J
JD
Guest
Getting into the groove in SoCal has been sporadic at best. Of course,
patience is a virtue and it always seems to pay off with high
dividends. Yesterday was one of those days.
Greg returned my call Saturday night and stated that he had to work, so
ride location had become my choice alone. I had been watching the
weather the past few days and the remnants of hurricane Emily were
firing up afternoon thunderboomers in the local mountains. The local
radar pictures showed a lot of recent activity in one particular area I
have ridden in a few times since arriving and I knew that the trail
conditions had a high probability of being very good. Roll the loaded
dice...
The smell was the first giveaway that it had rained recently. You
know, the smell of a pine forest after a summer rain. Exposed soil on
the side of the road was damp in most places, but not wet. Clouds were
already forming, but I knew the loamy soil that is prevalent on this
trail would hold up in all but the worst downpour.
There were a couple of vehicles in the area of the trailhead I chose to
access my route from. There was a couple preparing to leave from the
small lot I parked in and we exchanged pleasantries and trail condition
ideas before they pedaled off up the fire road climb. It didn't take
me long to get going and I was on my way in about five minutes.
The fire road was pretty loose on my last visit, but had firmed up well
after the rains. Forming clouds also kept things pretty cool, by
providing perpetual shade from what is usually a hot summer sun in the
open areas on the climb. My bike of choice on this route has always
been the singlespeed because of the a-technical nature and easy climbs
of the route. When I passed the aforementioned couple, the dude
remarked about my lack of suspension and it prompted the response, "I
have 36" travel, front and rear" as I stuck an arm and leg out.
The climb went really quickly because of the conditions, especially
after I warmed up a bit.
At the top, I decided to explore a little and ride up a spur trail that
I had yet to ride. It was a little horse-torn and after about a mile,
turned into a rocky doubletrack. No thanks. Riding back down it
wasn't too bad though. Wasting no time, I headed for and then down
the main attraction.
The gamble, however slanted the odds were, paid off big-time. I
can't imagine more perfect conditions on this trail. It was just
damp enough to keep from being loose in the loamier spots and packed
hard enough to roll like crazy. In fact, 40psi was not enough for some
turns, as I could feel my front tire trying to roll off the rim in a
few of the harder turns. That said, it was ripping fast and was taken
full advantage of. The short climbs seemed shorter, as did the
downhills because of the speeds attainable in such conditions.
The plan was to ride another spur about halfway down and it arrived
just as I was passing a couple of dudes who were headed the same
direction. One of them commented about the singlespeed as I headed up
the spur and I grinned and said that it was time for some
extracurricular activity. The spur heads up to a campground about a
mile and some change away from the main trail. When I rode this spur
earlier this year, it was pretty overgrown and unused because the
campground had yet to open, but was now worn enough to not miss any
turns. In fact, it was in better shape than the main trail and one
pitch I had to walk on my earlier visit was easy to climb this time.
The turn-around at the apex wasn't much of a pause, just a couple of
deep breaths of fresh (naturally) pine-scented air and it was off to
the races. The payoff from the extra mile of climbing was phenomenal,
as I knew it would be from surveying the trail as I climbed it. It was
by far, the most fun downhill section I have ridden this year in both
that the trail was perfect and the flow attained while speeding down
the hill. Rolling back onto the main trail, I was beyond stoked.
The main trail kept rolling well, just as it had before, though it
becomes predominantly downhill after the spur trail intersection. The
turns become mostly tighter and the straightaways longer, so the speeds
vary greatly with a lot of heavy braking into many of the turns. A
couple of the wide-open sections that I remembered the run-in to gave
up speeds in excess of 30mph and let me know really how fantastic this
trail can be when caught at the right time.
After about a mile or so, I caught up to the riders I had passed before
turning up the spur. It was at a deadfall that was blocking the trail
and both turned and saw me arrive as they were about to get on their
bikes. One decided to yield right there and the other decided to ride
on. In about a quarter mile, I caught up to the other right before the
next deadfall and he conceded the trail. I could hear him trying to
keep up at first, but the sound of his fully clanking down the trail
faded quickly.
The trail conditions never failed to keep the stoke up. One section
near the end where the trail winds through a large area of Manzanita
was especially improved by the rains. The ss rolled effortlessly
through and stuck to the normally loose surface like glue, allowing me
to keep speed where it's normally not possible. There's nothing
like rediscovering a trail through superior conditions, which appears
to be quite a rare feat in SoCal. Beating the skidiots and shuttle
monkeys to the punch has its merits.
Right after finishing the ride, I called Greg from the trailhead and
left a message to let him know just how badly he was boned by having to
work instead of getting to ride. Maybe next time he'll develop an
eye problem, "I just can't see myself working this weekend..."
JD
patience is a virtue and it always seems to pay off with high
dividends. Yesterday was one of those days.
Greg returned my call Saturday night and stated that he had to work, so
ride location had become my choice alone. I had been watching the
weather the past few days and the remnants of hurricane Emily were
firing up afternoon thunderboomers in the local mountains. The local
radar pictures showed a lot of recent activity in one particular area I
have ridden in a few times since arriving and I knew that the trail
conditions had a high probability of being very good. Roll the loaded
dice...
The smell was the first giveaway that it had rained recently. You
know, the smell of a pine forest after a summer rain. Exposed soil on
the side of the road was damp in most places, but not wet. Clouds were
already forming, but I knew the loamy soil that is prevalent on this
trail would hold up in all but the worst downpour.
There were a couple of vehicles in the area of the trailhead I chose to
access my route from. There was a couple preparing to leave from the
small lot I parked in and we exchanged pleasantries and trail condition
ideas before they pedaled off up the fire road climb. It didn't take
me long to get going and I was on my way in about five minutes.
The fire road was pretty loose on my last visit, but had firmed up well
after the rains. Forming clouds also kept things pretty cool, by
providing perpetual shade from what is usually a hot summer sun in the
open areas on the climb. My bike of choice on this route has always
been the singlespeed because of the a-technical nature and easy climbs
of the route. When I passed the aforementioned couple, the dude
remarked about my lack of suspension and it prompted the response, "I
have 36" travel, front and rear" as I stuck an arm and leg out.
The climb went really quickly because of the conditions, especially
after I warmed up a bit.
At the top, I decided to explore a little and ride up a spur trail that
I had yet to ride. It was a little horse-torn and after about a mile,
turned into a rocky doubletrack. No thanks. Riding back down it
wasn't too bad though. Wasting no time, I headed for and then down
the main attraction.
The gamble, however slanted the odds were, paid off big-time. I
can't imagine more perfect conditions on this trail. It was just
damp enough to keep from being loose in the loamier spots and packed
hard enough to roll like crazy. In fact, 40psi was not enough for some
turns, as I could feel my front tire trying to roll off the rim in a
few of the harder turns. That said, it was ripping fast and was taken
full advantage of. The short climbs seemed shorter, as did the
downhills because of the speeds attainable in such conditions.
The plan was to ride another spur about halfway down and it arrived
just as I was passing a couple of dudes who were headed the same
direction. One of them commented about the singlespeed as I headed up
the spur and I grinned and said that it was time for some
extracurricular activity. The spur heads up to a campground about a
mile and some change away from the main trail. When I rode this spur
earlier this year, it was pretty overgrown and unused because the
campground had yet to open, but was now worn enough to not miss any
turns. In fact, it was in better shape than the main trail and one
pitch I had to walk on my earlier visit was easy to climb this time.
The turn-around at the apex wasn't much of a pause, just a couple of
deep breaths of fresh (naturally) pine-scented air and it was off to
the races. The payoff from the extra mile of climbing was phenomenal,
as I knew it would be from surveying the trail as I climbed it. It was
by far, the most fun downhill section I have ridden this year in both
that the trail was perfect and the flow attained while speeding down
the hill. Rolling back onto the main trail, I was beyond stoked.
The main trail kept rolling well, just as it had before, though it
becomes predominantly downhill after the spur trail intersection. The
turns become mostly tighter and the straightaways longer, so the speeds
vary greatly with a lot of heavy braking into many of the turns. A
couple of the wide-open sections that I remembered the run-in to gave
up speeds in excess of 30mph and let me know really how fantastic this
trail can be when caught at the right time.
After about a mile or so, I caught up to the riders I had passed before
turning up the spur. It was at a deadfall that was blocking the trail
and both turned and saw me arrive as they were about to get on their
bikes. One decided to yield right there and the other decided to ride
on. In about a quarter mile, I caught up to the other right before the
next deadfall and he conceded the trail. I could hear him trying to
keep up at first, but the sound of his fully clanking down the trail
faded quickly.
The trail conditions never failed to keep the stoke up. One section
near the end where the trail winds through a large area of Manzanita
was especially improved by the rains. The ss rolled effortlessly
through and stuck to the normally loose surface like glue, allowing me
to keep speed where it's normally not possible. There's nothing
like rediscovering a trail through superior conditions, which appears
to be quite a rare feat in SoCal. Beating the skidiots and shuttle
monkeys to the punch has its merits.
Right after finishing the ride, I called Greg from the trailhead and
left a message to let him know just how badly he was boned by having to
work instead of getting to ride. Maybe next time he'll develop an
eye problem, "I just can't see myself working this weekend..."
JD