June 26, 2005
Part I--The Participants
It was the last weekend of June, 2005,
and the weather cooperated for the long climb up the fireroad from the
parking area at the end of San Fernando Road. Cool air and a warm sun
followed us as we pedaled up the 8 mile climb, ignorant of the Adventure
that awaited us at The Bridge. Although eventually we had 10 riders, we
started out the climb with only 9--Dean was going to be a little later than
usual....as he was driving to the ride he realized he had forgotten one
thing....his bike.
The riders on a short by-pass trail thru
the golden grasslands alongside the fireroad.....
Aaron
Ali (it looks like a hawk
circling in the distance)
George
Jamshyd
Joe
Matthew
Sam
Shah
Dean at a rest stop a little
later in the ride
End of Part I
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Viper/Los Pinetos
June 26, 2005
Part II--Los Pinetos Trail (minus The
Adventure at The Bridge)
At the top of the fireroad, 8 miles from
our vehicles, is the L.A. County Fire Station. After a brief respite and
some gawking at the glorious views on a glorious day, we headed on back down
to the start of the Los Pinetos Trail. For those of you who have done it
before, you know how beautiful the trail is, especially the upper portion
that meanders thru a gorgeous forest. The sun filters thru the canopy of
trees and the ground is littered with a carpet of oak leaves. And the trail
is dotted with loads of poison oak....use that Tecnu if you need it, boys!
Shah riding on the sun-speckled
singletrack
Of course, the recent winter rains had
an effect on the trail. The ruts were a little deeper and a few sections
required some walking....and one section, The Bridge.....well, more on that
in Part III.
Aaron and Joe walk a washed out
section of trail with a steep drop-off
Although the upper part of the trail
seemed to have escaped the fires of last autumn, the lower section showed
some burned areas with life coming back.
A myriad of subtle colors dot
the charred landscape
Eventually we all made it relatively
unscarred down to the bottom of Los Pinetos where we posed for a group
shot, grudgingly taken by a hiker who appeared more likely to have enjoyed
taking our heads off.
The Adventurers: Matthew, Joe,
Sam, Jamshyd, Rob, Dean, Shah, George, Ali, Aaron
Pedaling back to our cars on the road,
half of our group said good-bye while the other half headed over for the
traditional apres-ride meal at the Saugus Cafe. But before I end the
report let's will move on to Part III for a few pictures of our
Adventure at The Bridge.
End of Part II
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Viper/Los Pinetos
June 26, 2005
Part III--Los Pinetos Trail and The Adventure at
The Bridge
Now that I've got your attention.....are
you still with me?.....we will go back to the most thrilling part of the
ride down Los Pinetos Trail. As I previously mentioned, the winter rains
did some damage to the trail. Well, one section received major damage and
gave us our unexpected adventure. I hope these pictures relay some of that
adventure.
Coming around a corner of the shaded
trail we suddenly came upon a giant washout and a make-shift bridge that was
only partially completed by the intrepid builder. It took a lot of
creative thought on how we were to get ourselves and our bikes across, and
it seemed as though everyone had their own ideas.
The Bridge.....
Dean takes charge as Jamshyd
assists in the transport of the bikes over the crevasse
Dean balances precariously as
Matthew also assists
I think Dean may have my
bike....don't disturb him
Although we got all of the bikes across
via the bridge, only a few actually felt comfortable enough transporting
their own body by it. I did, but as I stepped out onto the naked log for
the first 2 steps to the wooden cross bars, you could hear my heart beating
as far away as Moab.
The view across the "homemade"
bridge....we started from the far side
Most decided to head either "upstream"
or "downstream" a bit from the bridge and cross in the deep crevasse. For
some it was a bit treacherous.
Sam and Joe being given an
assist as they crawl (are dragged) up the steep embankment
Joe, after the fear subsided,
smiles in relief
Apart from some scratches (and an
earlier endo by Aaron) the group ended our adventure relatively unscathed.
Some will probably need years of therapy and psychoanalysis after this, but
then again, we probably needed it before the ride.
Have a great week and hope to see you
for the 3-day July 4th Independence Day weekend. Happy Birthday, America!
Humbly submitted,
Robco "The Bridge Troll" Baggins
