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
