iRide

This morning, J and I decided to hit up the Tri Canyon trails–Rose, San Clemente and Tecalote Canyons. I rode there a long time ago with the Rock MTB guys and had fun that day–though I had only been riding for about 6 months at that point. I knew the ride would be pretty tame, but at least it would be a change of pace.

We had printed out some online directions and tried to follow them. Unfortunately, they weren’t very accurate and the route was kind of lame. So, we then decided to attempt to do the same route I did 4 years ago and my memory actually served me pretty well. We were able to follow the same route–albeit with a few wrong turns and double backs. It made for a fun ride after all. I made sure to charge my camera batteries last night so I could take lot’s of pics and then promptly forgot the camera in the car.

J brought his camera though and got a few pics of the trail and a few pics of me showing off:

Heading out:

J trying to make sense of the directions:

Steep, off-camber roller (the piece of paper in the pic is the awful directions we printed out. We decided they were worthless and as a joke, J tossed them on the ground so I could run over them):

Steep DH with step downs, attempt #1:

The line/angle ended up being too tight and I had to put a foot down before I rolled the last part. So I hiked back up and tried a different line. Attempt #2:

Attempt #2 was successful. We ended up having a pretty good ride. About 12 miles and just under 800′ of ascent. Not too bad for an easy day and 2 hours of ride time–including many stops to try to interpret bad directions and then stopping for me to get my bearings when we decided to re-create the route from 2004.

Tomorrow, J and I are planning to take the boys to Mission Trails to do our route there. It should be fun. I’d like to get in a ride Sunday afternoon, but I’m not sure how that will go. Fallbrook is so sandy I don’t want to go back until we get some rain to firm it up a bit. We’ll see. Maybe I can talk dad into driving up to Santa Rosa.

Next week we have Belt Testing at Taekwondo. Dylan and I will be testing for Recommended Black Belt and Spencer will be testing for Decided Red Belt (he missed a testing cycle over the Summer due to surgery, so he’s a belt behind Dylan and I now). I’m pretty stoked about it. It’s been a long road and I’m glad to be taking this next step towards earning my Black Belt.

I also forgot to mention that Tuesday night I taught all the classes at Taekwondo by myself!! Mrs. Lystra asked me if I could teach for her. She wasn’t feeling well and needed the rest. She would be there to assist me the whole time and help me if I needed it, but I would be teaching–assisting is a whole lot easier than being the lead instructor/teacher. It went very well. I fell into a pretty good rhythm right away and carried it through all night. Mrs. Lystra said I did an awesome job and she was very impressed. That means a lot to me coming from her. I respect all of my instructors, but Mrs. Lystra and I have a really good relationship and I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. For her to say I did an awesome job means a lot to me.

Hopefully Tonya can get some good pics of the testing. Until next time, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

Wow it feels awesome to get back in the saddle again!! I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I rode in Fallbrook yesterday with dad. It was fitting that my first ride back be in Fallbrook–where it all started in the first place, LOL. The conditions were horrible. Sand, sand and more sand. It was unreal. No flow was possible because of it. But it was still cool. I was out there with dad (because of our work schedules, we don’t ride together near enough lately) and I actually was glad I had to work so hard in the sand. I needed a good butt-kicking to get me back into it.

Today, Jeremy and I re-rode our Mission Trails route and had a blast. It was SO nice to be rid of that nasty virus I had and actually be able to breathe while riding. Getting enough Oxygen makes a big difference…who knew??

Here’s a few pics J shot:

Long climb up the canyon. We climbed right-to-left in the pics, then curved around and came up the trail towards the camera:

Switchbacks (there’s 7 of them, I went 7 for 7 today!!)

The hardest of the 7 switchbacks. Just barely made it:

When I got home after the ride, I finally got around to taking a couple pics of the new Turner 5-Spot:

James asked a really good question about the new bike in a comment to my last post that I neglected to address. He asked: How will this compare to the Yeti? What will determine when you ride one over the other? Like I said–a very good question. I meant to put the reason in my last post but forgot to, so I will answer it here.

How will this compare to the Yeti: I need/want a lighter weight bike to ride. I plan on building it up to be a basic Cross Country/Trail bike, weighing in at around 28 lbs. The Yeti has a very aggressive build and sits at 32.5 lbs now. Believe me–you can feel an extra 5.5 lbs of weight when you’re climbing.

What will determine when you ride one over the other: The trail I’m riding will have a big say in which bike I take out. A lot of the trails I ride don’t require a bike as aggressive as the Yeti is built. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret (over)building the Yeti. I love having strong wheels and the Fox 36 TALAS is the sweetest fork ever made. I have tons of confidence on that bike. I just wanted something a little lighter and less aggressive in my stable too. My mood will also determine which bike I’ll take out. If I feel like playing around and “getting stupid” as I like to call it, I’ll take the Yeti out so I can bash around.

Don’t forget too–I collect bikes. When I decided having the SS around was a waste and decided to sell it, I started looking at another bike to buy with the money. I will never again sell a bike without then replacing it with another. I’ve made that mistake a couple of times in the past and will never do it again.

Thanks for the great question James!!

I’m not sure what rides I will be able to get in this week, but I plan on getting in at least a couple!! Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

…but some cool things have happened. More on that in a bit.

So after my Taekwondo Instructor Camp last Saturday (see previous post), my legs were WRECKED!! I was so sore Sunday and Monday I could barely walk. My quads were just destroyed. So no riding was possible either of those two days. Tuesday I was still sore, but could walk OK. Wednesday I had to drive up to Norco after work (more on that in a bit) and didn’t get home until 9PM, so no riding then. Thursday night at sparring class, I somehow managed to gash the bottom of my left foot open. It was pretty sore all day Friday so I didn’t ride. Friday night I had to drive to San Clemente (more on why in a bit), so no Friday afternoon or night ride.

Today, we had the Grand Opening for our new Dojang (school) and I needed to be there for that. Then off to a birthday party at 3PM and the usual after-party festivities = no riding today either. That means I haven’t ridden in 3 weeks!!! I think this is my longest drought in several years. I’m planning to remedy that though. I have rides planned for tomorrow and Monday morning.

Now then, about the “cool thing” that’s happened and why on Earth I had to drive to Norco after work on Wednesday. I’ve been thinking about selling my Single Speed for a little while now. Riding it kills my knees and I really only rode it at a couple of trails. I have wanted to build up another trail bike for quite some time and I came across a Shi-bangin’ deal on a Tuner 5 Spot frame–a frame I have been drooling over for awhile now. It was even Red–the color I wanted too.

So I had to drive to Norco Wednesday night to meet the buyer for the SS. I then had to drive to San Clemente Friday night to pick up the Turner frame, using the cash from the SS sale. It is SO sweet. For now, I am going to build it up with parts I have laying around, just to get it ridable. I will spend the next year or so Blinging it out to my usual high standards.

The finished build should look like this:

Frame: ‘08 Turner 5 Spot w/ Fox RP23 rear shock
Fork: ‘06 Fox TALAS RLC
Brakes: Formula The One hydraulic discs
Cranks: Shimano XT
Rear Der: SRAM X9
Front Der: Shimano XT
Shifters: SRAM X9
Cassette: SRAM 991
Stem: Thomson
Wheels: No Tubes Arches on Hope Pro II hubs
Seat Post: Crank Brothers Joplin
Seat Post collar: Hope QR
Headset: Chris King
Bars: Easton EA 70
Pedals: Atom Lab Trail Kings

I’ll take some current pics in the daylight tomorrow and update with current pics as the build progresses. Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

…at the beautiful Rancho Bernardo Swim & Tennis Club

Unfortunately, I didn’t spend it playing tennis or catching some rays by the pool. I spent it at my first ATA Instructor Certification Camp!! I was going for my Level I/Trainer certification. There were also people there for Level II/Specialty Trainer and Level III/Nationally Certified Instructor. The camp was a little smaller than I had expected. There were only 8 of us for Level I, 3 people for Level II and 12 for Level III.

I have been preparing for this Camp for the last couple months. I started getting progressively more nervous as this past week went on. However, when I woke up this morning, I felt rested and not very nervous at all.

The Camp started at 0900 with a 90 minute workout lead by Senior Master William Wacholz. HOLY COW was it hard. I don’t think I have ever been that tired in my life. It consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, kicks, strikes, punches…you name it, we did it. By the end of the 90 minutes, I could barely lift my arms. Movie trivia: “200 push-ups…how am I supposed to hit if I can’t lift my arms??” — Can you name the movie??

Fortunately, we then broke up into our groups and were afforded some rest time. My Level I class went to our training room and we had three sessions with Master Shon Bates. He is a dynamic individual and an extremely talented teacher/instructor. I was in awe of his enthusiasm and ability to break things down so they made total sense.

At one point, we all took turns teaching the class for 2 minutes. Master Bates sat at the front grading us. We had to hit all 10 of the Class Management Skills within that 2 minutes. He gave constructive criticism at the end of each student’s 2 minutes and it was very informative and practical. When I went up for my 2 minutes, he stopped me after only about 30 seconds to compliment how loud and clear my speaking was. Gold Star there!! At the end of my 2 minutes, he said I did very well. He asked me “So you’re only a Red Belt?” I said that I was (also the only color belt/non-Black Belt at the camp). He told me again that I did an awesome job and said “You are going to make a fine instructor someday!”

My heart positively soared!! I was feeling very tired and was dragging a little bit. When he said that, I wanted to do somersaults!! It was an awesome moment I will hang onto for as long as I’m in Taekwondo!!

After that, we changed out of our work-out clothes (camp T-shirt and black work-out pants) and into our TKD Do Bohks/uniforms. The Level I and II students acted as the class for the Level III students who all had to teach a 5 minute class in order to pass and become Nationally Certified. It went well and they all passed. We then had our certificate/closing ceremony and after some quick clean-up, were dismissed to go home.

Wow, sitting here typing this, I am SO tired. I am proud of myself though. I’m glad to have this Level I class behind me. I look forward to putting what I learned into action and working towards Level II.

Here’s a couple pics. If I look tired and sweaty, it’s because I am.

Me with Patrick Chamberlain. He goes to Fallbrook Martial Arts with me and was in Level I with me all day:

Me with Master Shon Bates, my instructor for the day:

Wow, what a day. I am going to be sore tomorrow!! As soon as I feel up to it though, it’s high time I got back in the saddle. Giddy-up!! Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…