Taking a quick break to scope out the smooth rock descent
Khoa, Steve, Tim & I got out to El Moro near Newport Coast for a loop. The beauty of El Moro is that it is right next to the beach which makes El Moro a great place to ride when it is hot out. Although there is not much tree coverage, being closer to the ocean reduces the temperature and boy was it hot in Southern California with temperatures reaching triple digits farther inland where I live.
Tim taking it with ease
El Moro started with some fun singletrack which led to a short fireroad descent that led to the most overgrown singletrack I’ve ridden through to date. The weeds were taller than me and the other plants we rode through left scratches on my arm including one that was deep enough to bleed. One section required a continual “ducking� while pedaling manuever to avoid getting my faced whipped by the weeds. Khoa made the comment that sometimes being short has its advantages. At that moment, I couldn’t agree more. By the way I performed a quick tick check afterwards. Highly recommended when riding through areas with bushes and other vegetation inundating the trail.
Some of the best parts of this ride didn’t even involve riding. It involved being at the top of a climb and looking back on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Khoa’s camera phone pictures, thanks Khoa, do not do justice to the magnificent ocean. Yes, that’s the Pacific behind us and no, it did not just turn turquoise. haha. We took a detour just to get a better look at it (well worth the detour, I might add).
Turquoise Pacific Ocean
The ride ended on a slightly sour note as I grazed a cactus leaf on the way back to the car. It left a few thorns in my shin and flatted my rear tire out about 200 yards from the car. I was too lazy to change it so I just hoofed it out. No worries though the bike is ok. 😉
