RR: Fun Weekend in Santa Cruz

[VTVic]

Went to Santa Cruz for the weekend to visit the inlaws and had an awesome time hitting the trails in the UC Santa Cruz area. As usual, Mike and Dwight didn't disappoint; I knew it was going to be a nice day even before I knew what the plans were. The weather was a little cold, probably in the high 50's but perfect for riding.
We met at Dwight's house in Santa Cruz and rode the streets to the trail head. If you're ever in the area this is a must do ride. The huge and dense redwood trees, the ferns, and the smell of the forest in general were breath taking. This place has it all - windy XC sections, hard climbs, DH sections, and lots of jumps.
Is easy to get lost and find yourself going in circles so I suggest hooking up with the locals to make sure you don't get lost. It was pretty dark inside the forest and was having some trouble getting the right setting on my camera but still managed to get a few cool shots that weren't too blury...enjoy
Demo was off limits due to the fires on the Santa Cruz mountains

During a small stop

Lots of log crossings and downed trees


Trail shot

Mike attacking a tough climb on his SS 29er

At the bottom of a rocky and fun down hill section

Lots of green


The trail section that we hit prior to arriving at our next break spot was full of fast and windy sections with lots of log and dirt jumps of all sizes. Got brave a few times and managed to land a few small ones was having too much fun, so no pics here.
Dwight, Mike, and John taking a small break. John met up with us about an hour into the ride.

Did I say lots of green


Time to climb

Mike making it look easy on his SS

On a short fire road climb

Mike on Goat Trail. This is probably one of my favorite shots from the ride...very steep dh sections. I had to stop a few times just to enjoy the scenery.

At the bottom of Goat Trail.

On our way back to town we got to hit a single track that ran along the RR tracks


Again, BIG thanks to Mike and Dwight for once again showing me around their backyard and great meeting John as well. Hope we can do it again soon.
The next day I had a great time with the family at the Air Show in Watsonville
Mom and Sophia

Christian and I

You can see the smoke from the fire in the background

[jschwart73]

Being up here, I've recently met more than a couple people who prefer UCSC to Demo. Even the DH guy I ride with would rather go there. Looks awesome, going to have to hit it up soon!

[Danimal]

Good stuff.
I've ridden SC a couple times, but only Wilder, and Saratoga Gap.
Love that area.

[Dusty]

Wow, what an awesome ride. Great photos too, thanks for sharing.

[VTVic]

Originally Posted by jschwart73

Being up here, I've recently met more than a couple people who prefer UCSC to Demo. Even the DH guy I ride with would rather go there. Looks awesome, going to have to hit it up soon!

I can see why that would be. This is my second time riding the UCSC area and rode some new stuff that we didn't hit last year. We skipped mail boxes but got to ride another fun and fast section with plenty of jumps. Not into jumps myself but had lots of fun hitting a few of them I should hit you up next time we're up there and see if you can join us.

Originally Posted by drew12

Good stuff.
I've ridden SC a couple times, but only Wilder, and Saratoga Gap.
Love that area.

Haven't done those yet. Hopefully soon

[nativeson]

hey vic i'm hijacking your thread. great pics and great times. the colors in the images are super vibrant due to the flat light/overcast and demonstrate the life of this forest, you did a good job capturing the magnitude of the forest canopy. your photographic compositions look like they're improving, judging by the 3-5 times we've ridden together. i think you've had a different camera each time you've been up here, remember the rule of 1/3s. the reason why it's so hard to take pics in the forest is because the forest doesn't want to reveal all its secrets so shots come out blurry, j/k. one technique francis practices a lot for action shots is panning, which seems to work good w/the low forest light. it takes some practice though. these trails never get old, there's a lot of them, and the loop options are exponential.

air show looked fun, the pic of you & son inside the cargo is framed beautifully. your fire pics show a glimpse of the damage done to the area, they're saying full containment by tomorrow. didn't ride yesterday, just partied all day at the beach/bar, today no ride, just clean bikes, debating on whether or not to place the mojo on the selling block and get a new BLT. holla back whenever you're up here again.

[VTVic]

Originally Posted by nativeson

hey vic i'm hijacking your thread. great pics and great times. the colors in the images are super vibrant due to the flat light/overcast and demonstrate the life of this forest, you did a good job capturing the magnitude of the forest canopy. your photographic compositions look like they're improving, judging by the 3-5 times we've ridden together. i think you've had a different camera each time you've been up here, remember the rule of 1/3s. the reason why it's so hard to take pics in the forest is because the forest doesn't want to reveal all its secrets so shots come out blurry, j/k. one technique francis practices a lot for action shots is panning, which seems to work good w/the low forest light. it takes some practice though. these trails never get old, there's a lot of them, and the loop options are exponential.

air show looked fun, the pic of you & son inside the cargo is framed beautifully. your fire pics show a glimpse of the damage done to the area, they're saying full containment by tomorrow. didn't ride yesterday, just partied all day at the beach/bar, today no ride, just clean bikes, debating on whether or not to place the mojo on the selling block and get a new BLT. holla back whenever you're up here again.

Thanks for the tips Mike. I sure have a long way to go when it comes to taking pictures. The camera I had on this trip is the same one I had the last time I was up there, but different from the one I took to Ford Ord. This time I took a little more time using different settings, which seemed to have worked is some cases.
Good luck getting your new Blur. The one we saw on the trail looked sweet with plenty of suspension...can't wait to do the jumps/drops again

[art23rockpile]

Great RR!
So, these trails are near UCSC? I get my surfboards custom shaped by Pearson Arrow in SC, so i'm up there at least a couple of times a year... although I used to go up there 4-6 times a year (before the oil companies did a number on the economy). The hotel I stay at is on the outskirts of town (Westside), a few miles from the campus. Are there any good maps/books about the trails there?
The next time I go up there i'll PM you for info.

[jschwart73]

Just found out this morning, I'm hitting UCSC on Saturday, woo!

Definitely drop me a line next time you're up here...

[bajamtnbkr]

I have a wedding to attend near by next month, I guess I have to bring the bike
Thanks for the RR.

[VTVic]

Originally Posted by bajamtnbkr

I have a wedding to attend near by next month, I guess I have to bring the bike
Thanks for the RR.

He he... You MUST bring your bike. You won't be disappointed

[BrewMaster]

Great RR. My cousin lives in SC and keeps getting after me to come up there and ride.

[VTVic]

Originally Posted by art23rockpile

Great RR!
So, these trails are near UCSC? I get my surfboards custom shaped by Pearson Arrow in SC, so i'm up there at least a couple of times a year... although I used to go up there 4-6 times a year (before the oil companies did a number on the economy). The hotel I stay at is on the outskirts of town (Westside), a few miles from the campus. Are there any good maps/books about the trails there?
The next time I go up there i'll PM you for info.

Sorry Guys, looks like I missed your posts...definitely PM me for info. I'm not sure about any good maps out there as far as trails go in the UCSC area but I can at least hook you up with Mike or Dwight...awesome guys to ride with.

Originally Posted by jschwart73

Just found out this morning, I'm hitting UCSC on Saturday, woo!
Definitely drop me a line next time you're up here...

Will do. Hope you have a great time Saturday

Here are a few more pics from the drive back on HWY 46. We decided to drive back on Sunday to avoid the holiday traffic and we could not have made a better decision.

[shudder]

Great RR, Vic! Thanks for the pics -- that first Lots of green shot with the bike is excellent -- really shows what the terrain is like, and the bike looks ready to roll (the shot is framed really nicely as well, btw)! I'd love to go ride there someday. After all, it is my hometown. But when I lived there I had to sneak out in order to ride the open fields on my stingray between our house and UCSC (hey, I was 6!).

Funny bit of trivia: my older bro' Patrick was employee #3 at UCSC. He was a teenager and was hired by the school to flyer our neighborhood and other hoods near the new school being built, letting folks know why huge trucks were going up into the forest (apparently it freaked some people out).

shud

[OPP]

Gorgeous stuff...thanks for sharing.

[VTVic]

Originally Posted by shudder

Great RR, Vic! Thanks for the pics -- that first Lots of green shot with the bike is excellent -- really shows what the terrain is like, and the bike looks ready to roll (the shot is framed really nicely as well, btw)! I'd love to go ride there someday. After all, it is my hometown. But when I lived there I had to sneak out in order to ride the open fields on my stingray between our house and UCSC (hey, I was 6!).

Funny bit of trivia: my older bro' Patrick was employee #3 at UCSC. He was a teenager and was hired by the school to flyer our neighborhood and other hoods near the new school being built, letting folks know why huge trucks were going up into the forest (apparently it freaked some people out).

shud

Great story Shud. Thanks for sharing