Calabazas-Jimmy, Mike F, Roger, Isaac

Went there once again after work on Friday. Glad I did because Jimmy is moving down to San Diego tomorrow morning. Bummer that such a great guy and rider is leaving. Had fun riding with him. It was always a session and a good time when he was there.
Calabazas is looking a little better. The horseshoe pack was swept and watered so it is looking prettty good. The step down thing is fun but I still haven't tried the step up. Figure I will do it when there aren't so many people there.

Elizabeth is going to Folsom for a few days.

Calabazas

Old picture of Calabazas I found on calabazasbmxpark.com






Been there three times now. People I have seen: John Hauer, Taylor, bmx Josh, Theo, Josh, Squirell, Butthead, Rian Barth, Wampler, Isaac, Quasi Mike, and some others I can't think of. Lots of people are going there. The jumps still suck but it is good to see old faces again. I am doing better but not good. Slowly learning how to jump Zone 3. Only can do the first three and very rarely the other ones. The step down into Cave Step is fun to do but then there is nothing to do after since I haven't done Cave Step (yet).

Metcalf and Calabazas

I went to Metcalf and there was around 10 people there. I forgot my red card thing and the ranger guy gave me all this attitude about me and others not having their card and hour much time they spend looking it up and so on. Him and two other ranger types were just standing on the steps bullshitting when I pulled up. He annoyed me. The beginning of riding was boring and I thought about just going home and selling the dirt bike. Then I started to get a little faster and was riding the mini mx course and I had fun. I wnet back to the beginner oval thing and the bike stalled when I was going up the big hill. I ran out of gas. Had to push it back to my truck and refuel. Spilling gas all over my glove of course. Went back to ride and it was kind of like starting over again. got going, went back on the mini course and i wanted to ride Trail 1 so I rode the mx course and when I felt like I was doing that good I went straight to trail 1. It started off with a hill which I was nervous about but when I saw it I was relieved how easy it looked and it was easy. Get to the top. oh shit. I don't like going downhill and it was steeper going down. I creeped down the trail, glad that no one would be coming. get to the bottom relieved and happy. Clear sailing now. Turn a corner and oh shiittt. big, long, loose, bumpy uphill. my thought was I am screwed but i had no choice so i gave it some gas and hoped for the best and somehow i made it to the top. thank goodness. then it was easy cruising back to the lot. the trail is really short. i thought about doing it again but i figured that was beginners luck. then i rode the mini course a little more but my knees were beginning to hurt so I stopped. loaded up and went to my moms house.

CALABAZAS- Drove over there and Isaacs truck was there so I was happy to see that. Put on all my gear and rode in. Saw Kyle right off. Haven't seen him in a year. and then i rode the crappy jumps in the middle. not too much to say about the jumps because they pretty much suck right now. But i did get to see Josh, Kyle, Kevin and some other people I don't know. I had fun but I had fun because of the people who were there not the jumps.

Northstar July 4-9, 2007

$743.70 Hope it is fun. I just realized I probably should have gotten my downhill bike all fixed up before I booked the room.

Day off since I work on Sunday. I plan on going to Metcalf and to Calabazas later on.

LAKE TAHOE !!! pictures are too much of a pain in the ass

Monday June 11th- We kind of wanted to leave at 10 and ended up leaving at noon. I got some stuff at 7/11 to watch it get bigger with the elevation.

Nothing too exciting about the drive there that I can remember other than we stopped at some random gas station on the way there to use the bathroom and it turned out to be the same one we went to last year. That was kind of weird. I was getting a headache the higher we got and by the time we got to Tahoe it was going pretty good. Then it got worse and then it really hurt. Then I began to feel kind of sick to my stomach. I just layed in bed being miserable and hoping that I would feel better and the trip wouldn’t get ruined by me being sick. Kept thinking how Elizabeth felt sick when we went to Wildflower and now me. So that is what I did the first day in Tahoe. Big time headache.

Tuesday June 12th- I woke up feeling fine. Cool. We went over to Raleys to get some groceries. We got a lot.

Then we loaded up the bikes and went to BIG MEADOW to ride the trail there to Round Lake. Never been on that trail before and the guidebook made it sound pretty cool. We cross the highway and onto the trail. Holy crap. It is super rocky. As in carry your bike over some sections. I tried to ride as much as I could but I was also on Elizabeth’s Nomad and didn’t want to ruin the rims or anything. I already changed the handlebars, seat, and pedals to fit me. Hee hee. After a short while the rocks were gone and we were able to actually do some riding.We get to why it is called Big Meadow. Cool.


Ouch. Ouch. Mosquitoes !!! Damn these creatures. I hate them. I kill them with disdain. Terrible thing to have on earth. We keep riding, uphill. Each time I would stop some mosquitoes would show up. Trail was all right but the mosquitoes didn’t help. Kept riding and I think I see a patch of snow up a little bit but I keep quiet. It is snow so I get the camera out and wait for Elizabeth. She is quite happy.




We head on, uphill. Get to go downhill for a bit and end up at Round Lake. Beautiful. So nice. We stayed there for a pretty long time just sitting on a big log. It was great.



We finally head back and hang a left at some trail that leads to Christmas valley trail. There is a creek we would have to cross so we turn around and go back uphill. Again! Get to the top of the uphill and then it is all downhill. Wee. I would ride down a bit and then stop for a second to wait for E. Then go down ,stop, go. I didn’t have to wait too long but I worry when she is going downhill. There were some random rocks and some of the turns were slippery when you are going fast. I guess everything is harder when you go fast. Go down some stairs. Bump bump bump.


Get to the rocky section and it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I think I rode everything. Sometimes two or three times so we could get some pictures and video. 9.21 miles total.
Get back to the parking lot and take a leak in a pretty gross bathroom. The outside looks really nice but then you go in and it is just a pit toilet and that thing was full.

We weren’t too tired so we went over to FALLENLEAF TRAIL.6.98 miles. The trail was pretty crappy. We crossed some bridge and rode for a bit. It was beginning to get late and I started to worry (too much) about the sun going down and us getting stuck out there in the dark with not enough clothing and me in my sunglasses. We turned around and headed back and made it back to the car no problem. I kept thinking what if we get a flat or some other mechanical.



Wednesday June 13th,2007- GUNMOUNT TRAIL-11.42 miles. We parked next to some pond that must be stocked with trout all the time. We crossed the road and there was a big rock that I messed around on for a minute. The first part of the trail was all right. We found some crappy jumps. The dirt in Tahoe sucks for trying to build jumps and berms. We ride for a awhile and it is okay. Nice bridge and stream where we stop for awhile. That was pretty cool. I was riding the Nomad and was wearing my Fox Huck shorts with underwear. It has never been a problem since I always have to stand to pedal my Planet X. My butt hurt sitting on that seat though. It kind of ruined the ride. Nothing exciting about the trail. End up at Highway 50. We could’ve ridden back the same we came on the trail but I didn’t want to and E didn’t want to either so we hit the road back to the car. The ride on the road was better than expected. Get back to the motel and shower and head back out.
Get to the BMX TRACK and there is about 10-15 people there. Ride the track and it is super fun. I had such a good time there. E took a bunch of pictures and video. I rode for awhile. 6.70 miles at the track. Jumped pretty much everything. Nothing was that big but it was still fun. I kept getting winded and would have to rest. Tahoe BMX rules!!!

I watched some stuff on RSN, the local Tahoe outdoor show. E wants to go look at stars. I am into the show but there are too many commercials and we finally leave later than E wanted. We drive up 89 and it is pitch black. We stop at some turnout and I am not at all comfortable. We leave pretty quickly. I didn’t like it but the stars that I did see for that short amount of time was really magnificent. We drive back and she pulls over again next to a house. I still am not comfortable. We head home and then stop in town and walk along the path for a short while but the stargazing sucks. We go home.











Thursday June ,2007 KAYAKING- we drove over to Zephyr Cove and it cost $8 to park. We walked around a little. There are some kayak rentals but more expensive than the ones we had a flyer for. We decide we might as well rent a double kayak here. She gets in the front and me in the back. Start off a bit shaky but get a hang of it pretty quickly. The water is really clear and you can see the sand and then the rocks. I was hoping to see fish but all we saw were rocks and some cool looking bird.



We paddle to the end of the cove and then head back and then turn around and then paddle here and there. E doesn’t like being in the front so we head to shore and switch positions and paddle around some more. I want to get on some big rock and get a picture but E is really against it so I stay in the kayak. We paddle around some more here and there and see another bird and some baby birds and something else.




Of course when we are heading back to get out of the kayak the big paddle boat of old people is at the dock and a million old people are there. We get out no problem though. I want to go possibly swim so we get a towel and my goggles and walk up the beach aways. Find a nice spot and the water is really cold. Brrr. I pretty much just wade in a bit and end up on some big rock and kind of get stuck there. I was there for awhile just kicking back. I really don’t want to swim to shore which is only like 20 feet away. Finally I jump in and I thought the water was much deeper. I was out in a second and wasn’t even cold. We hang out a little bit more and then finally leave. Go to Safeway to get some food and then back to the motel where I found out the tops of my feet are all sunburned and same with the top of my thighs. My back is a little red but my feet are definitely sunburned.
I watch Ultimate Fighter which was cool and then find out that there is another show after that and watch that one also.





Friday June ,2007 MR. TOADS WILD RIDE- Elizabeth drops me off at the top of Toads and I miss the trailhead and turn around and take some pictures.



I start riding uphill. It is tiring and tough. I keep taking pictures of the trail while I am riding. I am wearing my Transalp with my shin and elbow pads inside and my full face strapped to the outside. It is heavy. There are 3 guys at the junction which is a relief because I was afraid I would be alone going down toads and I would crash and be stuck there. Keep riding uphill. 3 miles of uphill and I get to where I think toads starts but I am not 100 percent sure so I ride a little more and it doesn’t seem right so I turn back and 2 of the guys are at where I think the trail is. I put on my gear and head down. Starts off all mellow and then HOLY SHIT ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! I stop and take some pictures and some girl comes down with a basket on her bike. She must have been a local and she had a good bike. She just puts her pads in the basket for the ride up. She goes down most of the rocks and gets off to walk the worst of it. I go down it and go off the little drop at the end and she said something encouraging. I keep going down the trail and it is really hard. Super rocks. It was challenging but not actually that much fun. Fun but…I ride down some more and my chain gets stuck in my chain guide. SHIT. This could be bad. 2 of the guys pass me and then basket girl. Luckily I brought my big and also heavy allen wrenches. I take off the top guide and get the chain back on and put the guide back on without some of the washers. I am not too confident that the chain is going to stay on. Keep thinking it is going to get jammed in there again. I ride down some more and go down the stair section. Bam bam bam. Ride down for awhile and the trail gets better and better. Really fun. I pass the 2 guys who are waiting for the third guy and then I pass basket girl. There is a rock jump and I go for it and get all squirrelly. Go a short distance and Elizabeth is coming up the trail. I stop and basket girl rides by and then we sit. We wait for the guys to come by. But they don’t. I am pretty tired and I am wearing my knee pads so we don’t go back up the trail and head down. The trail is fun. We ride back to the car and I get a Coke and we get out the chairs and sit in the shade. It was nice.






We then go ride up the road so we can do CORRAL TRAIL. The road is a tough long 3 miles. I ride and walk. Ride what I can and just walk. I rode all of it last year. I probably could have done it this year but why bother. We finally get to the top and Elizabeth is looking to hot.



I am pretty worried. She says she might faint. Might throw up. Stuff is spinning. After awhile of sitting there we go down the trail. The trail rules. I mean rules. I am still worried about E. We ride down. LOTS of berms, a log ride, more berms, more berms. Woo hoo. Ride down and we get to the whoop de doos and they are so fun. Whee. Then we ride back to the car with smiles on our faces.
I called work to see if I can get Monday off also. Eric is there and he doesn’t want to say I can take it off or not so I just tell him I will call Padma tomorrow and hope Katie isn’t there.
I don’t want to go back to work. I want to stay here and play all summer long.





Saturday June 16th, 2007 POWERLINE TRAIL- The opening day for Tahoe was today and they were routing the cars down our street so we decided to ride from out motel instead of driving somewhere to ride. There were some jackass college type bros in a ditch in front of our motel throwing pine cones and drinking beer and being retarded. We rode to the beginning of Powerline Trail and rode that. What a great trail. One of the best. We kept riding and basket girl rode by going in the opposite direction. Small world. Kept riding, got to the bridge at Cold Creek and took the only pictures on that trail. E had the camera. Kept riding and ended up at junction for High Meadow. Kept going and went down some atv trail. Not really sure where we are going but we keep going. E is getting tired and I am not really that sure if it would be better to turn around and go back the way we came or to keep going and pop out onto the road but farther away from the motel. E is low on water so I give here some of mine which I don’t have that much of. We decide to keep going and right away there is a sign. We turn on some trail and go a short way and there is a truck which is a good sign. Then we pop out onto a road. Then I feel more loss because who knows how many roads there are. But we make it to Pioneer Trail quite quickly. Head back to the motel and take some side dirt trail at Al Tahoe and end up on the main road and head back to the motel. 14 miles later.
We eat and shower and immediately walk over to the hotel area because the motocross jump show is going to start soon. Walking sucks. Get there and we see the jump and wait a little and then the announcer guy comes out and juggles and then the band plays and then the motocross guys jump. It was actually pretty cool. Way better than I was expecting.



After that is all over we go into Bills Casino because it is smoke free. E loses $1.00 on some boring slot machine. Then I lose a dollar on boring slot machine. I want a beer. Only because I am in a casino. And also because my mouth was all dry. I get a Smirnoff Ice for a buck. Cool. E spends a buck on wheel of fortune game. Boring. I spend a dollar on video poker and lose and lose and then I win and am up to $2.10. I cash out and get some ticket. I then go to the slot machine to lose my money. I cash out at 10 cents so I would have a souvenir. We then walk around some more. They had a band playing u2 on a roof of some hotel, Hawaiian tropic bikini contest, a couple motorcycle and cars for show, some creepy stilt guys, and some crappy flea market type booths. The mx show was cool and the band that played beneath them were cool. U2 guys were all right. But how much U2 do you want to hear ? Then we walked back home and that is about all.
In room writing this after 10 and the retarded bros are across the way. They are loud door slamming type assholes. They just left and I am really not looking forward to those idiots coming home all drunk.


SUNDAY JUNE ,2007 1 pm I feel sick to my stomach. Uggh, this sucks. I put on a bunch of bug spray and inhaled some so I am hoping it is just that and that I will be okay in a little while. We went to go ride Corral Trail but I was beginning to feel ill so we turned around. Good thing to because I feel awful right now.
There was some asshole yelling last night at 1:40 am. For quite awhile too. And then there were the bros across the way. Figure the best thing to do is stay here during the week and stay somewhere else for Friday and Saturday.
I am going to lie down now. I did manage to scratch my back pretty good on the shower door. I wonder if I throw up I will feel better.?

Stayed in bed until 7 30 when Sammy Hagar started playing. Elizabeth and I walked over and listened for awhile. It was pretty crappy. Then we walked through all the casinos. And back to the motel. I watched lots of American Chopper which I liked.

Monday June 17th 2007 We didn't do anything in the morning except pack up and leave. We stopped by the amusement park. E didn't want me to do the go kart so we left for home. Drove through Davis and Benicia on the way home. Seemed a bit faster. I thought about going to Metcalf to ride my dirt bike but there was traffic already at 4 so I just dumped some stuff at my moms and then came over to Elizabeths place. Simon and Fozzy didn't seem to care to much that I was back. I looked through a bunch of pictures to put on this blog but it is too much of a hassle to do.

CyclocrossTraining (?) & Top Chef

I "ran" the other day. I just walked a bit and then jogged pretty slowly for 12 minutes. I ran on the grass over at some school which was more fun than being on some crappy street.

Today E and I ran over to Central Park and ran around there a little bit and then back home. Had fun, more fun running over the grass hills and stuff. 30 minutes I guess. I felt okay. Just trying to get my body used to running.

Top Chef is having a marathon with the first or second series. I like the presentation of the foods and the challenges that they have to do. Plan on watching tv all day.

There is a bright red and a bright yellow bird on the bird feeder. Funny how when we first put out bird seed there were no birds for a few days, now they are always ther munching away.

Mermaid Triathlon

I had to get out of bed, which was really nice and comfortable, too early in the morning. Triathlons are retarded in the times that they race. I watched, took some pictures and some video. It's triathlon. Not too exciting to watch but okay to do. I am not doing another one either. I guess I don't feel like writing.

I was thinking of going to go ride my dirt bike but there was some race so I watched the end of the Giro de Italia? on Versus then went to my moms and got my new sunglasses which are okay. Then I went to the railroad tracks and rode around there for an hour. I had my new seatpost on and it was so high. How embarrassing. Not that much fun riding with the seatpost cranked up like that. Can't manual, corner or jump. Boring. But you can ride fast.