Jousha Ranch Trail 3 15 2014 Final

My Ride at Joshua Ranch Trails 2/22/2014

I have done 3 rides here so far in 2014 thanks to our great weather here in Southern California this winter. This is like a Video Blog of that ride (Is that a real term "Video Blog"? I hope so) Anyways check out the video..

 

 

Ride 1

January 18,2014

Joshua Tree Trail, Palmdale California

 

We are having incredible weather here in Palmdale so I decided to see if I could get back to Mountain Biking. 2013 was a horrible year for me as I seemed to have one injury after another (Due to being to fat) and I was not able to do any real mountain biking in 2013. I am back injury free and feeling good at the beginning of 2014. So here I go..

 

I got my gear together and lubed up the bike and headed out. It seems whenever I give getting back into mountain biking a try I head over to the old favorite and close to my house, Joshua Tree Trail in Palmdale. Now I don't know if this place is still actually called Joshua Tree Trail because it was closed for a time when they tried to build houses up in here (Which failed miserably). Well after the failure to build houses up here it seems that it is open again for Hikers , Runners and Mountain Bikers.

 

So this was a perfect day weather wise and I headed over to the trail. Parked the car and got my bike together and headed up the paved closed to vehicles portion of the road that leads into the trail in the foot hills of the west side of Palmdale.

 

Fist thing I found out was after not riding of doing much of anything during 2013 I was really out of shape for mountain bike riding. Okay no worries I have been through this before in 2012. The result was that just riding to the area where the dirt trails start had me breathing hard and this seem like a good place to stop to take a picture.

 

So this is the picture I took at the beginning of the ride where the dirt trails start off to the right here. Plan is to head off to the right and follow a trail that will head up to and over the hill in front of me.

 

I headed off to the right and was on a little up hill and moving along. I was thinking wow I don't feel to bad, moving along through a soft dessert type sand and heading on a little up hill but not breathing to hard and not feeling like I was going to pass out. This actually kind of shocked me but hey I figure go with it and see how it goes.

 

My first stop was about 3/4 of a mile in

okay not that far I know but still a victory for me cause I did not think I would make it 100 yards. I stopped here where the California Aqueduct is underground and what I think this is , is a pressure release valve where if  there is to much pressure they can blow some water out .. Well that's what it looks like but I could be wrong. Anyways it was a nice place to stop. Now the trail ahead of me headed up a little steeper hill. Some guys on mountain bikes went by and just powered right up the hill. I was thinking how nice it would be to be able to do that.. But no matter I am heading up the hill slow and steady..

 

Okay I made it up the hill and well that was a lot tougher than the beginning of the ride. The distance to this point is 2 miles and I am now feeling just how out of shape I am. No matter I will continue in for a 2.5 mile distance and that will give me 5 miles back at the car. I am going to take this as a win and be happy that I can still ride a little bit and know I can get way better. I hope this great weather holds out and I can ride next weekend and so on... All and all a good first ride of the year.

 

 

 





 

Up the next hill , Flood control drain.

My Bike taking a break from carrying my fat butt.

Road to nowhere

Have fun

Don't Die

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Ride #5 Sawmill Campground Trail Second Time Here

Date: May 5, 2012

Location: Sawmill Campground – Angeles National Forest, Saugus District

Distance: 10.36 Miles  Elevation Gain: 1400 feet.

Bike: 1999 Specialized Rockhopper Comp

Ride #5 Sawmill Campground May 5, 2012

EveryTrail Tracker

Okay this is ride #5 and I am back at the Upper Shake / Sawmill Campground trail. The last time I was here I did not make it to Sawmill Campground so I am back to complete that goal. It was a little warmer today than it had been all week so I knew this was going to be a hard ride for me.

I got my bike together and headed up the trail. The first interesting thing I noticed was I was riding a little better. I was actually riding up hill and I went right past the spot where I had to stop to catch my breath on my first ride here. Now this by no means says that I have turned the corner and reached the goal as a moderate mountain bike rider. I am very much still out of shape and still struggle in a big way with hills. But I felt real progress at the onset of this ride.

On this ride I was not going to take the turn off to Upper Shake Campground. I was thinking if I made the trip to Sawmill Campground I could hit the single track and ride to Upper Shake campground on the way back and this would be a really good ride.

After about a mile I was really tired and had to stop for a rest and get some water. The views on this ride are really good and for a rider that is in pretty good shape this is a really good ride. Very few people are on these trails although the fire roads are open to cars and motorcycles so you do have to stay alert.

When I got to the large three way intersection I was really tired and looking up at the climb going to Sawmill Campground was a bit intimidating. I was determined this time to make it to Sawmill Campground so I took in some water and caught my breath and headed up the road.

First thing I noticed was that this road was much steeper than the earlier parts of the trail and this was not going to be easy for me. I had gone about another mile and was wondering just where this campground was and it was hard not to talk myself into just turning around.

As it turns out it was another mile and a half to the top. Now the road at the top was really nice. It flattened out and was just a rolling up and down for another mile. The road then started on a nice downhill to the entrance of Sawmill Campground.

From the entrance it was a half mile ride down to Sawmill Campground. When I rode into the Campground I noticed I was the only one there. This is a really nice campground and I think sometime I will drive up here and do an overnight camp out. 

I found a nice campground and parked my bike against a picnic table. I took a little walk around and checked the place out and decided to spend a little time here and have a snack lunch of some beef jerky and Gatorade.. MMMM Yummy.

Well after my break it was time to head out. I started the climb out and right away noticed that my legs had cooled down and they really did not want to get started again. Okay this was going to really tough to get started again. Maybe cause I am old and fat. Well anyway I did make my way out of Sawmill Campground and back up hill for a mile to the point where it was mostly downhill to the car.

I was starting my decent and thinking this was going to be really fun. However my body had a different idea. I had gone about a quarter mile and I got a massive cramp in my upper thigh quad muscle. Okay I have not had a cramp in this muscle and wow was it painful. It knocked me right off the bike. When I managed to get back up I was a little worried because it was really sore and I did not know if I could ride and walking was going to be even harder. After about 20 minutes it did begin to let up and feel better. I walked around and stretched it out and felt I could continue. After a few minutes of riding again it felt better and I was sure I could continue my ride back down to the car.

After the cramp I know I was not going to ride the single track portion of this ride today. I was pretty shaky but moving pretty good and getting a little speed to my ride. I was riding through some really rocky sections and going a little fast, I pulled my breaks to slow down a little and as luck would have it the front break cable snapped and there goes the front breaks. When I got to a wide spot where the road to Upper Shake Campground intersects the road I stopped to assess what was going on with my breaks. Okay not good, the cable snapped and there was not enough cable to attempt a trail side repair. While inspecting my front breaks I noticed that a sharp rock had torn the side wall of my tire and the tube was poking through. The rest of the ride back to the car was going to be interesting with no front breaks and a damaged tire and about 4 miles of downhill to go.

When I made it back to the car I was glad that nothing else had happened to my bike and was glad that I had no mishaps that could cause pain. This was a pretty tough ride for me but for a mountain biker with good skills and endurance it would be a fairly easy ride and a lot of fun, I look forward to reaching that level..

As Always .. Have Fun..  Don't Die

Ride #4 Devils Punchbowl - Angeles National Forest

Date: April 21, 2012

Location: Devils Punchbowl – Angeles National Forest

Bike: 1999 Specialized Rockhopper Comp

Video - Devils Punchbowl 4-21-2012

My Blog
Okay I was really ready for my 4^th Mountain Bike Ride on Saturday after really bad weather the week before had kept me at home. I decided to try a place that I loved to ride 15 years ago when I was into mountain biking and was actually pretty good at it. I decided to give Devils Punchbowl a try. 

Devil's Punchbowl, starting elevation 4,750 feet but the trails into the mountains will take you up to 7000feet, is a tilted sandstone formation in Los Angeles County. It is a county park within the Angeles National Forest on the northern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains, near Littlerock, California. Short trails within the park showcase the geologic features along the Punchbowl and San Andreas Faults. There are connections to major longer trails leading to the high country. Devils Punchbowl is a truly great place to Mountain Bike, there is just about every skill situation here and every ride here you learn something.

 I arrived at the parking lot and was already amazed, the lot was full. When I used to come here there would maybe be one or two cars in the lot. It seems The Punchbowl has become popular. I got my bike together and headed to the trail head I was going to ride which is the Burkhart Trail. This trail will take me up to an intersection where you can either go to Burkhart Pass and Burkhart Saddle or take another trail that will take you to the Devils Chair, I am going to ride to the Devils Chair on this ride.       

I started riding up the trail and had gone about half a mile and was already out of breath.  There was a little overlook of the lower end of Devils Punchbowl here and that was a great excuse to stop and take some pictures. The beginning of the trail is uphill and very sandy and rocky. You will really give your legs a workout here. After taking a few pictures and catching my breath I continued up the trail. This first part of the trail is a single track that connects to a fire road. It was really hot and I stopped a few time to take in some water as I made my way to the fire road.

After about a mile I reached the fire road and was very happy to reach this point. I now would be riding on a fire road which is hard packed, I was glad to not be in that soft sand.  The fire road is hard packed but still an uphill climb. After about another half mile climbing on the Fire Road it was time for a break. There was a nice spot with some shade and some great views to the north west of the Antelope Valley. 

After my short break I was on my way again up the fire road, the scenery was changing and the desert bushes were changing to Pine Trees. After about another mile I was up to the trail split, one trail heads off to Burkhart Pass and the other heads to the Devils Chair which is where I was heading.  

I was making my way up and actually moving pretty good. Then I hit a large and jagged rock which pinched my tire and tube, and pow the tire blew out and was instantly flat. I was not prepared for this situation and even if I patched the tube I did not have pump to inflate the tire… Bummer… Well it was clear my only option was to walk back to the car which was about 4 miles down the trail. I made it back to the car and packed up my bike. Today the trail won but I will be back and I will make it to the Devils chair. So I just headed home.

Devils Chair... I Will Return !

As Always… Have Fun… Don’t Die

Ride #3 Video Upper Shake Campground and Alley Oop Single Track Video

Ride #3 Upper Shake Campground and Alley Oop Single Track

Date: April 7, 2012
Location: Angeles National Forest, Saugus District
Bike: 1999 Specialized Rockhopper Comp (I love this Bike)

Okay so for Ride #3 I decided to try a ride from my Trails Book and go to Upper Shake Camp Ground Sawmill Camp Ground and a single track called The Alley Oop Trail. This Ride is located in the Angeles National Forest and is part of the Saugus District. You will need a Forest Pass to park in the lot but that is $30 for the year so not a terrible thing.

I arrived at the lot and put my bike together and found the fire road 7N23 which is the main road to take you up to Upper Shake and Sawmill. This road started going uphill (what else is new) and gets pretty steep which reminded me a lot of ride #2 at Ritter Ranch Park. After about a half of mile the Ranger drove by me and it made a good excuse to stop and talk to the Ranger and get my breath.  The Ranger told me the road was in pretty good shape but there were some ruts after the rain last week and wished me luck on my ride.

As I rode the first mile the rode got a little steeper and I could feel I was getting tired but I seemed to have a little easier time of it than I did two weeks ago at Ritter Ranch Park. At 1.5 miles I was ready to take a break and catch my breath. It was a warmer day and I was glad to have plenty of water with me. I stopped and checked out the views to the North East of the Antelope Valley. I had really gained some elevation in the past 1.5 miles

After a short break I was on my way up the trail heading for the turn off to Upper Shake Campground (Fire Road 7N23B). A steady uphill climb as I approached the turn off to Upper Shake Campground. The gate is closed to vehicle traffic as the campground is closed. But it is open to bikes to go through and ride down to the campground. The ride to the campground is all downhill and really fun to ride although in my mind I was thinking I have to ride up this on the way out. 

Once I arrived at Upper Shake Campground it was a bit eerie as it has been closed for some time, maybe 3 years or more. Empty camping spots and picnic tables and so quite except for the birds and the wind blowing through the trees.  After a look around the place I thought this would be a nice place to take a break, kick back and enjoy the shade and quite surroundings. I saw a great spot in the shade under a tree and thought perfect.

 I headed over there walking the bike and thinking this was going to be a great relaxing spot. When I got over there I noticed this buzzing sound that was getting a bit louder. A quick investigation found the source.. A Bee Hive.. A big Bee Hive. And these Bees were not too happy about me invading their deserted campground. Needless to say I was back on the bike and heading out of there. Back up what just a few minutes ago was a really fun downhill but now a really hard uphill to escape the angry bees and my desire for a nice rest under a shady tree only a memory.  I made it back up to the gate and was really tired out so I took in some water and caught my breath and head back on 7N023 toward Sawmill Camp ground.

I was thinking it would be fun to see Sawmill campground because my Pop used to takes us camping there when I was a kid. He would pack up the Camper and head up there with his buddies that also had campers. It was always really fun and I enjoyed it a lot. Well those thoughts helped me continue on as the road got a lot steeper and I got a lot slower and had to stop more often to catch my breath. Fact remains that I am way out of shape and I was feeling it. As I rode up to the junction to Sawmill Campground I was at just a little over 5 miles. There is a big wide opening where 3 fire road intersect, 7N023 which heads another mile and a half up to Sawmill Campground (All up hill) and an unmarked Fire Road which heads up to Burnt Peek which is easily another  4 miles and another 1000 feet of elevation.  When I got to this intersection I was really tired out and when I got off my bike to look around I got a twinge on my hamstring muscle, you know that little twinge you get when a cramp is coming on yea it was one of those. Okay the last thing I want way up here is a bad cramp and not be able to ride. I took the little warning from my body and took a break and took in some water. It was then I decided that Sawmill Campground will need to wait for another day. I was checking my map and Fire Road 7N08 was the road that would take me to the single track (The Alley Oop Trail) and I really wanted to do that single track.

After cooling off for a little bit I decided to go on Fire Road 7N08 and look for the Single Track as described in my Trails Book. It took some looking to find it but after about a half mile on 7N08 I found it. The trail was barely noticeable and the beginning was really rutted from recent rains. I had to think about if I wanted to try this trail as it looked really over grown and steep. Okay I decided to go for it and started down this single track. The beginning was really over grown and I was getting scratches from the brush and I was wondering if I was really on the single track trail or if I was just on some animal trail. After about a half mile I got a really good visual that I was on the correct trail, a sign, and the sign said Upper Shake Campground one mile.. 

Okay it felt better to know I was actually on the correct trail. It was just a short distance past the sign the this trail got really technical, really steep, very tight switch backs and nice steep cliffs, you don’t want to fall here.. I made sure I had no accident by walking my bike around these switch backs. As I got past this really technical section the trail eased up a bit and I was riding through some shade trees with a cool forest look which was fun but I also could not help but think I was by myself and was there any critters out there.. 

After I rode through this area the trail opened up some more and I was able to go faster .. Fun Fun.. but as I came around a corner I grabbed the breaks hard and was ready to lay the bike down as in front of me was  low hanging branches and I would plow right through them, this would really hurt .. I got lucky and stopped about 2 feet from the branches.  I really missed a really painful situation there.. After this point it was just really fun single track the rest of the way down to Upper Shake Campground. As I finished and rode into Upper Shake Campground I was only remembering the fun parts of this single track and I look forward to doing it again sometime. 

After making the climb out of Upper Shake Campground I was back on Fire Road 7N23 and ready to head back to the car. It is all downhill back and I was glad because I was super tired. After a quick 3 miles I was back at the car and this was all in all a really fun and challenging ride that I know I will make one of my regular rides.. 

As Always.. Have Fun.. Try Not To Die..