Mountain Bike Bill, The Dirt on the Dirt

The Local Loop

So I have a few options for a MTB ride from my house.   Two of them require riding on a section of road I am just not fond of as it twisty and narrow and idiots driving too fast while being distracted are way too common on this road   There are a number of trees that bear the marks of dumb asses playing chicken with trees and losing.   I am not too interested in playing that game with a car.

So my preferred trail system actually requires  quite a bit more street riding to get to than the other two but they are much less dangerous streets and roads.   Getting to the trail system also requires a bit of climbing which is good for the whole exercise thing.

There are has been sometime where I felt kinda meh about the local.    Since I was off the bike for quite sometime earlier this year with a knee injury, I have rediscovered some of the joy of the local loop when I was actually able to get back on it again.   Earlier on in the recover just getting to the trail from my house was all my knee could handle.

The Perch

Now that my knee is on the mend enough that I can put some work on the climbs it is really nice to get back and enjoy this place.   Even if all I do is make it up to the first climb and chill out on what I call “The Perch”.     I am thankful for a knee that works again and my local loop.

Shaking off some jet lag

After another work trip to Bahrain, it was time to shake off some jet lag.

Local goodness.

Yes I stopped to smell the flowers

I was still dragging from jetlag but decided to get my butt on the bike anyway for what should have been a mild to moderate loop. I have been off the bike for six weeks and man did I feel it. The trail pretty much kicked my ass 31 ways from Sunday. It was quite a pathetic showing on my part. I’m glad it was a solo event. It was miserably great. It was a good reminder that I would rather suffer outdoors than thrive inside.

Local Wanderings In San Diego

In addition to all of the rain we are getting here in San Diego this winter (Which is a good thing) life has been busy over the month.  Nichol and I bought a house and we have been pretty well occupied with closing that deal and then moving in and setting up shop so to say.

ATT-18JAN17-01

Most of rides during this time frame has been what I would categorize as local “maintenance” rides.   I have been out to Anderson Truck Trail a few times.

DaleyRanch-15JAN17-01

Daley Ranch has spent a good bit of time in the rotation as it is one of the more rain tolerant riding areas around the area.   I have also hit up La Costa a time or two.

SanMarcos-16JAN17-05

Now MTB Life has not been all about just the same ole same ole.   I revisited some old places that have had a new batch of trail gnomes out doing to good things.  I’m not a liberty at this point to provide details but don’t be afraid to look around near your own backyard.

SanMarcos-16JAN17-04

There are is plenty of green out and about right now, and so should you.   Ride On!

San Marcos – Its not a F$%)ing Trail!

Tripe (noun)

  1. Lining of the stomach of a ruminant (especially a bovine) used as food.
  2. A slang term synonymous with rubbish, in the sense of something of little value, or nonsense. 
  3.  (see also San Elijo Trails)

Definition #2 particularlythe “something of little value” is the theme of this rant.

So for the last week or so I have been investigating some of trails not to far from my hood.  The San Elijo Hills area.   I was not expecting much and I was quite underwhelmed.  More than just underwhelmed, I was pissed at what the developer was allowed to get away with calling trails.

 

The Gardens View Tripe – Are you f$%^ing kidding me!  When two trucks can pass one another on it, it is not a trail.   It is a dirt road.

 

I laughed out loud at this sign.  “Give Life A Chance”.     What the sign from the San Elijo Hills Development Company should say is “YOU need to give life a chance, because WE have already bulldozed all the habitat in this area”

 

Take a look at the crap they have on their website.  18 miles of trails.   There is less than one mile of trail in this development.   There are over 17 miles of Dirt Sidewalk Pathway Tripe throughout this development.   Try a little truth in advertising.

The Double Peak Tripe.    The “trail” is the dirt sidewalk on the side of the pavement and then starts up the hill.     Where is the natural outdoor experience here?  You have either pavement or a cement gutter on one side and a wooden rail fence to keep from even contacting nature on the other.   Most of this climb is compacted and absolutely smooth decomposed granite.  It is a nearly sterile outdoor experience where you never escape development.   I have been on treadmills that were only slightly less interesting.   If you can drive a Ferrari or a Prius on it, it is not a trail, it is TRIPE!   

 

Do I even need to say it, “It is not a F$%^ing Trail!    TRIPE, TRIPE, TRIPE!  This is part of the 18 miles that San Elijo is selling as an attraction.

 

The Lake San Marcos Tripe.     PAVED!   I will not buy any blabage about American Disabilites Act Access with this “trail”.   What this picture does not show is how stupidly steep this thing is.  There is no Rascal, Humaround or any other battery powered mobility chair that is going to get up this thing.   The city has a formula for how many miles of trail the community should have for its size and population.   The mileage of this tripe counts towards meeting that trail requirement.  What does that mean?  It could mean less funding for real trails in the future because the city already has its mileage.

 

This is  part of the “Make A Wish Trail”.    I sure did make a wish.  I wish there were more trails like this in the area.   This IS a trail.  Part of it looks to be pre-developement but portions of it are obviously newer.

This is  the “Secret Trail”  aka Trail 90.    While it is fairly short this is good stuff that not only offers a high quality outdoor experience it is substainually less impacting on existing habitat.  This is the best legal and sanctioned trail out here.   It is also a legacy trail from before the develeopment started.  

Okay so maybe I’m being rash and a trail snob but this is some of the worst stuff I have seen in an urban area interfacing  to open space in San Diego County yet.   The dirt pathways have their place down between the homes, but running this crap all the way up into the open space is just dumb.   It does not meet the needs of the users who would venture up that far and it needlessly destroyed even more habitat by making the “trails”  three to five times wider than they need to be.   Arrrrrrrgh, What a nearly complete failure on the part of those charged with the oversight of this development.   I’m not sure if this failure is due to incompetence, ignorance, or just a simple lack of caring but it certainly did occur.  

You can download a map of all this Tripe  here and go see for yourself.   While it is a good workout it is not a high quality outdoor experience.   If you disagree, you need to start looking for some new places to ride as you are missing out on the good stuff elsewhere in the county.