Please pay no mind to this…mtbguru is down and this looks like some free webspace where I can park my ride report until it's back up :-) This is boring and all self-centered and I'll be noodling with the words and photos for a week…
A solo mountain bike ride at
Henry Coe State Park on a cool Autumn day with a bit of ad hoc trailwork on my adopt-a-trail. I rolled out of Hunting Hollow at 8:30am on a foggy morning...What It Was Like Out There™:
That was the intersection of Anza and Cullin trails.
Uphill on Jackson Trail, I popped out of the fog; here's how the landscape looked from up there:
I found that Cross Canyon Trail was being brushed by Coe Park volunteers today; specifically the Mounted Patrol. They brush a trail by riding along on their horses and snipping branches which hit them in the face up there. Since I was descending, I caught up with them. They were very friendly and accommodating about letting me by on a narrow trail. I thanked them for their work.
At the bottom, in the streambed section, I could see three more still ahead of me. I held back a little because soon there would be one short steep 5o' bump which I'd be walking. Once I was past that, I didn't see them again until it was nearly time for the climb out the other side of the "canyon" (it's more of a valley, really). They'd stopped to do some trailwork. I learned they planned to turn and climb out the Milias Trail (I would continue up Cross Canyon Trail).
I passed them but they passed me back at The Cross Canyon Wall...I was pushing my bike up the steep initial slope out of the streambed when I heard the hoofs behind me. I stepped aside and was impressed at the way they rode the horses up this. Roy, they cleaned it! I guess you have to add their names to your Cross Canyon Wall Hall of Fame. :-)
Soon they stopped again to saw a drooping pine tree and that was the last I saw of the Mounted Patrol. I went to Hoover Lake:
The water is almost gone. A lot of mud. One could see that the wild pigs have been enjoying themselves around the edges.
I had packed loppers thinking I would spend an hour or so brushing the Rose Dam Trail. Ha, that one hour ended up being over 2 hours. Well I was happy with what I accomplished so that was okay. Here are a few boring "after trailwork" photos…
Most of what I cleared was only 18" high, it scraped your calves as your rode through (there was a very narrow path), and if it continued to grow, it would cover the trail.
Just as I was getting ready to ride off, I spotted this guy on my bike:
I thought he would jump off when I picked up my bike. Instead, he crawled up the top tube to the handlebars:
To get him off the bike, I found a stick, prodded him to crawl onto that, and set the stick on the ground.
I was stopped there from 12:30 to 3:30pm. That included the trailwork, a couple food breaks, and photography of the trail and Praying Mantis. I had time for a Phoneline / Ridge Trail figure-8. I took this photo of Ridge Trail looking like a game trail:
…and 5o feet later, oh no's, a fallen tree across trail:
Skyline Three Five fix trail:
Actually, the tree trunk had been dead a long time and was pretty light.
I rolled through Pacheco Camp. The Springs Committee was camping out there. I saw them in the morning gathering at Hunting Hollow and had a quick conversation with Paul L. but now, just their vehicles were there. I didn't see anyone. Maybe they were in the cabin? It was 4:30pm and I needed the remaining two hours of daylight to ride back so I didn't stop.
The return route was the standard Coit Road » Live Oak Spring Trail » Wagon Road » Wasno Road » Tule Pond Trail » Grizzly Gulch Trail. Descending Grizzly Gulch Trail my front brake pads wore down to metal. That was right around the intersection with Cullin Trail. I had to walk down a couple of steep, gravelly sections; I would just skid using only the rear brake.
Sunset was at 6:22pm and I was back at the car at 6:26pm.
Some days, the ground is faster. Maybe it's just perception but today the bike seemed to roll easier and the tires grip a bit better. That and the cool temps had me thinking all day that this would have been a great day for the Hard Coe're 100.
Start at Hunting Hollow » Gilroy Hot Springs Road » Coyote Creek entrance » Coit Road » Anza Trail » Jackson Trail » Elderberry Spring Trail » Rock Tower Trail » Domino Pond Trail » Cattle Duster Trail » Coit Springs Trail » Cross Canyon Trail » Willow Ridge Road » Hoover Lake Trail » Hoover Lake » Hoover Airstrip » White Tank Trail » Rose Dam Trail » ad hoc trailork on Rose Dam Trail. Rose Dam Trail » Pacheco Creek Trail » Pacheco Camp » Coit Road » Pacheco Ridge Road » Phoneline Trail » Coit Road » Pacheco Ridge Road » Ridge Trail » Pacheco Creek Trail » Pacheco Camp » Coit Road » Live Oak Spring Trail » Wagon Road » Wasno Road » Tule Pond Trail » Grizzly Gulch Trail » Coit Road » Coyote Creek gate » Gilroy Hot Springs Road » Hunting Hollow. 33.79 / 5:28 / 10:00 / 5,885
Gilroy:
Cordoza Ridge
