It Doesn't Get any Better (from Kathy)

Friday, February 20, 2009

It Doesn't Get Any Better...

Occasionally the local mountains in San Diego county get enough snow to cross country ski. The past few weeks of winter weather left a wonderland in the Laguna's. John, Red and I loaded up the CRV and headed east, about an hour later we strapped on the ski's, left the CRV behind

and took off for Big Laguna Meadow.



It was a warm day, probably could have skied in shorts. John quickly stripped down.




Emerging from the trees into the meadow, we decided to ski to the far end of the meadow.


Passing the lake..

At this point we had only seen one other person. In fact, by the end of our trip we had seen a total of 5. It's amazing that less than an hour from San Diego, we had this all to ourselves. Just us and the cattle dog.



We reached the far end of the meadow and decided to take a lunch break.



Looking back over our route,


we enjoyed our favorite Subway Veggie Delight, and Red's favorite dog biscuit. Our lunch site was the top of a little bunny slope, so we took advantage of that and did a few downhill runs.






Okay so it wasn't that big of hill, but we had fun.


We have years of good memories in the Laguna's.

Posted by Dragon Lady at 2:07 PM 0 comments

Cuyamaca Peak, Wednesday Feb 18

I haven't been to the peak of Cuyamaca in a long time. I had things to do, so arrived at the Paso Picacho Campground about noon. Quickly donned my skis and and shuffled around the day use parking lot and map. Went to the North and found trees had fallen around most of the "trails" we city folks look for. Did a big loop and came back to the map across from where my car was parked. After putting on my glasses, realiazed that the Lookout Fire Road was further South, leaving from the CDF parking area.

As the first person in the wilderness, I was glad to make tracks up the road. Obviously, if I had know what I was doing, would have not wasted forty minutes finding the start. But, here we are in God's wilderness and I want to get on that peak , which I can see from my house. After an hour of sweating and sliding, have made it about 1.5 miles and am thinking about mountain lions. My best mountain biking buddie's wife found the woman up this trail, who had been attacked by the lion. It was not a good mental image for me or her. I have always been a bit timid, too imaginative to be fully macho. So about half way up, start to think too much about the poor visibility of the brush near me and notice that I don't have any bars in my battery of the cell. Seems like a good, prudent time to turn around. But just as I turn "chicken", a snow shoer appears. I ask if he would mind if I tagged around to the peak. He seemed a bit reticent, but agreed.

Ed taxed my meager skills, but we arrived on the peak knowing that each of us had done a few crazy things and were not so afraid to do a few more.



Ed is a construction worker who knows how to make good use of his down time. He moves quick and fast like a good athlete and was a good companion. He was surprised that my skis work well in climbing and I was similarly impressed with his speed uphill.

As I turn around to do the decent, it became quickly obvious that the conditions were not optimal for a quick return to the car. The light was great for pictures, but speed was a problem on the downhill. After expending a considerable effort on two or three hundred feet of decent, a godsend appeared.

The CDF people had driven a snow cat up the road. Most cross country ski people dislike the snow cat as an embodiment of the dark side. I, however, like the track in deep snow and gravitate toward it. This day, the snow cat did not spawn the usual "ice cookies". It pulverized the heavy snow and made life good. Instead of a treacherous downhill, the psuedo powder machine made a hard downhill easy. By paralleling across the high spot which the cat didn't touch, one could tamp down the downhill speed. What fun. This was the best backcountry downhill that I have had it many a year. SoCal rocks!

You could see the Salton Sea to the East and San G and San Jacinto to the North. All this while wailing downhill on the cat's tracks. This it too weird and yet just right. What a perfect day in San Diego's mountains. Two hours uphill and twenty minutes downhill, just the way God intended!

Tour de Palm Springs, Feb 14, 2009

Sunday, February 15, 2009 (by Kathy)

Tour de Palm Springs

Yesterday was the annual Tour de Palm Springs.

There are over 10,000 riders raising about $200,000.00 dollars for local Palm Spring charitable organizations. There are 5 routes: 100, 55, 25, 10 and 5 miles.


Dave, Mike, John and I joined a few thousands fellow riders for the 55 mile option.

Brittany opted for the 10 mile version.

Erica and Betty provided pool side support.

As the race got started it was a little breezy as we headed out of downtown toward Interstate 10. It wasn't all bad though since it turned into a great tailwind down Dillon road.

Riding through the Coachella Valley with Mt. San Jacinto to the south


and San Gorgonio Mountains to the north.

It doesn't get any better.
The day ended with a nice dinner downtown, then a little bubbly in Dave & Erica's room.

5 foot of snow at Mammoth, I was there!

As I drove up the 395 ribbon of highway, my thoughts were mostly about the bad weather that seemed a part of my lot. I had left late in the morning from San Diego on a Sunday to avoid the traffic, but it looked like the Sun God was going to leave me before arriving at the San Diego Ski Club Chalet at Mammoth. The traffic stop was just before the Mammoth turnoff.

I had borrowed my wife's Honda CRV after our last weekend success in the desert. If this 2002 baby can do the dunes, why not the snow? I had overpacked as usual, with cross country, downhill , food and clothes. Lets not count the bags. Why am I such a worst case person, who knows. Anyway, I assume that the traffic stop does not apply to me. Too many cars and cops are screwing around. I confidently manouver around the stopped vehicles and people with my sure footed CRV. I go slow, because any idot knows that brakes don't work on ice. As I get close to the ski hut, am worried about all the snow that hasn't been plowed near the "chalet".

Find a place to park and even though the snow is a couple of feet deep, the car works great. I get my Mexican blanket, sleeping bag and find that there is only one other person on the men's side. What good luck! Unfortunately, by morning the hut is fairly full. Everyone has heard about the five foot dump at Mammoth!

I get up late and try to ignore the engine light on my wonderful CRV. Go to a parking lot in the sun and with 20 degrees to my credit, start to look at the cooling system. Within a few seconds, have dropped the cover to the cooling system resovoir. One hour later, with hands starting to feel pain, give up on finding said cover. Call my friend Bob, who knows the wonders of the auto. He says the resovoir is not a part of the pressure system, so avoid spillage with a sandwich bag. Lets go skiing!

Half way up the hill, the temperature gauge is pinning. Please Dear God, let me make it to a turnoff. I make it to a place where I can turn left to get to a place stategically placed for a down hill move on the downhill side. Turn off the engine and listen to the silence. It is also very, very cold. Wish that I had thought to bring along some warmer clothes. Look at the cell battery bars and also wish that I had charged it up this morning. Call info for tow and have two choices. The first choice tells me that he can't make it for two hours. How many tow drivers in San Diego would have been this honest. Is he getting a bonus for doing his job in a responsible way? The second option says he'll be there in 20 minutes, and he is. A six foot 4 inch Native American with no attitude. He is the most cool and competent person that I have met in a long time. Ralph gives me the Goodyear reference and I believe him. We go there, and after all is said and done, he takes me and my gear to the road the Chalet is on. Something about this guy inspires confidence and hope. He says his job is dangerous and I believe him. 395 can be a strange place in the snow, late at night. I would trust my life to this man and I bet he doesn't get a bonus for doing his job.

Chuck, the head man at Goodyear across from the Chalet, says that it is probably a stuck thermostat and it turn out that it is. By then I am an expert at the Mammoth bus system and am pretty tired of communal living at the Chalet. It is mostly me, I gave up on the Viet Nam war after a very difficult National Guard physical. I can live in a small tent in the snow, if I am alone. Well, anyway on a difficult early evening, Chuck agreed to have himself and his mechanic stay late to get me on my way at 6:00 PM. He lives in Bishop, so that means that he got home late for me. How can I thank people like this? Chuck had talked to me about all his retirement plans being changed due to the economic meltdown. He didn't get a bonus either.

Superstition Mountains (from Kathy) Jan 2009

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Superstition Mountain

We joined our friends Bob and Amyfor a trip out to Superstition Mountain, an area popular with off road enthusiasts. John and I enjoy trips to the desert, however we usually choose to hike or bike. This trip was a first for both of us to Superstition. Bob got a new toy and wanted to give it a try.


We drove our Honda CRV.
Needless to say ours was the only CRV in sight. Not too many off roaders would be seen dead let alone on Superstition in a CRV. But with deflated tires (a must for sandy areas) John skillfully off-roaded the CRV like a pro. It helped having the insurance that Bob's new toy could pull the CRV out of any trouble.

An unexpected treat in the desert today. The US Navy Blue Angels were training for their upcoming show in El Centro. They were buzzing Superstition low and fast.


We left San Diego in the morning, gloomy weather. Two hours later, we spent a great day driving around the sunny, warm desert with good friends.


Even Red the crazy Cattle Dog had a good day.

Posted by Dragon Lady at 6:42 PM 0 comments

Stagecoach Century, Saturday Jan 17

(click to enlarge map)

I have about six weeks worth of training into this 100 mile bike ride. The last few weeks, had to forgo the surfing and golf to be sure that my back would be good for the ride. As you get older, you either get smarter or pay the price.

The night before the ride, got to bed early and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. Set two alarm clocks and then went to bed after taking a temazepam (used for high altitude sleep aid). Somehow, overslept and woke in a panic with 15 minutes to leave the house. This was not in the plan, but felt reassured that things never go completely as planned. Also, kind of regretted telling Jeremy (my friend who flew in from Portland to do the ride) the day before that he was always late.



Sunrise in Ocotillo was beautiful, in the 50's and felt desert warm already. The start point is now West of town, at the community park. The participants are a diverse group, both serious bikers and weekend warriors. The mood is slightly anxious, but friendly. Our team of Mike, Bruce, Pat, Jeremy and myself start at the designated 7:15 time and get in a pace line of other riders moving a bit fast for me. After about ten or fifteen minutes, decided that I better drop off and ride at my own pace, if I was going to make the distance. Score one for strategy but a lessening of the certitude that I was really ready for this one.

Since the wind wasn't a factor going out, the pace line wasn't really as essential as in previous Stagecoach rides. This was good for me, because there was no pressure to keep up with any group to beat the wind. At the first rest stop at the Carrizo Badland Overlook, everyone in my group got back together and then I realized that we weren't separated by that much time afterall. The volunteers were very friendly and organized.

The ocotillos were in deep green from the recent rains. The smell of the open desert is unique and brings back many childhood memories for me. The sun was brilliant and all our spirits were rising with it. This was going to be an easy one. My friends and I became more confident and you could feel a lifting of our fears about lack of conditioning etc.

Mike made an excellent summary of the ride and I can't hope to top it for nailing the facts of the ride:

"The ride conditions were very good. Winds were calm to slight tail wind going out and variable head winds coming back, except for a short stretch near the end were we were able to cruise easily at 26 mph. Temps were 54 at the start and got up to 80. No crashes or flats or cramps. Aid stations were fully stocked with good stuff and attended by able friendly volunteers."

"The top section is the raw and calculated data, most of which shows up on the graphs on the far right. The ascent and decent data is not found on the graphs. The top graph is plotted over time. The bottom is plotted over distance." (click to enlarge, from Mike's bike computer download)

We all finished the ride in good shape. According to the computer on Jeremy's bike, we did the 100 miles in 6 hours and 59 minutes of actual bike riding. Many thanks to Mike for the Corona that tasted better than any beer in a long time. Looking forward to next year, when I may even buy a tee shirt.

For you adrenaline junkies, take a look at my friend Bill's helmet cam on a speed run:


Kitchen Creek by Bill Ross from John McFrog on Vimeo.

Training for the Stagecoach Century and a few New Year's goals

I like to do the century rides in the desert more than training. In early December Mike questioned why my name was not on the list for the Stagecoach. So, this allowed 6 weeks or so for preparation and training. My bike still had two wheels, but my legs were small from inactivity and my normal steel will was diminished from the holiday preparations and my proclivity for rest and party activities.

So, I made a plan. It involved rides from my door to Willow Road and then out Dehesa. Eventually, it would include rides up Harbison Canyon to Alpine. I usually just ride the five cities ride (around the San Diego Bay and back by ferry) on Sundays as a penance for Friday and Saturday self abuse experiments. Bike riders from all over San Diego come to Rancho to ride the Willow access to the hill country around where we live, so bikers are familiar if not respected members of the community and surrounding roads.

During the weekdays, Willow is populated by over caffinated commuters, nervous gamblers and native Americans. Armed with my 1 inch bike mirror and an assumed air of invincibility, I try to appear nonchalant about the apparent disparity between the automobile mass and speed versus mine. Any sign of excessive speed, intoxication, cell use or apparent ineptitude are met by my moving over to the right of an already diminished bike lane area. The weekends provide the additional composition of automobile test pilots, tourists, Harley riders and Ninja thrill seekers. Each ride to better my ability to complete the Century has at its completion a sacrifice to the lucky gods for my good fortune to survive another day and solid proof that I live a charmed life.

I started with 20 mile flat rides and at one week before the ride am up to a five cities ride in the morning and a ride to Alpine from my home soon after. This is about 60 miles, which should put me in a good position to complete the 100 miles in the desert. The desert ride will be completely safe in relation to the training rides. I look forward to the beauty of the desert and the companionship of my four partners on the ride. All are experienced riders and we will be probably be "drafting", which will make the ride easier if there is wind. Drafting involves riding within inches of the next person in a row while peddling at speed. It assumes confidence in your friends and full concentration on not touching wheels. If you do touch wheels, bad things can and usually do happen. The payoff is that you are "pulled" along with 10 to 20 percent free propulsion, during the time you are not the leader.

My training rides are quite boring and all that breaks the monotony is the road kill, trucker pee bottles, broken vodka containers and avoiding obvious road hazards. Lately, my thoughts tend toward ruminations on where things are going in America, especially in light of some books that I have been reading lately( The Limits of Power and The War for Wealth). When I spout off on our mountain bike rides, my friends listen patiently and sometimes are sympathetic. Carl realizes my profound concern about current trends/events and has the good sense to suggest that our part in this big machine is indeed quite puny and thus offers some sense of proportion to my dismay. My goals for the coming year center around trying to keep my concerns a motivation for action rather than a negative emotional reaction.

The retired lifestyle that I am fortunate enough to enjoy in relative good health offers almost complete freedom of action. I can make good on my moral values by concrete action. We live in a desert (San Diego), so this year am going to shift to succulents for landscaping. Going to get more diligent in using buckets to capture water otherwise wasted waiting for warm. I will endeavor to buy American where possible and support stores that pay a living wage. Want to continue to communicate with elected government reps on policy matters, especially my willingness to pay more taxes for education, medical care and infrastructure that will make my country a more humane place now and for the lives of my children and grandchildren. I will try to drive at a fuel efficient speed if it is all safe. It probably won't change the world in the grand scheme of things, but it will hopefully make me feel better about my part and make me a little more positive around my friends.

The last few days I have been experimenting with conversion software to transfer DVD content into a more web and pc friendly format. Take a look at this video that I uploaded to Vimeo. If you want better resolution, the 65 megabyte file can be downloaded to your computer. Click vimeo on the bottom tool bar to get text summary and download possibility.


Toroweap 2006 with Friends from John McFrog on Vimeo.

Stagecoach Bike Century Background

Some places live in our hearts and our minds. Ocotillo, a desert town 80 miles east of San Diego, is one of those places for me. It sits dusty and austere just on the edge of the Anza-Borrego State Park. My grandfather Ben had been a King's Canyon horse ranger, until he met my grandmother, a teacher in Ely, Nevada. They lived in La Mesa when he became a civil servant and one of the founders of the North Island Credit Union. He loved the desert and my earliest memories of camping were feeding the kangaroo rats at Borrego Springs. Here is a picture of us at Borrego Palm Canyon in 1949.

He liked the desert and bought a trailer/house shack in Ocotillo. I would go down with my grandparents on weekends and holidays. We would wander around the lunar landscape with its prickly vegetation and spare, big sky beauty. The power of powder was revealed to me in the form of a .22 rifle and the merciless killing of numerous beer and soda cans. We hunted petrified wood and talked to the petrified denizens of this arid outpost amid the nuclear fears of the 50's.

So, when my friend Mike told me about the Stagecoach Century Bike ride, it was hard to resist. It starts in Ocotillo at about 300 ft elevation and turn around close to Shelter Valley at about 2600 feet. The weather defines the ride. You have already paid your entry fee, so if the wind decides to blow or it turns cold, the sparkling desert sun of your hopes meets the cold ass reality of your fears.

Manger Makeover

My family is prolific, your typical Irish Catholic types. We have 26 family members at Christmas gatherings, spanning four generations. So when it was our turn to host the event, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the suburban house was not going to work very well. It was then that my wife and I hit on the idea of a Manger Makeover.


OK, so a garage is not technically a trough for horses nor does it have that biblical cache of manger. Give me a little license, please... We decided that the garage had the square footage to seal the deal, but what about our messy possessions? Kathy is resourceful, and thought that they could be hidden for under $50 by hanging sheets on the sides of the room. (12 sheets bought on line from a hotel supplier) We strung twine through a sewn pocket on the top of those sheets that could not be stapled to something solid. Then, we bought $20 worth of on sale Xmas lights to string across the dining area. These were stapled up, except for the garage door, where we used clear packing tape.

Two 15,000 BTU heaters were fired up for two hours before the event. When Nathan, the two year old toddler, arrived we turned them off and put them away. Free Christmas MP3 music was downloaded for further mood enhancement. A good time was had by all during the dining and even more fun when we moved to the living room for the Chinese gift exchange.