{"id":1011,"date":"2012-07-12T16:12:38","date_gmt":"2012-07-13T00:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2012-07-13T13:50:03","modified_gmt":"2012-07-13T21:50:03","slug":"soul-ride-in-the-laguna-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=1011","title":{"rendered":"Soul Ride in the Laguna Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday was pretty freaking hot (by San Diego Weather Weenie\u00a0standards) with a bit of mugginess thrown in due to a bit of weather on the way in.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steve and I decided to pass up triple digit sufferage in the usual Alpine spot and head up into the Laguna Mountains for what we consider the “Soul Ride”.\u00a0\u00a0 Big Laguna Meadow<\/a> and the network of surrounding trails.<\/p>\n

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One of the reasons we call this the Soul Ride (Along with the overused “Chicken Soup for the Soul” reference) is that it is just a fun time out on the bike.\u00a0 While most of the usual places around San Diego County have browned all up and gotten into full on summer mode, you can still find plenty of greenery and wildflowers out and about up here.<\/p>\n

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It was cooler in the Laguna Mountains but it was still\u00a090\u00a0when we started.\u00a0\u00a0 It was quite overcast when we started but there was just enough breeze to keep things reasonable.<\/p>\n

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Steve brought out the clown bike so of course a show had to be put on.\u00a0 This rock is known as “Dental Plan” because if you screw up you are going to need one.<\/p>\n

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Later on in the day there was a bit of a\u00a0break from the full blown overcast which made for some nice bit of afternoon color.\u00a0\u00a0 This is the connector between the Noble Canyon<\/a> Trailhead and the Big Laguna Trail.\u00a0 If you are going to do the Tour De Noble<\/a> you will be on this trail at some point.\u00a0 Today we did this trail as an out-and-back to refill our water bladders at the Noble Trailhead.<\/p>\n

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We are on the northernwest of the meadow here.\u00a0 This was one of the fire boundary lines that held during the 2003 wildfires that swept through the area. There were thousands of acres burned to the west (behind me in this shot).\u00a0\u00a0 The area has been recovering well.<\/p>\n

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This is a nice scenic spot along the southern side of the meadow.\u00a0 The only thing it needs is……….<\/p>\n

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A stupid human trick!\u00a0\u00a0 (I can get Steve to try anything when I pull out the camera)\u00a0\u00a0 Steve had eyed up this line before but had not pulled the trigger before.\u00a0I think it took him having\u00a0my high quality steed underfoot to allow him to pull this off.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This line has been named “Compressor”.<\/p>\n

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This picture should explain the name.\u00a0\u00a0 7.5″ of travel in the rear and 7″ in front were fully used on this move.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Stuntworks over it was time to work our way back to the vehicles as pulled pork sandwiches and tasty microbrews at Alpine Beer Company were calling our names.\u00a0\u00a0 Our chosen path was one less traveled with some challenging bits.\u00a0 This Wednesday did not suck.<\/p>\n

More Stuff Like This<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Futzing at La Costa<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t More Alpine Playtime<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Woodson, Hodges and Idyllwild<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t San Marcos \u2013 Its not a F$%)ing Trail!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/div>