Eat'n Shit - Milwaukee Style

I suppose I was due. For the past few weeks I've been talking smack about the state of mountain biking (or lack thereof) in and around the Milwaukee area. From what I could tell, the terrain was just too flat, the trails too smooth, and the rides too short to provide any sort of workout or challenge. Well, as I lay flat on my back on the side of a trail yesterday, I had a few realizations.

Let me back up here a bit. My move to Milwaukee has sort of been twofold - I came out for about a week and a half only to go back to California for two weeks and then return back here again for good. The first, short experience with Milwaukee was great. Sunny, hot, and humid, there wasn't much of a departure from what it was like in California. I was able to be outside doing work or playing or whatever - just like always. This second, more permanent trip has proven different. Today is Tuesday and it hasn't stopped raining since I got back here on Friday of last week. I've seen more rain in the last five days than I'd seen during the entire last year I was in California. That sounds like an exaggeration for effect, but it is actually completely true. I guess thats why most backyards are grass rather than dust and dirt (which is nice), but also why places like Southern California are more popular vacation destinations than Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But I digress...

Like I was saying, I have been talking a lot of smack about mountain biking out here. This after having investigated about every trail in Wisconsin, but only having ridden one - mostly due to the rain. So when it looked like there might be a small break in the wet action yesterday afternoon, I quickly packed up my bike and headed to what is considered the most fun and challenging technical single track in the city.

Parked in the Pick-N-Save parking lot I was reminded of our old Crafton Hills loop staging area in Yucaipa. I poked around some side streets until I found an access to the trail. It runs along side a river, so the only way to get down to the trail is by finding a steep access point from the streets above. Once on the trail it seemed tame enough, just some crushed limestone and relatively flat - not exactly what I had in mind. At one point, a freshly fallen (albeit HUGE) tree blocked the trail, so I had to return to the streets above to navigate around it. Now on the other side of the tree, things started to change. No more crushed gravel, dirt became the primary surface. Soon trees and roots and rocks were the norm. Add to this a steady left side camber and gently rolling topography, and I was actually having some fun!

For the next few miles I meandered my way through the trees and undulating dirt, noticing many more off-shoots and trail options that I left for future exploration. However, it wasn't until I was on my way back that I had what I would decide was the defining moment of this outing. At one point on the way back, I was on a trail that made its way down to the edge of the river. Since it has been raining so much, it served as a kind of mini-tributary and there was a very shallow (read: less than a half inch) trickle of water that ran down the middle. Just a few feet from where it would eventually hit the swollen river, there was a little drop formed by a pile of roots. This couldn't have been more than six or so inches high, so I had the choice to roll over or pull up and drop off. Given that it looked so low and I wasn't going that fast, I chose the former. However, there was one fairly important factor that I neglected to take into account when making this almost subconscience decision. That small, shallow trickle of water had at one time been a larger flow, and that larger flow had carved out a nice 6 or 8 inch deep pool of water on the other side of the roots. What I thought was just another half inch or so of standing water was actually at least 10 times that deep, and what started out as a simple little roll over some roots turned into a classic roll over my handle bars - dumping me into the mud and onto my back.

Now most people would find this frustrating, annoying, and painful. I guess that when it comes to riding I'm just not most people. As odd as it will sound to those who have never ridden with me before (but as normal as it will sound for those that have), looking up into the sky after that crash I breathed a loud sigh of relief. Rain? What rain? I just ate shit on some fun, challenging singletrack - life is good.

Peace Out, California!

As I was packing boxes the other day, I happened to come across a few labeled “To California”. It’s hard to believe that it was 5 years ago when I first packed those boxes in my parent’s basement with nothing but the promise of a poorly paid graduate assistant coaching job in my future. Even harder to believe is all that was accomplished in those five years, far more than I could have ever imagined. It was a ride that I will never forget, but it was time to go. Now I’m here in Milwaukee about to embark on new adventure on both personal and professional fronts, and I’m left reflecting on my time in California. I’ll miss it dearly, some things more than others. As such, here is a brief top 5 list of things I’ll miss the most and the least about sunny Southern California.

Top 5 Things I Won’t Miss About California:

5. No Good Sandwich Shops

The proximity to Mexico is great for tacos, but not so much for sandwiches. That being said, it’s damn near impossible to get a good deli sandwich in Southern California.

4. Traffic

Yes, this sounds cliché…I mean everyone complains about the traffic in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. But guess what? They complain because the traffic in LA is, without a doubt, the worst that anyone could possibly imagine. Combine this with the fact that there are no such things as fast and slow lanes (but there are, in fact, FIVE lanes to choose from), there are an abundance of people who learned how to drive by watching “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”, and having a cell phone on your ear is as important to a car’s operation as turning the key, and you have a bad situation. It sucks, and I won’t miss it.

3. Style

Or lack thereof. Any place that embraces skater shoes, wallet chains, flat brimmed hats, big shorts, black socks, tattoo sleeves, and flavor savor facial hair has some serious issues. If I see one more short, fat, out of shape guy wearing the above defined IE uniform walk into a bar with a drop dead gorgeous blond on his arm I just might kill myself. I’ll enjoy a place where tall, in shape, educated, and good looking are more appreciated.


2. Smog

For those of you Southern California natives, you might not know what I’m talking about, so just substitute the world “marine layer” anywhere you see smog. For all others, understand that the entire population of Southern California has convinced themselves that the thick, ugly, yellow haze that hangs over much of the area for a good portion of the year has nothing to do with the fact that the area has the highest number of cars per capita, but rather is a weather anomaly caused by condensation and ocean currents. Nice try, but I’m not buying it.

I’ll never forget the first time I came out of my apartment in Redlands and saw the mountains. This wasn’t the first time I came out of my apartment mind you, just the first time I could actually see mountains when I did. You see, the smog can be so bad that the views of the 6,000-11,000 foot peaks a mere 5 miles away can be completely obstructed. I’m not exaggerating one bit, it was three days before I realized what amazing views could be seen from my back porch. David Copperfield could have a field day.

1. Being Thousands of Miles from Friends and Family

Airplanes are fun, but they’re also damn expensive and get old when you’re averaging a flight a month. It will be nice to be able to hop in the car and be less than a day’s drive from all of my people back home - and just a few feet from Amy.

Top 5 Things I Will Miss Most About Southern California

5. Mexican Food

What is the best thing about being a quick 2 hours from the Mexican border? The biggest selection of authentic Mexican food you could ever imagine. Prepared by actual Mexicans. So authentic that they don’t even speak English – I’m thankful that Carne Asada Burrito translates pretty easily!

4. Mountains

When I first accepted the job offer at Redlands, I couldn’t wait to get to California and go to the beach. After all, that’s what everyone thinks of when they think Southern California, right? As it turns out, there are mountains there too, and they have been much more entertaining than the beach could ever be.

As a cross country coach, I was constantly searching for newer and more scenic trails for the athletes to run on, and there was no shortage. As my newly developed passion for mountain biking took off, I realized I have been forever spoiled by what might be some of the best trails in the country right out my back door.

Mountains rock.

3. Weather

“Yeah, but you’ll miss the change in seasons!”

I can’t tell you how many people told me that I’ll miss the cold or the seasons or the leaves changing colors, and or any other of the wonders in a four season world. Well I’ve got news for you – bullshit. Never for one second did I miss the cold crappy weather of Western Pennsylvania. I’ve decided that all of the “change in seasons” people have an unspoken pact to remind those that live in warm climates how much they like the variety. After experiencing perpetual warm weather, I don’t believe them at all. Yep, it gets real hot in California, but do you know what I was thinking when it was 110 degrees? I was thinking that I’ll take this heat over 35 degrees and raining any time.

2. The University of Redlands

I have a strong feeling that I’ll not soon come across a group of people more dedicated to the development of young people, more committed to the pursuit of excellence, and more desirous of winning than the staff at the University of Redlands. Early on, it was made very clear to me that Redlands truly recognized the role of athletics in the academic development of students, and I was reminded of this philosophy every day. The myriad of accomplishments are far to great to list here, but in the words of Jim Ducey – “I know, he knows, and we all know, and that’s what’s important.” I’ll miss my experience at Redlands deeply.

1. Redlands Track and Field

It is important for me to differentiate between the University and the actual track and field program at the University. As much as I’ll miss the school itself, the experience would have been nothing without the team that I got to be a part of. To take a team from nothing, and become one of the premier programs in the country was nothing short of exhilarating. It took a special combination of support, coaches, and athletes to make it possible, and if every team I work with from here on out is only as fun as the team I had at Redlands, then I’ll be forever happy.

So that’s that. Another chapter wrapped up nice and neat, and a brand new one right here in front of me. I’m a pretty lucky guy.