I Rode My Bike Today...
- Thread starter herzalot
- Start date
Fueledbyex8
Well-Known Member
Finally made it out to SART" it was about a year since i last rode it, me and Trinidad decided to ride it today Sunday, Never ridden the post office loop" it was recommended by @SnakeCharmer and boy is that a fun section of SART, a lil over grown in a short section, but otherwise fun, fun,fun! We made our way out to SouthFork campground then turned back for our decent back to Glass rd. a lot of down trees, and even a few big rocks in the middle of the trail! No casualties, weather was beautiful" oh and one tick I had to pull out from my thigh" overall 24.9mi. over 2300ft. Of Fun!!
scan
iMTB Rockstah
Yeah, great trails out there!!! Downed trees to be expected this time of year. Thanks for riding it and giving us all a trail update
StrandLeper
Well-Known Member
Local Schmocal. 24 /4,000. Lynx, (great shape), 5 oaks (killer), stairs (overpowered my abilities on the the 429 SL (crowded)), fenceline (crowded), TnA (had an incredible run going but I got too aggressive / forward and burped and crashed at the penultimate drop). Got dirty and humbled.
Super fun day on the bike. Perfect temp.
Super fun day on the bike. Perfect temp.
Grego
iMTB Addict
Rode yesterday at Bonelli with Vincent and some Floop friends. Around the park loop with some extra climbing at the end. Trails are in great shape imo. Found Vincent's Garmin/Strava lies. We all took to the left rock garden but his Strava shows he went to the right. How does this happen? whatever. Also at Bonelli the was some kind of road bike race going on around the pavement circle. We witnessed a large group of women roadies crash. Too close together at speed DH. The sound of crunching carbon fiber and wheels flying. Every one did walk away. Our ride was uneventful, just good riding.
Rode today with Tom the Bomb at Marshall, Itchi, Webb. I haven't been to Marshall in years and the rest was new dirt for me. We flew down a single track in Marshall to a jump line. So fun we hit the jump line twice. Itchi is crazy steep, loose DH at the beginning followed by some loamy grassy descent and a butt pucker at the end. At one moment we looked back to look at what we came down, It looked like a wall. Webb was more flowey with some good tech. I passed on one rocky drop that Tom made look easy. Gotta love Tom's advice throughout the ride: "After the steep loose turn, avoid the rut and drop the rock, make sure to ride the spine, etc..." Haven't ridden tech like this since old snow summit outskirt trails. Thanks TTB! Good times.
Rode today with Tom the Bomb at Marshall, Itchi, Webb. I haven't been to Marshall in years and the rest was new dirt for me. We flew down a single track in Marshall to a jump line. So fun we hit the jump line twice. Itchi is crazy steep, loose DH at the beginning followed by some loamy grassy descent and a butt pucker at the end. At one moment we looked back to look at what we came down, It looked like a wall. Webb was more flowey with some good tech. I passed on one rocky drop that Tom made look easy. Gotta love Tom's advice throughout the ride: "After the steep loose turn, avoid the rut and drop the rock, make sure to ride the spine, etc..." Haven't ridden tech like this since old snow summit outskirt trails. Thanks TTB! Good times.
Tom the Bomb
iMTB Rockstah
Awesome Greg, good times! Will do it again soon!
herzalot
iMTB Hooligan
Slow applause for the accurate use of penultimate! (Assuming you meant the second-to-last drop).
Sounds like a great ride, except for the crowded part, and maybe the falling part. Hopefully no injury.
Cisco Roots
Well-Known Member
You forgot this foto bomb of you when I was trying to get an epic pic of my bike in the clouds
. Great ride though and excellent time on the mountain, couldn't ask for anything else !
Luis
iMTB Addict
hahaha @Cisco Roots you should have crouched down and taken the picture. It would have looked like I was surfing on your seat 
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littlewave
Well-Known Member
After imploding on Monday, I was able to get out on Tuesday for a road ride in the rain. Was soaked through but able to bust out 10 miles or so without tearing my lungs apart. Set me up for a quick Friday afternoon ride, hit Lizard and Fenceline, and made the Laurel climb without the implosion.
Also got out Saturday, parked at bottom of Willow and did a quick TNA loop. TNA is SO overgrown through the middle section, super hard to see the trail. Bottom is still in great shape. Top is still strange.
Also got out Saturday, parked at bottom of Willow and did a quick TNA loop. TNA is SO overgrown through the middle section, super hard to see the trail. Bottom is still in great shape. Top is still strange.
H2oChick
Well-Known Member
4 ups, 4 downs - in alternating fashion - in my nearby playground. 2850' Ran into a few people I know, including Mo. Lots of hikers, but not too terribly crowded. Beautiful weather. Bike was flawless - and fun.
That is all. Have a nice day!
Oh - and literally truckloads of pros running Telonics or other nearby DH routes.
Rokform had their open house with some "special guests" on Saturday
Faust29
iMTB Hooligan
A rare Monday Morning Motorway Loop... My wife and I have plans with the oldest offspring today, who is still home from college. But he rolls out of bed at 12, so I figured that was time enough to sneak in a Black Star to Motorway loop. The wife agreed...
The plan was just to pedal and not push the pace. Which is also the strategy I'm hoping to use on VQ day. Put on the blinders, and ignore all the rabbits, tortoises, and other creatures. There were a few groups of hikers heading to the Falls, but I didn't see another soul until near the bottom of Motorway. An hour up Black Star was a little faster than I anticipated, but I was feeling OK, so I rolled through Beeks and headed for the ball. A quick pit stop at the ball to relieve some liquid ballast, and onwards to Hagador... And the pea soup. It had been sunny and upper 40s/ low 50s all the way to this point. Then I hit the cold wet pea soup. It's Main Divide... So I was in pea soup one second and bright sun the next. And it alternated all the way to Motorway.
The only unusual sight was the crane at Hagador. It looks like they are installing more antennas on one of the towers.
I made pretty good time across Main Divide, and walked the usual sections... And maybe a couple extra.
I blame the lingering head congestion and the really loose condition on a couple of the climbs. 
Made it to Motorway without seeing another soul, and started down. Chunky fun... But I was trying for smooth, not fast. And then I ran into two older hikers who wanted to chat. I blew about ten minutes, but they had a million questions about the trails... I couldn't ignore that. They were a riot, and really excited about getting out and discovering the mountains.
Made it to the bottom with no flats, no issues and a bunch of smiles. There was a notice at the gate as I was leaving... How am I supposed to see this coming from the other side of the mountain?
The plan was just to pedal and not push the pace. Which is also the strategy I'm hoping to use on VQ day. Put on the blinders, and ignore all the rabbits, tortoises, and other creatures. There were a few groups of hikers heading to the Falls, but I didn't see another soul until near the bottom of Motorway. An hour up Black Star was a little faster than I anticipated, but I was feeling OK, so I rolled through Beeks and headed for the ball. A quick pit stop at the ball to relieve some liquid ballast, and onwards to Hagador... And the pea soup. It had been sunny and upper 40s/ low 50s all the way to this point. Then I hit the cold wet pea soup. It's Main Divide... So I was in pea soup one second and bright sun the next. And it alternated all the way to Motorway.
The only unusual sight was the crane at Hagador. It looks like they are installing more antennas on one of the towers.
I made pretty good time across Main Divide, and walked the usual sections... And maybe a couple extra.
I blame the lingering head congestion and the really loose condition on a couple of the climbs. Made it to Motorway without seeing another soul, and started down. Chunky fun... But I was trying for smooth, not fast. And then I ran into two older hikers who wanted to chat. I blew about ten minutes, but they had a million questions about the trails... I couldn't ignore that. They were a riot, and really excited about getting out and discovering the mountains.
Made it to the bottom with no flats, no issues and a bunch of smiles. There was a notice at the gate as I was leaving... How am I supposed to see this coming from the other side of the mountain?
mike
iMTB Hooligan
...I ran into two older hikers who wanted to chat. I blew about ten minutes, but they had a million questions about the trails... I couldn't ignore that. They were a riot, and really excited about getting out and discovering the mountains.
Thumbs up, indeed. Way to represent!
I get a kick out of anybody's stoke on the mountain. It's fun to go out of your way to surprise hikers that we all are not all crazed gravity junkies who don't have a second to chat up the goodness of the environ. You can tell that some are truly surprised
Faust29
iMTB Hooligan
Thumbs up, indeed. Way to represent!
I get a kick out of anybody's stoke on the mountain. It's fun to go out of your way to surprise hikers that we all are not all crazed gravity junkies who don't have a second to chat up the goodness of the environ. You can tell that some are truly surprised
This was especially cool, as it was a first contact situation. They were marveling at the suspension fork and the knobby tires... Said it never occurred to them that there would be bikes up there.
I hope their next encounter goes as well...
Cornholio
iMTB Rockstah
Cheater, there's obviously a chairlift in the background that brings you up from the 91 fwy to Sierra Peak. 5¢ a ride (one way)
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
I shot out to Simi Valley after finishing up work nearby this afternoon. I was off and rolling by 3pm. Gorgeous day. Warm and comfortable in sun, stiff breeze, fresh air, cool in the shade.
Was hoping for a snake sighting but no such luck. Lizards galore, though.
Pretty quiet out there. Only saw one or two other cyclists and a few hikers. Climbed Las Llajas, junctioned (hell grind) over to Rocky Peak. Stop at Seashells to see if she was selling seashells by the seashore, and she was. Blasted down to the Chumash trail head, and then took that down and out. Walked quite a bit of the longer/steep tech sections, too much for my liking. Seems more rough than it was when I last rode. Still fun, though.
9.12 miles
1:17:28 ride time
1693' elevation gain
Stopped to smell the roses whenever I saw some...
Was hoping for a snake sighting but no such luck. Lizards galore, though.
Pretty quiet out there. Only saw one or two other cyclists and a few hikers. Climbed Las Llajas, junctioned (hell grind) over to Rocky Peak. Stop at Seashells to see if she was selling seashells by the seashore, and she was. Blasted down to the Chumash trail head, and then took that down and out. Walked quite a bit of the longer/steep tech sections, too much for my liking. Seems more rough than it was when I last rode. Still fun, though.
9.12 miles
1:17:28 ride time
1693' elevation gain
Stopped to smell the roses whenever I saw some...
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Faust29
iMTB Hooligan
Nice... And you took the big bike! Was it feeling neglected? Mine just hangs on the wall...
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
LOL, I hate climbing on that thing but the ST there has some serious tech and I wouldn't have been beaten to a pulp on my HT. But yeah, she doesn't get enough love from me. I am half-heartedly considering dumping her and building a CF Trek Fuel EX to replace her. Something lighter but with some cushion.
SnakeCharmer
iMTB Hooligan
Oh, no doubt, I dig it!
And while I was poaching your home turf today, I wondered if you just blow through all of that crazy tech without so much as a minor concern since you are used to it and know all the lines.
MattB
Member
I'm getting spoiled being able to ride more often now that I'm home taking care of the kids. I felt like I was going stir crazy after not riding since last Monday. My daughter had to stay home from school a couple of days at the end of the week, then my wife had to attend a conference over the weekend, so suddenly the rest of my riding chances for last week disappeared, and I was left looking forward to a Monday! 
I wanted to make today count, so I had everything ready to go after dropping the kids off at school. I've spent most of the winter riding the Santa Anas and Santiago Oaks, so I changed it up and rode Laguna for the first time in a while.
I started at Canyon View Park, went up Cholla (I always want more of a warm up before that climb), down Stairsteps, up Willow, Down TNA (had to stop to pay my respects to the old rock garden), up Canyon Acres, down Meadows, up Mathis, down Rock-it. and out. 18 miles, 3,500', and tons of fun!
I was curious to see some of the trail work LCF had done on Stairsteps. The lower rock garden now has a smooth, easy line through it on the right. It looks like they trimmed a branch (or a few) out of the way and filled in some dirt over the rocks to make the line on the right. Fortunately, the tougher line is still there on the left, although I'll admit that approaching it I just gravitated to the faster line. Next time, I'll try to stick to my old rockier line.
This was my first time visiting the scene of the crime at TNA. The new reroute was pretty fun for the most part, and would have been a welcome addition in my mind if they had just left the old rock garden alone. It was generally a pretty fun, flowy trail, I just hate to see technical trails turned into flowy trails. There were some fun whoops, a lot of the berms were good, and most of the pavers had been well buried with dirt (although I'm sure more will start peeking out as the dirt gets dry trail gets more use). The drainage on the trail is not subtle at all. They could use some lessons from Kioti on how to manage water effectively without affecting the flow of the trail. There were a number of berms with drains right in the middle or late in the berm, so it was like a 1 foot section of berm was just missing as you're coming around the corner
. I was also surprised by some of the fire damaged erosion areas that the new trail traverses. Until that grows back (years?), it hardly seems more sustainable that the old rock garden.
Looking up and down at the old trail from one of the berms on the new route
Agree with @littlewave on the middle and bottom of TNA (middle is way overgrown, bottom is great).
After TNA, Stairsteps seemed far away, and HAB anyway, so I climbed (and HAB'd) Canyon Acres instead on the way to Meadows. There's a bit of a rut forming on the right side ... or maybe it's a new technical downhill line.
The weather was perfect, the trails were in great shape, and I ran out of time a little before I probably would have run out of legs ... All in all, a great day to ride, and great to be back out there!
I wanted to make today count, so I had everything ready to go after dropping the kids off at school. I've spent most of the winter riding the Santa Anas and Santiago Oaks, so I changed it up and rode Laguna for the first time in a while.
I started at Canyon View Park, went up Cholla (I always want more of a warm up before that climb), down Stairsteps, up Willow, Down TNA (had to stop to pay my respects to the old rock garden), up Canyon Acres, down Meadows, up Mathis, down Rock-it. and out. 18 miles, 3,500', and tons of fun!
I was curious to see some of the trail work LCF had done on Stairsteps. The lower rock garden now has a smooth, easy line through it on the right. It looks like they trimmed a branch (or a few) out of the way and filled in some dirt over the rocks to make the line on the right. Fortunately, the tougher line is still there on the left, although I'll admit that approaching it I just gravitated to the faster line. Next time, I'll try to stick to my old rockier line.
This was my first time visiting the scene of the crime at TNA. The new reroute was pretty fun for the most part, and would have been a welcome addition in my mind if they had just left the old rock garden alone. It was generally a pretty fun, flowy trail, I just hate to see technical trails turned into flowy trails. There were some fun whoops, a lot of the berms were good, and most of the pavers had been well buried with dirt (although I'm sure more will start peeking out as the dirt gets dry trail gets more use). The drainage on the trail is not subtle at all. They could use some lessons from Kioti on how to manage water effectively without affecting the flow of the trail. There were a number of berms with drains right in the middle or late in the berm, so it was like a 1 foot section of berm was just missing as you're coming around the corner
. I was also surprised by some of the fire damaged erosion areas that the new trail traverses. Until that grows back (years?), it hardly seems more sustainable that the old rock garden.Looking up and down at the old trail from one of the berms on the new route
Agree with @littlewave on the middle and bottom of TNA (middle is way overgrown, bottom is great).
After TNA, Stairsteps seemed far away, and HAB anyway, so I climbed (and HAB'd) Canyon Acres instead on the way to Meadows. There's a bit of a rut forming on the right side ... or maybe it's a new technical downhill line.
The weather was perfect, the trails were in great shape, and I ran out of time a little before I probably would have run out of legs ... All in all, a great day to ride, and great to be back out there!
da big hills
iMTB Rockstah
That mustard is going to get thick, strong, and dry. Once it does it will rip the skin right off your arms and legs if you go fast.
herzalot
iMTB Hooligan
I was curious to see some of the trail work LCF had done on Stairsteps. The lower rock garden now has a smooth, easy line through it on the right. It looks like they trimmed a branch (or a few) out of the way and filled in some dirt over the rocks to make the line on the right. Fortunately, the tougher line is still there on the left, although I'll admit that approaching it I just gravitated to the faster line. Next time, I'll try to stick to my old rockier line.
This was my first time visiting the scene of the crime at TNA. The new reroute was pretty fun for the most part, and would have been a welcome addition in my mind if they had just left the old rock garden alone. It was generally a pretty fun, flowy trail, I just hate to see technical trails turned into flowy trails. There were some fun whoops, a lot of the berms were good, and most of the pavers had been well buried with dirt (although I'm sure more will start peeking out as the dirt gets dry trail gets more use). The drainage on the trail is not subtle at all. They could use some lessons from Kioti on how to manage water effectively without affecting the flow of the trail. There were a number of berms with drains right in the middle or late in the berm, so it was like a 1 foot section of berm was just missing as you're coming around the corner
I am honestly sick to my stomach hearing a report that someone did work on Stair Steps to make it easier.
And equally sick to hear about the installation of such poorly thought out and executed "drainage" humps - the same kind that kills the flow on Meadows. Wonder who is responsible for that? 
Good ride. Congrats on getting out and tackling some tough trails.
sir crashalot
iMTB Rockstah
The trail reroute was done before the fire. But, since that area burned they shouldve just kept the old line, at least till that area grew back.
UPSed
iMTB Hooligan
I wouldn't say I blow through it but I can clean it.
MattB
Member
Yep, completely agree!
littlewave
Well-Known Member
Have you ridden TNA yet? The drainage bumps are way worse, imo, than meadows. Let's go check it out this weekend.I am honestly sick to my stomach hearing a report that someone did work on Stair Steps to make it easier.
Good ride. Congrats on getting out and tackling some tough trails.
kioti
iMTB Rockstah
I haven't seen it in person, but your photos make that old line look restorable. Maybe not as rocky as it once was, but more like before all the topsoil washed away.
MattB
Member
I actually had the same thought when I was there. I'm also guessing that there's some decent rocky chunk under some of the piles of dirt. From what I remember though, I think they are planning on seeding it with native plants to regrow the area. OC Parks would have to change their mind before that begins to have any shot at restoring some form of that trail.