Fort Ord, Monterey, CA

Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

Fort Ord, Monterey, CA
April 26, 2008

Cohenfive wanted to hit Ft. Ord before the sand got really bad so we set out from the Creekside Terrace trailhead this morning under quite warm temperatures. I had only started from there once before, so we had quite a bit of trouble finding the correct route. We eventually made it over to Red Rock Ridge, where I began my regression to a total noob, with absolutely no technical skills, and no confidence. Walking down most of it really hurt the knees. We eventually made it to the Goat Trail, where I again proceeded to totally embarrass myself with a very tentative, slow, noobish ride down what should have been a spectacular long and fast downhill. We then took the long grind up Oilwell and Skyline Roads in the baking sun toward the top of Hurl Hill. This really hurt the knees, I found it quite tedious, and I felt like shooting myself.

The ride down into the valley on Trail 47 was at least a bit enjoyable, but again the climb out was quite difficult. I used to make most of the climbs, but not today. We then went out Trail 11 and down Trail 50, which is usually quite fast and fun. However, the sand has started to close in on the trail, leaving only a tiny ride-able line in the center for much of the trail. So it was not much fun to ride. Cohenfive then realized he had to get back home so he started looking for the shortest route back. In our hast we made some pretty poor choices, one of which involved climbing a very steep paved road, followed by a steep downhill. By this time it was quite warm on the pavement and I was really dragging. Unfortunately, we flew past the route we should have taken and we ended up having to do even more climbing to make up for it. The maps and trail markers toward the trailhead are not the greatest so we floundered around and did a good bit of unnecessary riding, much on boring fire roads, before finally making it back.

I can not recall a worse, more tedious, embarrassing, and difficult ride in my entire biking life. We did a good 25 miles, most of which involved long, slow climbs in the hot sun, alternating with what should have been fast downhills. But I was really dragging on both the ups and downs. I was hoping to do some out of town bike trips starting in early June, but it looks like I need to re-evaluate my fitness level. Poor Cohenfive was really on his game, making all the climbs and speeding down the hills. Yet he spent half the ride standing around waiting for me. The gap between our skills and speed is getting bigger and bigger. Somebody needs to take him out for a good ride sometime. I didn't take many photos because I felt quite guilty stopping, since I was always so far behind. Below are a few.

Cohenfive ready for Red Rock Ridge