RR: Santa Margarita River Trail (SMaRT)

[quaestionis]

This evening I had a chance to do my first STR group ride out at the Santa Margarita River Trail. Joining me were Doug (Pacman), Bill (MTB Bill), Dan (Old Dog Dan), Alan (Dan's non-STR friend), Scott (Blue Rat), and Patrick (Team Fallbrook).

We rallied right on time at the trailhead at the end of North Stagecoach Road, and were on our way.



Doug had planned out the route ahead of time, and we started out down a short fire road.



From there we headed east along the 500 foot trail (so-named because it is 500 feet above sea level).



It was a great warm up; relatively flat and very scenic, with a little bit of undulation to keep things interesting. The impact of the 2007 fires was still evident, and Doug mentioned that the sandy double track we were riding had been singletrack in the past, before clean-up crews bulldozed much of it after the fires.

I enjoyed the 500 foot trail quite a bit. After a mile or so riding along the ridge above the river, we regrouped.



The trail dropped down into a tree covered section and we stopped just short of crossing the river.






From there, we apparently could have headed northeast and done some serious climbing on the other side of the river. Instead, we elected to do a short double back and take the Santa Margarita River Trail parallel to the river to the west.

The trail along the river was pretty neat. It was very scenic, and it was amazing to see how much the area had recovered since the fires in October.










We rode along at a moderate pace, and regrouped often.










There was one particularly steep climb along the river which some cleaned (Bill and Doug I think) and others didn't (Me). From there we rode a short downhill section, then wound our way through a fun rock garden section that lasted about a quarter mile or so. Doug apparently cleaned that as well, while I and several others had a few dabs. At one point in the rock garden, Scott had an awesome save and narrowly kept himself from going OTB headfirst. A few minutes later he was not so lucky, and ended up doing a graceful somersault into the bushes. True to form, however, he promptly jumped up unscathed.

After the rock garden section, we continued parallel to the river and passed through a rocky section that involved some short HAB's over some larger boulders. From there we rode a short distance to our turnaround point, the De Luz trailhead.






After a few minutes hanging out there, we headed back.



On the way back we took a short detour to a nice viewpoint overlooking the river. It was a sandy bog to get there, but the view was worth it. (Not sure this picture does it justice though.)



After that we had another relatively short but steep climb, followed by a fun descent back along the river. On the descent, Doug apparently nearly ran over Scott, and in so doing, Doug's front tire burped and lost some air. I don't know exactly what happened, so I'll have to let Doug fill in the details. Both lived to talk about it though, which is good.

We regrouped at a flat area near the end of the fire road that we had taken down from the trailhead, and were back at the cars soon thereafter. We spent quite a bit of time talking and hanging out at the trailhead after the ride was over, and I enjoyed getting to know everyone better.

This was a great experience for me as part of my first STR group ride. I've done other group rides before, but almost always with people I already knew well , so this was new to me. The pace was social and enjoyable after a long day at work, the company was great, and the trail was scenic with plenty of features to make it fun and interesting.

Thanks to Doug for playing tourguide, and to everyone else who came along for making my first STR ride a great experience. I hope to ride with all of you again sometime soon.

You can see a google map of the ride by clicking here.

[Docklobster]

Sounds like a fun ride - sorry I couldn't make this one - let me know if you are heading out again - this is a perfect after work ride for me.

[Solo]

Sounds like a fun ride and a good time. I would never have guessed that the area would recover so quickly. The last pictures I saw were shortly after the fires and it looked completely devastated.

Thanks for the RR and pics!

[Blue Rat]

Great report and a big thanks for posting this up. It was such a nice ride and great to see the trail recovering so well. What stuck in my mind the most and that which impressed me was what a great job the firefighters did in saving all those homes. I noticed plenty of homes that had scorched, yet recovering, land 360 degrees around them. I look forward to riding with you guys again! Maybe the Tour de Murrieta Hills?

Scott

[PacMan]

Wow, nice RR James! I had no idea you took that many pics.

As for me cleaning the sandy climbs and the techy rock section, just remember--I had a few years to practice on those trails before the ride.

As for me nearly running over Scott, I don't know what the heck happened. I thought I had enough time and room to pass, then got all squirelly in the sand, then out of control, then nearly OTB. It was weird. It took a few seconds after I came to a stop for the ol' sphincter to unclench.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that came out for the ride. It was a hoot!

[schleppp]

Sorry I missed it! Maybe next time. Thanks for the great RR.

[MTBBill]

Nice RR indeed! I was good to put some faces to the screen names. I managed to take only two pictures and neither of them came out. I also was impressed with how quickly how things are recovering there. I was expecting much worse. Oh...Nice rolling photos as well.

[Taco Jack]

Looks like I missed a great ride. Maybe next time great ride report.

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by PacMan

Wow, nice RR James! I had no idea you took that many pics.

Hey James, you may want to take your camera in for service. For some reason it makes my fat look fat!

[quaestionis]

Originally Posted by MTBBill

Hey James, you may want to take your camera in for service. For some reason it makes my fat look fat!

I think it was the lighting. Or perhaps the angle of the shot.

The camera is an older point and shoot though, so it could be to blame.

What I had forgotten to mention in my RR was that you cleaned all of the hills I mentioned on your SS, which is pretty freaking impressive.

So I don't think you have to worry about any alleged fat...

[Blue Rat]

After watching Bill ride the single speed with such prowess, I'm considering "super sizing" all my meals. We all must do as we must to better our riding abilities.

[mantid83]

Cool!

[mpmffitz]

Great RR, this is one of my local rides, to include Margarita Peak as seen on MTBBILL. I used to hike the hills of Camp Pendleton all the time and visit Case Springs, great areas.