It's the, End of the Year as We Know It...

You've got 15 days. Less than 650 feet per day. Piece of cake!!

 

But only 3-4 riding days. But yeah. Piece of cake!

 

Well, then, what are you doing here? Get out there right now! You've got some two wheeled miles to do.

 

Ok 10k elev to my goal for the year...
Thats 10 x floop!
Ahhh foget it....

 

Hmmmmm......14 days and 22,000’ to exceed last year. Should be ok....need to stop the downward progression of the last 3 years.

 

I need 934 feet. Could be close.

 

You are only 50k’ from 600k’....there is still time.

 

I just did 1540’ in a 2.6 mile mega monster hill (Whiting Woods)grind. You can borrow my gains if you cant get it done by New Years Eve.

 

I didn't have a goal. Or maybe I do. Recently I ditched my 14 lb back pack and did the best job I could going up Blackstar to the Doppler. I finally peddled all of it with no HAB but I did stop as needed. Now I'm thinking if I could just lose 14 more lbs. I could do the same with my back pack. Other than that the most climbing I've done in a single ride has been the Blackstar Motorway loop which is around 4,200 feet. I though it would be cool to make it to a mile of climbing. Maybe next year.

 

What are the essential items (in your pack) that you need with you while riding up Blackstar?

 

Legs??

 

I carry many common things needed for bike repair. Pump, tire lever ( metal ), multi bike tool, tube, 2 oz of stans, chain breaker, super small leatherman knife combo and an extra light which doubles as an additional power supply for my phone. 3 liters of water plus an extra 16 oz bottle of water in the back pack and an additional bottle of water on the frame. This is what I carry all the time in the summer. Winter I leave behind the extra bottle of water from the backpack. The water is my weak point. While riding with my son Sunday up Blackstar I only drank a 1.5 liters of my 3 liter reservoir. Other things I carry are band aids, wipes, charge cord, protein bars etc.

 

Dang...i would say thats a lot of stuff .. but then i ve done the walk of shame many times...

 

Lots o’safety gear.

 

3 liters??? Holy carp that's a lot of water for 8.9 miles!!!

I've been known to not hit my water bottle until I get to Hagador...or beyond.

 

A great mile of climbing loop is to start at the bottom of Trabuco creek, ride up Live Oak Road (or cut through O'Neil Park) to get to Cook's Corner. Then up and over Modjeska Grade, up Modjeska Canyon to Harding Truck Trail trail head. Then it's just a quick ride up Harding to Santiago Peak, and down and out the back via Holy Jim. Right about 34.8 miles and 5800 feet... though you will have to wait until they reopen Holy Jim

A slightly bigger ride that is almost the exact same distance, but more climbing, is to park at the Harding Truck Trail trailhead, ride up Harding to Four Corners, cut across Main Divide to the Motorway, then down the Motorway, up Maple Springs to Four Corners, and then down and out Harding. 35.0 miles, but 7000 feet.

 

Sadist.

 

Hey don't blame me... that second ride was @mtnbikej 's idea. And I only rode the first and last parts... they were all going to drop down into Corona so I left them at the Motorway to do 2/3'rds of the ride They were going to try to crack 10K. Not going to lie - that was a big ride for me. Got 'er done in less than 6 hours tho it wasn't pretty On a better day I think 5:30 would be well within my reach. I always draw the line at rides that don't allow me to get home for lunch

 

Yeah, that was a fun day.

 

Is that better @Runs with Scissors ?

 

I didn't say I thought it was a bad climb. But it would be painful.

 

Or... Ride from RSM through O'Neill out to Black Star. Do the Black Star to Motorway loop, and then head back up to Four Corners. Drop down Harding (because of the 40 mph winds) and then make a quick trip to the Luge. Back home through O'Neill.

 

I vaguely remember doing something kinda similar back in April.

 

I hit my goal today, with a couple thousand feet extra. Anything else will just be icing.

I don't think I'm going to bother with a goal next year, except that I expect to enjoy it as much as this year.

 

Today helped out quite a bit.....but I still need 15k'. I don't see it being a problem.

 

I'm 10,000 feet over my revised goal... And 140,000 feet below my original goal.

 

Im really likin this end of year push.. i needed 20k at november... n its causin me to ride alot more.. .which is awesome! Riding 4 o 5 days a week...fo mostly short rides...
Still cant get enough.. floop.. oaks ..carbon..el moro..aliso... whitin luge...
We really live in the best area..

 

Yeah i said it .. i love the floop too

 

9 days left...

 

I think I'm going to ride tomorrow AM. Hoping the trails will be empty.

This.

Knowing that I missed my prior year's efforts by a substantial margin, I just want to close out the year with a strong(ish) December. I still beat 2011-2014, but 2015-2017 were good years for me. The thing that really crushed me this year is that I was off my running as well... down about 25%.