Another Ride

I rode at Bay Park West today.  It's the same old story a great cardio workout.

I noticed some nice trail improvements and some signs that asked people not to use the trails when they're wet.  At this point they are 100% perfectly dry and in great condition.

I saw a new trail, which I was aware was being worked on, but it hasn't been opened yet and I didn't have the energy to check it out.

I believe it was about 65°F out, but it felt hotter.  I wish it would be in the 50s every time I ride.

Forced a Ride

I haven't been riding for three weeks because of weather and work.  Mostly work.  Today I forced myself to get out and ride.  That's kind of lame because I'm supposed to be enjoying this sport, not forcing myself to do it.  But I didn't have any real destination or goals, and riding the usual trails holds only so much excitement.  Not to mention the sport is a big workout and after a three week break that can hurt.

There has been some recent trail work at Bay Park West lately so I decided to go there.  I've referred to BPW as Big Punishing Workout, so it didn't make a whole lot of sense for me to go there, but I figured I'd take breaks as needed.

Photo: A new fence to keep the mountain
bikers from flying off a cliff

At the start of my ride I felt like I was having trouble balancing.  I quickly discovered I had a low tire pressure problem and not my brain.  I didn't have a pump with me so I kept riding, hoping I'd be able to get used to it or find a mountain biker with a pump.  Thankfully within my first mile I encountered a mountain biker doing some repairs on his broken chain.  He let me borrow a pump and from then on my unicycle rode nicely.  That was a lucky break because I didn't see any other mountain bikers for the rest of my ride.

I actually rode fairly strongly, making a lot of climbs and technical sections.  But it was hot and I didn't need to push it, so it wasn't my longest ride at BPW.

I saw some trail improvements, like regrading and a safety fence at a turn along the edge of a cliff.  Nothing too exciting, but positive improvements nonetheless.

West Bay - Open For Business

Finally several of the local trail parks have been reported as dry enough to ride: West Bay and Dryer.  So today I rode at West Bay.  It feels like my first real local muni ride this year, only because my Big Field and Hojack training rides weren't technical and hilly enough.

I probably would have eased into my spring muni riding at Webster and Whiting, but I've heard they're still quite muddy.  West Bay is tough and I confirmed that today.  Heart pounding, lungs burning, legs burning, borderline stomach queasy, and my mind yelling at me to stop, lay down trail-side and take a nap.  What is it that I like about this sport?  lol  I'm pretty sure it was easier to ride at the end of last year.  Maybe I'm just having an off day, but more likely I'm not quite back into shape, despite my winter training and Singlespeed-a-Palooza success.

West Bay definitely was in good riding condition.  There was no mud and I only saw a few tire ruts along the trail edge.  I also saw some mountain bikers out there enjoying their spring.

Typical with West Bay, my mileage was low but I got a good workout.

Muddy Muni

My muni friend Robi came to town from Albany today.  He was here to buy a 29er from Mj and wanted to go for a ride after.  Fortunately I had vacation time to use and Dustin was able to use some of his.  Unfortunately Mj wasn't able to, but maybe next time.

It's been frozen around here for some time, but we've experienced a thaw for the past few days.  It was just over 50°F today and I knew the trails would at least be soft, but feared they might be muddy and slick.  Robi had visited in the past and we rode at Whiting and Webster Park.  Given that, I thought Bay Park West would be an ok choice.  With it's hills and sustainable trail design maybe the trails wouldn't be too muddy, despite the melting snow water and overnight rain.

Wrong. The trails were messy.  Normally I avoid riding in these conditions, but when another muni rider comes to town, we gotta ride.  There were occasional sections of trail that were just moist dirt and rode well, but most of it was wetter than we like and we left tire marks or varying degree.  Wheels spun on steeper climbs and slid on steeper descents and off the side of off-camber trails.  At times the best we could do was tread lightly and prepare for the inevitable slip.  Occasionally we actually found riding off the trail was easier and safer.  The ground leaves and lack of anything green made that possible.  Robi and I both fell on our asses on some slippery downhills, and Dustin got a nice ding on his shin, but thankfully no one got any serious injuries.  Mostly we just rode what we could and laughed about the rest.

more Red Trail rock features

Bay Park West is a lot of work when it's dry.  But today with all the dismounting, walking, and waiting for each other, I think it was actually a bit easier than normal.  We were able to cover most of the park, only missing a few of the middle trails.  Dustin had some impressive log-over moments and continues to improve.  Robi demonstrated his hopping skills nicely, and had a few record breaking mud slides.  I tried to demonstrate my hill climbing abilities when conditions allowed.

yet more Red Trail rock features

Hopefully Robi and his muni-riding wife, Liz, will be able to visit in the summer and see what Bay Park West is supposed to be like.  Maybe Dryer Rd Park too.

Aside from the good time of riding with friends, I was also glad to get out and ride muni this time of year.  I've been exercising almost daily with P90X and similar workouts in an attempt to stay fit through these cold months.  My quads were moderately sore when I started today's ride and on fire at times during it.  I hope that means I'm building more strength.

Update 2013-12-07:
Robi sent me the images below.

Robi was the only one to make it over this particular log pile. Nice!

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-12-05 at EveryTrail

BPW Rocks!

It's amazing how time flies and I don't get a chance to ride.  Last week was cold and wet, so that's part of my excuse.  Then late last week I did a P90X chest and back workout.  I haven't been doing any exercise other than muni, so not surprisingly, that got me about as sore as I've ever been.  So that's the rest of my excuse.  I have a strong desire to stay fit during the winter and come out strong.  Starting early on P90X is part of that.

Sometimes you feel like some rocks, some time you don't.

Bay Park West was dry despite early morning rain.  The trails were mostly cleared of leaves, but it's been filling in since the last guys went through with leaf blowers.

Over the past few months there have been some new log and rock features appearing.  It's cool to find new challenges to keep the trails interesting.

At the beginning of the month I mentioned seeing some guy at BPW in a parked vehicle, at two different parking lots.  Today at the start of my ride I saw an occupied vehicle and thought it might be the same guy.  Again I thought it odd for someone to just sit there.  Just before I started riding, the guy got out and talked to me, and he was indeed the same guy. He seemed like an average guy and asked me about muni, mentioned trials and downhill uni youtube videos, and talked about some of the history of the west bay area.  I think he's probably a good guy and quite the opposite of what I suspect of a guy sitting in a car at park parking lot.  He's more likely the kind of person you want in the area to prevent car break-ins and other crime.

I also saw a cute puppy hiking with his owner.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-10-30 at EveryTrail

BPW to Tryon and back

Today I rode through Bay Park West, into and through Tryon, and back again.  It was similar to a ride I did last year.  Though last year I hadn't ridden for three weeks.  This year, only one week, so you'd think it be easier.  It may have been, but it was still a tough ride.

On my way through Bay Park West I saw a trail crew finishing up some work. They were shoring up the edge of the big bench trail that is on blue rising up from the trolley bed using 6x6 beams.  I felt a little guilty riding through, but they were happy to have a tester.  Nice work guys!

My ride was uneventful, just a lot of effort.  I rode about 9 miles.  Last year it was 70°F out, this time just over 50°F. The cooler temperature probably helped overall, though it took a bit longer to warm up.

Muni at BPW and Tryon - 2013-10-20 at EveryTrail

Ok Ride

I went to Bay Park West this afternoon.  When I was there a week ago I rode very well and felt like I could ride more.  This time I wasn't feeling my strongest and decided to keep my ride to one tour of the park.  My lungs were burning on the start of my ride and then I felt a bit zoned out for the rest.  Technically I rode well but I just wasn't feeling it.  The 4+ miles I rode is still a good ride at BPW.

The leaves were plentiful and started to get annoying.  I heard that Tryon Park was just leaf-blown, so some of the guys are out there doing it, so that's good to know.

For my next ride I might need to head to a different park next time for some new excitement.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-10-10 at EveryTrail

Long Ride at BPW

Today I rode at Bay Park West.  The cooler weather is great and I feel like I'm in good shape.  My knee didn't bother me at all, so the fall I took on my last ride didn't effect me.

Over the past few weeks the leaves have been starting to fall on some trails.  Today was the first time I thought the trails were actually in need of a leaf blower.  With all the leaves, it takes more brain cycles to read the trail surface.  I'm sure Rocket Man will fix it soon.

I saw a few bikers, one of which stopped and watched me climb a hill.  I appreciated his "that's amazing" comment.  I also saw a guy on foot looking at the trail sign when I drove in.  As I prepared to ride, he got in his vehicle and started it.  It took me a good five minutes to stretch and put some air in my tire and he was still sitting there.  I rode off into the trail.  About 10 minutes into my ride I exited the trail into the other parking lot.  The same guy was sitting in his car there!  I don't know what this guy was up to, and I don't really care, but I thought it was funny.  I pictured one of those classic movie scenes where the guy is drinking, sees something crazy, assumes his mind is playing tricks on him, then looks at his bottle of booze and dumps it out. Haha.

I had to pick up my daughter from her gymnastics class, so I rode until I had to leave.  I would have ridden another half mile, but as it turns out it was my longest ride ever at Bay Park West.  7.9 miles according to my cycle computer, 7.2 after uploading the GPS.  I think this time of year is the best because I'm in shape and the weather is cooler.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-10-03 at EveryTrail

Dustin's Birthday Ride

It seems like I can't keep to a two ride a week schedule.  My excuse is the usual: busy, sick, weather.

Finally the stars aligned and I took a few hours off and rode at Bay Park West.  Today is Dustin's birthday and he joined me.  We got there at slightly different times and met up on the trails.  Like me, he hasn't been riding regularly and was battling a lack of endurance.  To some degree that's always the case at Bay Park West, but for a newer rider it's magnified by less efficient riding.  Still Dustin rides well and is making good progress.  I'm often impressed.   Is this a performance appraisal?

I kept my ride a bit shorter than normal.  Maybe next time I'll go for a bigger one.  This weekend promises to be great weather.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-09-26 at EveryTrail

Bay Park West Routine

It's becoming a standard routine for me to take a few hours off from work, mid-week, and ride.  As usual, this afternoon I rode at Bay Park West.

At the start of the ride my upper chest felt too tight and my head was pounding, like a headache.  It's hard to muni at this park without exerting some serious effort (unless you walk), and of the five trail heads, only the one at Homewood Lane starts at a higher elevation.  Thankfully my symptoms subsided within about 10 minutes.

My plan was to ride hard.  When I had choices to take or skip the down-and-back trails, I took them.  On my second tour of the park I started to get serious lower back fatigue and my calves felt like they were going to pop on the big hills.

This was my longest ride at BPW.
6.8 miles (GPS track uploaded to EveryTrail)
or
7.5 miles (GPS track on my PC)
or
8.36 miles (cycle computer)

Just comparing my EveryTrail miles, I had previously ridden 6.5 twice, 6.3, 6.1, and or course less.  So I wasn't way over the top, but I accomplished my goal of riding hard.  Hopefully I'll be sore tomorrow.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-09-05 at EveryTrail

Rode The Patio

I rode at Bay Park West this afternoon, especially to check out The Patio.  It is definitely a nice improvement.  It's still a good workout to climb that trail but the erosion issues at this steepest section are gone, and I was able to climb it for the first time in a long while.

I saw one mountain biker who stopped and asked a few questions about muni.

Later I was charged by four small dogs that were barking their heads off.  I had to dismount to avoid running them over, and found myself surrounded.  They had collars so I assumed they had an owner, but it took a long moment before he appeared from further down the trail.  We both laughed and he moved on with his dogs, but it honestly made me rather anxious.  Little dogs still have teeth and when four of them are inches from me barking like mad, and reacting all skittish to every move I make, it feels like they're gonna pounce without warning.  The trouble is, it would be viewed as inappropriate for me to scare them away or kick them out of the way because they're owned by someone.  If these were wild animals getting in my space this would be more acceptable.  As I rode away a fifth dog ran out from the brush heading toward the owner.  That's a lot of dogs.  It's dogs like these that need to be on a leash.  Most dogs I see are not on leashes, but are awesome and behave well, so I'm fine with them.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-08-21 at EveryTrail

The BPW Patio

There's a section of trail at Bay Park West that had some erosion issues.  The GROC trail crew made the decision to armor it using some concrete rubble .  This material is abundantly available from an old dump site not far from the Homewood Lane trail head.  On a previous work day a significant length of this work was done.  This morning a group went out to finish the job.  I joined in.

There we're five of us.  The main work area was small, so a few worked there and a few did support work, like hauling stone and gravel.  We also did some other minor fixes in the area for drainage and such.

Here's a collage of the previous work showing before, during, and after:

 Here is the small section that was added today.  Since it's only a slight incline and won't be too slippery, we left some gravel on the surface that will work itself into the joints over time.

 Generally we're not in the business of paving the trails, but in areas such as this, where erosion is inevitable, it makes sense.  This section has been informally labeled "The Patio" for obvious reasons.  All it needs is a table and chairs!

I'm looking forward to my next ride at BPW to give The Patio a muni test.

Bay Park Wednesday

Just like last Wednesday, I took a few hours off from work to ride at Bay Park West.  My ride was good though I had a few more UPDs than typical.  Maybe I can blame it on the humidity or my lack of sleep.  One step-off caused me to pull a calf muscle a bit.  UPDs happen suddenly and I think sometimes a muscle reacts reflexively and too strongly, straining itself.  About an hour and a half into my ride I was near my car but decided I should push myself and ride some more.  In the first 20 feet of the first hill climb my calf cramped bad and I decided it best to be done.

I especially wanted to push myself because the Suicide 6 race is Sunday and I'm considering it.  It's a mountain bike race at Harriet Hollister Spencer Park in which you ride as many laps as you can in six hours.  I rode this race two years ago.  I'm glad I have this blog to look back and read what it was like.  It was tough on my lower back and quads and I managed only two laps, and headed home well before the event was over.  Maybe I should ride this year and try to do three?  It's nice to think I'm strong and better than two years ago, and I bet I am, but by how much?

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-08-07 at EveryTrail

BPW = Big Punishing Workout

I vacated work for a few hours and rode at Bay Park West this afternoon.  As always, my heart got close to bursting and I saw stars.  It may have been a bit tougher because of my month hiatus, but I did have a great ride.

I saw 4 or 5 individual mountain bikers and got lots of positive comments, which doesn't hurt.  I kind of like when someone rides behind me but keeps a distance.  I can tell they're interested in seeing what muni is like, so I try to do my best.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-07-31 at EveryTrail

Another Workout at BPW

This afternoon I rode again at Bay Park West with perfect weather. It's quite a workout there.  Last time I rode there my quads were sore for the next few days.  It makes me happy to know I'm pushing myself enough to get sore.  Today I rode mostly the same trails and the same distance.  I will be interested to find if I get sore again.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-06-12 at EveryTrail

First Ride at BPW This Year

I took a few hours off from work to ride at Bay Park West.  Weather and conditions were great with a temperature of 65°F.

It didn't take long to be reminded how much of a workout these trails are.  Still, I felt like I rode strongly, making most if not all of my climbs.  My lower back did get tired.

I saw a few mountain bikers I know.  One was listening to music with earbuds.  He was stopped for a minute and, like happened recently, he couldn't hear me as I approached and was talking to him.  I think I'd be startled if I suddenly turned around and saw someone standing next to me.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2013-06-04 at EveryTrail

Two Parks One Wheel

I hadn't ridden in over three weeks because of the cold and wet weather we've been having.  There were a few days in there that may have been ok but the trails weren't cleared of leaves and I was busy at work.

Today's temperature was unseasonably warm at about 70°F so I had to take advantage.  It felt like I needed to do something bigger than usual.  I have seen ride reports from my mountain biker friends showing how they rode at both Bay Park West and Tryon by riding about 3/4 mile of road.  So I decided to do this.

I started at the Homewood Lane trail head at BPW, rode through in the most direct way possible, all the way to the south end of Tryon.  Pretty much all of the trails have been leaf blown.  Some spots were muddy, as expected.  I saw many people out on the trails: mountain bikers that I know, some I don't, hikers, and joggers.

On my way back I tried to take any reasonable alternative trails to keep things interesting.

I definitely wasn't feeling my strongest, which makes sense since I haven't been riding for weeks.  I didn't make it up many of the hills that take everything I've got.

About a third of my way out of Tryon I pushed hard up a hill and my left calf cramped badly.  I was able to ride within a few minutes, and though I could feel the residual cramping pain, it never came back so intensely.

I worked my way back through BPW but I was running on empty.  My quads started cramping on my last climb up to Homewood.  When I had to walk, I'm sure I looked like an old man.

Overall it was a good outing.  I might want to try it again when I'm feeling stronger.

My cycle computer showed 8.7 miles.  Both parks have tough trails, so this felt more like 15.

Muni at BPW and Tryon - 2012-11-11

Brief Ride at BPW

I rode at Bay Park West this afternoon.  I didn't feel very strong and my lower back fatigued early so I made it brief.

There's a steep climb that comes right after a moderate climb that I always have to pause and rest for.  I remember about three months ago, the last time I rode at BPW, I wanted to make these climbs in one go.  But by the time I got to the steep section it just wasn't in me and I didn't even try.  Today I made the full climb with no rest stop.  I think the cooler low-humidity weather and my continued riding made it easier.

Come to think of it, I made several other tough climbs.  I guess even though I wasn't feeling strong, I was still riding ok.

It looks like I rode 3.75 miles.  Once again my GPS logger had some kind of hiccup. Hmm.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2012-09-29

Morning Ride

My quads have been crazy sore since my Sunday ride.  I must have really pushed hard I guess.  I skipped the Wednesday weeknight race (again) because of this.

I wanted to get a mid-week ride in, and while I was still a bit sore this morning, it wasn't enough to prevent me from riding.  So I took a few hours off from work and rode at Bay Park West.  I didn't feel particularly strong, but then BPW is a tough place and I was feeling the heat early on.  I did have some good climbs and made it through and made it both ways through the rock garden on the Purple trail, first try.  But I UPD'ed a few too many times on the second half of my ride and decided I didn't need to push myself so hard this time.  So I ended my ride a bit early.

Cycle computer: 4.4miles
Muni at Bay Park West - 2012-06-28

Getting Warmer

It's supposed to get past 80°F today, so I made sure to get my ride in this morning.

I went to Bay Park West and had another good ride.

Muni at Bay Park West - 2012-05-20