I
i am dino
Guest
Rob came up with a good ride for this past sunday. The plan was to start off of the Canyon Vistas entrance to Aliso, hit 5 Oaks, then head up Cholla, then go down Stair Steps, cross the 133 and enter LCWP head up Willow fireroad to Bommer fireroad, across Bommer to T&A (Laguna Ridge) singletrack, back down the the 133, cross the street to head back into Aliso via hike-a-bike up Stair Steps, once back in Aliso the plan was to hit Rock-It then back out to the trucks at Canyon Vistas.
So, we met up at 8:30, it was Rob, Del, Aldo and I. We headed up to 5 Oaks, took a short breather and all made it down 5 Oaks without a hitch, this was a pretty good sign. We then head up to Cholla, rest up for a minute or two then climb Cholla. It was around 9:15 or so and the sun was already pounding on us. We rest at the top of Cholla for a few and then it was up to Stair Steps. Rob and I put on our arm protection and we all dropped our seats, said a few prayers and began to descend. None of us had ridden Steps before, all we knew of this trail was what we had seen from Winston's videos posted on mtbr. The first couple hundred yards were nothing crazy, then you see a sign that says, "Caution, steep trail ahead", with a pictogram indicating a stair case. We knew things were going to get crazy. Rob was first, I was 2nd, then Del, then Aldo, we get to the first steep and rocky and gnarly drop and Rob negotiates the section smoothly and I follow his line, however on about the 2nd ledge/drop my front tire washes out and flats and causes me to go down pretty hard on my right side, luckily i had that arm protection or I possibly could have busted my elbow up pretty good. I'm laying on my side and I see Del coming down, taking the line I took. He had no choice but to lay it down, it was either that or plow into me and risk further injury to me and himself. So, we had a mini pile-up on the right side of the trail, then Aldo cruises by, stopped to see if we were okay and headed on down. I'm not sure if Rob knew that I had crashed, and sucked Del in with me. There was a group of riders hiking back up who were lucky enough to witness the crashes, haha. So, Del was kind enough to help me with my flat and as soon as I was about to put on my front wheel, BLAAAM!!! the tube blows out, it sucked! Frustrated and tired at this point, I told Del I'd just hike down the rest of Stair Steps and I'll meet up with them at the bottom. So, after about a 15 minute hike, I arrive to the guys resting in the shade, Rob then stepped up and changed my tube and we were back riding in a matter of minutes. We crossed the 133, headed into LCWP, signed in, then climbed Willow. That first 1/8th of a mile up Willow is a really steep climb and sucks. We clean Willow and hang a left on Bommer and then head over to T&A. Once there, we rested for a few, dropped the seats and headed down. It was Rob, me, Del, then ALdo. This trail seriously kicks some ass! We all stopped at the famous "rock-roll" and contemplated on if we should try it or not. After about 5 minutes of this, Rob steps up and does it without incident, he does it again and tells us how basic it is. So, I stand at the top of it forever and puss out, then Del says, "im gonna go for it", this is after he picked out about 5 cactus needles from his leg from a minor incident on the upper portion of T&A. Del does the rock-roll twice, both times cleanly, then I said, okay, I HAVE to do this on my Heckler after he did it on his Stumpy. Long story short, I did it, and it is much easier than it looks. I'm sure Aldo will give it a go when his shoulder is completely healed up. We then head down the rest of T&A and clean the other rock sections and head back to Stair Steps. We stopped at the nursery to fill up our camebak's with water then reach the bottom of Steps. Props to Rob and Del who cleaned the steep asphalt road leading to the trailhead. Aldo and I were just zonked and hiked about the second half of the road. The hike-a-bike up Steps purely sucked! It was hot as hell, dry as hell and I was pretty beat. After a milliion years we made it to the top and nixed the idea of doing Rock-It, so we headed down to Lynx and all charged down that and headed back up towards Cholla and out the gate beneath Cholla and back to the trucks. Rob, Del and I hit Wahoo's for some grubb and some excellent scenery! Great ride, I'm very sore today. I'm sure the guys will post there version or comments on the ride shortly.
Here are a few pix:
Rob, Aldo and Del at the top of T&A singletrack.
Rob on the rock-roll.
Del on the rock-roll.
Me on the rock-roll.
So, we met up at 8:30, it was Rob, Del, Aldo and I. We headed up to 5 Oaks, took a short breather and all made it down 5 Oaks without a hitch, this was a pretty good sign. We then head up to Cholla, rest up for a minute or two then climb Cholla. It was around 9:15 or so and the sun was already pounding on us. We rest at the top of Cholla for a few and then it was up to Stair Steps. Rob and I put on our arm protection and we all dropped our seats, said a few prayers and began to descend. None of us had ridden Steps before, all we knew of this trail was what we had seen from Winston's videos posted on mtbr. The first couple hundred yards were nothing crazy, then you see a sign that says, "Caution, steep trail ahead", with a pictogram indicating a stair case. We knew things were going to get crazy. Rob was first, I was 2nd, then Del, then Aldo, we get to the first steep and rocky and gnarly drop and Rob negotiates the section smoothly and I follow his line, however on about the 2nd ledge/drop my front tire washes out and flats and causes me to go down pretty hard on my right side, luckily i had that arm protection or I possibly could have busted my elbow up pretty good. I'm laying on my side and I see Del coming down, taking the line I took. He had no choice but to lay it down, it was either that or plow into me and risk further injury to me and himself. So, we had a mini pile-up on the right side of the trail, then Aldo cruises by, stopped to see if we were okay and headed on down. I'm not sure if Rob knew that I had crashed, and sucked Del in with me. There was a group of riders hiking back up who were lucky enough to witness the crashes, haha. So, Del was kind enough to help me with my flat and as soon as I was about to put on my front wheel, BLAAAM!!! the tube blows out, it sucked! Frustrated and tired at this point, I told Del I'd just hike down the rest of Stair Steps and I'll meet up with them at the bottom. So, after about a 15 minute hike, I arrive to the guys resting in the shade, Rob then stepped up and changed my tube and we were back riding in a matter of minutes. We crossed the 133, headed into LCWP, signed in, then climbed Willow. That first 1/8th of a mile up Willow is a really steep climb and sucks. We clean Willow and hang a left on Bommer and then head over to T&A. Once there, we rested for a few, dropped the seats and headed down. It was Rob, me, Del, then ALdo. This trail seriously kicks some ass! We all stopped at the famous "rock-roll" and contemplated on if we should try it or not. After about 5 minutes of this, Rob steps up and does it without incident, he does it again and tells us how basic it is. So, I stand at the top of it forever and puss out, then Del says, "im gonna go for it", this is after he picked out about 5 cactus needles from his leg from a minor incident on the upper portion of T&A. Del does the rock-roll twice, both times cleanly, then I said, okay, I HAVE to do this on my Heckler after he did it on his Stumpy. Long story short, I did it, and it is much easier than it looks. I'm sure Aldo will give it a go when his shoulder is completely healed up. We then head down the rest of T&A and clean the other rock sections and head back to Stair Steps. We stopped at the nursery to fill up our camebak's with water then reach the bottom of Steps. Props to Rob and Del who cleaned the steep asphalt road leading to the trailhead. Aldo and I were just zonked and hiked about the second half of the road. The hike-a-bike up Steps purely sucked! It was hot as hell, dry as hell and I was pretty beat. After a milliion years we made it to the top and nixed the idea of doing Rock-It, so we headed down to Lynx and all charged down that and headed back up towards Cholla and out the gate beneath Cholla and back to the trucks. Rob, Del and I hit Wahoo's for some grubb and some excellent scenery! Great ride, I'm very sore today. I'm sure the guys will post there version or comments on the ride shortly.
Here are a few pix:
Rob, Aldo and Del at the top of T&A singletrack.
Rob on the rock-roll.
Del on the rock-roll.
Me on the rock-roll.
