This ride had been in the works for almost a year. Noel, on of the group from Orange county had Suggested this as a big ride, but it was in the early spring and there were few takers as the days were getting hotter. As the summer time and back to school business started to fall back into its own rhythm, the momentum for this ride started to gather back some of its steam. The date was set for November 13, and it was initially looking like there was going to be a relatively big turnout, almost 10. By friday night people were dropping out, illness, injury, and I think a few may have been intimidated by the elevation profile.
For this ride I had chosen my Rivendell Roadeo, with a low 30/28 gear combination. Not sure if this was brave or silly considering the elevation gains planned for the day. The only thing I changed from my standard set up on the bike for the ride was the front tire. I went with a 35 mm Schwalbe Marathon XR for the added durability on the front end while heading into an area likely to have goathaed thorns and sharp rocks on the downhill side. I had a well broken in Jack Brown on the rear with a spare in my bag. I can handle a rear flat on the way down, but hate losing the front tire on dirt going fast, it has never gone well in the past.
The day started early for me as I was traveling the furthest, 120 miles, to get there. The price you pay for associating with guys who generally live 2 to 4 counties south of you. The weather was crystal clear and I was driving past wide blue skies fringed by the ocean and my own local mountain ranges. The travel and new adventure bug had bitten and I was on my way, down the HWY 1 along the coast, to the 10 and then the 5 deep through parts of industrial Los Angeles that were so far from my intended goal. Once past Anaheim you could start to see the mountains and the excitement was building, this was going to be a good day.
We all met up to start the ride in the small town of Silverado in eastern Orange County. Even with Santa Ana conditions the wind and temperatures were very pleasant at the lower elevations. The group totaled out at 5: Doug, David, James, Jenny and myself. This has to be one of the most amazing kept secrets in Orange County, it is in the bottom of a tree-lined valley houses up both sides and a small little western town as you head up into the mountains along Silverado Canyon Rd on the way to Maple Springs.
The town gives way to a single paved lane into the national park. The whole way is steady but manageable climbing.
The pave gives way to dirt somewhere near the transition to Maple Springs road. This is a jeep track and therefore open to vehicular traffic. We did encounter some 4x4s, but everybody was pleasant and fairly respectful, even the kids with coolers full of beer.
Shockingly there were only a handful of people making use af such a spectacular resource in such a densely populated area. We all pressed up the hill at a respectable pace, sure to take breaks along the way for food, water, pictures and to just enjoy the space. I love the fact that these group rides actually slow me down a bit, when I do this on my own I am wasted by the end, but with the group and taking breaks the whole day is more fun and less exercise. As altitude gained the views became more expansive. Almost all of the eastern LA basin and the mountain ranges beyond were visible.
Onward and upward we made it to the saddle with the Harding truck Trail. From the saddle there were clear views of Orange county and Catalina Island offshore. The weather was much cooler than at the lower elevation and the wind was howling. The decision was made to forgo the out and back leg to the summit and complete the loop along Harding Truck trail. A few hours of climbing gave way to over an hour of what seemed like endless clean fire road bombing downhill.
The trail came to an end at the small town of Modjeska. Back on the pavement it was time ot complete the loop back to the cars.
Thanks to Doug for putting together a detailed map. . Five hours of riding, 25 miles and over 3800 ft of climbing not too bad.
We capped the ride with a meal and some liquids at the Silverado Cafe, then back into the car for one of the most beautiful sunsets and then the slog through LA back home.
The company and the ride made the drive well worth it. The bikes and riders all performed well. Not a single mechanical for the whole group and only one minor spill. Also, a big pat on the back for Jenny who had never ridden anything like this ever proper to this ride. Welcome to the world of underbiking. Next group ride is December 11, Dirt Mulholland. . While the group is based around Rivendell owners, this is not really an exclusive thing, if you are thinking of trying out the world of road bikes on dirt, it is going to be a good time.
Full Photo set:
Watching the sun come up over the strawberry fields, the smell of fresh food all through your ride is fantastic.
And on the way home, the siren song to the north
Some of you may remember my love of riding for wild or semi wild foods from my Walnut Ride. Time to enjoy the dry weather and the morning chill, and ride for the pomegranates I had seen a few weeks ago. No laws were broken and the trees are on public easement. Living in an area surrounded by agriculture it would be all to easy to just grab fruit from the end row of the farms and orchards, but that would kind of defeat the point, and I am pretty sure it is stealing. These particular trees are on the fence line of land grabbed by the water district when they built the Casitas damn. Many ranchers and homeowners lost land to eminent domain with this one, and there are quite a bit of interesting things tucked into the corners of this area without having to jump the fences lined with "No Trespassing" signs. This morning it was a truncated version of a favorite loop to get the quarry and make it home in time for baby duty. Having fresh fruit keeps you out of trouble when you are a little late.
I am looking forward to daylight savings time coming to an end, a little more morning light for a bit.
Saturday started off with a drive down to Santa Monica for a screening of Ride the Divide put on by Erik Mathy of 1Gear1Cause fame. The movie was awesome, it really put the difficulty of the ride into perspective. For readers not familiar, the Divide race is an informal unsanctioned race along the continental divide that was pieced together from a collection of forest service, ranch, logging and other dirt roads and trails by the Adventure Cycling Association. The route is over 2700 miles with 200,000 feet of vertical climbing, and the racers that do complete are averaging it in around 20 days, that is really hard to think about when you sit down and think about the sustained daily averages. Erik had organised the screening as part of his pursuit to raise funds and awareness in the battle against cancer and will be riding the race next year on a single speed Salsa Fargo. Prior to the race Erik had ridden down the coast with Jason and Joe from Salsa and Eric from Adventure Monkey. It was great to meet these guys after reading on their blogs about their inspirational adventures and photography for so long. Salsa had helped to sponsor the event, and after the movie there were raffle prizes from Swerve, Ergon and 1Gear1Cause, as well as water bottles from Salsa. I won the first draw and took home a set of Ergon Grips, the only time I came in first all day. Thanks guys
After the movie everyone headed over to Topanga reek Bicycles for a BBQ and ride. If you are in the area and have not been to their shop yet, you are really missing out. They are one of the few shops have been to in southern California that actually sell and STOCK touring bikes and gear, Arkel, Brooks, Berthoud, surly, salsa, tubus etc. Great shop and great people. The food and company were great. After the BBQ most of the group headed on a ride up Santa Maria Rd for a little dirt and single-track in the Mulholland area. Genius that I am, I had all my camera gear, tripod too, and even my 6lb Ulock. It is likely I was hauling more gear than the guys did on their tour. Needless to say I was running sweep the whole time and my legs were feeling dead, thanks to the whole crew for waiting for me to catch up more than once. Again though it was a great time. Here are a couple of pics from the trail:
I was pretty Lazy with the camera and hopefully some others will chime in with more pics from the ride.
Sunday
Sunday was back to normal 22 mile loop to the farmer's market at Chanel Islands Harbor. It was a beautiful day and a chance to run at my own pace, working out yesterday's sore legs. The haul was not as big this time, but respectible:
The Rawland performed well when front loaded.
I am working on a writeup for later this week on the Bruce Gordon rack and bag set up I have switched to with this bike. Even with 20-30 lb loade on the front the handling has been fine, but that is another post.
Fun weekent, lots of time in the saddle, and it feels good.
The town gives way to a single paved lane into the national park. The whole way is steady but manageable climbing.
The pave gives way to dirt somewhere near the transition to Maple Springs road. This is a jeep track and therefore open to vehicular traffic. We did encounter some 4x4s, but everybody was pleasant and fairly respectful, even the kids with coolers full of beer.
Shockingly there were only a handful of people making use af such a spectacular resource in such a densely populated area. We all pressed up the hill at a respectable pace, sure to take breaks along the way for food, water, pictures and to just enjoy the space. I love the fact that these group rides actually slow me down a bit, when I do this on my own I am wasted by the end, but with the group and taking breaks the whole day is more fun and less exercise. As altitude gained the views became more expansive. Almost all of the eastern LA basin and the mountain ranges beyond were visible.
Onward and upward we made it to the saddle with the Harding truck Trail. From the saddle there were clear views of Orange county and Catalina Island offshore. The weather was much cooler than at the lower elevation and the wind was howling. The decision was made to forgo the out and back leg to the summit and complete the loop along Harding Truck trail. A few hours of climbing gave way to over an hour of what seemed like endless clean fire road bombing downhill.
The trail came to an end at the small town of Modjeska. Back on the pavement it was time ot complete the loop back to the cars.
Thanks to Doug for putting together a detailed 
