Chabot Mountain Bike Loop With The Dog!

Wow I've got to give it up for my dog.



Today was cold and windy, perfect for a long day on the trails. We hit the Lake Chabot Bike Loop about noon and I thought I'd see how far she wanted to go. From our start to just about 2 miles there is a bench that is a good place to take a break. It is after a long climb, has nice views, and gives me the chance to see how the dog is feeling. Tongue draggin? I'll make it a short day. If she just takes a quick drink of water and recovers quick, hey off we go for a longer loop.

We got there pretty quick, the trails were great, and she looked good after a quick water break, so off we went. We rolled up some smaller climbs and down a few small sections to the paved road at Merciel Road.

We took a longer break there and talked to a few people out for the day. It was an awesome day. If I turned back it would be an up and back 8 mile ride. But if I went down the hill I would be committed to going all the way around the lake. That's just over 11 miles. I've only done that a few times, but my dog has never been that far in one day. It would turn into a 3 hour ride.

The day was beautiful, nice and clear and dry and cold. Perfect for doing a long day. After a 10 minute break I decided to go for it and down the hill we went.

Here's the elevation graph of the ride. The "Let's Go" decision came at the top, as you can see it is a pretty steep drop from the top down to the lake.



That's about a 500 foot drop.

At the lake you run onto lots of people walking round, fishermen, baby strollers, joggers, other dogs. But you gotta have your dog on a leash. Cassie does really well on the leash as I ride along on my bike. We go about 5 to 8 miles per hour and she stays just off to the left rear of the bike.

We got to the Lake Chabot Marina and took another break. She was pretty tired and took to the comfort of the shade under a picnic table. I gave her a few shots of water in her foldable water dish. She was pretty happy to have a few shots of H2O. I watched her breathing to wait for it to come down, then waited some more, then she and I were ready to do the second half.

We had more of fairly flat lake trails to do before a few brutal climbs to get back to the truck. Once again she was on the leash chuggin' right along with me. After the dam at the south west end of the lake I unclipped her leash and the rolling climbs started again. We got to Bass Cove and laid down in the grass. We could have both stayed and taken a nap in the warming sun.

I had a Shot Blok snack and got ready to finish up.

A little more water for both of us and we had about 2 miles of mostly climbing to go. 2 tough miles. We stopped a few times, but mostly kept going. All day the trails were in perfect shape. No dust, no mud. It couldn't have been better.

And we made it. 11+ miles at just under 3 hours. The dog sure is beat, and, well, me too.

Here's the GPS route link @ MotionBased. http://tinyurl.com/march-mtb-dog

Chabot Mountain Bike Loop With The Dog!

Wow I've got to give it up for my dog.



Today was cold and windy, perfect for a long day on the trails. We hit the Lake Chabot Bike Loop about noon and I thought I'd see how far she wanted to go. From our start to just about 2 miles there is a bench that is a good place to take a break. It is after a long climb, has nice views, and gives me the chance to see how the dog is feeling. Tongue draggin? I'll make it a short day. If she just takes a quick drink of water and recovers quick, hey off we go for a longer loop.

We got there pretty quick, the trails were great, and she looked good after a quick water break, so off we went. We rolled up some smaller climbs and down a few small sections to the paved road at Merciel Road.

We took a longer break there and talked to a few people out for the day. It was an awesome day. If I turned back it would be an up and back 8 mile ride. But if I went down the hill I would be committed to going all the way around the lake. That's just over 11 miles. I've only done that a few times, but my dog has never been that far in one day. It would turn into a 3 hour ride.

The day was beautiful, nice and clear and dry and cold. Perfect for doing a long day. After a 10 minute break I decided to go for it and down the hill we went.

Here's the elevation graph of the ride. The "Let's Go" decision came at the top, as you can see it is a pretty steep drop from the top down to the lake.



That's about a 500 foot drop.

At the lake you run onto lots of people walking round, fishermen, baby strollers, joggers, other dogs. But you gotta have your dog on a leash. Cassie does really well on the leash as I ride along on my bike. We go about 5 to 8 miles per hour and she stays just off to the left rear of the bike.

We got to the Lake Chabot Marina and took another break. She was pretty tired and took to the comfort of the shade under a picnic table. I gave her a few shots of water in her foldable water dish. She was pretty happy to have a few shots of H2O. I watched her breathing to wait for it to come down, then waited some more, then she and I were ready to do the second half.

We had more of fairly flat lake trails to do before a few brutal climbs to get back to the truck. Once again she was on the leash chuggin' right along with me. After the dam at the south west end of the lake I unclipped her leash and the rolling climbs started again. We got to Bass Cove and laid down in the grass. We could have both stayed and taken a nap in the warming sun.

I had a Shot Blok snack and got ready to finish up.

A little more water for both of us and we had about 2 miles of mostly climbing to go. 2 tough miles. We stopped a few times, but mostly kept going. All day the trails were in perfect shape. No dust, no mud. It couldn't have been better.

And we made it. 11+ miles at just under 3 hours. The dog sure is beat, and, well, me too.

Here's the GPS route link @ MotionBased. http://tinyurl.com/march-mtb-dog

New (to me) Zinn 29er Mountain Bike: so far so good

Well after 10 years (almost to the day!) I finally got a new mountain bike. I tried for those 10 years to beat the crap out of my 1998 GT LTS 3000 and other than the usual drivetrain and tires it survived a 300lb + trail rider. It was quite a bike!

I've been looking at lots of bikes in the last year or 2, including a Zinn 29er all mountain Gigabike. Everything priced at about 5K out the door done deal. I could buy for less, but I was looking at overbuilt bikes and components for my size. Being fat sux! (I'm working on it!)

The Zinn bike was a front runner. I liked how solid they seemed, and that they are used to bigger folks riding bikes, and that the frames use the bottom bracket area as the main pivot point, with a grease fitting on the bike to easily keep it all happy "down under."

Zinn is headed by Lennard Zinn. He really did write THE books on both mountain bike and road bike maintenance. He has a tech Q&A column on VeloNews and builds custom bikes for anybody that wants one.

So a few weeks ago they called me and said they were selling off their lightly used always maintained, all mountain Gigabike demo.

It was priced nice, a deal I couldn't refuse.

It doesn't have the latest stuff hanging off the various ends, the SRAM grip shift is a little different, but after about 15 miles of riding I'm pretty used to it. It is kind of nice being able to shift more than 3 gears at once!

The shock is a Manitou SPV 3 way air, the fork is a WB Fluid 29er. I pumped them both up with a fair amount of air to stiffen them up, and man it feels nice.

I spent most of my time on the LTS sitting deep into the shock travel, and I'm fairly sure the old elastomer forks were riding along pretty deep into the stroke too.

It is a tall bike for sure, stepover height is umm... let's say I hope I don't need much at any given time...! and it has 200 Zinn crank arms. Longer cranks are one of his things. So paired up with being a 29er it is pretty different. I can't say too much about it yet, just climbing around Chabot it is fine, but I hope to push it a little more. I thought maybe the 29er would be harder to pedal uphills, but no issues there at all. I think with the longer cranks it is easier, but not sure.

Anyway should you see a big guy on a big bike with a little black low rider dog (1/2 basset 1/2 lab) on the trails feel free to say hi.

Here's photos from Chabot @ Bort Meadow earlier today with crap iPhone camera.

Woot Woot!

PS: those disc brakes are something. I bet one day they really catch on!

:)

storytime: A day in the field looking for pheasant

I bet you have seen those outdoor shows with a group of guys and a group of dogs walking a corn field hunting pheasant. The corn stalks are about knee to waist high, the dogs run left to right at times disappearing in the brush using all that "dog sense" looking for bird scents.

It looks like fun. But I don't exactly live near the world famous corn fields of South Dakota. So if I want to try this what do I do?

Well you do a little looking around, go to the outdoor shows like the ISE in San Mateo, and you'll see that just a little drive north of the Bay Area are fields you can walk, dogs you can rent, and birds that can fly!

This past Saturday I went up 505 to Quail Point Hunting Preserve and hoped to do some pheasant hunting. I had reserved a field and a dog for the day. When I arrived some other hunters were checking in, and dogs were on the porch of the clubhouse anxiously waiting to hop in a truck and do what they love to do. We paid our fees, read the rules, signed this and that and got a quick lesson on dog control.

There are just a few commands that you need to know to run the dogs. The dogs really know what they are doing, they do this all the time. You just have to worry about not letting them get too far away. If they flush a bird way out you won't have a good shot or any shot. Bye Bye Birdie!

We were lucky to get "Molly" a 4 year old hunting veteran. We were pretty excited to go, and so was Molly. She sat next to me on the short ride to our field. She was quiet and excited, and shaking just a little. She was ready to go. I hoped we could keep up with her.

We had 55 acres to walk. It was far from ideal weather conditions. The wind was howling, the grass was bone dry. Molly was a trooper and worked the field left and right. She would slow down at times and slowly walk up to a grassy patch and freeze. The 3 of us were right behind her ready for the first bird to flush. It did. We were a little rusty...

After the dog spotted the first bird and it flew up it was bang bang bang, we all took at least a shot each, and we all watched the bird fly away. It got into the wind and glided about 100 yards away up and over a hilltop.

Ha ha we sucked!

In the field it sounded just like this
"bird"
at least 3 or 4 shotgun blasts "bang bang bang bang"
silence
3 guys swearing
3 guys laughing

Even the dog looked back at us like "what is with you guys?"

Well we got our skills tuned up on that one, and got a little better during the next 2 hours. Molly got to bring us 7 birds, and we all watched 5 fly away.

It was a great day in the field. In the heated clubhouse we had our birds cleaned and ate lunch from their grill. Chatted up the friendly owners a little, then hit the road to drive back and be home Saturday by 1pm. It was a nice way to spend a morning. Oh and the wild pheasant dinner Sunday wasn't too bad either!

So how do you do this?

You need to take a hunters safety class, get a license and the proper stamps, get your own shotgun, (nobody around here rents guns that I know of), then find a place. Try going to one of the outdoor shows and see what options are around.

You'll love the challenge, working with a skilled dog, and the time away from the nonsense of a busy crowded Bay Area.

Bird Season is open! See my cock!

Ever see those outdoor shows on tv where some guy and his friends are walking a field as a dog or 2 out ahead point birds? Look like fun? Look like a great way to start the day?

Well it is.

Today was opening day at Quail Point Hunt Club near Zamora in Nor Cal. It is about 1 1/2 hours north of the Bay Bridge, a little less with no traffic at 6am on a saturday. :)

I met up with 2 other guys and we rented a dog there. More later, but the bottom line was we saw 12 pheasant, and took home 7. The others are still out in the field somewhere.

We were way outta practice on the first few birds that flushed. After the dog spotted the bird and it flew up it was bang bang bang, we all took at least a shot each, and we all watched the bird fly away.

Ha ha we sucked!

Is sounded just like this
"bird"
at least 3 or 4 shotgun blasts "bang bang bang bang"
silence
3 guys swearing
3 guys laughing

Even the dog looked back at us like "what is with you guys?"

Later in the day the other birds weren't so lucky. :)

Walking a field with friends and a dog at sunrise is as good, no wait, better than you think it is. It is one of those things you do as an adult and wish you had been doing all our life.

The Best thing about living in East Oakland

Ok so in my zipcode there are the drug dealers, the drive-bys, the carjackings, the restaurant holdups, sketchy and overpriced gas stations, nowhere really good to go eat, and few pizza delivery places.

But.

Just at the top of the hill at the end of Skyline is Chabot park. I love this place. So many beautiful hikes, bike rides, vistas, and places to chill.



Like under a redwood tree in Bort Meadow after a mountain bike ride with my 4 wheel drive buddy.

Fall MTB ride and Fire Control in the Oakland Hills (it's Goats!)

These four legged creatures were doing their thing today on the trails where I do lots of mountain biking. It is at the southern end of Skyline in Chabot park.



That is at the far south end of the Oakland hills, the opposite end of where the big fire was.



They spend a few days there munching away, and leave behind their calling card(s) but really do a good job cutting down on the dry fuel in the hills. Once somebody shot some :( , since they spend the night in the hills they are kind of at risk, but there are people and dogs that watch over them all the time.

Crazy ass Oakland.

But still BIG THANKS to Goats R Us from this Oakland resident!

(yes really Goats R Us, check the link!)

Today the dog and I rode about 5 miles in the hills, the iPod was rockin another pretty weird mix, The Samurai Champloo soundtrack, and "I'm Your Biggest Fan" by Dallas Wayne.

Works for me!

a hike

Hey Yo

It was a little warm today, not as hot as it had been in the Easy Bay, but a little warm. I waited until late in the afternoon and took a nice 4 mile hike on a bee you tee full trail in Chabot.

You park at the south end of (Oakland's) Skyline blvd where it turns into Grass Valley. That is the Clyde Woolridge staging area. Grab a map there if you don't know the area, and head down the hill to the left of the parking lot on Jackson Glade.

At the bottom is a big intersection of trails. Take the narrow trail just behind the bench, the Cascade trail. It follows Grass Valley Creek. It cal flow pretty good in the rainy season, and is has some pretty cool views from the trail to the creek. Now of course it is dry. All of the trail is in the shade so it is perfect for a hot day. Dogs are ok off leash, but no bikes allowed.

It is pretty flat for most of the trail, after a downhill section the trail is right next to and really becomes one with the creek. You'll get a little wet if you go this far in the winter.

Stay on the trail and you end up at Lake Chabot. Keep going to the Bass Cove area where you find a pit toilet, and some nice views.

There are a few different ways to get back, I just doubled back. A few hours, and a few miles in the east bay trails.

Cool.

On the iPod for the hike:

Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys

IIIrd Tyme Out

Man or Astroman

Mighty Mighty Bosstones