RR: MTRP TNR...cut short

[sdyeti]

Acronym decoding...Mission Trails Regional Park Tuesday Night Ride

My gal pal Joy and I have been riding MTRP on Tuesday early evenings for the past few weeks. Yesterday was no exception and we met up as the skies were clouding over and the wind was blowing. I left my fleece on because I hadn't brought a shell...d'oh!

Joy


Instead of our usual route (from the Clairemont end, over the bridge and left up the hill), we decided to turn right and ended up flying down a nice steep hill. And then, we had to HAB up for a bit. I noticed some tracks in the dried up mud...can you tell if they are canine or feline? Looks like they are maybe coyote?

Any ideas?



We pedaled up the rest of the hill and ended up coming out to a road. Looking around, we found a section of small jumps and hit them a couple of times.

A ribbon of worn down jumps


Getting a little air


They were pretty fun but really, really tiny. We continued on and found a really small rock jump. Despite it's size, this jump would prematurely end our ride.

We hit the jump several times a piece, working on form and trying out hitting it with preload, without preload, etc. Sometimes just being out with your friends and having fun on something that you'd normally ride right by is a nice change. Soooo...Joy gave the old "I want to hit that one last time" and went for it. She popped up high and landed hard...right about that time I heard a noise...not a good noise.

Oops


She rode back toward me and said "well, my ride is over"...turns out her derailleur had gotten pushed right into her spokes. Turns out it had gone wonky on her ride this past weekend and the jump was the last straw.

The rock that broke the biker's spokes


We had a laugh. We had a chuckle. We ended up taking a leisurely walk back to the cars and were thankful that we weren't 8 miles out. Along the way, I snapped some pics of the flowers.

Pondering the HAB back out


The flora...okay, WTH is this?


Lovely purple


It wasn't a strenuous day but it was one to remember.

[xhuskr]

looks like fun....except for the mechanical

[dirtmistress]

Great report. If Sheclimbs had been there, she could have fixed it. She can do anything!!
I think that green ball is called a spikey green ball plant and the other is a Poodle Dog. I suppose you touched it!!

[sdyeti]

In all her years of riding (10+), she had never broken a spoke...like I said, it was good we weren't far from the car!

Originally Posted by xhuskr

looks like fun....except for the mechanical

Ha......no way...I didn't get near it! Can't take any chances with any funky plant life!

Originally Posted by dirtmistress

I think that green ball is called a spikey green ball plant and the other is a Poodle Dog. I suppose you touched it!!

[bighit8]

Its hard to tell from the pics, but those look like mountain lion tracks. No claw marks, and if you look at the heel pad it has what appears to be three lobes, canines only have two.

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

The flora...okay, WTH is this?

Ya, I saw one of those on my ride today. WTH is that??

[bighit8]

Its wild cucumber

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by bighit8

Its wild cucumber

Thaaaaat's what she said....


Really? Never heard of it. Thanks.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by bighit8

Its hard to tell from the pics, but those look like mountain lion tracks. No claw marks, and if you look at the heel pad it has what appears to be three lobes, canines only have two.

+1 for feline. bighit8 nailed it with the lack of claw marks, though it's hard to tell if it's a bobcat or Mountain Lion without knowing the scale. Mountain Lion tracks usually have the front paw mark partially covered by the rear. Again, hard to tell without knowing size, but definitely feline. Meow!

[bighit8]

Those spikey balls ( not sure I should say spikey balls) turn int these.
wildcucumber15.jpg

[bighit8]

Maybe that is why I can never meet girls. I tell them I have pictures of spiky balls on a wild cucumber " want to see"?

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by bighit8

Maybe that is why I can never meet girls. I tell them I have pictures of spiky balls on a wild cucumber " want to see"?

LOL. Now where's that double thanks button.

[singleminded]

Alright girls.....your both gettin whoopin's when I see you's again. I can't belive my local SD ladies.....one that works at my company and the other I just rode with last weekend are poaching rides in my area without notifying me.....what gives

Time for me to change my colonge.....

Good to see you kicking up some dirt

[sdyeti]

wait, wouldn't the flower turn into the spiky fruit, not vice versa? after all, the fruit is the ovary of a plant (I always like telling my students that if they eat fruit, they are likely eating a plant ovary...mmmm).

Originally Posted by bighit8

Those spikey balls ( not sure I should say spikey balls) turn int these.
Attachment 18273

oh, no way! i didn't know you work together!

every tuesday, 4:30. bring it

Originally Posted by singleminded

Alright girls.....your both gettin whoopin's when I see you's again. I can't belive my local SD ladies.....one that works at my company and the other I just rode with last weekend are poaching rides in my area without notifying me.....what gives

Time for me to change my colonge.....

Good to see you kicking up some dirt

[bighit8]

wildcucumber14.jpg

[singleminded]

I will.....I used to do Sycamore or Anderson every tues/thurs starting a 3-3:15 but lately I have been hitting la Costa since it is on my way home. But I will do your ride on tues and then La Costa on thurs.....game?...over

Did you ride your Niner?

[bighit8]

The male and female are on the same plant but separate. Wierd huh.