunderstorms? Well, the lightning accompanying those mostly dry storms has set off a thousand wildfires in the state. Fire season isn’t even supposed to really take off until late summer, so we may be in store for something this year. Check out the satellite pic:this time of the year, you’d only expect to see the bright white stuff near the coast, our charming California coastal fog.

Now, it feels like we’re hanging out in one giant smoky bar. Air quality not quite approaching the Great London Smog ‘52 levels but going in that direction. The Western States 100 even got cancelled. I’m still going for a ride; hanging out in a smoky bar once and a while shouldn’t kill you, should it?