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

Whiting Green Trail Completed!

On Saturday I helped the Friends of Webster Trails complete the Green trail.  We started work on this trail in 2011 so we're all excited to be "done".  Technically we'll have more work to do as it settles and needs adjustments, most likely next year.  Plus there are a few boardwalks yet to be installed.

On a trail building work day, the volunteers are always amazed by the huge progress we make.  With groups spaced out over a distance, we don't see all that's being accomplished until it's done.  At the end of the hours of work we walk the new trail and marvel at our accomplishment.

This time I made it a point to capture the before and after with video:

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

Thunderstorm on the Hojack

With some rain yesterday and overnight I didn't want to ride my usual trails.  It occurred to me that riding the Hojack on my 29er might be fun.  There was an 85% chance of thunderstorms at 11am, but nearly no chance of rain on either side of it.  As 11 approached it was raining on and off.  It looked like it was done and I headed out from home.

The wet road and trail were fine.  There were some puddles on the trail but most of them could be avoided.  I cruised along at about 11 mph.  On my way back it started thundering and down-pouring.  It was actually pretty fun to ride in that.  On a trail with hills, the surface would be too slick, but this was flat.  The only downside was that riding with soaked clothes feels heavy, but it wasn't bad for a short trip.

Looking at my GPS, something went wacky on the first third of my way back.  It looks like I strayed from the trail a bit, though I didn't, and my altitude climbed from 400ft to 1200ft and came back.  I'd suspect there was some kind of weird interference going on in that area, especially because I've seen something like this before, but that was about when the lightning started, so it was probably related to that.  And maybe when my GPS receiver gets confused it has a hard time coming back to reality.

The ride was fun and I'm happy I can check off "riding a unicycle in a thunderstorm" off my bucket list.

Muni at Hojack - 2013-10-06 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