There is still some spring left out one of my local rides here in North County.
Spring in San Marcos
Category: General MTB
Friends in Town
I was stoked to have a couple of my Colorado buds roll into town. In addtion giving them a place to shack up and bourbons to sample we got in some riding.
We had some rain to deal with o. The second day so we went out to Anderson Truck Trail
The skys looked ominous as we were driving out to the but the there was a large patches of blue sky to the southwest which was where the wind was coming from so I felt pretty good about our chances. Things looked good early on.
The skys turned pretty quickly and before we knew it we had hail bouncing off our heads. Now we have a bike ride!
Pretty much by the time we got to the top of the trail the hail and light rain was over and we were back in some sunshine. Time to go back down.
I was so stoked to be to return some hospitality back in Kevin and Greg direction.
Back in the Lagunas
I spent most of January working in Jacksonville, Florida. Below is a picture from the commute out to the jobsite that seemed out in the sticks.
Once back in town it was time up one my old reliable trails, the Lguna Mountains.
The skys were super clear and we could see Point Loma and the downtown skyline some 40 miles away as a crow files.
We did not do a particularly good job of chasing the sun and pretty much finish the last minutes of the day. There are worse things to be bad at.
Vacation and Laguna Mountains
So I have not been riding much as of late.
Nichol and I managed to do a traditional vacation that included a handful of days in Hawaii.
Now Nichol and I have been to Oahu numerous times related to work but this was our first time there in a strictly vacation fashion. We have both done most of the “mandatory” tourist things on the island in the past so we were under no pressure or schedule to do anything. It was really nice.
In addition to vacation, there has been lots of house stuff that has been capturing my interests and time as if late. Man caves don’t build themselves!
But that does not mean I have not been riding. I have been hitting my local “off the books” ride here and there along with getting out to the Laguna Mountains. I just have been hitting the trails with as much regularity as I normally do. Pretty sure I’m gonna pay for that later.
Utah Weekend – JEM, Goosebumps
Our final day of the weekend trip had me waking up to stiff legs.
We both desired to get back home at a reasonable time, so we opted for something efficient and fun. After breaking camp we parked at the JEM trailhead at the base of Gooseberry Mesa.
The last time I rode your when doing this as part of the Hurricane Rim Loop that consists of the Goulds Rim, JEM and Hurricane Cliffs trail. Since then there has been a lot if trails added in this area, it is now its on system.
We ended up riding JEM, More Cowbell, Dead Ringer, Goosebumps, Cryptobionic, and some of the JEM Loop Route. (Not in that order) What a fun time we had. After a celebratory beer it was time to get back to the land of playing working stiff. It was another great adventure in Utah!
Utah Weekend – Grafton Mesa
Day Three took us out to Grafton Mesa which I had heard lots of awesome stuff about but had never been out on.
Sean on More Money
Grafton did not disappoint.
Sean on Show Me The Money
Sean on Dig-It!
We also did the Pigs In Space and Meanderthal trails along with a portion of Reach Around.
You know you are some good trails when they come with exfoliation services.
The drop in spot.
We did not take the techno-gnarly trail off the mesa as we had not made any shuttle arrangments and were not feeling up for major dirt road grindage to get back up on the mesa. Clearly I will have to go back!
Utah Weekend – Little Creek Mesa
Day Two had out at one of my all time favorites in the area, Little Creek Mesa. Sean had ridden one of the loops out here, but had not been out to the point so I was more than happen to do some showing around.
We started out in the main loop and worked out way out the the western rim of the mesa.
We then worked out way out the North Point.
From the North Point we continued on around and hooked up with Magic Carpet Ride.
Back at camp we enjoyed tasty beers before working on some bourbon while solving world hunger. Well maybe not world hunger, but may have put a dent in the bikes in wilderness issues. Ugh maybe it was which sections of the Pacific Crest Trail should be open to bike.
One thing we certainly did figure out. It did not suck to be us on this day.
Utah Weekend – Wire Mesa
Man did I have great weekend near Hurricane Utah. Sean was out on an excursion in Utah with RV, his dirt bike and some MTB action on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We set Apple Valley as our rally point and we were soon off to Gooseberry Mesa to find a place to park the RV for the weekend.
After setting up the RV we had enough time left in the day for a ride so we hit up nearby Wire Mesa.
The Wire Mesa trail does lots of bobbing and weaving right along the rim of the mesa. The trail seems longer than it actually is. The views are just great.
We pretty much used all of the remainder of the day. It was a great opener ride.
La Costa
This was my kind of way to spend a Monday morning. Taking a spin around at La Costa.
The trail system is bit beat up with braking bumps and braids around obstacles which there is a plethora of rant material to work with on this subject, the biggest one is there is just not enough good legal singletrack in coastal North County. There is good legal singletrack here so it is highly popular and ends up taking a beating.
More ATT playtime
It has been quite sometime since my last ride out at Anderson Truck Trail. The upper section known as “World Cup” is pretty much gone now (or in major disrepair). It was never an above board system as it was on a combination of USFS, private and Indian Reservation lands. The various groups finally got together to put a kabosh on access.
ATT on its own is a good climb and descent but its just not the same without the challenges of World Cup.
There are still spurs and loops that can be done from four corners. House of Pain, Spicolli 1 and Spicolli 2 (Your trail names may vary) provide some lollipop options before returning down ATT.
No matter what your opinion is on the current situation regarding World Cup, the descent down Anderson Truck Trail is still worth the effort to climb.