Paradise Royale

There are few things I enjoy more than a road trip involving camping and mountain biking, and a trip to Paradise Royale is one such place. The appropriately named trail system is located in the heart of the King Range, which is a stretch of coastal mountains along what is known as the "Lost Coast". It is an area so rugged and steep that the engineers building Highway 1 decided to move the coastal highway 20 or so miles inland to avoid it. As a result, this is one of the most pristine and undeveloped areas along the entire California coast. 

Mountain Biking Skill Clinics

Last summer, as I was riding recklessly down a rocky gully at a trail near Downieville, my tire got stuck on a rock and I ending up flying through the air over the handlebars, arms outstretched in front of me like Superman. As I slid on the ground, I cut my eyebrow open on some sharp shale rock, which started gushing blood all over my shirt, and found out several days later that I had broken a rib, too. After enduring the punishment of not being able to ride for my bike for 6 weeks, I decided to become a mountain biking skills clinic junkie. So far, I have taken Gene Hamilton's Betterride clinic, the Dirt Series, and Chris Duncan's one day freebie promotional dirt jump clinic. And crikey, if I'm not a better rider now than I was before, I should just hang it up right now! :)