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Bridge | Personal | Travel | Mountain Bike | Road Cycling | Links
If you thought it would end with a new bike, you should know better. My second bike is nearly two years old, and I have ridden it over 4000 miles. The LBS (bike talk for "Local Bike Shop") has been great. They included free visits to the shop during the first 90 days, and I was told to bring it in after 30, 60, and 90 days. Here are some of the places I have been with my first "real" mountain bike:
The day after I got the new bike I met Rory "Rockalot" Huber for a ride on this trail. It is a very popular trail that runs near the north shore of Folsom Lake. It's a tough trail for a beginner like me. I went over the bars three times that day and had to get the wheels trued at the shop the next day. Nevertheless, I had a good time, and Rockalot and I have become friends.
About three weeks later Rockalot and I got together with a third rider and rode the loop section of the "Latrobe Loop." It is one of Rockalot's favorite rides. While there is no singletrack here, this combination of country gravel roads is very lightly traveled. Instead of starting at the school as he describes, we began at the entrance to Rancho Murieta and headed east up Highway 16. It wasn't long until we turned onto a gravel road and began the first of several climbs. I soon fell behind, but the others would stop and mercifully wait for me. (Rockalot was riding his 24" BMX cruiser!) Nevertheless, I resorted to walking up only one hill, an accomplishment for an old beginner like me. Much of the rest of our counter-clockwise loop was downhill. The last portion of the ride was a paved climb followed by a long straight descent with no cars in sight. I just let the bike roll. What a gas!
Latrobe has since become a regular ride for me and my buddies, though I could swear the hills have been lowered. That hill that gave me so much trouble in 1997 is one that I climb easily with gears left over. (I still can't keep up with Rockalot!) We prefer to start in Ranch Murieta as it puts most of the pavement (and the climbing) at the beginning of the ride.
Eagle Mountain ResortEagle Mountain is a cross country ski and mountain bike resort, situated a few miles west of Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada range. It's about a two hour drive from my home and nearly 6,000 feet higher in elevation. This place is like no ski resort I have ever seen. There are no lifts and no accommodations. There is a lodge with a deck, restroom and shower buildings, a couple of warming huts for skiers, and lots of trails.
Because I felt I needed more training, I called ahead and asked to take a lesson on a weekday. I was informed that although the park wasn't officially open during the week, the resort operator (Gene "Wild Wild" West) would be happy to instruct me. I was one of two students in the class; the other was a newly hired employee. Gene is an excellent instructor and coach. He took us through a series of skills drills that emphasized balance and bike handling. After nearly two hours, I was going over small logs, "splitting the line," and crossing a simulated stream bed.
After lunch, Gene prescribed a couple of rides for me to take. I had the entire park to myself for the rest of the day. Gene assured me that if I didn't report in before closing time, they would come looking for me. He also suggested I take at least one more lesson before the end of the season.
I returned a week later for that lesson, this time with Dylan Gradhandt. I was his only student that day. Dylan reviewed what I had learned from Gene and went from there. Aside from teaching lessons and other duties, Dylan runs the kitchen and cooks for both staff and guests. He has impressive credentials as both and athlete and chef.
Even though the resort was "officially closed" for the season, I got to return for one last ride before they reopened for cross country skiing.
In 1998, I visited Eagle Mountain for another lesson and several more rides, and I am still going there this year, as well. Gene and I are on a first name basis, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the way it is with most of his customers.
This is a paved trail that runs along the American River between Sacramento and Folsom Lake. I had originally planned to return to Eagle Mountain with Rockalot, but he was having some back trouble and was advised to take it easy for a few days. So we decided that he should show me a portion of this urban trail that is one of his home rides. We made a day of it and traversed the entire main trail save the portion east of Negro Bar on Lake Natoma. In spite of its urban location, the trail has a rural ambience, passing from one park to another along a scenic river. Most development is out of sight of the trail. We estimate that we pedaled for 60 miles that day, a personal record for me at the time.
Anyone who has been to Stockton knows that it is one of the flattest places on earth. On a clear day (and away from trees and buildings) you can see mountains in the distance. Nevertheless there are a couple of off-road rides near my home that I call "riverbiking." Both rides are under 20 miles round trip starting at my front door.
Wright's Tract is an "island" of farmland adjacent to the Brookside neighborhood of Stockton. It is surrounded by a rideable levee only two miles of which is a paved public road. The rest is gravel or hard packed dirt doubletrack that sees very little traffic of any kind. The ride affords views of the Stockton Deep Water Channel and Fourteen Mile Slough. On weekends there are boaters to wave to and a few fisherfolk to talk to. It is extremely rare to encounter another biker out there. The vista is expansive, and one can see distant mountains to both east and west. Wright's Tract has become my favorite home ride.
Along the north levee of the Calaveras River runs a 4 mile paved bike path that many riders use to cross Stockton from east to west. But the real fun is on the opposite bank where the levee is unpaved and in many places there is a rideable dirt trail below the levee and closer to the water. Where streets and railroads cross over the river the upper path dips down connecting with that below to get under the bridges. Most of the challenges are under the bridges. There may be mud, sand, rocks, litter or trolls under any of these crossings. As you go farther upstream, the river divides and the south channel straightens into a man-made canal. Shortly after the divide there is a wooden bridge crossing the canal so one can head back to the original river and continue upstream. It isn't much more than a creek, as the diverting canal handles most of the water. There is a ford that crosses to the north bank, should one care to return by road and paved bike path.
The canal continues to the southeast. I have only been as far as the Main Street crossing which is well to the east of Stockton. This ride is not nearly as scenic or secluded as the other, but it affords more challenges and variation of terrain. Once the winter/spring rains arrive it will become too muddy and much of the lower trail will go under water.
Updated June, 1999