Monday, 26 September 2016
You've heard of the Slausson Cutoff that Johnny Carson so loved? Well, I found the Eagle Canyon Cutoff from the Goat Trails to Eagle Canyon Dam.
The trail is pretty technical, but not too overwhelming. I mean, I didn't simply ride the whole thing. Timid Tom did a lot of hike-a-bike along the way, sometimes straddling the bike and pushing along like a paddleboard. I got off twice to add some stone underlayent at stream crossings, and I made a couple aborted attempts to get down to the reservoir bed, which speaks for the great gaps in my riding time.
To finish off, I headed up along The Wall and past Lone Heart Overlook. But I turned around almost at the far access to the So-So Corral Trail. I noted quite a bit of early wash development, though not enough that many riders or hikers would note. The need for maintenance is clear, at least to open the berm to allow runoff before gulleys develop.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 95°F at 13:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Double layer shorts, wiking shirt, ankle socks, full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 1:36:09 for 13.06 miles and 1,100 ft climbing
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 156 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 hikers
Playback of the ride
Showing posts with label Lone Heart Overlook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lone Heart Overlook. Show all posts
27 September 2016
14 August 2016
Rebuilding the Heart
Saturday, 13 August 2016
After a week of lazing about, it was time to get some heart pumping. So I took El Cielo Road, the East Palm Canyon bikeway, and streets through the Backstreet Arts district to Ridgecrest Plaza and the entrance to the Goat Trails.
My passage on The Ramp was a bit less than optimal, but I didn't stop until I was on the low part of the second climb. I was really winded on that climb and hike-biked several parts. Just below the top, I took off on a side trail to check out another trail alternative that I hadn't noticed before. (It turned out to be much less used, blocked by several large stones.)
Back on the doubletrack, I took the northwest half of the Merry-Go-Round and headed up Gene Autrey Hook to Lone Heart Overlook. Recent rework of the doubletrack trail by heavy equipment had obliterated this landmark, and I took about half an hour to re-establish the outline of the heart marker. I repositioned it to be a bit more off the trail, so emergency vehicles could still pass easily onto the next stretch of doubletrack.
I headed up the trail again, and took the sixth right-hand singletrack back to the Merry-Go-Round and then down the doubletrack to Ridgecrest Plaza and home.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 111°F at 17:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: Two-piece MTB shorts, shortsleeve teeshirt, ankle socks, quilted full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 51:55 for 7.96 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 156 bpm HRmax
Other users: no cyclists, 3 pedestrians on the trails
Playback of the ride
After a week of lazing about, it was time to get some heart pumping. So I took El Cielo Road, the East Palm Canyon bikeway, and streets through the Backstreet Arts district to Ridgecrest Plaza and the entrance to the Goat Trails.
My passage on The Ramp was a bit less than optimal, but I didn't stop until I was on the low part of the second climb. I was really winded on that climb and hike-biked several parts. Just below the top, I took off on a side trail to check out another trail alternative that I hadn't noticed before. (It turned out to be much less used, blocked by several large stones.)
Back on the doubletrack, I took the northwest half of the Merry-Go-Round and headed up Gene Autrey Hook to Lone Heart Overlook. Recent rework of the doubletrack trail by heavy equipment had obliterated this landmark, and I took about half an hour to re-establish the outline of the heart marker. I repositioned it to be a bit more off the trail, so emergency vehicles could still pass easily onto the next stretch of doubletrack.
I headed up the trail again, and took the sixth right-hand singletrack back to the Merry-Go-Round and then down the doubletrack to Ridgecrest Plaza and home.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 111°F at 17:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: Two-piece MTB shorts, shortsleeve teeshirt, ankle socks, quilted full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 51:55 for 7.96 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 156 bpm HRmax
Other users: no cyclists, 3 pedestrians on the trails
Playback of the ride
04 August 2016
Up to the Stone Man, now destroyed
Thursday, 4 August 2016
In more temperate locations, I typically rode a "birthday ride" today. That meant a mile for each year of my age. But 65 miles isn't something I'm ready for today, even at 90°F this morning. So I'm expecting that ride to take place six months from now, in February. Today I took a morning ride into the Goat Trails, and I started at 8 a.m. to the trail head through the golf course up to Gene Autrey Trail, then south to Rimrock Plaza.
This ride had a sense of exploration, a chance to see how much additional trail had been attacked by heavy equipment. I hoped that the Lone Heart and Stone Man monuments were unaffected, but my hopes were undone. The grading has obliterated both monuments and smoothed out some of the climbs as well as leaving a dirt layer on most of the trail. I only looked up the doubletrack east and west of the Stone Man, and even those sections may have been graded, though more lightly. It seems to me that the doubletrack is now less fun uphll and more treacherous downhill.
I hope to organize a maintenance group from the regular riders of these trails, and I'll begin to gather their names from the Strava.com statistics of the trails.
My way back on the Goat Trails stayed on the doubletrack until I got to the Merry-Go-Round. From its southeast corner, I took off on a short singletrack that drops to a mid-point of the Second Climb. After reaching the roads, I followed the bikeway that parallels East Palm Canyon to El Cielo Road.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 90°F at 8:28
Precipitation: none
Winds: not recorded
Clothing: Teeshirt, ankle socks, double shorts, quilted full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 1:02:04 for 9.61 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 154 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: not recorded
Playback of the ride
In more temperate locations, I typically rode a "birthday ride" today. That meant a mile for each year of my age. But 65 miles isn't something I'm ready for today, even at 90°F this morning. So I'm expecting that ride to take place six months from now, in February. Today I took a morning ride into the Goat Trails, and I started at 8 a.m. to the trail head through the golf course up to Gene Autrey Trail, then south to Rimrock Plaza.
This ride had a sense of exploration, a chance to see how much additional trail had been attacked by heavy equipment. I hoped that the Lone Heart and Stone Man monuments were unaffected, but my hopes were undone. The grading has obliterated both monuments and smoothed out some of the climbs as well as leaving a dirt layer on most of the trail. I only looked up the doubletrack east and west of the Stone Man, and even those sections may have been graded, though more lightly. It seems to me that the doubletrack is now less fun uphll and more treacherous downhill.
I hope to organize a maintenance group from the regular riders of these trails, and I'll begin to gather their names from the Strava.com statistics of the trails.
My way back on the Goat Trails stayed on the doubletrack until I got to the Merry-Go-Round. From its southeast corner, I took off on a short singletrack that drops to a mid-point of the Second Climb. After reaching the roads, I followed the bikeway that parallels East Palm Canyon to El Cielo Road.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 90°F at 8:28
Precipitation: none
Winds: not recorded
Clothing: Teeshirt, ankle socks, double shorts, quilted full-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike
Time: 1:02:04 for 9.61 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 154 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: not recorded
Playback of the ride
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