Encino Hills Drive/Westridge ST/The Whoops

09-18-05

 

A cool end of summer morning brought 6 RCYers to the intersection of Mulholland and Encino Hills Drives at the far east end of Dirt Mulholland.  A new ride starting point for our group, it provided a lot of flexibility for those with time constraints as the ride looped back a couple of times to spots not far from the dirt parking area.  Mitch (who rode from his home in Sherman Oaks and had already done about 6 miles and 1000 feet of climbing), Rod, Brian, Ali, MikeW and I began the ride by pedaling towards the old Nike Site and then down to the singletrack trail that parallels Westridge Fireroad.  The trail is a rolling series of tough, steep climbs and thrilling rocky, sometimes rutted descents, putting lots of smiles on my face.

 

Descending a rutted section down towards the low clouds coming in from the ocean

 

Rod coming out of the fog-shrouded singletrack,

Ali not far behind

 

Some sections were too tough or dangerous to ride and walking proved to be a wiser move.

 

Ali and Mitch walking a narrow, loose descent.

Note the narrow section where Mitch is:

 one tire slip and you would find yourself over the edge.

 

Mike on a more rideable downhill section

 

Brian focused on his descent

 

When we got to the end of the singletrack at the bottom of Westridge, we turned around and climbed back up the fireroad.  Near the top, at the intersection with the Garden Land Fireroad, Ali and Mike departed for the short pedal back to their cars.

 

Thus it was only 4 of us who descended the Garden Land FR down to Mandeville Canyon.  After a short pavement pedal, we returned to the dirt, climbing the Hollyhock Singletrack up to the fireroad which I think is called the Kenter Fireroad.  We lost another rider at this point as Mitch also decided to head for home.

 

Thus, again, it was only 3 of us who turned right to head towards the Whoop-de-Doos, chatting with some of the many hikers, runners, and dog walkers we saw along the way.  In fact, it seemed as though every other person we saw knew Brian--he lives on the West side not far from the Whoops and is apparently very popular among the locals.  Finally, though, we reached the fun section of trail known as the Whoop-de-Doos.

 

Rod, followed by Brian, enjoying a section of the Whoops

 

We came across a small cadre of young downhill/extreme bikers practicing their jumping skills on the Whoops.

 

This guy jumped the large gap between the 2 ramps, over the bush.

He caught me by surprise and I couldn't catch him mid-air.

 

At the bottom of the Whoops we turned around to retrace our tracks:  back up the Whoops, back up the steep fireroad, thru the short pavement section of Mountaingate, and on to our vehicles.  Brian had to head for home, but Rod and I decided to try the new Corner Bakery Cafe in Encino.  We had a very enjoyable lunch, made especially so when we were joined by Rod's lovely wife Charlene.

 

Have a great week!!!

 

Robco Baggins

 

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Topo maps

 

Rod