2008 — a Year in Review
January: We were finally settling into the new house here in Ramona. We were very glad to finally be living back in San Diego county again!! The beginning of the new year would bring a new bike and my venture into the world of 29ers with the Zion:
I liked it form the get-go. Even though the frame would soon get replaced/upgraded, the 29er is here to stay. I would begin to assist teaching classes at Taekwondo and the rain would hamper riding. I was also looking forward to the Moab trip in April. I continued having issues with the piece-of-junk Marzocchi AMSL1 fork I had and was having even bigger issues with there awful customer service department.
February: I was still having issues with the Marzocchi fork, but finally pulled the trigger on a Gravity dropper seat post:
Up: 
Down:
I would finally start exploring the trails out here in Ramona, even though the rain forced me to be more creative at times. I would also finally start to practice hucking drops and Mark made a funny video as a joke to document this: http://furrybeanbag.com/mtb/PacManGrowsWings.mov .
March: With the rains subsiding, I started to ride morning solo rides at Lake Hodges every Monday before work, aided by my Ipod and the cool i-Control watch Tonya got me for Christmas.
I had enough of the crappy Marzocchi fork, sold it “as is” and used the money to buy the fork I should’ve bought in the first place — a Fox 36 TALAS. It looks so good on the Yeti!!
Tonya and I would discover that my sis was friends with Pauley Perrette, an actress on the popular TV show NCIS. We met her at parties at my sis’ house a few times during the year and found her to be SUPER nice and down to earth. We are now die-hard NCIS fans who never miss an episode. She even gave us a script to a previous episode. How cool is that!!
Mark and I had a couple of really fun rides at Noble Canyon and I finally sacked up and cleaned Widow Maker:
Disaster struck on one of the Noble rides however — actually on my very first ride with the new Fox 36 TALAS — the Yeti frame cracked and I would be without it for nearly the entire month:
I was still looking forward to the Moab trip the next month and was slightly worried I wouldn’t have the frame back, but was confident in Yeti’s customer service and knew, deep down, that I would have it back in time.
April: I made a few *blingy* upgrades to the Haro (white bars and wheels), just to set it off a little:
We found a new Tunnels trail at LPQ that was still pretty secret and rarely used:
I started to make more concrete plans to upgrade the frame on my 29er. I would encounter a few unexpected delays with getting the Yeti back into working order, but I got it back about a week before our Moab trip at the end of the Month. We left for Moab on the 26th and it was one of the best weeks of my life.
May: Spent the first week of the month in Moab and it was an absolute blast!! Here’s links to all the Ride Reports:
The weather got warmer by the day, rides were plentiful and I turned another year older on my birthday later that month.
June: I pulled the trigger on a new 29er frame — a Niner Cycles EMD9. Ben hosted the first annual Bacon Bowl ride at his house. We went to a Lake Elsinore Storm game and Dyl got to throw out the first pitch! Sean and I got into some serious back-country exploring out here in Ramona. I toyed around with the Singlespeed a little by turning it into a rigid “69er”. It didn’t last long. Rigid forks suck!!
July: The new 29er frame finally got built up:
Sean showed me a cool new route at Ted Williams. We busted out another awesome exploration ride out here in Ramona — which would also be the maiden voyage for the new 29er frame. Sean and I also mapped out a pretty cool loop right out my front door. We also went to a 4/10 schedule at work, with me having Fridays off. It really affected my riding from the start — and still does. I like the day off, but the decrease in available ride time isn’t so great.
August: I got in another fun Noble ride that involved some exploring and I documented the fun ride the boys and I had been doing over and over all Summer long.
Dylan was also the recipient of a pretty sweet frame upgrade. He went from the heavy, tank-like KHS frame to a pretty sweet Giant Trance frame that was given to us by a family friend. Thanks again for the frame!!
September: I took the San Diego crew up to Murrieta to hit up Santa Rosa Plateau. It was a fun ride, but I got a nasty bit of Poison Oak on that ride. This pic is from Day 1. It would get much, much worse:
Sean planned an awesome 4 day road trip up to Kernville. I was on board from the beginning. We set out and I promptly got sick. It sucked. Tonya had to make a 12 hour round trip drive to come get me and I missed out on the last 3 days of the trip. Yes, I do have the best wife ever!
I got my first taste of Mission Trails but remained sick just about the entire month. I also won a contest held by my favorite morning radio show–The Mikey Show and on a Friday at the end of the month, I got to go in studio and sit in for the entire show. I got to meet everyone on the show and sitting in and watching it all happen was super awesome!!
October: I would attend my first Level I Taekwondo Instructor Certification camp on the 4th. It was inspiring, tiring, motivating, interesting, awesome and uplifting. I was there for 12 hours. It was one of the longest, most physically and mentally taxing days of my life–and I can’t wait to do it again for Level II!!
I realized I only rode the Singlespeed at 2-3 trails and it was killing my knees. So I sold it and used the money to buy a bike frame I have been dreaming about for a long time. I saw a great deal on the the exact frame I wanted and jumped at the opportunity. A red Turner 5-Spot:
I built it up with spare parts I had. It’s still a really nice build and the upgrades I have planned for ‘09 will drop the weight down to about 28 lbs!
J and I got in a ride at Tri-Canyons. I hadn’t ridden there in close to 3 years. I actually remembered the route from 3 years prior too. J and I also got in another ride at Mission Trails. J snapped one of my favorite pics of the year on the switchbacks. I don’t know why it’s one of my faves, it just is. It’s a good “freeze frame” of the “critical” moment on a switchback:
November: James and I would bust out the Archipelago ride on the 1st. It was truly an epic and I’m proud to have knocked it out. I finally got around to exploring the Stewart Canyon/Monserate Mountain Preserve. I got in 2 rides there with Mark. It’s a fun trail and pretty technical. It’s also cool because it’s in Fallbrook. I got sick the day before Thanksgiving and didn’t ride the rest of the month.
December: I spent almost the entire month either sick with the flu, bronchitis, a sinus infection, stomach issues, or a combination thereof. Needless to say not much riding was done. Bah!! I did get in a pretty fun ride with Mark here in Ramona. We did the usual loop but discovered a few sweet singletrack sections that eliminate 2 of the 3 pavement sections. That’s always a good thing!
For the last ride of the year, I rode with Sean, Mark and Brent on Sean and Brent’s usual lunch loop at Black Mountain. We parked at the school and rode some “off the beaten path” stuff behind some houses to get to Black Mt. There are a couple of really nasty climbs and Sean cleaned them all. I remember when I could hang with him. Well, those days are gone. He’s in another galaxy now!! Anyway, we went from there up Miner’s Loop and down the other side. The climb was hard — seeing as I’m still gettting back in shape from a month off — but it was still fun. The DH back down the other side was even better! It felt almost like cheating with a 36 TALAS and a Gravity Dropper — but hey, I paid the weight penalty on the climb, might as well enjoy it on the DH!!
Anyway, it was really nice to get in one last ride for 2008 with good friends on a trail I’ve only ridden once before — at the beginning of the Archipelago ride.
Here’s a few more of my favorite pics of the year:
Rolling at Hodges:
Caught in the snow at Noble:
Tunnels bliss:
A little huckage:
Fruita single track:
Mark on Amasa Back:
Rolling out of Bartlett Wash:
Group on Bartlett Wash:
Holy Cross:
Porcupine Rim:
Mark at La Costa:
Ramona climb:
Early morning clouds:
SD Train:
Steep roller:
Switchback:
Step down:
Mark at Stewart Canyon:
End of the Archipelago ride:
Also, I’d like to wish you a Merry New Year. I thank you for reading my Blog and hope you enjoy it. I mostly do this Blog for myself, for my own record. But, I get a lot of hits every week, so I’m glad you keep coming back to see what I’m up to. Here’s to an awesome ‘09 — full of good trails with good friends!!
If you’re wondering why I typed “Merry” New Year instead of “Happy”, all I have to say is:
Until next time, seek your bliss. And, as always…
Ride lots!!
