dreadedmonkeygod . net

Once again, all the riding I've been doing is paying off. I'm much more aggressive on the gears and my legs are returning to a level of conditioning they haven't had in a long time. I can climb hard, and the burning in my quads evaporates as soon as the trail levels out. Then I can roll a tricky descent, then turn around and climb hard again. Tonight I decided to skip Sin Nombre and Two foxes, and instead ride the Sage trail and Guadalasca, and I'm glad I did. I had a great time taking my new legs out for a spin.

The wrinkle in the ride was the fact that I was only wearing one contact lens, so everything looked like a 3D movie: slightly blurry, with a hint of double vision. I adjusted after a little while, but for a bit I had to be super careful about judging dips and corners, as my depth perception was pretty well shot.

(Map: "Sycamore Canyon")

On my way up the Sage trail, I could hear a group of riders coming up behind me. I looked back, and saw a rider closing pretty quickly, so I pulled aside and let him go by. At that point, I realized that the others in the group were a ways back, so I jumped into the gap, and was surprised to find that I didn't have much trouble keeping pace.

I sped down Woodly Canyon Fire Rd. (careful on the dips, what with the one good eye and all) and hung a right onto Guadalasca. A group of six or seven teenagers watched me go by, then passed me when I slipped on a tree root. I passed them again when they stopped to regroup at the base of the climb, and never saw them again, their voices fading until they were several switchbacks behind.

I spotted a rider ahead, and decided to try my luck at keeping pace. He spotted me, and picked it up a little bit. I settled into a pace that was aggressive but sustainable, and just concentrated on closing the gap one pedal stroke at a time. Finally, he pulled to the side, gulping air. I offered a friendly, "How's it going!" as I passed. "Hot and tired!" he said.

I'm sure he'd been out all day, logging a dirt century before I even clipped in. But in my mind's eye, I had broken him. I imagined spectators with American flags running along side me, roaring approval.

I rode the Wood Canyon Vista Trail down to the Sycamore Cyn fire road, grinning the whole time. (By this time my eyes had adjusted to the "one contact lens" situation, so I was really having fun.)

My one lament is the necessity of riding 15 minutes on paved fire road before hitting any bikeable trails. (Which means climbing 25 minutes of paved fire road on the way back out again.) I'd love to discover that I'm wrong about this. But Ventura County Trails's map seems pretty clear.