Who's Riding Where???

herzalot said:
Not about age my friend. I've been criticized for my redundant trails selections for over 15 years. Not that I need to explain, but I stay close to home so that I actually can ride and still be a husband and father. @DangerDirtyD rides at midnight for the same reason.

I'm no @evdog or @Dr. Wellington Yueh that's for sure. I don't ride for adventure. I ride for fun and fitness. My trails are fun and they keep me relatively fit. Think of it this way - some people have a season pass to a ski area. They go there exclusively. Others travel to go to many different ski areas. Guess which I do? Yup - I like efficient routines that work vs long, drawn out, expensive hassles with iffy results.
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I hear you old man.
I ride my local trails most of the time. How else am I going to see if I'm getting better and still having fun. I will venture out to other places if the stars are in alignment.
I have husband, grandaughter, ranch work and a ton of other things to do, but that's life.
 
kd.jpg


"Stuck in a rut! Stuck in a rut for eternity!"
 
scan said:
Interesting, my wife and I agreed that riding is part of maintaining my mental health. When our 3 kids were younger I would locally, and once or twice a month I'd spend longer times out. On many vacations I'd leave early and ride, be back for breakfast with the family. Whatever works......
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Same - I know you offered that as a contrast, but it's exactly the same. Riding / Surfing / Skiing / Snowboarding is essential for my mental well being. My wife knows that and has supported that for 35 years. In return, I try not to take advantage of it too often. I have routines that work that allow me to do those things without being an absentee father or husband. I doubt you had any "back by breakfast" rides more than 20 minutes away from your home, unless it was while on vacation.

And since you all seem so concerned about my lack of variety, might I remind you judgy souls that my variety comes in doing different sports. :thumbsup: :cool:
evdog said:
Adventure is fun! :whistling:
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Adventure is memory making. I was referring to "whee" fun as opposed to "wow" fun. I don't really get the hike-a-bike and bushwhaking to get to yet another creek, mountain or lake. Especially solo. I'm just not that patient, and definitely don't want to spend weeks away from home. I'm very impressed with what you do, but I don't want to do it!
 
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Y-not said:
I just couldn't get myself to stay in SoCal for a few days.......too many people.
Took the grandaughters to their home and came straight back to my home. Only a 10 hr round trip.
I can ride locally tomorrow.
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Believe it or not, there are some fairly easy ways to avoid people in SoCal / OC.
Just don't do what everyone else does at the time and place where they do it!

Surfing, skiing, mt. biking, golfing, driving, dining out, flying - it's really not that hard, even for a working fool like me who is relegated to weekends and popular holidays for my time off.
 
herzalot said:
Believe it or not, there are some fairly easy ways to avoid people in SoCal / OC.
Just don't do what everyone else does at the time and place where they do it!

Surfing, skiing, mt. biking, golfing, driving, dining out, flying - it's really not that hard, even for a working fool like me who is relegated to weekends and popular holidays for my time off.
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That maybe true, but the people are like ants going to and from wherever, that's what bugs me ( pun intended).
I guess I'm acclimated to the "freedom" of open roads, except for the animal traffic which is actually nice, and a population of ~10k in the entire area, not including tourists....
It's like a 7 day weekend up here.
Ohhhh, the trails are awesome, usually I am the only one on them and I don't change my ride plans based on the guessing how many walkers/hikers will be on the trails.
There are other outdoor activities up here, except surfing, that I can enjoy too, but choose not to.
 
scan said:
Interesting, my wife and I agreed that riding is part of maintaining my mental health. When our 3 kids were younger I would locally, and once or twice a month I'd spend longer times out. On many vacations I'd leave early and ride, be back for breakfast with the family. Whatever works......
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That's my M.O. these days. Clamshell loop is not the most exciting, but I hop on my bike and start pedaling, then 1 hour 20 minutes later I'm back at my garage. Sure, it gets a bit stale week after week, but I'm thankful I have a close loop and can do this until the kids are a bit older.
 
Y-not said:
That maybe true, but the people are like ants going to and from wherever, that's what bugs me ( pun intended).
I guess I'm acclimated to the "freedom" of open roads, except for the animal traffic which is actually nice, and a population of ~10k in the entire area, not including tourists....
It's like a 7 day weekend up here.
Ohhhh, the trails are awesome, usually I am the only one on them and I don't change my ride plans based on the guessing how many walkers/hikers will be on the trails.
There are other outdoor activities up here, except surfing, that I can enjoy too, but choose not to.
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I get it. I lived in rural Colorado for years in the outskirts of Crestone (look it up). And although I really enjoyed wide open spaces and no one around for miles, I enjoy the options in my life right now better than the isolation of the San Luis Valley. Again, I hate herds and herd mentality, but I have found a way to do my own thing in the midst of all of this population. I rarely, if ever, get caught in traffic or crowds unless I intend to.
 
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Yesterday morning I rode Pismo Preserve for the first time located above the 101 near the northern border of Pismo Beach with Shell Beach. Fun, flowy trails with a lot of climbing and switchbacks in the first half of riding as expected and twisty, somewhat loose and fast downhills basically on either side of Vamanos Canyon. Glad I started early so I didn't have to deal with a lot of hikers, trail runners and dog walkers. But once I finished and was back at the car, the lot was nearly full and people were poring up the trails including mountain bikers that were mysteriously absent during my ride. So that worked out. I'll definitely come back again, maybe even earlier, like at sunrise. Really nice views from the point at Avila Beach to the north all the way to the sweeping Pismo coast out the the southern point that way.
 
herzalot said:
Tomorrow my usual "fitness" loop. Gotta check out the Luge flag condition and see if it needs replacing.

Monday Luge Flag replacement ride (W-L-W). I have replaced the flag three times on Veteran's Day. The last time I did it, my flag was stolen and replaced with a smaller, cheaper flag.
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Would join you but gotta be done early, riding Claremont,close to home.
 
blixet said:
Yesterday morning I rode Pismo Preserve for the first time located above the 101 near the northern border of Pismo Beach with Shell Beach. Fun, flowy trails with a lot of climbing and switchbacks in the first half of riding as expected and twisty, somewhat loose and fast downhills basically on either side of Vamanos Canyon. Glad I started early so I didn't have to deal with a lot of hikers, trail runners and dog walkers. But once I finished and was back at the car, the lot was nearly full and people were poring up the trails including mountain bikers that were mysteriously absent during my ride. So that worked out. I'll definitely come back again, maybe even earlier, like at sunrise. Really nice views from the point at Avila Beach to the north all the way to the sweeping Pismo coast out the the southern point that way.
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Out of all the SLO trails which did you like best? Irish hills. MDO, Pismo or Cresta?
 
Tom the Bomb said:
Out of all the SLO trails which did you like best? Irish hills. MDO, Pismo or Cresta?
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Currently, MDO is my favorite. I liked Pismo a lot, and need to explore it more. But it isn't a big place. Madonna seems to have my number, but I am game to try again at some point. I didn't like much about Irish Hills but I need to explore it more. A lot of rocks and steep, loose rocky HAB stuff on the trail I went up. Always seemed to be headed off the trail into manzanita on the way down and swearing at the trail. I know Mike loves it but he is a way better rider than me. I hope I can find something there that works for me. Haven't tried Cuesta yet. Rocks and steepness isn't really my favorite combo and that is what I have in my mind about it. As a solo rider, I find that often my issue is more mental than physical. If I am not enjoying myself, I find it pretty easy to say screw it and turn around and head out. I am not as motivated to get after it as I was in my younger days. When I was in the Peace Corps, I once rode my beach cruiser wearing flip flops, board shorts and a tank top half way around a large south Pacific island, with no food or water. Dawn to past dusk. Young, dumb and full of sumthin'.
 
blixet said:
Currently, MDO is my favorite. I liked Pismo a lot, and need to explore it more. But it isn't a big place. Madonna seems to have my number, but I am game to try again at some point. I didn't like much about Irish Hills but I need to explore it more. A lot of rocks and steep, loose rocky HAB stuff on the trail I went up. Always seemed to be headed off the trail into manzanita on the way down and swearing at the trail. I know Mike loves it but he is a way better rider than me. I hope I can find something there that works for me. Haven't tried Cuesta yet. Rocks and steepness isn't really my favorite combo and that is what I have in my mind about it. As a solo rider, I find that often my issue is more mental than physical. If I am not enjoying myself, I find it pretty easy to say screw it and turn around and head out. I am not as motivated to get after it as I was in my younger days. When I was in the Peace Corps, I once rode my beach cruiser wearing flip flops, board shorts and a tank top half way around a large south Pacific island, with no food or water. Dawn to past dusk. Young, dumb and full of sumthin'.
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Haha I get it. Maybe you rode the trail the wrong way at Irish hills. Take a look at Mikes route. It was work going up but the dh was not much pedaling. MDO was fun and Cuesta was my fav. It is rocky but not nasty. A long dh.
 
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