I took the one less traveled by,

...and that has made all of the difference.

Rode my bike to the ocean and back. Not sure of the stats, but I think I rode 22-24 miles, and climbed 2500-3000 feet in and out of Sycamore Canyon.

As you can see, the parking lot was packed. Clearly, I was in the "more traveled by" section.

Through the field...

Past Boney Mountain...

And ten miles later, I was at the Pacific.

The ride to the ocean was filled with hikers, bikers, and horses. On the way back, I chose the Overlook trail which climbs 1200+ feet in around 3 miles. Nothing crazy steep, but enough to thin out the crowd. Here is a view of the beach(above picture) about half way up the climb.

View from the top of the Overlook trail towards home.

Towards the ocean.

Took the Backbone singletrack down from the Overlook trail. This section was about 2+miles of berms, drops, and sweet flowing trail. I was almost at the bottom when I remembered to take a picture.
Overall a very tiring, but great ride.

Mountain Biking with Tony - 104 Fahrenheit

Took a quick spin through Malibu Creek Park with Tony - stopped at the MASH site on the way through. It was so hot, we both drained our 100 oz Camelbaks in less than an hour and a half.

Log Rolls, Flips, and Flag Football

Mack's team lost a competitive game at Wood Ranch Park today. Mack had a couple of nice coverage plays on defense including an interception and long run back. Zeke and Bo were clearly bored out of their minds...


Bodie flipping, Zeke log rolling...

Clearly, that wore them out.

Onto the game. Last minute pre-game instruction.

Going deeeeeeeep......

At the ready on defense.

Post Game speech. Bodie joined the huddle.

Dead Horse, Satan's Staircase, and the Three Mile Smile

On my second day in Vegas, I decided to try a trail in the Cottonwood Valley called Dead Horse. The map said 11 miles, but I passed mile marker 14.6 a long way from my truck. I'm guessing it ended being around 17 miles total, and worth every inch.

The trail started with a gradual climb up to these mountains. They looked so close, but were over two miles away.

Space takes on a new meaning in the desert. I could see the cars in the distance, but couldn't hear them.

Wish I knew his name. Stared at this craggy mountain for much of my ride.

The cacti were in bloom.

If you open this photo up, you can see Vegas in the background 20 miles away(the tower is the Stratosphere).

Saw a lot of shotgun shells. Little spooky considering how remote the trail system was.

At the top of Satan's Staircase: a quick climbing series of switchbacks. View was incredible.

Coming down the backside of Satan's Staircase, singletrack twisted through the Joshua Trees.

And eventually gave way to a sweeping trail through the red dirt. Unfortunately the ride was so much fun, I forgot to take pictures.

Twisting through the Joshua Trees again, on the way home.

Biking in Vegas - Blue Diamond

Took my bike along on a recent trip to Lost Wages. Got there late Thursday, and rode a loop that started and ended in Blue Diamond, a quaint, former mining town around 20 miles from the strip.

The sandy road out as the sun slowly sank behind the rocks.

The trails and scenery were very rocky.

Big spaces.

Heading back to Blue Diamond. Past the dirt waves.....

And into Blue Diamond.