RR: San Juan Trail

[autoduel]

I finally picked up an annual forest adventure pass thanks to my son winning a $20 REI Gift card during the Kid's day raffle. So the alarm goes off and the sun isn't even up yet. I got to the trailhead at 7am, missing the 6:45 meet time. There was however a georiders group at the lot. Being my first time riding the trail, I asked for directions. Thinking that I missed the start, I started climbing at 7:08 hoping to catch up with the group.
It started as a middle ring climb, spinning my way up. The switchbacks came in quick succession and they were tight, often in a rut that catches the pedals on the inside of the turns. The front end seem to wallow in the tight turn. The trail itself was pretty smooth and thoughts crept into my head about the 3 pounds I could have left at home if I rode hardtail. Eventually the trail started to get longer between turns. I glanced over my shoulder and could see trail carved into the hillside all the way back down into the trees where the Geoladders group was starting their climb.
I reached the first ridge and saw the first sight of the sun since I began the climbing. The sky was clear with a stiff breeze blowing across the hillside creating little dust devils. The trail began too get steeper, so I dropped in the small ring to avoid buring my legs up before the top. The trail started levelling out with short steep sections in between. The rutted sections were sandy and I could feel the drag with each pedal stroke. Where there was a high section along the rut, I took relief.
Eventually The trail levelled out to where there were some downhill sections between climbs. As I looked back I saw the Geoladders group begin to catch up. I was guilty of getting too comfortable in the small ring when the climb got less steep, so I made a conscious effort to gear up where I could. I found that some of the more level sections actually appear to be steeper than they really are.
I kept going and didn't encounter another rider all the way up to the 7 mile mark. At the end of a downhill section, a steep rutted sandstone climb pops up and kicks my butt in a hail of downshifting. At the top there was a clearing and I started down the other side. The trail suddenly got steep in the wrong direction. Fearing that I would wind up down the wrong trail, I hiked back up to the clearing in search for another turnoff. Finding none, I waited for the geoladders group to arrive. turns out that one of the riders is an STR member (ch40s) riding his steel single speed.
I hooked up with them on the downhill section. As we started climbing again, I started to tire as we reached the new san juan trail. They invited me to ride with them to blue jay and onward, but I'll leave that to another ride. So I head off and immediately stacked it trying to go over a small log laying across the trail at an angle. The trail was nice and smooth with bumps and berms to keep it interesting. It wound its way through the trees, often disappearing out of sight but reappeared predictably.
Then the trail started climbing out of the trees onto a some rocky sections. The sun started beating down during the climb and the trail was punctuated by strategically placed rock ledges along the whole climb back, many of which I walked. When I reached Cocktail rock, I started my descent back down, comforted in the fact that I knew the trail from here.
The views on the way back were nothing short of spectacular as the sky was clear for miles. The wind across my ears, the rolling trails, the green scenery, this is what mountain biking is all about. It's a totally different experience riding these trails solo.

[CC]

Nice RR Steve. I haven't ridden San Juan but hope to make it up there soon. Your descriptive post peak my interest just a little bit more.

Thank you,

~cc

[Evel Knievel]

Upper portion (above cocktail rock)of the trail is much nicer. You need to do it all sometime.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Evel Knievel

Upper portion (above cocktail rock)of the trail is much nicer. You need to do it all sometime.

Was up there today myself.........

[foofighter]

great RR steve...i havent been to SJ in a LONG time.

[DownhillWebKook]

Ol' DHWK was out there, too. This was a perfect day on the trail. The sky was clear and you could see for miles. You could clearly see the cliff faces on the Southern end of Catalina. We had a big group of people so we all got to enjoy it today. It doesn't get much better unless you're running Maxxis Minions 2.35 Slo-Reezay tires instead of the new Specialized Control tires! They were stinkers out there today.

[Pilas]

I was also there today. I hadn't ridden there in almost 3 years. I had forgotten how much fun this trail is.
We started around 7:45 and the temps were perfect. the trail was in awesome shape. We rode to Cocktail Rock, did the loop back to Cocktail and down to the car.
Got done with the ride in just over 2:30, so we were back down before it got hot.
We talked to a group that was heading to Chiquito Falls (?). Was that any of you guys?

[bjammin]

nice intense. glad you got it built up.

[allison]

Originally Posted by CC

Nice RR Steve. I haven't ridden San Juan but hope to make it up there soon. Your descriptive post peak my interest just a little bit more.

Thank you,

~cc

WHAT!

That must be remedied SJT is one of the best singletracks in So Cal!

Steve - did you continue up to the left after Cocktail and do the loop? Kinda sounds like you did.

Thanks for the RR.

How was the Intense on the descent, though?

[BrewMaster]

I've never been out there either. Thanks for the RR; it makes we want to check out SJT.

[autoduel]

I did do the short loop after cocktail rock and I agree that the trail is much nicer than the old san juan. It was my first time riding the trail even though I live 15 minutes away. It has become one of my favorites along with chantry/zion. The spyder climbed like a champ, but it did not feel as plush as my I-drive on the way down. I think the shock ramps up quickly and the platform damping made it feel like it only took the edge off. On the good side, it did feel better damped and didn't use up most of the travel on every drop. I'd like to try a non-SPV shock on it like a CC cloud nine. The 25lb weight is a definite plus. The bike suits my riding style well; following the terrain rather than bashing through, but I still wondered if I should have kept the 5.5 instead.

DeeZee - what time did you start? I was trying to catch up to your group.

[J_Sims]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

I've never been out there either. Thanks for the RR; it makes we want to check out SJT.

We need to hit it up....

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by autoduel

I did do the short loop after cocktail rock and I agree that the trail is much nicer than the old san juan. It was my first time riding the trail even though I live 15 minutes away. It has become one of my favorites along with chantry/zion. The spyder climbed like a champ, but it did not feel as plush as my I-drive on the way down. I think the shock ramps up quickly and the platform damping made it feel like it only took the edge off. On the good side, it did feel better damped and didn't use up most of the travel on every drop. I'd like to try a non-SPV shock on it like a CC cloud nine. The 25lb weight is a definite plus. The bike suits my riding style well; following the terrain rather than bashing through, but I still wondered if I should have kept the 5.5 instead.

DeeZee - what time did you start? I was trying to catch up to your group.

but Chris had an issue with his front hub (loose). We needed to get out the tools and tighten the bearings.

I guess we got started at 7:15 or so (forgot to look). Did you see a group of guys at C-rock?

[autoduel]

No, I rode right past it (since I didn't know where it was). On the way back I saw the signpost, but it was hidden by plants on the way up. I think I started just before you did. I didn't notice the other half of the parking lot until I came back down. We'll hook up next time

Pilas started later but probably caught up just as I finished. It took me 3hrs to do the loop.