California Dreamin - part V - Oregon and Washington

After a good nights kip we headed out for a day on the road back to rainyville BC.

The Cali coast is pretty nice round these parts












crappy picture of pretty lighthouse
















as we're in the neighbourhood, we decided to take in San Francisco enroute. I've wanted to go there for ages - it seems like the 2nd most interesting place on the West coast - after Vancouver that is













Because of the hills of San Francisco, the roads are a little more twisty than the regulation chess board you get elsewhere over here.

Unfortunately it was all a little too much for the Otter Bus and she suffered a small injury at the hands of a Toyota truck - she survived though - she's a tough ol' van ;-)
















We managed to find a park overlooking the city - here's Rich and Jenn giving the Asian salute - Kiyoka would be proud :)






itsa big place





It was cool to see the trolley buses - and drive up and down the hills - we didnt catch any air though ;)

































Sushi! They say its an acquired taste - my question is where do you acquire it from? If you dont like it the first time why would you like it more the next time? Curiously I dont know the answer to this but I have actually acquired a taste for Sushi myself. I dont like the crabby or shell-fishy stuff but the fishy stuff is good eatin'
















Any while on the subject of food - let me tell you about American Milky Ways...
















They're frackin' Mars Bars!!!!!!!!!!

















Anyway, back to the story - we - well I - wanted to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge while we were in town so thats exactly what we did!














Here's the view from Marin county looking back at San Fran. I cool place - Marin county was supposedly the birthplace of mountain biking. I used to have a rock someone (Libby) at work brought me back. It sat on my telly for years but now I'm actually here! Coolio.



So with California behind us we headed up the I5 towards the rain and an appointment tomorro with our old friends - The Pink Bike crew - to ride Hood River, Oregon.













After a couple more hours driving we met up with everyone in Hood River - thats a town, not the water you understand - only to discover the Pink Bikers had decided to drive home today. Ah well, their loss. I was full of life and raring to go....well actually I was full of a cold and dying to sleep but that doesnt make for amusing anecdotes!

Here's Rich over a baby gap - a jump, not the shop.





Our guide for the day - Mike - buy a Brodie from him - he's a great guy

He showed us the local trails which were actually a bit soggy with overnight rain - in fact we'd driven through the rain for about 8 hours yesterday! - almost feels like home already!





There were also some skinnies - even with a raging cold I wasnt going to miss out on the fun - I somehow managed to ride this despite feeling dizzy!













In the afternoon we headed across the river - the Hood River - into Washington State to try the trails on the sunny side. Mike again kindly took point and a few others joined the party






here we see me compensating for the old gas struts on the Otter Bus - standing with a door on your head was a regular feature of our day














This was a big feature of the Sincline Trail - a few hundred foot cliff that skirted perilously close to the trail - or should that be the trails was perilously close to the cliff - anyway the story goes some guy came up here in the fog once and they only found his bike.....

Seriously - he went over. And I can understand why as we ripped down the singletrack that wiggled to a from the edge - for some reason all my left turns were much slower than usual!!





A super fun trail though - the clayish soil here gives fantastic traction so you can really carve the corners - when there's not a cliff next to it anyhow!

We even had our own photographer - he's Jenn playing for the camera - "your a tiger baby! Grrrrr!"



















ahhh, more enless singletrack. such a chore

















lots of lovely corners like this one
















This one got a proper session after someone flatted just out of sight






I decided to get a better view of things and climbed up this crag to look straight down on the singletrack

















Jenn again - no stranger to bridges!






















and again

















check out the singletrack in the bottom of the picture - there was miles of this stuff - really smooth swoopy fun










Before we knew it, it was time to head out. With yet another steller days riding we hit the road. Only 6 or 7 hours to home but I dont remember it cos I bought some good drugs and spaced out with my cold in the back of the van - the only thing I remember is going through the border and them not seeming very interested in us at all. Home sweet home about 4am and then to bed - ahhh my own bed at last.

It was a fantastic trip. One I'll always remember full of some great riding and some fun times.
Maybe we'll be back next year.....maybe :)

California Dreamin - part IV Santa Cruz

Looks like California Highway Patrol had a budget cut since Poncherello's days. I dont care what anyone says, writing "Interceptor" on the back is NOT going to give it Mad Max street cred!












So to continue with the chrono-illogical order, here we are in sunny Monterey killing some time before meeting up with some friends in Santa Cruz. As we drove along the sea (ocean) front I amused myself by seeing how many time I could get a squeal out of Jenn for yelling "look a Sea Otter"



Of course the plan back fired when I actually saw some and no-one would believe me.

After being very sincere I finally
convinced them I'd seen some so we pulled over for a closer look.

Unfortunately I dont have a fancy camera with a massive lens to take wildlife photography BUT Jenn did take this snap with the spec clearly visible which you've have to take my word for being actual sea otters. (also notice the authentic sunburn kit ie the hoody)

I think there were about 5 or 6 - we also saw a couple of seals sunbathing on the rocks but they were even harder to spot in the photos.

Instead, here are some pretty flowers :)






















As you can see, we were in a real hurry to leave this spot. It was pretty sweet - sunshine, fresh air, fluffy animals and just the sound of the ocean












but soon we had to go. Santa Cruz beckonned. Apologies for the poor photography once again - the thing is, if you're daydreaming at the Californian scenery the road signs come up pretty fast - too fast for the startup on my camera anyhow.










We met up with the Pink Bike crew, Wade and Andreas at Denny's for breakfast before following Wade and Andreas to Santa Cruz for some epic riding














When we got there we picked up a load more people to bring our number to 14 - quite a posse!

That did give us one issue - logistics - shuttle math can be a headache and today was no different but we eventually squeezed all the bikes and bodies into 2 trucks











There were eight of us in Radek's truck - 4 in the back, 4 in the front which meant I shared shotgun with the two lovely nurses on my lap - what can I tell you? it was rough ;-)











Many many bikes


















After the hour shuttle (during which we saw Cam McCaul's pool ramp as we drove past his house) we saddled up for the descent. A couple miles of loose, sharp shaley rock with big corners and water gulleys made for an interesting start - we only lost a couple people over the edge - not back with 14 people










What we didnt realize was the amount of climbing we had to do. It was supposed to be "a bit of a climb in the middle" but "the singletrack is totally worth it" - well at least they got one bit right - unfortunately they were wrong about the climb - I reckon it was 1.5-2 hours in the searing heat, on our big bikes. Ah well, you gotta suffer for your art right?















Now I'll take this opportunity to name drop. On our little low-key ride we had: Wade Simmons, Andreas Hestler, Matthew Hunter, Mike Kinrade and some other guy who's name escapes me but he was featured in Kranked VII. So superstars. They fitted right in ;)


A little more of that evil climbing and we were ready for our main meal. A ridiculously long swooping singletrack that was most certainly one of the best trails I've ever ridden.

It swooped its way along the sides of a creek valley through the forest gradually downhill. There were tight sections, steep sections, flowing sections and even slight uphills but it was without doubt the longest slice of heavenly singletrack I have ever ridden. Frickin Awsome.














As you can see, Matt and Wade may have the 75ft jumps licked but they cant hold a candle to the girls on the singletrack ;)













Swooooooopy








Danice and Rich looking pretty small





















Of course, this being a Pink Bike trip Radek and Tyler had to make sure their riders got in some training - so Radek made Danice tow him the last couple miles! He said something about a broken chain but I just think he likes to make girls cry!

The odd thing was Danice actually seemed to enjoy it!






Back to the trucks and we found a lot more people there. It turned out most of the worlds top dirt jumpers had descended on Cam's local jump spot for a bit of a post-Otter sesh.

It was funny - we got served burgers from the BBQ by Kyle Strait!

Natually Cam was the star attraction






Pretty crazy - like being at crankworx but without the thousands of people. Coolio.



All in all, an amazing days riding that I wont forget in a hurry. Thanks to everyone but especially Wade, Andreas and Lars for guiding us and retrieving the trucks while we watched the jumping.

For another view, click here to read Danice's report on Pink Bike

California Dreamin - part III - Race Day!

This report isnt exactly chronological so if you should spot the (not so) deliberate inconsistencies please chalk it up to artistic license ;-)

anyway, back to the serious business of us finely tuned athletes and meticulous preparation in the lead up to a race. First stop, breakfast. Apparently at the best breakfast place on the West Coast






It was pretty good - in fact I'd have to say only the monsterly deliciousness of the old Coed-Y-Brenin cafe egg on toast comes close to beating this - but as this has strawberries its obviously not a fair fight.








First up, some of them fancy new moving pictures - this time of Britain's new top girl - Rachel Atherton (in more recent news, a couple days ago she made history along with her brothers with the three of them winning 3 of the four events at the Andorra World Cup - talk about natural talent running in the family). Well, click the play button to watch Rachel making the tricky jumps look easy....



..and in the same category - pro women - Fiona (the other pink bike girl) - sorry about the picture - pretty poor eh?

Fiona and Danice were up against the best in the world here and they certainly raised their game - Fiona top 20 (so thats top 20 in the world) and Danice - well in typical rising super-star fashion she nailed 11th place - 11th place in a world class field. She's gonna go far!



When it came to our turn - the over 30 ol' gits that is - Rich and I both had ok runs although it was only our 5th full run of the track and actually finished pretty well





I was 5th and Rich 6th!!

In an attempt to balance out the dual pictures to follow here's a token shot of that other (not quite as) Brit old git - Steve Peat on his way to the podium








I was trying to find out all day when the medal ceremony was - unfortunately I got my answer when they called my name on the PA from the other side of the paddock - I didnt make it but I did pick up my medal - not bad for a Brit eh?















Now I think I mentioned the sunburn - did I? I forget, but the sun and wind combined to burn me to a crisp - despite the sun it felt cold most of the time at the race site - there wasnt a cloud in the sky but this was the required outfit - plus sunglasses of course or even goggles when the wind got up. Anyway, Danice braved the bitter wind to watch us dueling on the dual track. I think she has some pictures but I havent managed to get them from her yet. Although we dont seem short of pic here!










Qualifying was the previous day and I qualified 5th and Rich 6th (sound familiar huh?!!!!)

The following day it was the head to head racing. The format was: race once, record the times and then race again in opposite lanes and combine the times. This meant that even if you lost the first race, you had a chance to pull it back in round 2.

Oh, I saw a nice shiny helmet nice and cheap (this is the shopping capital of the world remember) so got it - a good investment with me racing this year.

Good pic eh? I had to pay for it but worth it I think :)






Here's Jenn smashing the competition in one of her runs












Jenn again













and Rich just in the lead in his first round. He won and went through to round 2.












as did I. Unfortunately thats when we all met faster riders - I had a panicked run and made a few mistakes to loose but 1.2 secs in my first run










Jenn did better













Rich also lost the first round of his next heat













Which brought us to the 2nd run against the same people. Knowing my friends were watching I was determined to put up a good fight and told her - errm, I mean them - that I was going to win or die trying!!

So, when the gate fell I went for it - as hard as I could, sliding round all the corners and pedaling everywhere in between.

And I got to the bottom 0.7 secs ahead - not enough to win on combined time but with a run fast enough to be proud of. In fact it was easily my fastest run of the weekend and I think I proved to myself I can push a lot harder when I want to

Another good pic. Again, paid for but worth it.





Here's one of Rich's runs



Jenn did well - she got 4th in Dual and the second Otter-Bus medal :) nice job Jennifer.












After a hard weekend's racing we bucked the trend of heading out and instead headed into the hot tub - the poor photo is due to my phone not coping well with steam and the lights not working ! It amused us though as I texted the photo to our friends who were on the road somewhere ;)

So. Sea Otter Classic 2008. A big learning curve and a lot of fun. I'd love to come back but realistically I'm not sure if I'll manage it.
Thanks to everyone for a fantastic memorable weekend.

And now on a more sobering note, I'd just like to offer my condolences to the family of Mark Reynolds who was tragically killed while racing the downhill at the Sea Otter. I was only a few people in front of Mark who at least enjoyed his last minutes on this earth going flat out on his bike. You can read the full story here.