dreadedmonkeygod . net

Slept 'till noon, had some breakfast, then headed out to do a ride I've been wanting for a long time: Simi to Agoura and back.

(Map: "Long Canyon to Chesebro")

I started from the Long Cyn. trailead, and headed straight over to the Alberson Fire Rd. trailhead in westlake. It's possible to climb up a ways before joining Alberson, but that involves gaining and then giving up quite a bit of altitude, and I didn't want to use all the gas in my tank early on. There'd be plenty of climbing on this ride without adding anything.

I rode up Alberson to where it meets the Lindero Cyn. trail, and headed south to the Palo Comado. I coasted down P.C., then climbed up to where the connector trail hits the Modelo trail. I was tempted to just head down to Cheeseboro Cyn, but I knew I wouldn't feel like I'd really done this ride in proper style unless I actually hit the Cheeseboro parking lot. So I followed the Modelo trail along the ridge and down to the trailhead kiosk.

I took a couple of minutes to chill, drank a lot of water, and generally took a moment to appreciate that I was actually doing this ride that I'd planned for so long. I was a little nervous about the trip back: I knew that climbing back up Palo Comado wouldn't be any picknick, but I felt like I had the legs for it, even given the fun technical stuff waiting between me and that climb.

So, with renewed resolve (nothing for it but to be resolved; I was comitted after all) I set out north up Cheeseboro Cyn. This section was a godsend: smooth, packed trails, relatively level, and very familiar. After the crawl up Alberson and the teeth-rattling run down Palo Comado, it was a welcome chance to just cruise for a while.

I lost concentration and had to go back a couple of times to get a couple of sections clean. Odd, given that they were the ones I've only ever dabbed on once or twice. I took this as a sign that I was getting tired, and eased up the pace a bit.

Fat lot of good it did me, though. By that time, I was passing Sulpher Springs, where the is regularly punctuated by short, technical climbs. I was more than up for the challenge, but I could feel that the strength in my legs was getting sapped by the effort.

I got my head back in the game, and pedaled strong through Shepherd's Flat. Everything between Shepherd's Flat and Palo Comado went clean first try, which I'm really proud of. That's not an easy section, and to do it on tired legs makes me realize how much stronger I'm getting on my bike.

As expected, climbing back up Palo Comado sucked. A lot. My legs were fried from 2½ hours of riding and I could feel that I didn't have much gas left in the tank. Not a good feeling when I was still more than an hour from home. I did not want to get stuck pedaling all the way home in granny gears. Nothing for it but to make sure I didn't readline.

By the time I crested into China Flat and pedaled through to the junction with the Alberson Fire Rd., I was so fried that I thought I was home free. I completely forgot that if I wanted to head back down Long Canyon, rather than heading back through Westlake, I still had one more tough climb to do.

When I did realize there was one last climb on my planned route, I considered for a moment, and finally decided that my legs felt up for one more, and that I really didn't want to just retrace the way I'd come up.

Unfortunately, that climb back up from Alberson to Long Canyon is a tough one. There's a particular section that schools me just about every time, and today was no exception. My legs and lungs gave up, and I had to respect the fatigue. They'd done me proud, and deserved a break. I picked up my bike and walked the 200 yards to the top.

After that, it was smooth sailing back to the trailhead. I rode for a few minutes next to a few hikers getting ready for a three-week trip to China, which sounded awesome.

My GPS/heart rate monitor says I burned about 1100 calories today, which is crap. I'm just as drained as I ever was on 3000-kcal road rides in the spring. I have to wonder if it's taking elevation gain into account.

Anyway, this was exactly the ride I was hoping it would be. And now that I know the trail system a little better, I'm keen to try a ride up to Simi Peak. We shall see.

As always, I took my camera, but I seem to have taken pictures only of the least photogenic sections of the trail. The lovely oak groves of Palo Comado Rd.? Nope. The greenery around Sulpher Springs? None of that either. Dusty, sunblasted hilltops? You bet. Plenty of those. Oh well. Next time I'll remember to take pictures of the pretty stuff, not the ugly stuff.

Really what I'm happy about is knowing that I'm now strong enough not to be intimidated by a lot of trails. I love knowing that I can go exploring and just have fun, knowing that I'm strong enough to pedal my way back home again, no matter where I end up.