Monday and today’s rides were feats of pushing thru in spite of a formidable long step uphill pedal. Daunting. Knowing a long slog is ahead and I am just a few pedal strokes into the ride. All this effort for a fast short piece of downhill single track. That’s what riding can be.
Last night I camped @ Upper Osos right @ start and finish of Little Pine ride after riding a piece of the San Juan trail that Dave Turner suggested. I drove thru LA yesterday b4 rush hour. Fog turned to rain by the time I reached Santa Barbara. Just a huge sprawl of a megalopolis. I-5 to US 101. No jams. Kept my attention focused. I conquered the beast. One and done is my position.
Yesterday I rode a short piece of the San Juan trail out and back. Poison oak trailside in places. On the way back I watched the fog roll onto the mountains above the 3500′ where I was. At the start it was sharp edged fractured rock that changed to decomposed something. Trail in places was a tunnel thru the brush. Prime mtn lion coverage. All by myself. Turned around and pedaled back to XG. Time management was to be thru LA by 3:00.
In Santa Barbara I stopped @ Bicycle Bob’s to learn about the IMBA epic named Buckhorn. My research yielded nobody knows about it and that trails are not brushed and in poison oak terrain. Writer suggestions were to ride Little Pine which shared the same uphill slog but only 17 miles on cleared trail. This lead me to last night’s campground. USFS fee only, senior pass reduces it by 50%. I bought a map which lacked contours. Salesman told me that there were a few spots where I would have to be light on my feet to get across some rock slides.
Uphill is an old single lane gravel road closed to non ORV rigs. Switchback out of canyon was 22%. Early in ride not warmed up physically or mentally so I walked it. I even dropped into granny ring to pedal the entire uphill which reduced the knee strain. Just humped. No tree cover. I places I could see a road continuing, just following the yellow dirt. Pedal pedal pedal, look ahead sometimes for perspective then head down and pedal. One place the road had 3 switch backs up. Shit. OK. Brain is engaged accepting what it is telling my body to do. Just about 3,000′ climb. I dropped in on narrow bench cut trail w/ exposure. Prolly too steep to hold snow if fell. Bunch of switchbacks and dropping traverses. Miles from the top the trail crossed several narrow steep shale rock slides. Kicking steps into a liquid medium, to slip would to have gone over the edge of a filled in bulkhead and down slide gulleys stopping where? Several of the crossings were very dicey. I failed to take any pics, I just wanted to be done w/ them. I can’t remember last time I was so scared. Other than mentioned slides the trail was non technical.
Maybe pics posted later. I am in Santa Maria at a laundromat finally in internet reception.
Tues I drove down out of May Valley hills to Murrietta and a meeting w/ David Turner, founder of Turner Bikes, maker of the bike I ride: Turner 5 Spot. Warm friendly conversation spilled into lunch time, dave took me to lunch. Turner just rolled out their 1st composite frame, a 29er named Czar, sharing w/ the race crowd @ Sea Otter last weekend. Attracted lots of attention. I met Greg, Jarrett, and Eric that keep the riders on Turner Bikes.
Plan is to fold dried clothes then drive to Montana de Oro a FS XG on the coast that Eric told me about. Tomorrow is Santa Cruz.
Might be internet connection out at XG which is on the ocean.
No internet access @ XG but I did watch the sun set and the ocean wet my feet.
Today I drove further North to Santa Cruz. I am meeting Kristina whom I met @ Red Rock in St George, UT last Dec. She said there is lost of riding to be had here and here I am to take her up on the offer. Santa Cruz is right on the ocean.