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14 August 2016

Rebuilding the Heart

Saturday, 13 August 2016

After a week of lazing about, it was time to get some heart pumping. So I took El Cielo Road, the East Palm Canyon bikeway, and streets through the Backstreet Arts district to Ridgecrest Plaza and the entrance to the Goat Trails.

My passage on The Ramp was a bit less than optimal, but I didn't stop until I was on the low part of the second climb. I was really winded on that climb and hike-biked several parts. Just below the top, I took off on a side trail to check out another trail alternative that I hadn't noticed before. (It turned out to be much less used, blocked by several large stones.)

Back on the doubletrack, I took the northwest half of the Merry-Go-Round and headed up Gene Autrey Hook to Lone Heart Overlook. Recent rework of the doubletrack trail by heavy equipment had obliterated this landmark, and I took about half an hour to re-establish the outline of the heart marker. I repositioned it to be a bit more off the trail, so emergency vehicles could still pass easily onto the next stretch of doubletrack.

I headed up the trail again, and took the sixth right-hand singletrack back to the Merry-Go-Round and then down the doubletrack to Ridgecrest Plaza and home.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 111°F at 17:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: Two-piece MTB shorts, shortsleeve teeshirt, ankle socks, quilted full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 51:55 for 7.96 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 156 bpm HRmax
Other users: no cyclists, 3 pedestrians on the trails
Playback of the ride

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