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January 31, 2005
Weekend Report
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After a couple of small storms during the week, Clear Creek was almost perfect this past weekend. In fact it was dusty in the Rambler campground on Sunday afternoon and I could see just a trace of dusty on trails that faced south and west.
I worked the entrance on Saturday morning from 8:20 to 10:10 and greeted about fifty people. At first it seemed shocking that so few people were enjoying the Creek after some much needed rain. After all, it had not rained in over two weeks. Perhaps they all got up really early and beat me down there. Somehow I doubted that. Then Ross R. Ross with the Timekeepers showed up and reminded me that Saturday night was Supercross at Pac Bell Park and then it made sense.
Billy and I got some enduro work done that afternoon and after dinner took a soak in the hot tub that Chris and Ross Burnett have in their camp site. Boy, did that feel good. I got Josh and Bob to work the gate Sunday morning while I did some work around camp and then, before doing enduro mileaging I went up to take some monitoring pictures on the course. All in all, it was a good weekend and this next one looks even better.
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January 28, 2005
Metcalf Again - Important Meeting on Wednesday, February 2
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If you live in Santa Clara county and ride a dirt bike, then you need to show up at a meeting being held next Wednesday night. The meeting, hosted by County Parks, will discuss the future of Metcalf and the potential to either close the park or expand. Off-roaders need to show up to express support for not only keeping the park open but also to get it expanded.
Please pass the word to your friends and make up a poster or handouts and get them to your favorite shop on Monday or Tuesday. The meeting is at the Issac Newton Conference Center, 60 West Hedding in San Jose starting at 6:30PM. Get there early and sign-up to speak.
More information about Metcalf may be found at Friends of Metcalf Motorcycle Park's web page.
Off to Clear Creek for enduro work. More blog next week. Happy Trails!
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January 27, 2005
Another Urban Myth - Big Foot in Clear Creek?
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Back in November I traded e-mails with an avid Clear Creek rider who asked me if I had ever heard of any Big Foot stories coming out of Clear Creek. I had not. He went on to say that something scared the s@#t out of him one night when he was camping out in the boonies of Clear Creek. I suggested that it might have been a large Mexican dope grower protecting his patch. The rider wrote back that it was the inhuman stench of the figure that woke him from a deep sleep.
Sounded like a good scary story but that was all the details he would give me. Said he was saving the details for a campfire in the boonies of Clear Creek. Has anyone else had a similar experience while camping out in Clear Creek? I sure hope not because this could give the BLM an excuse to declare more areas of the Creek as critical habitat for an endangered myth!
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January 26, 2005
Major Donation
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I had a call yesterday evening from Ed Waldheim, one of our OHV commissioners and the president of California Off-Road Vehicle Association. He called to let me know that the Action Fund board of directors had just voted to approve the donation of $20K to the Clear Creek Legal Defense Fund hosted by the BlueRibbon Coalition. I have posted more information about this donation on the Salinas Rambler's Clear Creek web site.
Ed also said that he was successful in getting an additional $30K in green sticker funds directed to Clear Creek at a Commission meeting last Friday. The funds are earmarked for law enforcement. While I would like to see funds to repair the many whooped out and rutted routes around the Clear Creek drainage, at this point in time, these funds will help supplement the BLM's budget and allow more patrols of the critical plant habitat that the environmentalists complain is not being adequately patrolled and protected.
My congratulations to Ed Waldheim for steering these funds to Clear Creek. It should be noted that this additional money was approved by a majority of the commission who apparently were willing to give the new Clear Creek Project Manager a chance to improve things at the Creek.
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January 25, 2005
Weather Report -Rain Coming
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Looks like our Indian Summer at Clear Creek is over for a while. We have had 14 days with no precipitation, the mud holes are dry and the trails are dusty. Rain is likely tonight and on Friday so before you travel to the Creek next weekend, check the BLM information line at 831-630-5060. I will update the blog as I learn more.
It is really going to be shame if they close Clear Creek after these two rain events. I predict that conditions will be perfect on Sunday and a little sloppy on Saturday.
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January 24, 2005
Weekend Report
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What a great weekend at the Creek. Perfect weather for riding. Greeted visitors on Saturday morning and then went out with the enduro trail boss and loop leader to mileage the AA third loop of the enduro. What a bunch of brutal trail all linked together. Glad I don't have to ride it at speed! In fact I didn't ride it all as my Suzuki was having some intermittent electrical problems and my body some was reacting negatively to some medicine that I was taking to kill off a cold. I rode most of it and that night I felt it.
Have you ever gotten the leg cramp that runs from your groin down the inside of you leg? I think this is the most painful cramp you can get. Well, I was fully expecting one and probably both to seize up on Saturday night. I have found that bending your knee at just the wrong time after you have relaxed seems to trigger them so I did everything I could NOT to bend my knees. I ate standing up and sat with knees unbending around the campfire. While I was laying straight legged in bed waiting to fall asleep I composed the title of a blog piece about the cramps - Double A Double Leg Cramps. Fortunately they never came and I don't have to use the title!
On Sunday the Ramblers hosted another Doc Wong riding clinic. I was in charge of hosting the participants. Didn't get a rider count but based on the donations I estimate about 25 people participated. My thanks to Harry Wong for running these clinics that have raised $1,300 for the Clear Creek Legal Defense Fund.
There are some Clear Creek reports from the weekend on Thumpertalk's Southwest Forum (found at the end of the forum list - you may have to page through the list to find them). Plant Guy got a guided tour of the inside of the old mill at New Idria and posted these pictures (select New Idria 1-26-5).
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January 21, 2005
Weekend
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Off to the creek for enduro work.. Check back Monday evening.
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January 20, 2005
Crashing Girl
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My thanks to Heather Wilson for helping with the battle to save Clear Creek. She recently added the image of the "Save Clear Creek" bumper sticker to her race schedule page and linked the image to the Salinas Ramblers home page. If you are not familiar with Heather, you should check out her web site. She is one pretty fast girl! Or is it fast and pretty? Well, both! She also was AMA's 2004 AMA Sports Female Rider of the Year!
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January 19, 2005
Weather Report
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Well, winter high pressure has returned to its customary place over the Great Basin and is again blocking storms from reaching Clear Creek. This is a typical pattern for this time of year. If you don't believe me, go and check the historical data on the weather stations at Clear Creek. In the old days, the pattern would start just after the new year and hold until the first day of the Crosby golf tournament in late January. In fact I can remember being in downtown Monterey one January evening in the early 1970's when it was 70 degrees at 11PM. I can also remember taking the kids to the beach in January and February and then sending beach pictures home to my Mom in New Jersey.
Weather Forecaster tell us that we have been in a drought cycle for five to seven years. Unfortunately there never seems to be a shortage of rain come Quicksilver time! As I think back now, the exception to the above rule was on Quicksilver race weekend. We moved the Quicksilver Enduro from January to February because it always seemed to rain on our parade in January. What we need is a big umbrella over Clear Creek, or a dome! Indoor enduro!
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January 18, 2005
Ed on the Web Again
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Here is a new press release on the Save Clear Creek program. My name gets used quite a bit and I suppose I am the poster child for the Save Clear Creek campaign. I was able to get recognition for the guy who had the idea originally, Justin Hensley and for the Timekeepers who contribute significantly to the cause. The person who was unrecognized in all this was Josh Golden who wrote the initial piece that morphed into this final form. Thanks, Josh!
A big thank you to the hundreds who have contributed to the legal defense fund. These donations have positioned us, the OHV community, to be able to respond to threats to our recreation at Clear Creek.
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January 17, 2005
Weekend Report
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I wasn't feeling good on Saturday and just sat around the house all day until it was time to drive to Richmond for the District 36 awards banquet. Colleen and I had a good time, saw some old friends and met some new ones. We got to sit at one of the head tables since I was there to give away this year's Jim Hutzler award. Fortunately it was to someone who I knew and respected for all his efforts to promote and protect the sport of motorcycling. This year's winner is Chris Carter, owner of Motion Pro!
The Ramblers had a few club members win enduro awards and we had the big winner of the night, Jordan Brandt, who won both the overall Cross Country title and the Enduro title, dual championships! Congrats to Dan and to Charlotte and Joe Gomes of Full Throttle Racing who sponsored Dan.
It was a two hour drive up because of traffic but I made it home in a hour and 40 minutes. Hit the sack at midnight and the next thing I know the alarm is going off at 6AM. Load up the bike and head for the Creek. Arrive just in time to help put up the sign-in tent at 8:30. The talk was about how great conditions were on Saturday. This surprised me a bit because after all that rain I expected that it would be very sloppy everywhere.
Boy, was I wrong. Conditions were a day past perfect - in other words it was dusty on the south/west facing roads and trails and wonderful on the others. There were a few mud holes, a couple small patches of snow on San Benito Mountain and you had to be careful where a trail crossed a drainage as there were some new terrain features due to the rain. If we had not come up R005 at the end of the day I would hardly have had to clean the bike. I was warm on the side hill trails. Blue sky and fog in the central valley. All in all, a wonderful winter day at the Creek.
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January 14, 2005
Good News
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The good news today is that Clear Creek has been reopened and that this weekend and (right now) next weekend are forecast to be clear. I guess it had to stop raining sometime.
More good news - I have had a couple of people volunteer to be involved with the Jade Mill project. This is good because this project should be overseen by people who will actually use the area. I have been fortunate in never having to camp in Clear Creek. From my earliest visits to the Creek, I went with members of the Salinas Dirt Riders to the property that is now owned by the Salinas Ramblers. We can use more help with this project so let me know if you would be interested in volunteering.
Finally, Cycle Gear will now be selling bumper stickers in their bay area, Fresno and Modesto stores. A big thanks to Dave Bertram and crew for their long time support of the Salinas Ramblers efforts to keep Clear Creek open.
Will be off to the District 36 Awards Banquet tomorrow evening and then down to the Creek for enduro work on Sunday. Check back early next week for more blog.
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January 11, 2005
Eyes
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I was out in the garage working on the KTM for a while tonight and I have to tell you that it is getting to be less and less fun all the time. If I am not dropping something that disappears somewhere on the bike or the floor then I am constantly taking off and putting on my glasses to see what I am doing. Why is it that they build bike with parts and pieces set at a distance that I can't see them with my glasses on or off? Shouldn't engineers be required to build bikes so that old guys can see what they are working on?
I have gotten to that point in my life where I need bifocals. At least my eyes have gotten to that point but mentally I am not there yet. To buy bifocals is to admit that I am old and I am not ready to make that concession yet. I went to the eye doctor a couple years ago and he suggested that the time was near for bifocals but that I could probably get by with just a stronger prescription for the time being. So I got new glasses. With them I could see a pebble at twenty yards but I had a hard time reading a roll chart on my handlebars. So much for that investment. Back to the old prescription!
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January 10, 2005
Dirt Rider 24 Hour Test
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How would you like to take a factory bike for a half hour ride around Hungry Valley SVRA, ride Fred Andrews Suzuki or Mike Lafferty's KTM, mingle with some of the top riders in the country and their mechanics? Well, a few lucky people who have contributed to the fight to keep Clear Creek open will be getting invitations to do just that. I know of one already, Mike Zesiger of the Timekeepers, and have recommended a few others for their efforts the past year.
Last year I was able to participate and had a great time. So, how can you qualify for next year's event? Volunteer to help in the fight to keep Clear Creek open. Take the lead on a project like Jade Mill. Greet riders in the morning and educate them on how to tread lightly. Join a work party. There will be another opportunity later this month to help finish up the upper Clear Creek fencing project.
The Blue Ribbon Coalition asks that you put together a resume of your land use activities and that the better the resume, the better your chance of an invitation. So start volunteering and maybe you could test ride Mike Lafferty's KTM next year!
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January 9, 2005
Weekend Report - Movie review
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Well, it rained a lot the past couple days. 3.5 inches at the Idria rain gauge since Friday morning. I hope it was not too ugly for the national Hare Scrambles in Hollister today. I worked on my KTM300 and watched football. Since neither the 49ers or Raiders were worth watching this year, I have spent very little couch potato time in front of the TV set except for Monday Night Football. It was fun to see Peyton Manning score five touchdowns today and sad to see Bret Favre knocked from the playoffs.
On Saturday afternoon, Colleen and I went to the movies. She chose so she is to blame for the selection. I highly don't recommend 'Closer'. Two thumbs down (four if you count her's). Terrible movie, IMO. Save your money and if you are really bored some night, rent it. No, don't even do that. It was that bad. I can't believe that it is nominated for 5 Golden Globe awards. Now 'Spanglish' on the other hand was a funny, entertaining movie that we saw over Christmas weekend. Two thumbs up!
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January 7, 2005
More Rain
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I know that Brian White was nervous about making the right decision about the Clear Creek closure for this weekend. What if the weatherpeople were wrong? Well, they weren't and Clear Creek got dumped on again today with over 2" of rain at the Idria gauge and 1.5" at the Hernandez weather station.
So what are you going to do with your weekend off from the Creek?
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January 6, 2005
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The BLM has released a plan, an Environmental Assessment, for the Jade Mill camping area. I would like some volunteers, people who like to camp there, to get involved with the planning for this area. You can read about it here at the Rambler web site. The plan calls for the placement of two toilets, parking barricades like at Oak Flat Campground and (naturally) fencing to close routes.
Please let me know if you can help. Brian White, the BLM's Clear Creek project coordinator would like to plan a meeting to review the site and discuss the plans - if it ever stops raining.
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January 4, 2005
Too Much Rain - Part 2
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Just listened to the weather reports at dinner time and the forecast for this weekend looks ugly. I had an e-mail from Brian White at the BLM this afternoon and he asked me to pass the word that if it rains as predicted on Thursday, the BLM will keep Clear Creek closed through this weekend. If closed, hopefully we will get some relief from the rain next week and see the area open on the 15th .
Please spread the word to your e-mail groups and remind people to check the Clear Creek Hotline for updates on conditions and possible closures. The number is 831-630-5060. The BLM has a couple day lag in getting their web site updated so it is best to call the hotline.
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January 2, 2005
Too Much Rain
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As you may know, Clear Creek was closed this weekend because of too much rain. Information about Clear Creek wet weather closure can be found here on the Salinas Ramblers' web site.
I have had several people write asking about the logic of closing Clear Creek when it is wet. After all, the BLM has been telling us for years that it is best to ride when the soils are wet and there is no dust. The problem, unfortunate, is that we have gotten too much rain in the past week. There are a number of rain gauges around the Creek. One is near New Idria, a second on top of Santa Rita Peak and a third by the Hernandez dam. The New Idria rain gauge has registered 7.28 inches of rain since December 26, almost an inch per day average.
The problem with all this rain is that vehicles will tend to more easily rut trails and destroy water structures (rolling dips, water bars) that the BLM spent a bunch of time and OHV money to construct. In addition, the heavy rains can make Clear Creek road very dangerous and you will remember from a previous day's blog, there is no medical help in south county this year because the San Benito County Board of Supervisors cut the funds to keep the CDF station open.
I certainly hope that we get a break in the weather this week so the Creek can dry out and the BLM will reopen it. The long range weather forecast is not looking very positive right now though! Will keep you posted.
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January 1, 2005
Happy New Year
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I would like to wish all my readers a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Because of the rains that closed Clear Creek this weekend - over 6" at the Hernandez rain gauge since Christmas - I have started back a day early on the blog. Nice to have a break to spend quality time with the wife and to do some much needed maintenance on my bikes.
Last night - New Year's Eve - my wife and I ventured to Coalinga for a dance party. Why Coalinga? That's where William (Dirt Ranger) Schwarz's band was playing the New Year's Eve gig at the Eagles Hall in downtown Coalinga. The band's name is Evolution and they play a mix of "70 rock and roll. You know, the rock and roll that was really rock and roll. Radar Love, Smoke on the Water, Born to be Wild, etc. Good, hard driving music. William is the drummer.
Of course I could not escape some discussion about Clear Creek as a group of jeepers from Coalinga were at the party. These guys help the Ramblers each year with communications at the enduro. During a break, they pulled out a map of their course for the Molina Ghost Run and we talked about private property issues.
These guy (and girls) like to party and if I ever get too worn out to ride a bike I guess I will have to get a jeep.
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