I normally do not advocate for any company or organization because I believe people are capable of making their own choices. But this time, I’d like to bring to everyone’s attention this simple method of supporting good causes of your choice by just being alive.  This can be done through Plus 3 Network. All you need to do is logging your daily activities there. The idea is, Plus 3 has secured a set of beneficiaries (causes) that people can choose to support as well as a corresponding set of sponsors (one-to-one relationship). Once you choose your cause to support, any activity you log (by hand typing or using your GPS) through their site will help raise money for that cause, which will be donated by the corresponding sponsor.

To be honest, in the beginning, I was a bit thrown off by the fact that Plus 3 was not a non-profit organization, so when I had trouble uploading my GPS data first time I tried a year ago, I did not try again. But I’ve come to terms with that grudge since. After all, it’s a great idea. We do these activities anyway, and this is a simple way to make them count. The people who came up with the idea and the platform deserve to be awarded. So, here I am, giving a shout out on their behalf. BTW, last night when I tried, uploading data from my GPS was extremely easy.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with Plus 3 at all other than being a member

Below is a list of the activities that can be logged as of today. Now, do you see what I mean by raising money by just being alive?

I elected Breast Cancer Foundation as the cause to support when I signed up. It’s a good cause. But I think next time they open up the changes, I’ll switch over to IMBA to support because it’s just a bit closer to my heart.

Erik went to Pinnacles to meet Brad for a winter ascent , a tradition that had gone on for more than a decade. Despite their invite, I figured they could spend the quality time alone and decided not to join them. It turned out they did have a third wheel, Phil, who was a pleasant company.

I, inspired by yesterday nice weather, planned on a long road ride. Up W. Alpine, down Page Mill, up Old La Honda East, down OLH west to La Honda Road (Hwy 84), up Hastings Grade to Pescadero, then Stage Road. By then, I was feeling a bit lonely and missed company. Plus, the weather was way too gray, so I took Hwy 84 and came home.  Nice thing about a ride that did not take whole day was the afternoon nap. zzzzzZZZZZ. It felt so good!

I just had an epiphany: A picture is worth a thousand words. So forget about a longer report. Here are the pictures. But first, thanks F4 for hosting the delicious hotpot dinner and the one of a kind birthday gift! Thanks munge for coming out to share a couple of drinks with Mr. Mud. And thanks all who were thinking of him.

Oh, the funny thing was on our way home from the bar after Mr. Mud had a couple of “Dirty Old Man” drinks, the audiobook we were listening to, a World War II memoir, had this in a dialogue: “I’m not a dirty old man; I’m a sexy senior citizen.”

Mr. Mud is not old yet. See how flexible he is in these poses?

He was not doing yoga though. He was just admiring the beauty of these early spring flowers at Pinnacles.

Mr. Mud would not have wanted to be anywhere else.

Wish you all could have been here.

The next day, Erik also had an epiphany on our short ride, “Alcohol is not a performance enhancing drug.”

It’s official now: I have placed an order on my new trail bike!

I’ll have a full write up on the process and my choice once I get my bike. (Don’t want to jinx it.) Stay tuned…

At 9am, the sun already hit the Hunting Hollow parking lot, and it was pleasant, so much so that I took my jacket off. Poor Charlie. He panicked in this unseasonal warmth and cried, “I don’t need to bundle up. I don’t know what to do now!”

The route we took was roughly: Hunting Hollow parking lot -> R: Gilroy Hot Springs Road -> Coit Road -> R: Serpentine -> R: Timm Trail -> R: Coit Road -> R: Anza -> R: Jackson -> Elderberry Sprint Trail -> L: Jackson Road -> R: Wasno Road -> Kelly Lake -> Kelly Cabin Canyon Trail -> Cross Canyon Trail -> R: Grapevine -> L: Anza -> Coit Road -> Skinny on Gilroy Hot Springs bridge -> Gilroy Hot Springs Road -> Hunting Hollow parking lot (23.9 mi / 4560′)  If anyone is looking for a fun route at Henry Coe with a lot of singletrack but not too much punishment (not that there is anything wrong with that), I strongly recommend this route.

This was my first time riding with Eric. Very soon into our ride, I discovered that he had an obsession — he was obsessed with cleaning trash and clearing loose debris and hazards off of the trails. He made frequent stops, but pedaling efficiently on his hard tail, he was leading the way most of the time. I confess I had my own obsession as well — when I was on a climb, I just could not stop, at least not until I was about to tip over. So, it was a repeated scene on today’s ride that Eric stopped to saw off some hanging branches or remove some fallen debris, and I would ride up to him and pass right on by without stopping. I sometimes did say, “Thanks, dude!” Well, an obsession is an obsession. What can you do about it?

Actually, despite our route being fairly short (by the Coe standard), we spent quite a few hours out there because: 1) guys could talk, and 2) they did quite a bit impromptu trail work along the way. I couldn’t help but feeling inspired, so I kicked a few little rocks off of the trail at one point.

Ever since I saw Charlie’s picture of Brian/knobs riding the skinny on Gilroy Hot Springs bridge (link), I had been interested in checking it out. Actually, on the later part of the ride, I was quite fixated on playing on the skinny and made sure my wish was heard by the guys. Finally, we were there. I jumped right on it, and then, I fell right off of it. No biggie, because there was no real danger there, well, except when I almost fell into the barbwire fence leading to the bridge when I failed to mount the bike. Charlie commented with a big smile, “Nice job!” and Eric and Greg laughed. Hey, were the guys laughing at me? That would have totally bruised my self-esteem. But on my best run, I managed to stay on the skinny and rode on and on and on (it felt like forever) and finally fell off of it maybe about 20′ before the very end (I think it was more because of excitement). I rode back out with my head held high toward the thundering claps from the cheering crowd. If I had been able to take my hands off of the bar and punch into the sky without falling over, I would have done it.

Well, I’d better keep my post short so I could beat Charlie to it. My pictures pale in comparison to his. But Charlie’s fans, do not hold your hope too high. I don’t think I saw him with his camera out much on the ride. At one point, we even asked, “Should you go ahead? We’ll wait for a few seconds and then ride in single file by you, so you can take pictures.” He hesitated and replied something like, well, the sun was not right, and I think he might even said something about the gentle breeze being in the wrong direction or something. Excuses, excuses. I couldn’t help but wondering if we were not photogenic enough for him. There was an exception though. When we were playing on the skinny, I urged Charlie to give it a try. He held on to his dear camera and replied, “No~~~~~, I’m taking pictures!”

Oh, did I say I should keep my post short?

Remember how helpless Charlie felt in front of boulders?
(source)

Eric and Greg decided to do something about it.

Hmmm…First time seeing these flowers

Can you tell which picture of Greg was taken at the beginning of the ride, which at the end?

Charlie greets from Henry Coe.

Eric in his tick suit.

All my pictures are in the gallery

Charlie’s report: http://www.mtbguru.com/trip/show/12924-2010-02-18-henry-w-coe-state-park
MTBR thread: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=592919

Below excerpt came from Charlie’s report:

Mei schools us on riding the skinny over the Gilroy Hot Springs bridge:

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Eric can’t believe how far Mei goes on this attempt:

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   The moment we woke up, we could see the blue sky through the skylight in our bedroom. It was going to be a nice day! In this bright sunshine and under the clear sky, we took in the beautiful view of the pine ridges on the Hastings Grade to Pescadero, the rolling hills on Stage Rd, the breaking waves on Hwy 1, and the blooming valley on Lobitos Creek Rd, etc.

I got flowers.

   Erik pointed out the blooming wild flowers to me along the way. They were oh so beautiful. And they were so many. Thank you, honey!

We dined out.

   At the deli in that market at Skyline and Hwy 84 junction, I ordered stir fried rice and chicken drumsticks and Erik ordered Lasagna served in Styrofoam lunch boxes. That was the best stir fried rice I had ever had! Yummy. (Be warned: do not just show up there hoping to have the best fried rice; you need to ride 45+ miles of hills first.)

We had serious fun together.

   Climbing up OLH at the end of the day, I started out right behind him, but half way up, I pulled up to his side trying to pass and he quickened his pace. The second half of the ride saw us huffing and puffing, struggling not to get dropped by the other person and not to let the other person get ahead. I thought to myself, “Bastard, just let me pass already!” And the bubble above his head clearly read, “Woman, back off. Let me catch my breath!” When we crossed the line at the top almost at the same time, we both were about to collapse. That was some serious fun there.

So, there you have it: we spent our Valentine’s Day doing a road ride on our favorite loop: Home -> Hastings Grade -> Pescadero -> Stage Rd -> St. Gregorio -> Stage Rd -> Tunitas Creek Rd -> Lobitos Creek Rd -> Tunitas Creek Rd -> Star Hill -> Swett Rd -> Skyline -> 84 -> Portola Rd -> Sand Hill -> OLH -> 84 -> Home.  (58.3 mi /  6658′)

P.S. He did bring me flowers home earlier, and he bought me a cute Life Is Good long sleeve T-shirt. Life is good!

World Champion Cadel Evans has this to say about the ride to Pescadero:

Dropping down to Pescadero, we witnessed the reminiscence of the recent winter storms.

Love is… I let you share a rocking chair with me.

As far as I’m concerned, that thread shows following (so you REALLY should read it IMAO):

1. a video I made to document the makeover we did to a few sections on Jackson Trail.

If you can’t view this flash, you can watch it on YouTube

2. I’m ripped.

3. I attack a tick with a McCloud.

(Artist: Brian, aka knobs)

4. I *fly* down Jackson.

(Photographer: Charlie, aka Skyline35).

Kentucky Camp / IMBA Epic Long Ride

Online resources: SDMB, AZ Endurance Series

Navigation: You can download map from either link above. We followed Tom, who followed his GPS. It worked out really well. You need to pay attention to the direction of those two loops. We actually got on the wrong direction when we entered the south loop and had to back track. (That shows in my track.)

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 46.1
Elevation Range (ft) 4597 – 5944
Total Ascent (ft) 5699
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 18.6
Total Descent Distance (mi) 27.5

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 5 stars (Just because it was epic)
Technical Difficulty 3 stars (Link Trail, a very loose and ledgy climb, was under snow, which made it so much harder to clean)
Aerobic Difficulty 3 stars
Grin Factor 4 stars (We were so out there. It made me happy.)

Photos: All are in this album

Hitching a ride from Kentucky Camp

snow!!!

Bug Springs Up and Down at Mt Lemmon

Online resources: SDMB

Navigation: Trailhead was very obviously marked on the highway. The trail was also easy to follow — you go either up or down. I liked going the way we went because it warmed us up nicely and plus, we were able to turn around in the middle of the 500 feet of steps.

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 4.9
Elevation Range (ft) 4966 – 5996
Total Ascent (ft) 1184
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 2.2
Total Descent Distance (mi) 2.8

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 4 stars (nice scenery)
Technical Difficulty 3 stars (for some technical rocky sections)
Aerobic Difficulty 3 stars
Grin Factor 3 stars (I feel it deserves more stars, but it is almost too short — both ways.)

Photos: All are in this album

We met Tom coming down shortly before we reached the summit.

A summit shot

Snow covered steps (not very discernible in the picture) on the other side of the summit (near higher trail head).

Molino Basin Trail Down and Up

Online resources: SDMB

Navigation: The SDMB page above only shows the portion from Prison Camp to Molino Basin Camp. We added a little extra on both ends because we rode from our car which was parked higher and went to Bellota Trail down lower. The trail was fairly easy to find from Prison Camp.

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 7.2
Elevation Range (ft) 4293 – 4991
Total Ascent (ft) 1177
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 3.1
Total Descent Distance (mi) 4.2

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 4 stars
Technical Difficulty 3 stars (there are some rocky sections)
Aerobic Difficulty 2 stars (Some rough sections, but mostly rideable)
Grin Factor 3 stars (Maybe my grin would have been bigger if I had not been tired by the end of the day and it was getting dark.)

Photos: All are in this album

A kid was talking to us standing next to it, so I just took a picture from an angle.

Fantasy Island (Main + Burro Loop)

Online resources: Topofusion, SDMB

Navigation: See my previous post.

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 8.5
Elevation Range (ft) 2765 – 2845
Total Ascent (ft) 540
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 3.0
Total Descent Distance (mi) 5.5

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 4 stars
Technical Difficulty 1 stars
Aerobic Difficulty 1 stars
Grin Factor 5 stars

Photos: You can easily ride this route without ever wanting to stop. I didn’t; thus, no photos.

Sweetwater

Online resources: SDMB

Navigation: I have no idea how the locals navigate here. Yes, the network was enclosed by golf clubs, residential, and Marriott, but still one would be turned round and round here, and there is not a single sign post we saw on our ride. Luckily, our friend Tom had a course downloaded to his GPS and a map in hand, along with his good navigational skills, he was able to guide us on the SDMB route without any problem.

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 11.6
Elevation Range (ft) 2448 – 2686
Total Ascent (ft) 857
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 4.3
Total Descent Distance (mi) 7.3

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 5 stars (my favorite. some challenges, but not overwhelming. it was pure fun.)
Technical Difficulty 2 stars (for some rough sections)
Aerobic Difficulty 2 stars
Grin Factor 4 stars

Photos: All are in this album

Tucson Mountain Park at Starr Pass

Online resources: SDMB

Navigation: Print a map from that SDMB site. That would help. But I have to say, the trails can still be a little confusing. For quite a while, I thought all the trails in the park are named Yetman Trail. Well, when you look at the map, it’s not surprising — it’s long and winds around.
Route: Starr Pass Trail -> L: Rock Wren Trail -> L: Yetman Trail -> L: Saguaro Rib Trail -> R: Starr Pass Trail -> R: Yetman Trail -> R: Bowen Trail -> Road back to the car.

Stats and Map (Click on Trip Details below the map for links to GPX & TCX and other files):
Distance (mi) 11.2
Elevation Range (ft) 2596 – 2949
Total Ascent (ft) 1135
Total Ascent Distance (mi) 4.2
Total Descent Distance (mi) 7.1

Mei’s Subjective Ratings (all out of 5 star system):
Overall Rating 4 stars
Technical Difficulty 3 stars (there are some rocky sections)
Aerobic Difficulty 2 stars (Some rough sections, but mostly rideable)
Grin Factor 3 stars (Maybe my grin would have been bigger if I had not been tired by the end of the day and it was getting dark.)

Photos: All are in this album

All three of us.

Mountains in TMP.

It’s pretty rare I got ahead of Tom to take a picture of his front.

Tired from riding? Here is a high chair. (I had a chance to sit on it when I lost Erik and Tom after they took a turn there.)