Anderson Part II (Alpine, CA)

This morning we did a bang up job of organizing the garage, returned a borrowed kayak, then headed back to Anderson Truck Trail. Scott and Sarah came with us so we could try shuttling to the top of the world cup course. I scanned a few online forums and trail descriptions to find some mention of the shuttle route. We basically just winged it and ended up on a rutted-out fire road. We definitely had our doubts, but eventually we reached the start of the run and parked at the top of the mountain.

The trail was INSANE! There were some huge drops and kickers going straight into huge rock gardens. Some jumps even came at the end of some gnarly rock gardens, which you'd expect to make the approach nearly impossible. We hit some of the jumps and drops, but decided to just roll the trail once before trying to nail everything.

We me up with some veteran riders after the initial world cup section and rode with them for the remainder of the trail. Near the end, we noticed that Andy's bike was sitting pretty low. At first we thought that it was just the rear shock sagging, but once we got home we noticed that the frame was bent. It now has a slightly collapsed down tube (in two sections). Bummer!

Anderson Truck Trail (Alpine, CA)

This morning Andy and I had a plan: we'd wake up at 6:15, load the bikes and gear, then drive almost two hours to ride in Riverside, CA. That never happened.



The party last night was fun. We ended up with a group of about twenty on the beach. There seemed to be about two bottles of champagne per person because I ended up with several in my hands. It was a great celebration of the year to come, but not likely a good way to prepare for an epic ride. I rose around 10am and Andy and I walked the dogs to Twiggs, grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel, watched Trailer Park Boys [the movie], and then headed to ride Anderson Truck Trail in Alpine, CA.



The trail is only about twenty minutes from downtown San Diego and it's a stellar ride. It can be ridden as a loop, but for the most part it's an out-and-back with some killer downhill. There are jumps and wall rides on the way down too. We didn't have enough light left in the day to get all the way to the top of the World Cup downhill, but did get about halfway up. That section was a blast and we're planning on going back this weekend to get a full run [or two] in.

Got a Job!

Finally someone responded to my online application! I just left the interview for RGIS - an inventory collection company. It won't be the most interesting (or high-paying) job I've ever had, but it's work. The hours should be decent since I'll mainly be working before or after a retailer is open for business...that means I'll get to start my day early and get out with plenty of daylight left in the day.

I plan on living on the cheap though, so that I can save up for my big purchase just before the race season begins: an '09 GIANT Glory Downhill Bike!

The New Year

Okay, so what have I learned from 2008 and where am I headed in '09? Well, in the past year I've:

- joined a mountain bike team and raced a full season
- bought the bus, converted it to vegetable oil, and taken tons of great trips
- moved to San Diego for the "offseason"

So where does that leave me and what should I shoot for in the coming year? I suppose I'd like to:

- stay on my bike and train for a downhill race season next summer
- get a job in San Diego so I can pay myself back for the drive here
- take an extended tour through the north on the way back to Richmond
- help Rowlett's become a mountain bike specialty store
- work towards becoming a personal trainer
- race downhill all summer long and cyclocross in the fall/winter
- stay in Richmond next winter, but make the most of the cold months

Nothing too hard I suppose. I'm looking forward to the future and will be much more at ease once I find a job. The rest seems like fun though, and I'm pretty satisfied with the way things are headed.

Drive Back (Long Beach, CA)

I broke up the drive from Ventura to San Diego into two days by stopping by Long Beach to see another friend from Richmond, Karen and her boyfriend Tony. When I first got in we walked the dogs, including one they were dog-sitting named Trudy. She's an English Bull Dog that looks pretty much looks like Meaty, Rob and Big's bulldog. Oh yeah, if you click on that link make sure to find the video about meaty's party planners...funny shit.



Anyway, we walked the dogs and then headed to Trudy's place (yes, the dog's house) to jump in the hot tub. Unfortunately we found that the tub wasn't on as soon as we touched the cold water - bummer!

The next morning we grabbed some breakfast and started scouring the area for veggie oil. I spotted one drum outside of a Mexican Grill called Lola's and decided to ask about it inside. The owner's son was super nice and told me I could come grab some of the oil, so I swung by on my way out, pumped a 1/4 tank of oil, and grabbed some taquitos to go. I just got home on that 1/4 tank and popped the food in the microwave...delicious!

On my drive back I spotted another mega-van. It was a Ford van like mine [without the bus body], but beefed up with a suspension lift, racks all around, and two surf boards on the roof. Got to admit, I was a little jealous.

Oh yeah, one last thing. My brother, Dave, got me a TomTom One 125 navigation system for Christmas which I picked up from Circuit City on my way back. Thanks bro!

Dirt Jumps (Ventura, CA)

Mike is one lucky guy. He's got a downhill course and dirt jumps about a 1/4 mile behind his house. Today we needed to run a couple errands, so we decided to ride that area for a couple hours instead of trekking out to some far off trail.



The course was short and sweet. Just about a mile long, winding down the hill with bermed corners and small tabletops in between. The dirt jumps were even more fun. I didn't feel comfortable tackling most of them, but did hit a set of two that turned out to be pretty exciting. The best part was the view from the jumps. Below was the beachfront and in the distance you could see Santa Cruz Island.

Cooke's Smokehouse (Ventura, CA)

The latest BBQ joint, Cooke's Smokehouse.



Great feel inside this restaurant with dark wood and exposed brick. I got the pulled pork sandwich - pretty damn good, but not better than the Saltlick in Austin.