I Rode My Bike Today...

Rode Sycamore Canyon from the beach side today to hopefully beat the heat, and get some shelter from the wind. Yeah, so it was 85 at my house in Calabasas, 90 in the parking lot at the beach, and I got to grind up the never ending Overlook fire road with a 30mph head wind. I did get a nice reminder at the top of Overlook of just how fortunate we are to be mountain bikers in SoCal in the Winter.

For the fun stuff, the descents were much slower than usual. Guadalasca is roughed up and rutted, with baby heads filling the ruts. Avoidable with concerted effort, though the 30mph headwind turned into a crosswind that wanted to blow me into the ruts, or off the mountain. A pace adjustment was necessary. More of the same on Backbone, but the lower half was a blast. Running short on time I opted for some new dirt instead of climbing back up Guadalasca - Hell Hill. It was pretty much just that, covering close to the same elevation gain as Guad with about 1/4 of the distance, but I at least found some much needed shade for the climb. Ended up finding the up and down flowy goodness of Sin Nombre/Two Foxes to be the highlight of the ride.

21.8/2477

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Had a busy schedule last week & was healing from a smashed thumb in a car door but finally got out for a few rides this week. Short one in SC Monday, 9/1800

Tuesday was a quickie til the sun had set in LCWP, 15/2300

Yesterday was the weekly AM group ride in SC. Not too windy, was able to hit every jumpline & session the big step up, 15/3200
 
Quickie last night.

debated going out in the wind…got home late. Took a chance and went to Blackstar.

light breeze in my face when I left the Tree Farm. Only 6 cars at the gate…:yay…quiet night in the canyon.

the breeze would get heavier…turned into a headwind. Temps were nice.

didn’t push hard, but still turned a 1:01 gate to gate….I’ll take it as a win.

turned around and enjoyed the tailwind all the way down. Got back just before dark.

17.5 / 2250’
 
Sunset - Horsey Loop on the one geared lizard... I have to admit that I'm not ready for the warmer temps. That's going to take some getting used to. :gag: Once at the ruins, it was a mellow cruise over to Sunset.

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Sunset was a riot as always... A few hikers here and there. Some friendly chit chat... I also came across another rider in the really chunky lower section who was trying to get the rear tire on his MotoBacon to seal.

My favorite spot on Sunset...
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10.5/2300

Edit: Hey @DangerDirtyD - Are you ready for real trails yet?
 
Faust29 said:
Sunset - Horsey Loop on the one geared lizard... I have to admit that I'm not ready for the warmer temps. That's going to take some getting used to. :gag: Once at the ruins, it was a mellow cruise over to Sunset.

View attachment 80613

Sunset was a riot as always... A few hikers here and there. Some friendly chit chat... I also came across another rider in the really chunky lower section who was trying to get the rear tire on his MotoBacon to seal.

My favorite spot on Sunset...
View attachment 80614

10.5/2300

Edit: Hey @DangerDirtyD - Are you ready for real trails yet?
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Why, yes! Yes I am! What are you doing tonight/tomorrow night?
 
buggravy said:
Rode Sycamore Canyon from the beach side today to hopefully beat the heat, and get some shelter from the wind. Yeah, so it was 85 at my house in Calabasas, 90 in the parking lot at the beach, and I got to grind up the never ending Overlook fire road with a 30mph head wind. I did get a nice reminder at the top of Overlook of just how fortunate we are to be mountain bikers in SoCal in the Winter.

For the fun stuff, the descents were much slower than usual. Guadalasca is roughed up and rutted, with baby heads filling the ruts. Avoidable with concerted effort, though the 30mph headwind turned into a crosswind that wanted to blow me into the ruts, or off the mountain. A pace adjustment was necessary. More of the same on Backbone, but the lower half was a blast. Running short on time I opted for some new dirt instead of climbing back up Guadalasca - Hell Hill. It was pretty much just that, covering close to the same elevation gain as Guad with about 1/4 of the distance, but I at least found some much needed shade for the climb. Ended up finding the up and down flowy goodness of Sin Nombre/Two Foxes to be the highlight of the ride.
≈

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When it gets hot I ride from Reino and Potrero up on the ridges. Tight SBs at the start, but heck of a lot of fun and no sane people on the trails. They are in the full Seabreeze so they stay nice and cool. Was Hell Hill packed or just graded?
 
Ride #1 in the books… Up Lower Sam with @redwoods and @SnakeCharmer, with a brief stop at the ruins.

Over to The Mount Lowe Road, where we met a guy in his 70s, who loudly proclaimed “No E-Bike!” as he reached the end of the pavement climb on his older Trek. His girlfriend, who was 70, was only a minute behind. For those unfamiliar with the area, that pavement climb is well over 600 feet per mile and makes Harding look flat. They were coaching a high school team… They give me hope. :thumbsup:

Pat continued on up the mountain while Snake Man and I headed down Sunset and then El Prieto.

Awesome as always… Go check it out!

14.5/2500
 
mtnbikej said:
Quick ride this morning with @theProfessor. His choice....Maple Springs/Santiago Peak/Motorway. 7:00am start was too late.

Paved part of Maple Springs went quickly. The climb to 4 Corners felt like it went by in good time, but we were pretty slow. Started to get buggy about 1 mile from 4 Corners. Finally caved in a put the bug net on at Modjeska Peak. 1:13 to the peak and back.

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Back across Main Divide, it was warming up. The climb past Bedford was just hot, and the bugs were relentless.

The Professor headed out ahead me through the last powderpuff section after Bedford. Last time we did this route, he got wonky in the 6" of silt and hit the deck. Different day, same result. This time he didn't make it nearly as far before he was tasting dirt. No harm, No foul.

View attachment 58498 View attachment 58497 View attachment 58496

Let Josh lead down Motorway....he's getting faster and more confident. Was fun to follow him down.

Good time out on the mountain today.

27 / 5000'
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One of the greatest photo series ever posted... :laugh: Someone else repeated this trick shortly thereafter... :whistling:
 
Big aspirations for a big ride this morning.....then I overslept.

Big aspirations for a smaller ride this morning.....then I got on the bike and was welcomed by more wind.

Decided that I was going to go out to Sierra Peak. As soon as I stepped out of the truck at the Tree Farm....wind. YUCK

Get on my bike and ride. Headwind all the way through the canyon. Headwind all the way up Blackstar. Felt like I was pushing the sailboat up river against the wind.

Considering that and I was not pushing the pace, I was only 1:03 gate to gate.

At Beeks' decided that Sierra Peak was off the menu as I didn't want to fight the wind which was much worse up top. Made the right and climbed to the Doplar Ball....then a little farther up. Been wanting to explore a trail I had heard about. Dropped in off the road onto the singletrack. It was down and up and down and up. Steep downs, rutted, baby heads, loose.....the right kinda fun. This put me at the bottom of BoobyTrap. Well, why not climb back up and come down BoobyTrap for some extra credit.

Yeah, the wind was still blowing, but now it was getting toasty.

Quick run down BT and out. All things considered the Sh!t Show wasn't nearly that bad today.

20.5 / 3300'
 
Faust29 said:
Ride #1 in the books… Up Lower Sam with @redwoods and @SnakeCharmer, with a brief stop at the ruins.

Over to The Mount Lowe Road, where we met a guy in his 70s, who loudly proclaimed “No E-Bike!” as he reached the end of the pavement climb on his older Trek. His girlfriend, who was 70, was only a minute behind. For those unfamiliar with the area, that pavement climb is well over 600 feet per mile and makes Harding look flat. They were coaching a high school team… They give me hope. :thumbsup:

Pat continued on up the mountain while Snake Man and I headed down Sunset and then El Prieto.

Awesome as always… Go check it out!

14.5/2500
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One water bottle?
 
I rode Luge today. First time in years. I can’t believe Santiago TT is now fireroad! I could have driven my truck up there. They got rid of the moto bars at the half hour spot. There’s even a mini helipad at the turn apex at that spot, sad. Ebiker almost took me out on the way up.
Hey- at least I was upright on two wheels in the dirt. Good day
 
Faust29 said:
Deja vu vu. Except this time there were no young hiker ladies at the ruins. They were replaced with a half dozen guys smoking, drinking, and playing salsa music...

And I will say that Sunset feels twice as chunky at night. :eek: Or maybe I'm just beat up from the previous two trips.
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You’re insane out there on a hardtail with no pads or helmet light.
 
I was intrigued by the singletrack @mtnbikej mentioned in his ride report yesterday, so I downloaded the ride and decided to do it this morning. I got up about an hour later than planned and did not get on the bike until nearly 10. It was also nearly 80 degrees out there. Fortunately it cooled down and got breezy the higher I got.

Pretty much the same route as J did yesterday, except I went back up to the gate and also dropped the top singletrack before doing Booby Trap. The new to me singletrack was interesting ... Booby Trap on steroids. I passed two rattlesnakes, both of which were very unhappy. :eek: After the slippy slidey part of that trail, Booby Trap felt super easy. :Roflmao

Tons of hikers and bikers out, but it thinned out the further I rode. The weather turned out to be great. I paced myself on the climb and took some pics because I did not know exactly how far I was going to be riding past the ball, but it turned out to not be that far. Good fun.

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Anyone know where this trail comes out? Last time I dropped into an unknown singletrack on Blackstar it turned nightmarish. :laugh:

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Last edited:
Obsidian said:
I was intrigued by the singletrack @mtnbikej mentioned in his ride report yesterday, so I downloaded the ride and decided to do it this morning. I got up about an hour later than planned and did not get on the bike until nearly 10. It was also nearly 80 degrees out there. Fortunately it cooled down and got breezy the higher I got.

Pretty much the same route as J did yesterday, except I went back up to the gate and also dropped the top singletrack before doing Booby Trap. The new to me singletrack was interesting ... Booby Trap on steroids. I passed two rattlesnakes, both of which were very unhappy. :eek: After the slippy slidey part of that trail, Booby Trap felt super easy. :Roflmao

Tons of hikers and bikers out, but it thinned out the further I rode. The weather turned out to be great. I paced myself on the climb and took some pics because I did not know exactly how far I was going to be riding past the ball, but it turned out to not be that far. Good fun.

View attachment 80630

View attachment 80631

Anyone know where this trail comes out? Last time I dropped into an unknown singletrack on Blackstar it turned nightmarish. :laugh:

View attachment 80632
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I thought that one went to the top of the water falls.
 
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