We can’t complain about 2011 here at MTBGuru headquarters, as many great rides and adventures were undertaken and enjoyed (attested by the collage below). May the new year bring more of it, and lots of good to everyone!

XXCMag is an awesome magazine on endurance mtb/racing and they just published an article (in issue #14) on our big Coe adventure. I’m pretty proud and excited we made it in there! I’ve been a reader of XXCMag for quite a while and though online viewing is entirely free I would encourage you to purchase the issue (digital download is $2.25, digital + print is $11), to support the magazine. Below an embed of our article:

A lot has been going on in recent weeks and months, Henry Coe-wise, and an update here is way past due; here’s a brief summary and timeline:

- May 13, 2011: California State Parks announces a plan to close 78 out of its 278 parks due to state budget cuts. The list includes Coe park.

- It becomes clear that due to existing employee contracts, the closure will likely not happen before July 2012

- May 2011: the Coe Park Preservation Fund (CPPF) is formed, by a group of people mostly originating from the existing Pine Ridge Association (a so-called ‘official state park cooperating association’, which was formed in 1975 to assist park staff, create interpretive and educational programs for the public, organizing events and trail work days with volunteers etc). In recent years, mountain bikers in Coe have been very engaged with this group, in particular on the trail maintenance front, and fundraising for the CPPF starts.

- August 2011: we* came up with the Coe Everest Challenge, in order to raise awareness for the closure and more funds for the CPPF; it will run in conjuction with the new edition of our hundred miler (featuring a ‘bonus loop’). Trying to ride over 140 miles with 29k of elevation gain in more or less a single day in Coe (probably more) is somewhat crazy and probably overly audacious, but if we knew it could be done, it wouldn’t be a challenge! (*we = yours truly and a few friends)

- September 9, 2011: an agreement between the CPPF and State Parks is announced and will avert the closure of Coe. CPPF has raised sufficient funds to ensure the park will remain open until 2015.

Some very generous donations from a few individuals made this possible; the Everest Challenge is most likely only providing a very modest contribution, and perhaps the pressure is now a bit off, but it is important to show the state that this park is being frequented by a variety of user groups, including mountain bikers, who care about the place; and the funds will either way go to very good causes, such as trail work, the construction of new trails, an endowment for the future (post 2015) etc. So the challenge is on, more than ever. October 1st, 2011 is the big day!

Another month, another full moon, and the Perseid meteor shower is peaking tonight. It promises to be another fantastic night to go out and ride Coe. I won’t make it this time around, but some folks will be out there. Below some pics and links to the stories from last time, to raise the appetite…

On MTBGuru
Anticipation and aftermath on mtbr.com

A bat fell out of the sky on Hunting Hollow…

Lunatics

Middle Ridge thrills

Daybreak

Disappearing…

Full moon tomorrow… ride ’til dawn. With all the recent hoopla (announced park closures etc) it should be a memorable one.

A recap has been long overdue. Much more here…

Hunting Hollow, 2011/10/1, 6.35 am
The contrast with last year’s edition (midnight, 3 vehicles on the entire parking lot, near freezing temperatures) is striking: the large lot is now buzzing with activity; the night has been relatively warm with only a few high clouds obscuring the skies. We exchange our hellos, greet new partners-in-crime and prepare to get started. About 10 riders are lining up: 7 of them going for at least the 100 miler, 5 for the full Everest Challenge, among them the 3 veterans of last year. Eric the Nightrider will be embarking on his own solo expedition, which he’ll dub the “Four Corners of the Apocalypse”… we don’t ask many questions, Coe park has a tendency to attract the adventurous and the eccentric. My buddy Tom is there, providing moral support and spare lights, and Jeff, aka TahoeBC, shares his brave intention to join us as long as his recently-dislocated shoulder would allow him. Some unknowing campers are a little startled by the early hustle and bustle, but take it with a smile.

I hold a short briefing, before we get started with the steep 2 mile/1200 foot climb up Lyman-Willson trail, a good introduction if anything to what lies ahead. On this first climb of the day, I push the pace a bit to see how the crowd responds and it becomes quickly clear that we have assembled a fine and fit group here – once on the ridge, we witness the day break in pretty spectacular fashion and a quick photo stop is in order.

(photo Patrick H.)

Camp Willson
Three guys in the group are Coe-virgins and one is a second timer. While a bit concerned, I’m admiring their gutsy move of taking on this thing as their first (or second) ride in Coe. From our previous email correspondence and quick conversations in the morning I was convinced they knew what they were doing, so I quickly put my worries about their well-being to rest, and encourage them to go for it and hammer out the course if they would feel inclined to do so – their biggest obstacle would be navigating the often tricky maze of trails in this vast place. I send them off to Steer Ridge, and start the climb a bit later alongside Patrick, Roy and briefly Tom. We reel in Jeff, who took a bit of a head start and he reports back the sighting of some wild boar near and in the pig traps on the ridge. Coe’s fauna has a special affinity to Jeff, as we find out repeatedly.

Coit Road
Everyone is loving the Spike Jones / Timm descent, a fast and furious singletrack combo, and the switchbacked Anza trail (fun going both up and down) generates additional grins. On the fireroad climb toward Cross Canyon the bunch regroups, while Jeff plays snakemaster with a small constrictor on the side of the road. Patrick and I lead the group to the steep climb on lower Cross Canyon trail, starting with a tricky left-hander that I was intent on not dabbing. I make it, only to drift slightly off-course and be forced to put a foot down fifty yards farther; a duh-moment, though today would not be about cleaning, but surviving, as Roy will remind me. Soon we reach the crest and are looking forward to a fine descent into the canyon.

Cross Canyon
I’m picking myself up from the steep patch of loose gravel right before the first creek crossing; the crash left me gasping for breath and I feel some dull pain on my right side. During the dreaded fraction-of-a-second of enhanced consciousness right before impact I saw my front wheel jerk to the left after giving apparently too much front brake, anticipating the dried out creek crossing. My bike is set up with two small handlebar bags as well as a stem bag (all loaded with food), so I decide to blame the incident on my unfamiliarity with its altered handling, rather than dismal descending skills. The bike is suffering some minor damage as well: a broken fork remote lockout lever. And my bar mounted LED is whacked off, but I will only notice after I will have climbed out of the canyon.

(photo Patrick H. – yes, he actually captured the crash)

Willow Ridge road & trail
A little shaky and sore, I’m moving cautiously during our passage through the canyon; after the long climb out – the Cross Canyon Wall looking as daunting as ever – we run into the rest of the group again on the ridge and head to Hoover Lake. At the airstrip, Jeff takes a tarantula along for the ride. On Willow Ridge trail, as fine a downhill as they come, I regain my confidence, just in time to dodge the plentiful bushes of poison oak sprouting along its thread near the bottom part.

Coe Headquarters
Some amazing contrasts on this ride: from the dark solitude of our pre-dawn climb to the Tarantulafest party & barbecue at headquarters; this is a benefit event of its own for Coe park, and going on in full force when we arrive. The long climb up here – over the mighty Mahoney Wall (Roy cleaning it as if it was a speed bump), Lost Spring trail (additional quality time with poison oak), China Hole (nice, gradual), and the reviled Manzanita fire road, has been troublesome for me – with sore ribs acting up, and the impending dread of the many more hard miles coming up I start to fantasize about joining the party then calling it a day. We run into the always cheerful Paul L., who’s doing some impromptu GoPro video interviews, and he inspires me to put my game face back on. Some caffeine-laden drinks at HQ, the food on the grill, the buzzing activity and the party chatter put me back in business, and after a long break during which the entire bunch has regrouped, we take off again. Scott and his buddy Dane, who were traveling light and fast, decide to peel off at this point. They probably could have gone faster if they’d known their way around here, but weren’t prepared for the deep dive into the backcountry at night. Aaron and Sean, the other two relative Coe-newbies, radiate fortitude, are good with the map and stay on course, taking off toward Flat Frog trail – I wonder if we’ll see them again.

Middle Ridge
The thrills and adrenaline this trail dishes out never get old; Poverty Flat road and Bear Mountain don’t seem that insurmountable anymore… or will the delirium wear off quickly, once confronted with the hard facts? We’ll see. Jeff splits off now and heads toward the Creekside trail. He’s been going pretty strong, for not having ridden in a few weeks, with a semi-functioning shoulder.

(photo Patrick H.)

Bear Mountain
After we dragged ourselves over Poverty Flat, sporting an odious dusting of cake mix in spots, there would be time for recovery on a few flat miles, before we’d tackle the toughest climb of the day. At least, if the Narrows trail wouldn’t be such a bumpy mess. The final stretch of flat fireroad afterwards is easy enough though, an ominous counterpoint to what lies behind the bend. When the first, ludicrously steep pitches of Bear Mountain become visible, we immediately spot Aaron and Sean struggling high up the hill, probably about 20 minutes ahead of us. Until now, Roy, Patrick and I mostly rode together, but during the ascent it becomes clear that Patrick has the most fuel left in the tank, and is most eager to crank out the power. He’ll be dropping us on most of the climbs during the remainder of our journey. Roy and I retreat in our respective pain caves and while hiking the steepest pitches of Bear Mountain, I find a receptive audience for my complaints in a rare horned lizard, taking in some sun on this hottest part of the day.

(photo Patrick H.)

Pacheco Camp
The five remaining 100+ mile riders are briefly reunited at Pacheco Camp. Patrick has laid down a fast pace on these past few miles. Heritage trail was a beautifully primitive and fine descent but I didn’t quite enjoy the subsequent passage of Pacheco Creek trail. The upper parts were overgrown and rough, and took a toll on me. I remember feeling very strong here last year whereas now, all I can think of is the possibility of some trail angels making an appearance at the camp, handing us out various goodies. Alas, it would turn out Charlie and crew indeed came by here, but missed us by about 45 minutes. The golden hour has almost passed and doubt creeps in again… this place is an easy bailout point. But no, that would make for a sad, depressing and lonely ride home, after having come so far. And thus without further ado I join the others, install lights, filter water and prepare for a long night.

(photo Patrick H.)

(photo Patrick H.)

Dutch’s trail
I’m a bit dismayed to see that many snagging branches I had trimmed down on this fine trail months ago seemed to have grown back together. On one of the short steep uphill pitches I feel my chain break and curse. The drivetrain had been acting up for a while, probably a link was bent earlier on. After Patrick’s flat on Phoneline trail (quite a trip in the dark), this is our second night-time mechanical. Luckily the fix is quick and we carry on. Approaching the lower section of this fantastic ridgeline trail – a genuine ‘Blair Witch project’ experience by night, with heaps of weirdly shaped chamise lighting up in our headlights – we see what must be Aaron’s and Sean’s lights, moving apparently slightly off course.

(photo Patrick H.)

Dowdy Ranch
After we had swept them up, Aaron and Sean decided to stick around with us, probably not a bad idea in this confusing and remote section of the park. I feel somewhat revived on the usually brutal Kaiser-Aetna climb toward Dowdy Ranch and am surprised that Patrick and I seem to be dropping the rest. It must be the absence of heat that makes this thing easier. My helmet light had come off its mount and I thought the mount had broken, so I zip tied it together, making for a slightly more wobbly light spot than I cared for (I found out later that it was just a screw that had worked itself loose – Magicshine owners, beware). A break at the deserted facilities is welcomed by all, but it is getting colder, so we layer up and quickly start to get moving again, onward to Burra Burra trail.

(photo Patrick H.)

Center Flats road
This is the section of the course that can really break a rider. The relentless grades of Center-non-Flats show no mercy. Patrick is still going insanely strong and cleaning an impressive amount of the steep rollers thrown at us; Aaron, Sean and I are limping along, but I’m getting a bit concerned about Roy. He’s often falling behind, seems to reside in a catatonic state and hardly utters a grunt when I talk to him. I hand him some chocolate covered coffee beans, my late-night secret weapon. There is talk about bailing. I don’t want to hear about it and suggest we’ll decide once we hit Wagon, and are back on trails with civilized grades.

Wagon road
The call is made. Roy, who somehow came back to life, Patrick and I continue and take on the final 20 miles of the 100 mile course; Aaron and Sean are running low on lights and batteries and will take a shortcut home. They are a pair of impressive riders, having taken on this challenge in style, on pretty much their first real ride in Coe. I’m convinced they have the capability to pull this off in a strong time, with their newfound experience and some preparation; when we say our goodbyes I urge them to come back and get it done next time.

Hunting Hollow, 2011/10/2, 6.17am
These last 20 miles go by in a dreamlike daze. Slow fireroad grinds alternate with frigid singletrack descents, while sleep deprivation and an immense fatigue take a hold of us. The eerily moonless sky is lit up by an unfathomable amount of stars. When Patrick and Roy, who has made an incredible resurrection, take short naps, I joke with them that lethal hypothermia may set in anytime and urge them to get going again. Not sure why I stay awake; the coffee beans, perhaps. We survive the rutted Vasquez-Long Dam debacle, and climb the tough final 500 vertical feet on Wagon road, ridden clean by all three of us, as a matter of honor. Our final descent home is obscured by a dense fog bank, making for dicey conditions, but we all make it safely to Hunting Hollow road. Patrick hammers out the last three miles, but I don’t have the energy to keep up with him and ride my own pace, Roy not being too far behind.

Once we regroup on the parking lot, few words are exchanged and we start to clean up; I’m feeling elation and satisfaction, because of the successful finish in difficult conditions, but mixed in is a slight sense of disappointment, as I knew I was in no shape to even attempt the Everest ‘bonus route’. I think the others are sensing the same. Patrick may have come closest to giving it an honest shot, but he seems overwhelmed by sleep, and soon retreats in his car. I look at the time and can’t believe it’s past 6am; the sky is slowly lighting up. Taking on the long night ride after a full day on the bike had slowly drained our energy and worn us out, more than expected. Last year – with a midnight start – we were able to maintain our pace and finished about three hours faster. I dig out some caffeine, and like Roy, prepare to drive home. The Everest Challenge may have been unmet, but with some new lessons learnt we think it can be done. Some time.

I would finally like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank everyone who donated to the Coe Everest Challenge and CPPF; it’s people like you who make the difference, and real results can be achieved, as proven by the successful effort in keeping Coe park open.

Everything has its price, so in order to restore the karmic balance of the universe we got to pay (a bit) for the early February summer by a series of ‘storms’.
‘Storms’ and not storms, as here in California these are still very relative concepts. Either way, it resulted in some nice white fluffy stuff in the hills, both close to home, and on mountains farther away.

Of course the white stuff lends itself nicely to various fun activities, for both the young and not-so-young-anymore. Hitting up a deserted, ‘ghost’ ski resort in the Sierras for some showshoeing was certainly a highlight. But one can also nicely play in it with a bike.

It doesn’t happen too often I can ride to it from home and be done and back before lunchtime.

Meh. Hope this sign and gate will disappear some time soon. It is a shame.

Meanwhile, things – and temperatures – are back to normal and the snow is retreating again.

Was it the incredible, pinch-me-it’s-february azure skies and temperatures, fueled by powerful offshore winds, or the flow of those lovely trails in the forest, best enjoyed in the company of some good friends?

Point is, yesterday was a day of record highs. The three dudes (druids?) we ran into at some point must have taken that in a different sense, but this was Santa Cruz, and reputations have to be kept up.

Inge demonstrates that Titus lives, and today she had her bike properly baptized.

In other news, Coe-sorcerer and trail builder extraordinaire Paul has a new blog up, with lots of fascinating Coe-centric stuff – check out his photos of an amazing sunset.

In late summer 2010 I started to experiment more with gear and practice some bikepacking – so many exciting adventures out there that are luring – and getting your feet wet slowly seems to be the recommended course of action before diving into these bigger things. I’ve done my share of night rides, but a solo night ride in Coe last August will stand out as creepiest one to date.

There were many after work rides in summer to fondly remember; nothing like dragging your tired ass out of the office and up the mountain, to then watch a brilliant sunset and dive back down the fog blanketed slopes… I even found some new trails where I didn’t expect them.

In fall, my previously vague plans had finally started to crystallize, and a feverish obsession took hold of me… at last, was it going to happen, pull off that 100 miler in Coe? Many a long solo ride was undertaken to scout out trails and routes. The great thing, Coe being Coe, were the many chance (as well as intended) encounters with the regulars: Roy, Patrick, Jeff, Charlie, Paul(s), Mei and Eric, Jay, Bryan etc. I even managed to convince some of them to join in the madness. A nice side effect of my training regimen was that I was able to shatter my PR on Kennedy trail (another minor obsession of mine).

Our first shot at the Hard COEre 100 was very respectable on its own but left us hungry; I think all three of us knew we’d be back here in no time, for another attempt, now that we knew some bugs needed ironing out. I was grateful to still have the fitness and stamina required (it was mid-November), and was impressed by everyones resolve.

Few moments felt so good as the time this shot was taken – Roy, Patrick and I had just wrapped it up and tamed the monster, and found a merry Paul and shivering Bryan greeting us at Hunting Hollow – priceless!

There wasn’t much time to do a lot of exploring out of the familiar areas this year, luckily with one noteable exception; a lava ride on the Big Island – as well as some excursions through the jungle.

Before we realized it, the holidays were there again; this time I made it to the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey ride on Kennedy – what a crowd, and what fun!

Meanwhile, I had turned again to my road bike, which had slowly morphed into a ‘psyclocross’ bike… getting ready for new adventures in new places; such as Titus Canyon, in a gorgeous wintery Death Valley.

It also brought new excitement to familiar trails, and think it will continue to do so.

Looking back, there was a lot to be happy with and thankful for in 2010 – and I’m hoping 2011 will get even better; I’m wishing everyone a great, healthy, injury-free and accident-free year. Cheers!

…which means it’s year-in-review and list season. So below, my list of most-memorable-2010-riding-experiences, with accompanying photographs. Of course, almost by definition these photos helped make the rides memorable, but they may not necessarily represent the best ones. Sometimes, the best rides are those that go unnoticed, don’t leave photographic evidence, but are great because everything just felt right at the time, I was fully in the zone or in harmony with the environment and the universe at large.

But first: it’s 2011 now, with hopefully lots of new rides and some new challenges. How about some resolutions or goals perhaps?

- learning to use the ‘lap’ button on my GPS (this does have its benefits)
- growing the Hard COEre 100 into something much bigger (and perhaps even badder; I have a whole new and additional challenge in mind)
- some bikepacking; in particular, to get ready for this; a ridiculously hard challenge but oh so luring and it would feel so good to pull it off; and most of the route is awesome: in scenery, technicality and fun-ity. The ‘race’ is actually planned for 2012 but it doesn’t hurt to prepare oneself.
- roadie stuff: Climb to Kaiser, Terrible Two? Another clean sub-20 on OLH would be nice too.
- Xterra Tahoe? (requires learning to swim properly) A ‘hard’ hundie? (Breckenridge 100 comes to mind once again; Tahoe-Sierra 100 as well but I don’t like the vibe around it so much nor the qualifier stuff)

With regards to MTBGuru.com: I’m not in danger of overstating anything if I say 2010 has been a quiet year. Aside from minor changes and maintenance, the major new effort was the integration of Google’s Fusion Tables, something which proved to be a very useful feature. Otherwise, ‘steady as she goes’ remains our motto; since it doesn’t look like Tom or I will have a lot of time to develop new things, probably more of the same in 2011; perhaps a redesign (css) if we feel ambitious.

Now back to the program. I want to use photos that I haven’t shown here before so let’s start with this:

Jeff beautifully expresses his sense of wonder about those adventurous early spring Coe rides. Or is he re-enacting that time when he ran into a raging bull on the trail? Those rides, through lush blankets of wildflowers, the land teeming with wildlife, seem like vague memories now, but soon their time will come again.

Coe was a bit of a theme, obviously, the Hard COEre 100 being without contest the most memorable riding experience of the year; but the great thing is that Coe lets you explore a lot of new stuff, anytime you’re up for it – I think there may be still a few years left before I’ve touched everything, at the current rate. During winter and spring, Santa Teresa was another fine riding theatre – Rocky Ridge and Stiles Ranch trails being the main poles of attraction.

It was late spring when I focused on the ‘road’ ahead: the Wildflower tri, with my bike-challenged coworker (resulting in a near win), and more memorably, the Alta Alpina double century, which I sort of haphazardly tackled, together with Jeff and Peter. I learned how also the road bike can dish out formidable levels of suffering, though most of it was probably of my own doing (next time: do not leave the cold gear at home).

Then summer came by, and I tasted some more Tahoe, but now on dirt. This is highly addictive, so I didn’t think I got enough, but the rides on the Tahoe Rim trail, and the Hole-in-the-Ground + Donner Rim trails certainly made a mental mark, even with mechanical mishaps and all (Tom’s improvised ‘hard tail’ was a McGyverian highlight).
And the trip with Ria on a gorgeous day to the Flume was unforgettable.

The past year, I’ve become a happier practicioner of mountain bike swimming – or is that swim mountain biking? My favorite places to perform this refreshing endeavour are alpine lakes such as Marlette, Star Lake or Dardanelles Lake – it is of course really great in the summer heat, but even when it’s cooler I found it to rejuvenate mind and body quite well, in particular when half-wasted deep into a tough ride. Maybe next year I will graduate to swimming in Coe lakes?