In this issue:

1. The Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County is this Saturday November 5th – Registration ends this Wednesday, November 2nd

2. Trail sign re-installation project on Saturday November 12th

3. Los Pinos Brushing project on Sat. Nov. 19th

1. THE SWITCHBACK 6-HOURS OF ORANGE COUNTY IS THIS SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5TH REGISTRATION ENDS THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND.

Registration for the Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2nd or sooner if we sell out.

If you are not participating in the event but would like to cheer the participants on please feel free to do so. The cost for non-participants to enter the park is $5.00 per car. We’ll have breakfast food for sale to both participants and non-participants. Lunch is free for participants and can be purchased by non-participants for $5.00 for ages 13 and up, $3.00 for kids 12 to 5 and kids 4 and under eat free.

Camping fees at the Flying “B” Ranch are $12.00 a night. RESERVATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR MOTOR HOMES OR TRAILERS – MAKE RESERVATIONS ASAP TO INSURE A FULL HOOKUP SITE. For more information regarding Black Star RV and Picnic Park facilities please contact Amy at (714) 649-9218 or email at blackstarv@aol.com

Doug at Geoladders has measured the distance of the Expert Course (4.6 miles) and the total elevation gain per lap (1,125). The Novice Course is 4.2 miles long with a total elevation gain per lap of 1,060.

Applications for the Switchback Cyclery 6-Hours of Orange County are now available at the majority of bike shops in Orange County. Your $35.00 entry fee includes beaded and non-beaded gold, silver and bronze coup feathers for the top finishers; a goodie bag; a lunch of salad, pasta, rolls and drinks (beer or soda).

Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County event t-shirts can be purchased for an additional $10.00.

You can also download and application from our web site at:

http://tinyurl.com/blhbe

Or register on active.com at:

http://tinyurl.com/blwoz

2. TRAIL SIGN RE-INSTALLATION PROJECT ON SATURDAY, NOV. 12TH.

As some of you know, many of the trail signs we installed in the Blue Jay area and San Mateo Wilderness were dug out and hidden. The person or person that did this went to a lot of work to hike in and dig them out; each sign weighs around 90 pounds. It was partly our mistake for not setting them in concrete as we did with the signs on the Main Divide.

The Warrior’s Society in conjunction with the Backcountry Horsemen of San
Bernardino and the USFS are sponsoring a trail work day on Saturday, November 12th 2005. We’ll be replanting 4 Trail Signs that have been vandalized in the spring of 2005.

Jonathan Schultz will be leading the mule packers who will be transporting the cement, water and signs out to the locations. The volunteers will be planting the signs in cement. Hopefully this will allow the signs to stay put.

We will be staging out of the lower Blue Jay campgrounds camping out Friday night. If you’re free Friday night consider joining us. We’ll be providing dinner (hamburgers, chips, beer or soda). If you plan on camping out please RSVP and bring a bundle of firewood.

We will start work at 8:00 Saturday morning working until 2:00 P.M. or sooner if we get all the signs installed. A lunch (prepared by ex-chef and Warrior’s Society Trail Manager Keith Eckstein) of pasta with red sauce garlic bread, green salad and drinks will be served at 2:00 P.M.

Please RSVP if you plan on attending. To get to the campground from Orange County take the 5 Freeway to the Ortega Highway exit and go east on Ortega Highway for 21.9 miles until you reach the turnoff to the campgrounds and turn left.

There is a wooden sign where you turn that say’s “El Cariso Hot Shots Regional Center” and “Los Pinos Conservation Camp” along with and address of “39251 Ortega Hwy.” Go up this road until you come to a junction with a sign that reads “Long Canyon Road” and turn right to the upper campgrounds which will be on your left (about 2.5 miles from where you turned off Ortega Hwy). Drive into the campgrounds and follow the road all the way in to the lower campgrounds.

We’ll provide the tools and you bring a pair of work gloves and water/snacks for on the trail.

3. LOS PINOS BRUSHING PROJECT ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH.

The Warrior’s Society Dog Soldiers, led by Ned “Lone Wolf” Reynolds, will be brushing the Los Pinos Trail, one of the most challenging backcountry trails in the Trabuco District.

When: Saturday November 19th.

Where: Meet @ the San Juan Parking lot @ 7am. This is going to be a long day so we need to start early.

Game Plan: Split up into two crews. One crew will shuttle to the top and work down. The other crew will work from the Bottom. If anyone can’t make the 7am start time then they can start from the bottom. I will supply the loppers and power tools.

Special Notes: This trail is overgrown, even by Los Pinos standards. I and others would like to shape this trail up prior to the long Thanksgiving/Turkey Burn Weekend.

Why: Because it’s one of the best & toughest Trails in the Cleveland National Forest and currently it’s beyond overgrown.

What to bring: Bring enough water and food for a 7 hour day. I suggest long pants and long sleeve shirt. We’ll provide the tools including some power tools.

Notes: If you have never done Los Pinos, on your Bike, this would be a perfect time to come out and see for yourself one of OCs best and toughest trails.

Please reply to Ned Reynolds at elr1@sbcglobal.net if you can help

In this issue:

1. Free public Technical Riding Skills Class next Saturday (October 29th) and Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County Open House

2. Monique Sawicki, endurance champ and Warrior’s Society Club member, to present Endurance Seminar at the Huntington Beach REI

3. Core Chiropractic will provide free deep-muscle massage at the Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County

4. Trail Work Event/Ride at Bommer Canyon

5. Forest Plan meetings for this week

1. FREE PUBLIC TECHNICAL RIDING SKILLS CLASS NEXT SATURDAY (OCTOBER 29TH) AND SWITCHBACK 6-HOURS OF ORANGE COUNTY OPEN HOUSE

Next Saturday, October 29th we will be having a free skills class on technical riding and also a pre-ride of the Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County course at the Flying B Ranch (after which the course will be open for practice). If you have not heard, we have decided to have an Expert and Novice course at the Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County.

The difference in the courses is the Expert course has you turn right after climbing up “Lare-dog” and then do a short steep climb up to, and down, the Warrior’s Trail.

The Warrior’s Trail is best described as being similar to the Luge but with a few steeper drops, a technical “drop in” turn call “Jacknife” and a trail bed that alternates between hard pack to loose and rocky. Those with good technical skills “bomb” down this trail. Those with poor technical skills either walk it or “crash” down it.

In the Novice course you turn left at the top of “Lare-dog” and you descend down a fire road/single track bypass to the bottom of the Warrior’s Trail where you rejoin the Expert riders and resume riding the rest of the course.

At the Open House you will have the opportunity to ride both courses.

The Technical Riding Class is sponsored by the Warrior’s Society Dog Soldiers and our Race Team sponsors: Switchback Cyclery, The PATH Bike Shop, Shimano, Manitou, Clif Bar and Cytomax.

The class will cover bike set up, fire road and technical single track descending as well as how to survive the Warrior’s Trail and the “Jack Knife” drop off – with all the blood and skin you started with.

These classes will be a good way for you to decide if you want to ride the Expert or Novice course in the 6-hour event and also refine your technical skills.

The class and open house will start at 9:00 sharp so arrive early and be ready to ride. Those who participated in the first Open House on October 29th have the option of skipping the class and instead pre-ride the course.

There is a $5.00 entry fee per car to enter the Flying B. Drinks will be provided after the class. Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

Doug at Geoladders has measured the distance of the Expert Course (4.6 miles) and the total elevation gain per lap (1,125). The Novice Course is 4.2 miles long with a total elevation gain per lap of 1,060.

Applications for the Switchback Cyclery 6-Hours of Orange County are now available at the majority of bike shops in Orange County. Your $35.00 entry fee includes beaded and non-beaded gold, silver and bronze coup feathers; a goodie bag; a lunch of salad, pasta, rolls and drinks (beer or soda).

Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County event t-shirts can be purchased for an additional $10.00.

WE HAVE 50 POSITIONS LEFT BEFORE WE REACH OUR 200 PARTICIPATION LIMIT. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THE SWITCHBACK 6-HOURS OF ORANGE COUNTY IS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND (UNLESS WE SELL OUT FIRST).

You can also download and application from our web site at:

http://tinyurl.com/blhbe

Or register on active.com at:

http://tinyurl.com/blwoz

Email the Warrior’s Society to RSVP and for a map to the Flying B if you plan on attending the technical skills course or/and Open House.

2. MONIQUE SAWICKI, ENDURANCE CHAMP AND WARRIOR’S SOCIETY CLUB MEMBER, TO PRESENT ENDURANCE TRAINING SEMINAR AT THE HUNTINGTON BEACH REI

On Monday, October 24th at 7pm, Monique “Pua” Sawicki, Professional Endurance Cyclist and champion mountain biker will be coming to REI Huntington Beach to present a slideshow and training seminar for all skill levels and interests.

In three years, Monique has risen from novice to champion; in her first year of racing professionally (’04), she took the NORBA Marathon Series Title (Marathon is the “Endurance” length mountain bike race- usually 50-70 miles.). In ’05, she already holds 2 national titles, and was the 1st selection to the U.S.A. cycling team to represent the U.S. at the World Cup finals in Norway.

This Clinic is a great opportunity to learn not only how the U.S.’s top female endurance cyclist prepares to race at the highest levels, but how cyclists of any skill or endurance level can apply these tips and training techniques to take their performance to the next level. Topics will include nutrition, equipment and apparel, and training regimens.

We invite you to join us! Please pass this information along to anyone you think would be interested in attending!

Michelle McLean
Outreach Specialist
REI Huntington Beach
7777 Edinger Ave. Ste. 138
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

3. CORE CHIROPRACTIC TO PROVIDE FREE DEEP MUSCLE MASSAGE AT THE SWITCHBACK 6-HOURS OF ORANGE COUNTY

Core Chiropractic is happy to be a part of the Switchback 6-Hours of Orange County. We will provide massage, using a new technology that most professional teams and many elite athletes now use. It’s called DMS (deep muscle stimulator). It vibrates/percusses the muscles 2000 times per minute, giving you a phenomenal massage, without the pain or soreness of traditional deep tissue. In addition, it takes much less time, usually around 25 minutes.

We will be at the race, before it starts, during and afterwards. Also, my office would like to offer a special pre-race discount of 50% to anyone who may need some nagging injuries or tension to be released, during the days or weeks prior to the race. Check out our website www.83spine.com or just call (949) 837 7463 to make a reservation. Our address for those who want to get worked on before the race dress is 25542 Jeronimo rd #3, Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Hope to see you soon,

Shane, the chiropractor

4. TRAIL WORK EVENT/RIDE AT BOMMER CANYON

Warrior’s Society Club member Adam Maywhort was recently appointed Field Operations Manager for the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust. He is having his first trail work event next Saturday. If you’re not going to attend the technical skills class/Open House at the Flying B please help Adam out.

When: Saturday, October 29th – 8:00 am until Noon

Where: Bommer Canyon – Cattle Camp Staging Area, Irvine

Directions: The Cattle Camp Staging Area is located in the City of Irvine at the end of Bommer Canyon Road (off of Shady Canyon Road)

Trail Work: We will be working to repair some erosion damage at the West Fork Trail, which is the connector trail from Bommer Canyon to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove.

The Ride: a Mountain Bike Ride through the Bommer and Shady Canyons will follow the work with some great climbs, great descents and some hike-a bike thrown in for fun.

The Food: We will finish up with lunch at the Cattle Camp Staging Area provided by the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust.

Just bring your muscles and your bike (helmet required). All tools, gloves, water and lunch will be provided.

Please RSVP so we can assure plenty of food for everyone.

Thank you and I’ll see you on the 29th.

Adam J. Maywhort
Field Operations Manager
Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust
amaywhort@irlrtrust.org
(949) 720-5518 (phone)
(949) 720-5582 (fax)

5. ACCESS ALERT – FOREST PLAN MEETINGS THIS WEEK

The Forest Plan meetings begin this week and we encourage to you attend. We have the meeting dates, times and locations listed after my explanation of what you should be paying attention to at the meetings.

Each parcel of the national forest land has a specific designated land use zone that determines how that parcel will be managed for recreation and other activities.

The Zones are:

DESIGNATED WILDERNESS (EW): These areas are established wilderness areas. Mountain biking is not allowed in wilderness areas.

RECOMMENDED WILDERNESS (RW): These areas are being proposed as new wilderness areas. If congress designates these areas as wilderness mountain biking will not be allowed.

CRITICAL BIOLOGICAL (CB): Areas where the most important habitat for the most threatened species can be protected. Mountain biking is allowed in this zone.

BACK COUNTRY NON-MOTORIZED (BCNM): Areas managed for non-motorized recreation. Mountain biking is allowed in this zone.

BACK COUNTRY MOTORIZED USE RESTRICTED (BCMUR): Roads that are maintained for administrative or permit access but not open to the public. Mountain bikes are allowed in this zone.

BACK COUNTRY (BC): Areas managed for motorized public use. Mountain bikes are allowed in this zone.

DEVELOPED AREA INTERFACE (DAI): Areas adjacent to the forest where development has taken place. Mountain biking is allowed in this zone.

EXPERIMENTAL FOREST (EF): Areas set aside for study. Mountain biking is not allowed in this zone.

It is important that you view the maps showing the various land use zones to determine if any of the trails you ride are in areas that have been changed to any zone that does not allow mountain bike access such as “Recommended Wilderness” and “Experimental Forest” zones. Please contact the Warrior’s Society with any of your concerns.

There is also a current effort to implement a designated route policy for off-road vehicles. In the coming months, the OHV route designation process will be asking the public to review and confirm the inventory of existing routes. Mountain bikers should assist in this effort since many of the existing routes are also accessed by them.

Overall the plans are balanced and we ask that you be sure and thank the Forest Service personal at these meeting for choosing management alternative 4A.

These plans are final and the only option to attempt to change them is during the 90 day appeal process that began September 30th.

The Sierra Club will be out in force at these meetings attempting to deceive the public into opposing this alternative; don’t be deceived and don’t let others be deceived by the Sierra Club’s lies and rhetoric.

You can also view the plans online at:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/scfpr/projects/lmp/openhouse.htm

Below are the meeting dates scheduled for this week for each of the four forests (as well as the dates of future meetings).

-LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST-

All meetings have been held

-ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST-

West Covina: October 24, 6:00-8:00pm, West Covina Senior Center, 2501 E. Cortez Street

Fullerton: November 2, 6:00-8:00pm, Community Senior Multi-Service Center, 340 W. Commonwealth

-CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST-

Corona: October 27, 6:00-8:30pm, Corona Public Library, 650 S. Main Street

San Juan Capistrano: October 29, 10:00am -1:00pm, Old Fire Station Complex, 31421 La Matanza Street

Fullerton: November 2, 6:00-8:00pm, Community Senior Multi-Service Center, 340 W. Commonwealth

-SAN BERNARDIO NATIONAL FOREST-

Hesperia: October 19, 6:00-8:00pm, Holiday Inn Express, 9750 Keypoint Avenue

Rancho Cucamonga: October 26, 6:00-8:00pm, Lions Center West, Felipe Room 9161 Baseline Road

Idyllwild: November 1, 6:00-8:00pm, Idyllwild Elementary School, Multi-Purpose Rm, 26700 Hwy 243

More from the pacific northwest …

During a momentary lapse of sanity I allowed my friend Scott to convince me to sign-up for the 11th annual Bend Big Fat Tour ride. This is a fund-raising event put on by Cog Wild Bicycle Tours, with the money going towards trail building and mountain bike advocacy in Eastern Oregon, via the Central Oregon Trail Alliance. The route was laid-out by Paul Thomasberg, who is one of Cog Wild’s owners and a principal organizer of the event.

This is a 95 mile tour, starting at Paulina Peak and finishing in Sisters, a small town northwest of Bend. It is limited to 50 entries. The ride motto is “No Whiners”.

Wait a minute, 95 miles? In one day? What am I, nuts? Well mostly, but not completely. The insane distance is offset by some important attractions:

. Starts at 8000′ elevation, finishes at 3300′
. Traverses some beautiful scenery
. Contains over 60 miles of single-track
. Is sponsored by Deschutes Brewery

The ride profile:

We left downtown Bend 5:30 Friday morning via a shuttle to the top of Paulina Peak. The temperature dipped into the mid-20’s during the drive up, but we went through a weird thermocline and at the peak it was a balmy 45 degrees. The daytime high was predicted to reach the high 70’s. Unusual for October, but I wasn’t complaining. For those of you who don’t know, the climate on the eastern side of the Cascade range is dry, more like the high desert of New Mexico or Utah.

A map of the trail route.

We hit the trail right at sunrise, about 7:10 am, under clear skies and a strong breeze. The first 12 miles rolled up and down, traversing 180 degrees around the rim of Newberry Crater, a (hopefully) dormant volcano with 2 beautiful lakes down in the crater. The trail ducked in and out of the forest, alternating between fun slaloms in the trees and stunning views highlighted by the sun rising over beautiful mountains and lakes. The endless views in the early morning looked other-worldly, more like a surreal painting than the real physical landscape.

At North Paulina Peak the trail pointed down, descending 3000′ over the next 25 miles. We passed through alpine forests, high meadows, and the huge lava fields of Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The lava flows on either side of the trail were dozens of feet high at times, with some fast downhill double-track sections across the lava beds. The trail bed was crushed lava rock, scattered with larger day-ending size chunks. Well, only day-ending if you hit one. We were told it was probably a bad idea to fall in the lava rock, so I was definitely on high alert, trying to maintain that fine line between going fast to cover the miles, but not taking too many chances.

The route crossed Highway 97 at the Lava Lands Visitor Center, where the first aid station was located. After re-watering and eating a bit (they fed us really well), we were off, heading towards the Deschutes River, following along the southwest side of the main lava bed.

It was 20 miles from aid #1 to aid #2. The route began with a fun tight single-track roll through the trees, then into some double-track and dirt road sections. But after crossing the river the next 15 miles of trail was a continuous single-track, climbing about 1000′ feet through a beautiful pine forest. The trail is marked with forest service signs that say “Mountain Bikes Only” (how cool is that!). During this entire trail section I was riding alone in the forest, no one around, no other sounds. Just me, pedaling, whistling, singing, yelling, looking around, pedaling some more, then some more pedaling. What a day!

After a short rest at aid #2, I headed for the climb up the side of Tumalo Falls. Ah, only14 miles to aid #3. But after the first 3 rolling miles the trail climbs 2000′ over the next 6 miles, all single track, much of it soft single track. Having ridden over 60 miles at this point, it was a pretty brutal climb. Once at the top, there were 5 more miles of rolling forest service roads until aid station #3 was in sight.

I hit aid #3 at 5:10pm. The sun was supposed to set at 6:45. The sweep hadn’t left yet, but they were getting ready (drinking Red Bull and eating cookies???). Well it was only a mere 25 miles to the finish: mostly fast downhill, some small climbs, across the paved road and a short trail into Sisters and a cold beer. After a brief discussion with the sweep and the check point guy, I convinced them I could finish. I surely didn’t want to ride the road down to town after that long climb to the top. Besides, I had my crappy little commuter light with me. What could possibleye go wrong?

I felt a real exhilarating rush starting the last section. I knew I was going to finish. Woo Hoo! After a short climb to the ridge top the trail started down. And it turned out to be a wonderfully fun descent, well worth the previous 14 mile battle to get there. Almost 15 miles of pure downhill. This was absolutely the best, most fun and most technical part of the ride. Steep, loamy forest trail, lots of rocks, some drops, some roots, very few switchbacks. The trail followed ridges and creek-filled ravines straight down the side of the mountain. I don’t know how fast I was going, but my eyes were watering most of the time, and the high-speed bouncing around made everything look jittery and out of focus (couldn’t be fatigue, could it?). But nothing says adrenaline high like dodging baby-head rocks at warp speed in waning daylight.

I crossed the last paved road at 6:20pm. This was my final option to bail and take the road into town. I waited there for the sweep riders since it was getting dark. I didn’t know if they still wanted me out on the trail, and I wasn’t sure which way to turn on the road to head back to town. When they didn’t show after several minutes I opted to continue on the trail on the other side of the road.

It started out as a flat single-track winding lazily through the trees, and I thought, “boy, I sure hope there’s some more downhill so I can eat-up the last few miles before dark.” But no, I was under my own power and it was getting darker. At about 6:50 I hit some unseen rocks sneakily placed in plain sight in the middle of the trail and almost bailed-off into the bushes. I had delayed turing on my light as long as possible, but it was so dark now I had no choice.

Once the light was on my universe became a 15” circle of light about 10′ in front of my tire. The only way to tell when I went off the trail was when the branches hit me on the head. My forward progress slowed way down as I stopped at each trail, spur, and road intersection to lift the front of the bike, point the light in the trees, and look for the pink trail marker ribbon. I was completely paranoid that I’d miss a turn and ride the woods around Sisters all night. But each time I began to think I made a wrong turn, there was some more ribbon (whew!). They sure did a nice job marking the route.

At about 7:10, I saw some lights through the trees, and pretty quickly was on a paved road heading into downtown Sisters. I had to stop and ask a gas station guy where the finish line was in town, and fortunately he knew. I was the last rider out on the course, the last finisher. But it didn’t matter. Man that first beer tasted good. We exchanged a few stories about the ride while finishing the beer. Then it was off to Scott’s house just outside of town, some BBQ steaks, and bed.

This was the best ride I’ve ever done. The scenery, the challenge of nearly 100 miles, the weather, the terrain, the endless single-track, the organization, everything about it was great. If you are looking for an epic event that reinforces the comraderie, spirit, pure childish fun, and grassroots nature of mountain biking, give the Bend Big Fat Tour a try. I’ll be there next year.