First time on the San Juan trail

[surftime]

Well yesterday my wife was nice enough to shuttle me and my 12 year old son down san jaun. We had never been so I was really excited, I made my son pad up with a FF helmet just in case. I thought we would be going down hill from the beginning. It was about a 45 minute drive out there with no traffic, perfect beautiful day.



Once we got out to Blue Jay and my wife saw how remote we were she told me that nothing better happen to her boy – lol. Glad he brought the FF helmet. We got a photo at the beginning of the trail. Actually at first we could not find the trail at all

As she left I let her know its all down hill, see you in 30 minutes…. Oops I didn’t know about all the up hill chunk going up to cocktail rock. Especially for a 12 year old not expecting it, it took us a while.

And we were totally un-prepared. We only had one water bottle each, which should be fine but still. I was also worried about a sidewall tear not knowing about the sharp rocks at the start of the trail (I had a specialized ground control on the back).



Anyway the day was really beautiful, just a few people out on the trail.

Unfortunately my son took a few spills, got wacked in the neck by a tree and then later crashed another time going to fast bent his detailer. He kept riding and I heard it hitting the spokes, luckily once he shifted down a bit it didn’t touch the spokes and we were able to ride down the trail. He had a great time, a few cuts and bruises but he loved the adventure.



From the photo you can see how clear it was, easy views of the pacific ocean

I had a great time also, that climbing to cocktail is super fun actually, love going up the rocks. And the downhill was primo, bit slippery in places, some of those switchbacks were just too tight, but overall a great day. We actually took it slower than normal, just being careful about what was around each turn. After a few spills we just wanted to have fun the rest of the way. Also, I was a bit worried about blasting around turns with a climber on the other side, not sure how others do it when they shuttle.

I owe the wife big time since she had to hang out and wait for us, maybe our last shuttle there for awhile…– but what a great day to ride

Thanks for looking

 

[sxc70]

next time leave your car at the bottom and let the wife go home after she drops you off and then you can take your time and not have to rush.

 

[fongster]

Nice! I rode it up from the Hot Springs parking area Saturday morning for the first time in 20 years. I'd forgotten how technical climbing and descending were. The trail had a lot more "character" than I remembered, probably from years of increased usage and natural erosion. It, too, took me longer to get down than I thought. It's very technical and you do have lots of people climbing on a weekend. I myself almost got flattened by a guy flying around a blind corner. He slammed his carbon bike into a big boulder trying to stop (LOL!) then his buddy almost rear ended him (LOL!). I'm glad you and your son had a fun time and kudos to your wife for being patient.

 

[dcrfx]

Nice, SJT always a good time. surprised it wasn't busier on a weekend. My second or so mountain bike ride was a shuttle of San Juan. My buddy tells me "it's mostly all downhill"...

 

[surftime]

next time leave your car at the bottom and let the wife go home after she drops you off and then you can take your time and not have to rush.

ya i hear ya, we drove just one car thinking it would be fast and we would grab lunch after

Nice, SJT always a good time. surprised it wasn't busier on a weekend. My second or so mountain bike ride was a shuttle of San Juan. My buddy tells me "it's mostly all downhill"...

mostly downhill, sounds familiar... we rode late in the day, finished at 4pm so i bet thats why it was quiet

Nice! I rode it up from the Hot Springs parking area Saturday morning for the first time in 20 years. I'd forgotten how technical climbing and descending were. The trail had a lot more "character" than I remembered, probably from years of increased usage and natural erosion. It, too, took me longer to get down than I thought. It's very technical and you do have lots of people climbing on a weekend. I myself almost got flattened by a guy flying around a blind corner. He slammed his carbon bike into a big boulder trying to stop (LOL!) then his buddy almost rear ended him (LOL!). I'm glad you and your son had a fun time and kudos to your wife for being patient.

and that accident you bring up is what i was thinking going into those turns, but its hard to resist with the berms/ruts helping you through the turn

 

[redwoods]

Awesome! Glad you guys had a good time!

 

[pdqmach26]

Next time for an easier ride, less climbing up to Cocktail Rock from Bluejay, try going through the intersection at point B. Then at point C stay to the right. Just follow the red line on this map. Its a more gradual climb back to Cocktail. A few stepups, but easier for your son.

 

[Revalimage]

Stay on red line from Blue Jay to D turn left on purple line, stay on purple to a left on Yellow line until it returns you to red line at C, continue back on red (double the fun!) to Cocktail Rock and down. Gives you some tech and rock rollers to play with and an easy pedal back up to the new SJT - makes for some extra fun!

 

[surftime]

thanks for the ideas! rode it from the bottom up to coctail today, totally different going up than down, also a really fun climb. But these options should add some more interesting features, or even options for rides from blue jay without dropping all the way down