Injury, Recovery, and Riding!

I have just started riding again after two serious fractures in the Tibia and Fibula bones that kept me off the bike for twelve long weeks.   Unfortunately my injury was not due to any epic mountain bike crashes or dangerous activities, I broke fractured my ankle walking down the stairs of my school.  I had surgery and one screw put in my ankle, I was treated at the Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee, California.  My orthopedic surgeon was Dr. Osgood who was a great doctor and good to work with.  I spent nine weeks on crutches and then moved on to a cane.  I spent eight weeks in physical therapy at Body Logic Physical Therapy in Grass Valley, California.

     After twelve weeks from being away from the sport and activity that I love I was over joyed to get back on the mountain bike!!!  My balance and fitness are coming back and I am looking forward to lots of riding over the summer.  So far I have gotten up to Grouse Ridge and Downieville areas for some great truly gnarly rock laden terrain, as well as other wonderful local spots.   I came in first place in the Nevada City Dirt Classic #1 in the CAT 2 division, and am currently training for the Downieville Classic Cross-Country Race.

 

North Yuba Trail

The sunset

Today I did an out and back on the new section of North Yuba Trail from Goodyears Bar to Downieville.

One of the fun technical sections on  N. Yuba

This new section of trail is super fun and is probably 12 to 18 inches wide most of the way and is scattered with lose rock that could send you in the N. Yuba Canyon if you don't pay attention to the trail.

My Camber and my dad's HiFi.

  It is 6.5 miles one way and if you are going to only do it one way start in Downieville and go down to Goodyears Bar.

There was a little snow.

There was some snow and we came back in the dark but this just made this adventure even more epic.  This new portion of trail was constructed by the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship along with the United States States Forest Service.

A huge boulder in the woods.

  This is another awesome trail in the Downieville area that is still passable in the winter months.  Definitely get out there and ride the sweet piece of single track because it is a total must ride trail.

 

N. Yuba Trail

TBF MTB Classic

Last weekend I raced in the Total Body Fitness MTB Classic in Granite Bay, California.  I came in second place out of 23 racers in the High School Sport category. I will also compete in the next TBF race on February 17 in preparation for my my high school Nor Cal season.

Hammering into the finish

  I had a race time of 1:26:01 and did three laps making it a 18mi race.  The course is a roller coaster of ups and downs with some scattered rock gardens and sandy conditions.

Me in the front making my move.

On the podium

  TBF does a great job of putting together these awesome local races.  These races are are a great way to get in shape for the 2013 mountain bike racing season so I hope you come down to next races they put on.

So Cal MTB Trip Part 2

 Here are some more pictures of our trip.  Enjoy!

Bloody Nose Trail

  Montana de Oro State Park has some great mountain bike trails, but Bloody Nose Trail is not one of them. Equestrian use has pretty much trashed this trail and is now a sand trench filled with poor attempts at water bars.

My bike getting some sun

Coming down Hazard Peak Trail

Hazard Peak Trail in Montana de Oro SP has awesome flow and is smooth and fast. These trails are beautifully maintained by Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers (CCCMB).                                     

 Another cool feature of Montana de Oro were the tool stations along the trails, so anyone can do a little work to keep these trails  sweet.                                                                                               

Cruising

 

Rock-it Trail

  Aliso and Wood Canyon County Park had some fun trails especially for being so close to an urban sprawl.  Rock-it Trail was our favorite trail in the park and has some fun rocky sections.

San Juan Trail

We rode San Juan Trail as an out and back, to Cocktail Rock and back down to the parking lot.  This was of the best rides of the trip and is truly awesome.                                                                       

Sunset SLO City style

So Cal Trip Part 1

  For the past week I have been in Southern California riding some of the great trails down there.  I rode the Hazard Peak Trails, part of Backbone Trail, Aliso and Wood Canyon Trails, San Juan Trail, and the Nobel Canyon Trail.  
  Nobel Canyon was by far my favorite ride of the trip, it features some extremely technically difficult rocky terrain that keeps you on your toes the entire ride.  We started at the lower trail head and rode up Pine Valley Rd. to the third trail intersection after over 2000 ft of climbing we started the awesome descent this is the way to go if you want an epic All Mountain loop.  The trail passes through different ecosystems including Alpine Forest, High Dessert, and Scrub Brush.

The "Staircase to Hell" on Nobel Canyon Trail.

   The climb is a long paved fire-road and is not too bad if it is not too hot.  

Some snow at the top.

    The Downhill starts out smooth and we experienced snow in early January, it then turns into miles of some very chunky terrain that means hike-a-bike for most riders.

Take one.

Take two!

 This ride is awesome and can also be shuttled but climbing to the top is what makes this an epic adventure. 

getting rowdy on Nobel Canyon

Made it down!!!

 If you are in the San Diego area this is a must ride trail for expert and intermediate riders who like technical riding.

Forest City Flow

Last weekend I got out to Forest City to enjoy miles of the fun flow Cross Country trails.  I started at the kiosk, ascended the Sandusky Jeep Road, went around Truckee Ditch Trail to Big Tree Trail Head, and then descended back to town on Ridge Runner and High Grade Trails, a very nice 16 mile loop.

A berm on Truckee Ditch Trail.

One of many creek crossings on Truckee Ditch.

The top of the climb !

The new section of Truckee Ditch Trail.

If you have never been out to Forest City I strongly suggest going, the trails are fun for all levels and there are lots of optional bike features.  All of the trails were beautiful built by the Forest Trails Alliance (FTA).  Happy Trails-Ruffrider

Nevada City Dirt Classic # 3

The last race of this years Nevada City Dirt Classic series happened on September 29, and was a blast just like the other two were. I came in second in the 15-18 Cat 2 division. This time the course was reversed making it more technically and physically challenging, because you had to climb the Halleluiah Trail switchbacks and go down through the "rock garden".

Me on my last lap !

Horn of The Bull Taquaria served great Mexican food, and smoothies made from a bike powered blender were free to racers.

Most of the racers that podiumed in the last race.

 If you did not make it to this event this year be sure to attend next year YBONC race or races to have a great time and support mountain biking in our area at the same time! - Ruffrder

Tahoe Visit !!!

Resting under the Aspens

This week I got to ride some trails in the Tahoe area that I have been dying to ride.  I rode the Sawtooth Ridge Trail in Truckee, the infamous Tahoe Flume Trail, as well as checking out the Truckee Pump Track.  Here are some pictures of my trip.

Flume Trail

Sawtooth Ridge Trail

Sawtooth Trail is a fun 10 mile loop that is littered with lose rock and lots of optional features to keep it interesting. 

 

A fun rock slab on the side of Sawtooth Ridge Trail.

One of many features along Sawtooth Trail

A log ride on Flume Trail

  Flume Trail is an awesome 13 mile ride that starts at the Flume Trail Bike Shop and ends at the Tunnel Creek Station Cafe.  The ride begins with a 5 mile climb up the North Canyon Road to Marlette Lake.  Then you take the Flame Trail, a flat singletrack with beautiful views a Lake Tahoe, giant boulders on one side of the trail and a steep cliff drop on the other.  After the Flume Trail you ride down a fast, sandy fire-road down to the Cafe.

                         

Forest City

A fun rock lip on Ridge Runner

Hi all,  I just went on a great ride up in Forest City.  Forest City is an old historic town in the Sierra Nevada near Downieville from the gold rush era.  Some of the historic buildings still stand in town.

There are many great trails around Forest City, expertly built by the Forest Trail Alliance (FTA) these trails are the epitome of flow.  Today I started at the kiosk went up Sandusky Jeep Road and Trail to Big Tree Trail Head.  I stopped at the beautiful stone bridge to check out the "String of Pearls", a super cool optional technical rock feature.

                                                  

The "String of Pearls"

From there I descended Ridge Runner and High Grade Trails back to Forrest City.  Ridge Runner is around four miles long and is filled with banked turns and and fun optional technical features.  High Grade Trail is one of my favorite trails and is a roller coaster filled with big banks and just enough lose rock to keep it interesting.  Today my rear derailleur cable broke on this trail.

        This great XC loop is around 11 miles long, it is an awesome ride no matter what your skill level is.

"I almost made it"

The awesome view from Ridge Runner.