Rocky Peak 11-14-2004
A beautiful autumn morning greeted us at the Pink Shopping Center in Simi Valley. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, the air was cool. Ideal weather for mountain biking. Ten RCYs--Rod, DavidR, Dean, Joe, Matthew (back from the Far East with a new supply of apples for us), Mitch, Mike, John, Jamshyd, and I--slowly filtered into the parking lot, got bikes and gear together and started pedaling at about 7:45. The route chosen was our usual one around the Mt. Sinai Memorial Park to the base of the Chumash Trail for the long climb up the "newly" groomed singletrack--the trail had been worked on and many of the usually very challenging obstacles had been removed or smoothed out making for an easier albeit still tough climb.
Rod pedaling up a section of Chumash
Rod, Matthew, and Mike pause to take in the view of last year's charred hillsides
At the top of Chumash, the group wanders aimlessly thru the charred chaparrel
(In the back: Rod, Joe, Jamshyd, Mitch, David, Mike, John....
in the front, the lovely backsides of Matthew and Dean)
View of the hills looking East
Matthew ritually handing out apples to his minions
From this point at the top of Chumash, our world was torn asunder. All usual logic and order was thrown out the window. Our minds were thrown into cognitive dissonance. Everyone "pulled a Joe" except Joe! What, you say. How can that be? Well, some of us had to get back early--although not Joe--and decided to go back via the Hummingbird Trail rather than our usual route down Johnson. As the group started to break into two, more and more people decided to go down Hummingbird. Joe thought others had already headed down Johnson and so proceeded that way--alone. Fortunately all went well and he arrived back at the cars not long after the rest of us.
View into Simi Valley from the Hummingbird Trail
Mitch manuevers thru a section of Hummingbird
John can't keep a smile off his face as he experiences the joy of
the Hummingbird Trail for the first time.
The ride down Hummingbird was both thrilling and technically challenging. A few minor crashes but everyone seemed to make it down okay. Only about 10 miles of cycling, but filled with technical singletrack and wonderful weather. A great way to end the weekend.
Have a great week.
Robco Baggins
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To see the Topo Map click below and then Topo maps 2nd half of 2004 and then Rocky Peak14Nov04
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/rodb12
Don't forget to check the RCY web site for new pictures and ride reports
Rod