RR: La Costa Canyon

[sdyeti]

After much debate about where to ride on our uncommonly unscheduled weekend, Dan and I decided to go up the coast a few miles and hit the trails at La Costa. He'd never been (and I'd only been once way back in the fall with EvilChocula), so I figured it would be a new, fun ride.

Welcome, you have arrived at Fun-Land


We picked up a third rider and made it a trio with Dan's amigo Will.

Will and Dan, ready for action


Let me tell you all about Will. He is a gnar-core kite boarder who dabbles in mountain biking when the "wind is down". Yet, no matter how long he's been off the bike, Will tends to out-climb, out-descend, out-huck, and then embarrass everyone with his prowess. The kind of guy that if you didn't know (and didn't know he was such a great guy), you'd probably envy him just a little itty-bitty-smidge.

We got to La Costa around 8:30 and waited around a bunch for Will...he missed the exit.

We like it Yeti-style


Dan, JRA


There were a few riders staging at the trailhead and some came down from the hill and kept rolling on...locals, no doubt. I rode up to snap some nature pics.




It was getting very warm, already, and I knew that we'd be climbing up as the mercury was creeping up. We opted for the fireroad climb up to the water tower and then traversed from there to the top of the "double black diamond" trail (Nascar).

The fireroad isn't particularly steep or long or loose...it felt good to middle ring it all and feel strong. We stopped at the top of "Switchbacks" and rested for a few.

Top of "Switchbacks"


I *heart* my Yeti


Then, Dan and Will took off in their usual race-to-the-top (of any trail) mode. We got to the entrance to Nascar, dropped our gravity-droppers and raised our forks.

Warning: keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times


I stopped to snap a few pics of the guys and then we enjoyed the rest of the descent...rocky with some turns and little drops and jumps.

Dan, rollin' it


Will, ditto


It wasn't as loose as I remembered it from last fall...all the rain helped, no doubt. The trail was a blast...the Yeti was made for this type of trail, though the 2.1 tires I'm running pinged around a bit, I had no problems handling the terrain.

We went up to the top again, this time climbing up "Switchbacks".

Heading back up to conquer "Switchbacks"


Dan, going up


The last time I rode out here, I could not clean the trail. There are a few steep, rocky sections and several techy switchbacks. Well, this time, I cleaned it all, no dabs, no dismounts. All in my middle ring. That made the whole difference because it gave me enough momentum to get up the rocky stuff. I just wasn't strong enough last fall.

Short sequence of me on a switchback:





Dan-o taking time to take it all in


I was pretty stoked and by the time I got to the top, was cruising along and in my own little world. I must've let my right pedal drop a little below parallel and then...WHAM! My pedal struck a (I swear) invisible rock in the trail. My body lurched forward, and I smacked my left knee on the shifter. Doh! Upon further inspection, the other side of the pedal was fully operational. The pedal body is messed up though, because it doesn't turn very well.

Ouch!


We regrouped at the top of Nascar and then hit it again...this time faster. What a rush!

Dan-o, rolling along the wall


Willie-boy hits it


Me, well, I tried but only managed to roll over


Smooth turning (nice o-face)


And there I go...


We stopped to session some of the jumps at the bottom, which on a bigger bike you could probably carry enough speed to double.

Will wheelie-ing while we wait


But, I kept it safe and was hitting them as singles. So fun! There is a video clip that I'm trying to upload and will post it here if possible.

By the time we ended, we'd been on the trail about 2 hours. The guys were toast (Dan outdid himself at spin on Thursday and Will has been kiting like a madman). I wanted to go up for one more, but once I sat in the shade, made up my mind. The mercury hit 92 by the time we were done. All in all, it was a beautiful day with great scenery and a relaxed vibe.

[bajamtnbkr]

Great RR Steph, I'm yet to hit La Costa

[sdyeti]

You'd have a blast...get out there if/when you can

Originally Posted by bajamtnbkr

Great RR Steph, I'm yet to hit La Costa

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

You'd have a blast...get out there if/when you can

How about for a xc rider? Or you need to be into technical downhill stuff?

[bjammin]

i heart lc

[Zippy]

Bummer about your pedal. People keep breaking those CB's...

[sdyeti]

Eh, well, it happens. With how hard I hit it, though, pretty sure most pedals would've been toast.

Originally Posted by Zippy

Bummer about your pedal. People keep breaking those CB's...

I am an XC rider.

Seriously, you'd really like Switchbacks. And, there is a trail off the back of the hill which we didn't do, but is supposedly not as challenging as Nascar. I mean, to put it in perspective, we did Nascar with XC lids and no pads. It's not that bad. Challenging but not scary. There are lines to go around any of the jumps or drops.

MTB Bill might have more about the trail we didn't do (and certainly has a lot about the two trails we did...www.mountainbikebill.com)

Originally Posted by bajamtnbkr

How about for a xc rider? Or you need to be into technical downhill stuff?

[fastpassu]

great post. I am new to the mountain biking scene and Friday was actually my first day at La Costa. I loved it. I went straight up the switchbacks all the way to the top where the boyscouts made the benches. I then rested for a bit, took in the beautiful scenery and headed back down the switchbacks to where I had parked as fast as I could. That in itself was a total workout and I had enough for the day. What a great spot it is and I witnessed many lizards running down the trail on the way down.

[sdyeti]

Yeah, I seriously wish that we lived closer to here...what a rad local spot to call your home trail. It's actually not very far (~20 miles) but weekday traffic going north on the 5...umm...not fun.

Originally Posted by fastpassu

great post. I am new to the mountain biking scene and Friday was actually my first day at La Costa. I loved it. I went straight up the switchbacks all the way to the top where the boyscouts made the benches. I then rested for a bit, took in the beautiful scenery and headed back down the switchbacks to where I had parked as fast as I could. That in itself was a total workout and I had enough for the day. What a great spot it is and I witnessed many lizards running down the trail on the way down.

[Impy]

nice rr. love the "O" face!

looks like a great trail system. must put on the list...

[fastpassu]

haha yeah that whole traffic thing is kind of annoying. Luckily I live right off Tamarack in Carlsbad so its a very short trip for me. My first run was at Calvera Lake in Vista, La Costa blows that place out of the water.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by bjammin

i heart lc

how about setting up a ride?? bacon bowls at your house afterwards!

[sdyeti]

I hit that turn and was like, "OH that was fun!"....not the o-face from Office Space but that's what it made me think of when I saw the pic

Originally Posted by Impy

nice rr. love the "O" face!

looks like a great trail system. must put on the list...

[emfc]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

how about setting up a ride?? bacon bowls at your house afterwards!

I'm in

[atomrat]

Thanks for the RR. I really like the His and Her bike pic.

That really stinks about the CB. I love mine Egg Beaters.

I just heard about La Costa today, now a second time in the same day. Damn, I will have to check it out soon.

Does it get crowded on the weekdays? on Friday?

[OldDogDan]

Originally Posted by atomrat

I just heard about La Costa today, now a second time in the same day. Damn, I will have to check it out soon.

Does it get crowded on the weekdays? on Friday?

Not really so far, but getting more popular. Saturday or Sunday morning maybe a dozen cars max. See MTB Bill's guide. There's only about six miles of the really good stuff, but as SDYeti reported, you can do multiple loops with variations. For singletrack, it's commonly two ways up, three ways down (anyone riding Nascar up?...).

Originally Posted by fastpassu

Luckily I live right off Tamarack in Carlsbad so its a very short trip for me. My first run was at Calvera Lake in Vista, La Costa blows that place out of the water.

La Costa is concentrated fun and I love it. But don't dismiss Calavera. It takes a while to learn where the good stuff is. I think there's actually more variety there than anywhere else in North County, and you can link up different segments a myriad of ways.

[fastpassu]

Originally Posted by OldDogDan

La Costa is concentrated fun and I love it. But don't dismiss Calavera. It takes a while to learn where the good stuff is. I think there's actually more variety there than anywhere else in North County, and you can link up different segments a myriad of ways.

So next time you are thinking about going to Calavera drop me a pm and hopefully you can show me some of the things I may have missed