I saw a meetup group for Cheesebro Canyon. This place rings a bell but never really paid any attention to it before since I have never rode it. Now was my chance to ride it so I elected to join. I met up with this guy he was new to the LA area I'll just call him G. G shows up and the first thing he tells me is his front tire is flat and asked if I had the tools to fix it. First we tried pumping up the tire but it's clearly not holding air so I show him how to replace his tire. We swap out the tire and pump it up and all is well off we go. The plan was to just ride Cheesebro Canyon Trail but somehow we ended up going up Modelo Trail. G almost drops into Palo Comado trail when I look at my gps and realize he's going the wrong way so I point him in the right direction. Cheesebro canyon trail was technical at parts going up I had to walk a few sections as I am very out of shape although in the back of my mind I know going down would be a hoot! As we finish Cheesebro Canyon Trail and start climbing up to Simi peak through the flats G's chain snaps. I normally carry a master link but since I have so many different bags I misplaced it in another bag but I don't carry a chain breaker tool. We try to wrestle the chain off but end up bending the chain in the process. A good samaritan mtb'er rolls up and we ask if he has a master link. He ends up having one and offers it to us and says to keep it. G offers him some money but he refuses and considers it good karma. We thanked him and he continues on his merry way. As I mentioned before we bent the chain trying to get the broken chain off so the master link will not clear. We try a couple of times to get the master link to click but no dice. G decide to just roll back down Cheesebro Canyon Trail as we knew it was just downhill. As we pull up close to our cars we noticed some coyotes off in the bushes and snapped some pics. At first I thought they were someone's dog off leash but upon further inspection they were too big and grey to be some domesticated dog and that's when I realize it's some coyotes. Wow they were quite a sight in their natural habitat looking for food. Thankfully it was not humans the coyotes were looking for. It was nice to explore new areas, take in new views, and riding with new people. Thanks Gene for your prior RR of the area!
Nice RR, love Cheeseboro. Glad you enjoyed my RR and it makes it worth while for me to post if it gets others to seek the trails I posted. I haven't been in some time and hopefully be heading there for a ride soon.
Yes very nice report. But U know what? You really dunt need a master link Lucy, the chain tool can easily fix a break without a master.
Cheeseboro is fun but it is a long ride to get to single track. I go there to see the wildflowers Happy blooming trails
Good to know Ricky, I'll have to carry a chain tool for next time. Yes it's good for novice , the trailhead is located at https://goo.gl/maps/0IjFc . There were signs at major intersections so navigation is easy too. Here is a good map of all the trails there http://venturacountytrails.org/TrailMaps/Cheeseboro/CheeseboroTrails.htm
If it stays cool I will be hitting up Cheesboro-Las Virginess this week after work. It is normally empty by the time I get there. The plan is to hit the Palo Saddle to Buzzards Roost or if time is short drop Dead Cow Trail. Double back and drop Pipeline, suffer up Badger in the gathering darkness. It is this or Santa Susanna Pass trails. All of these start soooo steep, I will listen to the wind blow, if it gets cool enough it will be another Rocky Peak adventure. Happy long flat Cheeseboro riding trails or steep Rocky Peak trails.