I was delighted to sneak out of the office a little earlier last night. I decided to have a pedal around La Costa; a trail system I've largely ignored the last year or so, with only a smattering of rides here and there.
I have nothing too exciting to report. There were no man-killing serpents (a relief). I did not spot any life and death battles between tarantula hawks and tarantulas. I did spot a covey a quails though.
I also spotted local mtb folk hero R. Julian at the top. We enjoyed the view and had a pleasant conversation about trails, bikes and the upcoming Arch ride. I appreciate the man's dedication to improving our local trails (fighting the good fights) and his refreshing no B.S. outlook and attitude.
Shortly after, I pointed the front wheel down the new'ish Copper Canyon trail. Mashing the pedals and releasing the brakes as much as my abilities would allow gave me a more thrilling experience on that trail than I'd yet had. Damn that was fun.
From there, I mosied over the creek bridges and up the service road to the water tank, with nothing but the sound of gravel shifting under my tires and the squeaky-mattress noise of some suspension component or another, helping to set a gentle cadence for the climb up.
At the top, I took a moment to take a ubiquitous 'bike propped against a post' shot;
Then I took the single-track down to it's end at the service road, pondering the high number of off-camber corners on this section, which made it difficult to open 'er up. No matter though. Down is down and fun is fun.
Back along Copper Creek;
And then up one of the few remaining grunts of a climb, toward the truck and the end of my ride.
As I said, nothing too exciting to report. Just some reflections on a satisfying spin around La Costa, and another tick in the 'great quality of life' column.
