This Will Put a Smile on Your Face...Swinging

Marian Bear Memorial Park

Kathy and I started out early again on Wednesday (June 3rd) morning to meet with Cindy for some mountain bike riding in the Marian Bear Memorial Park which is located in the San Clemente Canyon.

Over forty million years ago an ocean covered the canyon. Fossilized mollusks, such as snails and clams from that period are still found in the canyon walls. Horizontal lunes of round rocks at many levels, separated by clay and sand, represent the various levels of the ocean washing sand away and leaving rocks at surf level. Wind and water erosion have also contributed to the depth of San Clemente Canyon.

Native Americans have inhabited the area of San Diego County for 10,000 years. Evidence of their presence still remains in San Clemente Canyon. In the late 19th century, this area was named Clemente Canyon for a Native American rancher. During the 1970's, nature's balance was threatened by plans to place State Route 52 along the canyon floor.

However, Marian Bear, an active community leader and environmentalist, worked tirelessly to preserve the canyons in their natural state. She was the driving force behind realigning the highway from the canyon floor to the north hillsides. In the 1980's another community campaign resulted in an additional 72 acres in the southeast section for the present total of 467 acres. On July 31, 1979 the park was rededicated by the City Council of the City of San Diego on behalf of the People of the City who are indebted to Marian Bear for her energetic and unselfish efforts as a Planner, Naturalist and Conservationist and her lasting contributions toward the preservation of open space for future generations.

The main canyon and its tributaries continue to support a population of resident wildlife including raccoons, skunks, rabbits, amphibians, reptiles, and birds and serve as pathways for coyote, fox and other mammals. Along the length of the canyon are oak, sycamore, and willow trees.

The canyon has an intermingling of native plant communities some of whose range is restricted to Southern California and Northern Baja California. There is a riparian woodland along the creek beds and side canyons where water flows. The hillsides contain coastal sage scrub and chaparral.

Our first big climb...

after making it, well maybe I should say after getting to the top we had a super fun downhill ride.

It does not look like much but from where I'm standing there is a nice downhill run then a dip and a climb to where Cindy is perched waiting for us...

After catching up with Cindy we had another great downhill run.

Scenic view along the trail...

After descending we entered into a more wooded area which followed the creek...

I am not going to lie, I did not make it through this while still on my bike :(

This was such a gorgeous spot we decided to stop and hang out for a while...

Not real sure if it was Cindy or Kathy's idea but we decided to follow this set of Railroad tracks "to see where they went" It was not much fun riding on the loose, sharp rocks.

At one point we entered some brush where I would have sworn there was no trail. The plants were so dense you had to hold on hard to your handlebars or the plants would take them.

We spent several hours exploring the trails, taking pictures and making videos by the time we finished we were hot, sweaty and full of dirt. And we had big smiles on our faces :)

I can hardly wait to get back to San Diego and explore more mountain biking in Southern California. I'm tentatively planning another trip out there at the end of September. The game plan is to drive out so I can stop in Nevada and Colorado along the way. I better start saving my pennies or try to find someone to come with me and share the expenses.

Mission Trails Regional Park

Kathy and I set out early this morning with hopes of finishing our ride before it got too hot. We headed to Mission Trails Regional Park> the morning was a bit overcast which in my opinion is excellent for riding. The marine layer did not last long and within 20 minutes of riding we were full on sun.


Kathy driving us to Mission Trails...

We're ready to ride!

Road leading to the trails...

The idea was to ride to the top of this ridge in hopes of finding the springs we had heard about. Well, enroute to the top we met up with a couple super nice guys who patrol the trails for the park system; they let us know that the military which owns most of the surrounding area would be shooting this morning and advised us to stay off the ridges. Thank you so much we will stay the hell off the ridges as neither one of us can ride fast enough to dodge a bullet. The guys gave us some ideas for alternative routes.

We rode on for a while then took our first left and stopped at the crossroads with three barrels marking the path.

We hung a right at the barrels and started a steady climb upwards over what appeared to me to be a riverbed absent the water. We climbed for quite some time then decided to turn around and check out a different trail. We had ourselves a nice quick descent back to the barrels. We then caught the trail we had started out on and found ourselves once again on a steady upwards climb over a bed of loose rocks and sand. For me this was new, I don't have a lot of experience in riding over river rocks and sand. We did have some hard packed dirt and a lot of fun up and downs.

Kathy climbing to the top... first trail

Hmmm, which way to go...

Kathy almost to the top... Second trail

scenic view along the way

Kathy and I spent several hours exploring the trails, stopping along the way for pictures and video. At one point during our ride we heard the coyotes take down their prey. I don't have any idea what they caught but it scared the hell out of me. I had just passed an area and the next thing I know I heard this blood curdling scream. I immediately stopped as I thought for a second that maybe Kathy had fallen or something. It was pretty spooky.

This was a really fun ride for me and a great chance to experience riding over a bed of loose river rocks and sand, we don't get a lot of that around Minnesota.

I have always loved the desert and know that when I grow old that is where I will retire to.

Exhaustion...

What a wonderful feeling. I'm sitting in San Diego California just taking a few minutes to myself. I was up at 0600 this morning, Kathy made a delicious breakfast, scrambled eggs, yogurt and fresh fruit along with a bagel. Yummy! We then put our bikes in the van and headed to Lake Hodges. I was not sure what to expect as I've never been off-road riding in California.

Whew, it was beautiful! We rode about 14 miles of moderate trails around Lake Hodges which is part of the San Dieguito River Park Trail system. About halfway through the ride we stopped along the lake for a snack. What an excellent day for a ride, it was overcast with a temperature of around 65. Just as we finished the ride the sun came out, perfect!

The Lake Hodges area had been damaged by wildfires a couple years ago but it's coming back. This is a picture of one of the irrigation projects.


Absolutely breath taking, I truly love the desert.


This is the spot where Kathy and I stopped for a snack.


View from the trail


Me starting the ride...

Twin Cities Ride 2009

I participated in the Twin Cities Ride 2009 this morning. The ride is put on by the MS Society to raise money to help fight Multiple Sclerosis. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to ride as I pulled the hamstring in my right leg a couple weeks ago but I decided the ride is close enough to home that if my leg started bothering me I could just ride home.

I arrived at the Maplewood Communities Center, registered, put my number on my bike and was on the trail around 7:45 AM. The morning started off a pretty chilly 44 degrees and I was thankful I had decided at the last minute to pull on my windbreaker. The ride took place along the Gateway trail which is one of my favorites. I took it pretty slow to start with in order to let my legs warm up. At the first rest stop I did a few stretches, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the trail again.

I skipped the second rest stop and continued onto the third stop where I took a short break, had another snack and some Gatorade. There was a bit of a breeze in a few areas and the only time I felt my hamstring was on one of the hills. I just dropped down into a lower gear and took it slow. I was back at the Community Center and eating pizza around 10:15 AM. All in all it was a good ride, I'm glad I decided to do it.

I've been seeing a physical therapist for about a week now to help with my knee issues. I have arthritis under my knee caps. My knee caps also don't "track" correctly so when my knees bend it's pretty much bone on bone which doesn't help the artritis. Now I know why my knees hurt so much. The PT is helping to get my knee caps into the correct position so when they bend it's doing so correctly. There's really nothing to be done about the arthritis, just another pain management issue but if we can get the knee caps aligned correctly that should help.

On Thursday the PT taped my knee caps into the correct position to see if there was any change in how they feel. Well I can tell ya they felt better riding today than they have in a long time. I'm also working on strengthening my quad muscles to help relieve pressure on the knee caps. Another thing I found out is that I walk with my feet pointing outward; now I need to re-train myself to walk straight. Whew, it's like learning to walk all over again. But if it helps to make my knees feel better then it's worth it.

Now that I've gotten this 30 mile ride in I'm ready for the next one! I'm thinking, weather permitting I'll take a ride around the lakes next Tuesday. I'm also going back to commuting to work, if I can ride 30 miles with a pulled hamstring I can certainly ride the 5 miles to work and back.

Gateway Trail

The Gateway trail is about 1 mile North from my house; as I enter the trail I always ride past the Ramsey County Cemetery. I've lived here nearly all my life and did not know this was a cemetery until they posted signs a few years back. The cemetery was established in 1893 on the grounds of the county almshouse and poor farm, the Ramsey County Cemetery was a "Potter's Field" for indigent persons, the homeless, and patients at Ancker Hospital who died without relatives or friends able to pay funeral costs. No provision was made to provide headstones and with few exceptions graves were unmarked. When the cemetery was closed in 1923 there had been 2991 recorded burials. Afterwards, the burial grounds reverted to agricultural use as part of the poor farm. In 2001, the 2.45 acre site was designated a heritage park by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.

I begin the Gateway Trail at the 5 mile marker at White Bear Ave and travel East to the end at Pine Point. From my house to Pine Point and back is a nice 26 mile ride.

Not sure if you can see them but there are a couple Egrets in the water.

Horses are a frequent sight on the trail and if you are riding your mountain bike off road you need to announce yourself and yield to the horses. I've never had any problems with the horses and the riders have all been friendly.

I have a dream... the plan is to extend the Gateway State Trail from Pine Point Park through the Wilder Forest, to William O'Brien State Park, up to Taylor's Falls and Interstate State Park. Continue the dream of a Twin Cities to Duluth trail system, connect other trails and recreational areas, connect surrounding communities and continue the same non-motorized multi-use recreational trail opportunities.

The Gateway State Trail is one of my favorite rides and the fact that it is only 1 mile from my house makes it all the better. I can cruise to Stillwater in about an hour or I can head West and connect with the Bruce Vento trail and from there it's an endless network of bike trails.

I may not have any coffee houses in my neighborhood but I have something better; the Gateway State Trail!

First Ride of the Year

Took the mountain bike out yesterday for a spin on the Gateway. Once again I encountered snow just past the 694 bridge. I guess I thought with the sixty something degree weather we had that the snow would have melted but alas I was mistaken. I hit several patches of snow and slushy/icy crap. I handled it much better this year than last. I only put my foot down once and of course it was in the freezin' cold slushy puddle. It was about that time that I decided to turn around and head back home. Once my feet are cold my entire body gets cold and my shoes were pretty wet by then. There was a lot of water on the trail along with some muddy spots. 

All in all it was a fun ride. I took it nice and easy and just enjoyed the lovely weather. There is nothing like 60 degrees in March to get me antsy for summer. 

The lottery drawing for the Chequamegon Fat Tire festival happened last Saturday so I'm waiting to find out if I got in. That will be fun. Tara's not going this year so I think I'll be on my own. I plan to stay in the same place as last year, it was super nice and the owner was great. I hope to go up again on Thursday afternoon, ride the course on Friday then race on Saturday. If I find someone else who is going and wants to share the room I may even stay until Sunday. It would be fun to do some Sunday/Funday stuff. Tara and I were supposed to do the Rough Stuff orienteering last year but it didn't work out. This year they've added a poker ride to the Rough Stuff and that looks like fun. 

Ok, time to get ready to curl...