Weekend ride with Man's Best Friend

[Steve in SLO]

I thought I'd post a few pics of today's ride.
It is at a place named 'Pine Mountain Club', which is a planned mountain development in the northern Sierra Madre mountains just west of the I-5 Grapevine. The town has a base elevation of 4800 feet and is nestled between Mt Pinos (8800+ ft) and Mt Abel (8600+ ft). We have a cabin there and I regularly take advantage of the two peaks to get in 3500+ feet of climbing in 10-12 miles. Today, however, Penny, our 5 year old Lab/Vishla (we think) looked like she wanted some action, so I took out the CX bike for about an hour and a half of hard riding. She's seen the trails before and is a real athlete so she probably did about 2x my mileage.
It was 50 degrees, partly cloudy and beautiful. We started up the trail and about 1/4 mile in, we came on two women with lap dogs, one hand-held, the other on a leash--pure white and coiffed (the dog). Penny had run past them full tilt about 30 seconds before I met up with them. The elder of the women told me I should have Penny on a leash. I replied with all the seriousness I could muster "If she's on a leash she won't be able to warn me about any mountain lions or bears in the area" and rode on by, thinking that probably got them thinking.
We continued to the top of a loop where Penny had a great roll in the snow and I spent several minutes tossing her snowballs, which she enjoys jumping and catching, then went back down the trail. The ladies' immaculate black Escalade was gone, and Penny wanted to go, so we crossed the street and continued up a steady climb for a couple of miles followed by a winding singletrack back downhill. At one point Penny was about 20 feet ahead of me when she spotted something and took off at light speed. Within 10 seconds she was 100 yards ahead of me, turned on a dime and went bounding uphill...turns out she'd flushed some birds and was having a great time. Every time she does this, l marvel at her abililty to accelerate and appear to float over the ground at full run. She regularly catches rabbits and ground squirrels, so it's no wonder she loves to run.
It was a great day for my dog and me.
Here's a few pics of the great day and a satisfied dog:

[texbike]

Nice! Great write-up and beautiful dog.

It was a beautiful weekend in Austin but that looks even better. :)

Thanks Steve!

Texbike

[akelman]

I used to ride a really nice section of the Colorado Trail with my Lab/Husky mix. Those were, without question, my favorite rides ever. I miss that dog and that place and that time terribly. Anyway, your dog is a beauty, and the trail looks like it must be great fun.

[Steve in SLO]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.
Penny is an amazing dog. Last winter we went out on a foul-weather 20 mile CX ride with 3000 feet of climbing. It was 26 degrees at the base with winds up to 30 kts. She was game, even when the sleet was blowing sideways. All it took was a look from me and she ran harder, knowing all was well. She slept well that night.

[gasman]

Nice photos.wonderful dog.
Er.. aren't you supposed to take it easy for a while ? I know a couple buddies who had ablations-total success but still had bouts of a-fib in the first month while exercising.

[Fixed]

beautiful story and beautiful happy dog i can tell she loves you
cheers
very cool bike too

[Louis]

Neat story.

Sharing public spaces / resources, whether they be parks, trails, land, air, or water, is often tricky.

[Steve in SLO]

Gasman,
I am NOT SoCalSteve, although I wish him the best.
I'm just a country doctor.
No AFib here yet, but I will take it easy if I require an ablation.

[Dekonick]

Strong and happy looking dog.

:)

[xjoex]

Nice looking dog! I do intervals with Zeus in a field, the pup loves it.

-Joe

[Lifelover]

Great report. I would love to have some trails local to me and a dog to ride with!

[AngryScientist]

cool stuff, i love dogs.

[RABikes2]

Great write-up and love the parts about Penny. She sounds like a fabulous part of your life!

RA

[SEABREEZE]

You can see your dog is a athlete, beautiful shape, in the past I have owned weimeraners, very simular to the vishla, which exhibited the same athletesisim.

Glad to hear you both had a blast.. Wish there were more places to ride with you dog off leash and not be hassled about it and subject to fine.

If those two reported the incident, and someone responed and found your dog off the leash, unfortunately , you probably would of been issued a summons, as most towns have leash laws in America today.

It just seems you cant get far enough away from civilazation today, even when your deep in the woods mts, etc...

I fill your fustration..

[roguedog]

Thanks for sharing your day with Penny.

I love dogs. They are the best.

[gasman]

Gasman,
I am NOT SoCalSteve, although I wish him the best.
I'm just a country doctor.
No AFib here yet, but I will take it easy if I require an ablation.

Ooops, sorry my mistake. Too much passing gas and sitting on soft stools.
Still wonderful dog and nice story.

[rice rocket]

Love it. I've taken my dog through the park too, works better in the winter when the more "casual" park goers don't go because it's cold out.

Make sure she's well watered!

[FlashUNC]

We had a pure bred Weimeraner growing up on the farm, and she was pretty incredible to watch when she really wound it out and got going.

Just unreal how they can change directions at full speed over uneven ground and not miss a beat. I can remember a couple squirrels that out ran her, but not many.

[Fixed]

she is a beauty and i like the name my dog from the shelter is named Penny too. i want to take her out on my mt bike and explore a park call flatwoods near my home . i will have to have a leash on her as she is scared and a little shy still
i am giving her lots of love and she is getting more confident ..
cheers

[Steve in SLO]

Flash, We THINK she is part Vishla, but she could be part Weimeraner (unclear daddy status), and she's quite a runner, and just like yours can change direction faster than I thought possible. She sort of springs like a deer with her head held high when she's stalking, then takes off like a scalded cat and yips when she's hot on the trail. We're used to having dopey Labs, so when I first saw her jump over a 16" wall when she was 10 weeks old I could have sworn it was in slow motion and I heard beautiful symphony music.

[FlashUNC]

Flash, We THINK she is part Vishla, but she could be part Weimeraner (unclear daddy status), and she's quite a runner, and just like yours can change direction faster than I thought possible. She sort of springs like a deer with her head held high when she's stalking, then takes off like a scalded cat and yips when she's hot on the trail. We're used to having dopey Labs, so when I first saw her jump over a 16" wall when she was 10 weeks old I could have sworn it was in slow motion and I heard beautiful symphony music.


They're both two sides of the same coin. I don't have much experience with a Viszla, but hear they're got much the same physical characteristics as a weimeraner, with maybe a bit less hyper temperament.

I think my favorite thing to watch was letting ours off the leash. She was trained pretty well not to go dragging whoever was walking her off at the first sight of a squirrel. But if we didn't have anywhere to be we'd let her off and watch the Earth, time and space warp around her mind-boggling acceleration.

Outside something on a Savannah, I didn't think it was possible to get to full speed in 2 or 3 steps. Simpy astounding dogs, and I'd probably have one today if I had a large enough yard for him or her to run around in. Just torture to keep a hunting dog like that cooped up in an apartment.

[SEABREEZE]

Flash, We THINK she is part Vishla, but she could be part Weimeraner (unclear daddy status), and she's quite a runner, and just like yours can change direction faster than I thought possible. She sort of springs like a deer with her head held high when she's stalking, then takes off like a scalded cat and yips when she's hot on the trail. We're used to having dopey Labs, so when I first saw her jump over a 16" wall when she was 10 weeks old I could have sworn it was in slow motion and I heard beautiful symphony music.

Steve you described my weimaraner to a T, poetry in motion over fences.

From just sitting in front of the fence she could jump a 4 ft fence, no problem.
As you said, just really beautiful to watch, as if there in slow motion.

She could retreive coconuts thrown into the ocean surf all day long.

I truly appreciate and respect there athletsism...

[hairylegs]

That's awesome! What a cutie....and how old?

My pup is 13, so too old to run, but I do have one of those kiddy trailers I tried to get him in once...it didn't go so well!

What a cool thing - trails with the pooch. :)

[Steve in SLO]

She's just about 6 years old now.
We had just lost our 13 y/o lab/pointer mix dog so it was time for a new puppy. I found Penny at the pound and brought her home. The day before, my daughter had done an art project with pennies and had formed them into the shape of a dog. When she came home from school in the day of the 'homecoming', I introduced her to Penny and said "She heard about your art project yesterday and wants to know if her name can be Penny". She was OK with that, so that's how Penny got her name.
The duo the first night...already on the furniture:

[Fixed]

great story and great picture that is what life is about
cheers

[toaster]

What a cool write up on a recent adventure. Thanks for sharing it. The Pine Mtn Club is not too far from where I am and I've ridden around Mt.Pinos, Frazier Park and Lake of the Woods there. Beautiful area!

Nice to see a neat canine and cross bike out together.
:beer: