dreadedmonkeygod . net

It was amazing to get out in Sycamore Canyon tonight. It's completely charred down to nothing. As one rider said, "It's easy to see people coming!"

I'd planned on an easy 60- to 90-min. spin, but I did three stupid things:

• I totally underestimated how long it takes to reach Guadalasca from the top of the Canyon Vista Trail.
• At the bottom of Guadalasca, I thought I was turning left onto Sycamore Fire Rd and heading for home. In reality, I was heading up Wood Cyn Fire Rd, which put me on the wrong side of the ridge, and much farther from the car than I thought. I realized my mistake within a few minutes, but then (wrongly) figured that at that point backtracking would take just as long as just heading straight through.
• I forgot that the five-minute roll down into Sycamore canyon becomes a thirty-minute grind up out of Sycamore at the end.
• I forgot to account for the time I spent trying to find the "secret entrance." (I found it, but the way is closed for revegetation.)
• There's no cell reception down in the canyon. So my wife was worried and couldn't reach me. Not cool.

Oh. Right. Five. That's five stupid things I did.

Oh, and:

• I wanted this to be a relatively easy recovery ride, setting me up for a couple of PR attempts in Simi later this week.

So, y'know... six.

What I planned as a 90-min ride stretched to 2½ hrs., and by the time I got back to the car it was 8:20 PM and I was cold and tired and hungry and had worried Janell for no reason. Ugh.

I actually thought at the top of Canyon Vista that I should probably just turn around and ride down again and head for home. I should have, but instead I thought, "Oh, Guadalasca is just right over there. I'll ride down that, and then head up the road home."

Idiot.

Sycamore Cyn Loop

Gear Notes

Fork: Definitely in need of an overhaul. Way too cush. Locked out felt much better on just about everything, including the flowy downhill. Corners really badly. (Though, that might be my fault too.)

Food: I tried the Skratch Labs drink mix. It is awesome. This will be my new go-to stuff for hot days. (I used it tonight because I forgot to pack enough Gu in my duffel.)

Shoes: I put the old cleats back on my shoes, and it's much better. They're still worn and need replacing, but they've reinforced my impression that the new cleats are really terrible.