WoodWildMud
27Feb05
Part I
For me, after 2 weeks of no riding because of all the recent rains, it was good to be back in the saddle. Ending sore, exhausted, muddy. Yet a smile on my face to be out on the dirt (and mud) again.
Six of us showed up at Wildwood this morning on a beautiful sunny Sunday in February. Andy, John, DavidR, Jamshyd, Rod (who flew back from Washington, D.C. just last night to make the ride--DEDICATION!), and me. We decided to do the ride starting in reverse order....in other words, we headed out to Lynn Road to catch the Lynnmere Trail that we usually end with. We almost lost our video cameraman John at this point as he zoomed right past the entrance while he was trying to chase down a road rider....he was determined but finally realized that we were not there and he turned around. The singletrack proved to be in pretty good shape for about 80% of the time.....but it was that other 20% that proved to be muddy and it was the mud that gave us some problems throughout the ride. A little slipping, sliding and hauling the extra weight of the mud on our tires as we climbed.
David pedals on the ST
We then headed down toward the river crossing at the bottom of Wildwood Canyon. This was the only water crossing we made all day, and as we all walked thru the calf deep (or neck deep for Jamshyd and me) water, we dedicated the crossing to BrianD, who last month took his dive here.
Rod wading across the stream
From here we climbed up to the TeePee and eventually started riding towards Lizard Rock.
Taking a break while admiring the valley below
View toward the Mesa -- the recent rains have greened the landscape
View towards Lizard Rock
Upon arriving below the Lizard Rock outcropping we headed down the singletrack towards the water reclamation plant.
Jamshyd, closely followed by Rod, on the singletrack from Lizard Rock
End of Part I
WoodWildMud
27Feb05
Part II
As you might recall, we left Part I with a descent down the singletrack from Lizard Rock. Well, "here's Johnny".....
John with helmet cam descending the ST
On reaching the bottom of the singletrack, the fumes from the water reclamation plant must have overcome us, because in a delerious state we followed Jamshyd's suggestion to turn right, follow the paved road, and eventually climb back into the park on an old steep fireroad.
The paved road just before we turned right onto the steep fireroad
For the next 5 hours (or so it seemed to this participant) we climbed and climbed and climbed the fireroad until we came to the payoff.....a downhill singletrack that was so steep that we had to walk almost all of it.
Rod walking a steep section....at least the views were great!
When we got to the bottom of this section we were rewarded with yet another steep fireroad climb....but this time we got a bonus of a wet and muddy road that enabled us to add several pounds of mud to our frames and tires to increase the workout. Apparently just what the doctor ordered.
Completing the climb brought us back to the main trail thru the center of Wildwood and we finally arrived back at the cars where we tried to clean up a bit.
John shows off his "mud" line..... .....while Robco shows off his muddy fork
We then headed on over to the shopping center on Moorpark Road, where we were joined by Reuben, for some well deserved eats. Although we only traveled a little over 10 miles according to my odometer, it felt more like 30 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing on 40 pound mud-encrusted bikes. Otherwise, it was an easy ride.
Have a great, and hopefully dry, week.
Robco Baggins
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Back in the saddle, ten MUDDY mountain miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Be sure to read and see Rob's great ride report and pictures (it should be on the RCY web site soon).
To see the Topo Map click on http://briefcase.yahoo.com/rodb12 then Rcy Topo Maps then 2005 and finally Wildwood27feb05
Don't forget to check the RCY Web page for previous ride reports, pictures, topo maps, Johns' VIDEOS, trailhead directions and other links.
Rod