I know that some of you do not like the ride we do starting from the west end of Roscoe at Valley Circle Boulevard. But I think that you are missing something grand. Yes, there is some broken glass and assorted garbage strewn about, some of which has been made even more evident by the recent wild fire. But there is a raw, primal beauty to the land since the fires and perhaps even more important to some....the riding has become GREAT!!! We have discovered some new trails; some of the old technical trails have opened up to provide new lines of travel; the landscape has opened up, inviting us to explore ever new challenging areas.

Nine people showed up last Saturday--let's see if after a few days I can remember whom.....Joe, John, Jamshyd (that takes care of all the J's), Ali, George, Rod, DavidN, a friend of Jamshyd's named Roger, and me. There I did it and it's already Wednesday.

Anyway, it started out a cool yet sunny day, unlike the previous weekend's cold fog. We entered the area via a different route, climbing a fireroad that skirts the newly fenced off area along Valley Circle Blvd. and entering a fascinatingly beautiful area of scorched land.

David approaches a dry creek crossing where Jamshyd was retightening spokes in his rear wheel that kept loosening up during the ride

Leaving the maze of singletrack at Woolsey Canyon Road, we climbed up to the old Rockedyne, now Boeing, plant and then on to Sage Ranch.

After completing the roundtrip thru Sage Ranch we headed back down Woolsey Canyon Road and back into the singletrack maze. We explored some new areas and also discovered an old wheel that some thought might provide a better replacement for Jamshyd's constantly loosening spokes.

The ride thru the next section of technical singletrack was terrific. Drop-offs, rocky chutes, slick rock--all made for challenging, but wonderful riding.

The last part of our ride took us thru a newly discovered semi-trail that Jamshyd and Rod had spotted the previous weekend and that Rod had explored the day before. [If you haven't already done so, check out Rod's cool GPS maps of our ride at www.rcymountainbiking.com, ] . John had some tire problems about this time, a large gash having appeared in the sidewall of his rear tire. A couple of repairs later and we arrived back at the pavement near the bottom of Woolsey Canyon Road which we then took to Valley Circle Blvd. for the return back to our cars, ending a day of exploration, beauty and great riding.

The week is almost half over now (and I still hope to put together a report for last Sunday's ride) so enjoy what's left of the week.