Riding Aliso Woods 1/28/17

Im planning to ride Aliso Woods Canyons tomorrow 1/28/17 @ 7:30 am. According to the internet, the park is open, but was looking for further feedback regarding trail condition. Are any of you guys going out there tomorrow?


Thanks

 

Rode there today. It's not bad. I only rode Rock-It and Meadows down. Rock-It was fine - one big mud puddle to ride around on the upper flat. Meadows was pretty good, with one or two poorly placed ruts. Cholla had a mud pit in an unusual spot about 1/2 way up. Mathis was same as it ever was. I would be curious about 5-Oaks. Car Wreck isn't usually affected by rain much.

Where will you be starting and what's on the menu?

 

Y'know, someday I'm gonna have to go ride Aliso just to say I've done it.

 

And I the Floop...

 

If you play tour guide, I'll play tour guide...

 

I saw a Facebook post earlier this week from "Laguna Trailmix" that all of the bridges on 5 Oaks had washed out and some significant deadfall is blocking the trail. They said the trail is closed and to check back with the OC Parks. Should also be pretty easy to check it from the bottom of the trail for closure signs and damage since that's where the issues were.

 

I'm starting at the main parking lot. This would be my second time there. 20 miles.

Thanks for the information.

 

Do you want company? I will try to meet you at the appointed time/place. White Audi Q5, Green/Black Intense Tracer. Tall bald old dude. I'll ping some friends - but most are still asleep and typically prefer a later start time.

 

As far as the bridge with the handlebar-grabbing railings, that would be an improvement.

 

Hee! You two are so cute!

Mark, if you can hang, you're in for a treat!

 

We did this. I was running my usual 6 mins. late, which meant Silvia was waiting in the cold air for about 15 minutes. I got there about 7:35, but the Aliso lot was closed. Silvia was there ready to ride. Unfortunately, I had to drive all the way around to the elementary school to park - add another 5 minutes. Then 5 minutes to get ready. I suck. Sorry about that, and thanks for waiting.

It was really cold along the creek as we started, with thick frost on all the vegetation. We went "up" Coyote, up Cholla, down Rock-It, Up Cholla again, then Lynx from above the fire-road. Once we got to the bottom of Lynx, there was an endless stream of bikers, hiker, joggers in almost comical numbers.

From there we weaved our way through the throngs "down" Coyote to Mathis. Climbed Mathis and ran into @sir crashalot at the top of Mathis, looking buff and going skin to the wind. ToW over to Meadows. I checked my text to see where @kioti might be. He was arriving at the bottom when we arrived at the top. Nice run down 90% of the trail and there's Jim, fixing a rutted berm. I faked a fall (that Silvia and the Ranger thought was real) as my greeting. Silvia and I grabbed some tools and spent an hour helping.

Silvia is a solid rider, and true to most of IMTB seems to prefer climbing. She was solid on Rock-It and Lynx and likes rocky trails. We need to get her some pedals however. She sold her Mallets with her old bike and was riding the plastic pedals with reflectors that came with her new bike. Not much traction on those bad dudes!

Thanks @silvia for waiting and for riding with me today. Thanks @kioti for your tireless work on our trails. And thanks @sir crashalot , for the inspiration to start pumping iron!

Here we are at the bottom of Cholla on a gorgeous day!

 

Next time @silvia makes it down your way, I have a set of red Mallet 3s just hanging in the garage...

 

Well, thanks for inspiring me to ride mountain bikecycles!
Btw bodybuilding has taken a cue from cycling now it's "pumping carbon". The weights are much lighter now...
Good to see ya, Chris. Nice to meet you, Sylvia.
If I was paying attention and saw that u guys were starting that early I would've met up with ya.
Thanks for the trailwork, kioti. Sundays are tough for me to join in with that because I have to be at work at 11...

 

Umm, just got home after a full day on Meadows, made much easier and more enjoyable with Chris, Silvia (nice meeting you and thanks for lending a hand), Jonas (who offered to interrupt his ride to help) and Ranger Rick. Together we worked our way up from the bottom, filling ruts from "the Big One!" After they all left, I continued to work towards the top, filling ruts and smoothing water bars until I got to a narrow trough with a rut down the middle. I reshaped the whole thing and it looks fun! Cleaned up one more turn above that and called it a day.

Talked to a bunch of park users, had a great time working with the crew and Ranger, and got back down to my truck at dark. Even gave a hiker a ride back to the Ranger Station who was trying to track down a lost wallet, and got a shout out from the last rider down the trail, Don of Geoladders fame. Met and chatted with imtbtrails "Dismay" and longtime Laguna local, Brian.

Trail's in much better shape now, most of the ruts are gone, and I thank all who helped get it that way.

 

I cannot say this enough - you ROCK x 1,000,000,000,000 Thank you for shaping the best flow trail in the OC.

 

^^More days like today and I'm liable to keep doing it for awhile..

Thanks again Chris, for being there when I need it and figuring out a way to help get this done today. Oh, yeah, and bonus points for sure for recruiting @silvia! She taught me how to say, "Me encanta trabajar en los senderos!" Gracias, amiga!

 

@silvia (notice spelling so you can tag) is a champ with a great attitude!

She has no personal investment in our local trails, but has now put in more shovel time on our local trails than my good friends have.

 

Agreed. It was a pleasure meeting and working with her. Along with @jaime, she's the 2nd out-of-towner to pitch in on Meadows in the last couple weeks. imtbtrails is bringin' it!

 

I agree what a gorgeous day it was. Had a blast riding down those rock gardens and not to mention the panoramas were inspirational. I must go back for more.
Thanks Chris!

 

@silvia what's up with the spoke reflectors on the new bike? I'm surprised @herzalot didn't remove them for you

Glad you got someone to show you around the area, Chris knows every bush and every tree there.

 

Yeah! @silvia !!!
Thank you @herzalot for giving the tour!
This whole thing just makes me SMILE...

 

And at my age, I've peed on them all!!!

 

Oh, don't you like the style?

 

Ummm NO
That's a total newbie to Mt Biking style which you are NOT. You're not fooling anyone chica

 

A bike to match your jersey @herzalot .....oooohhhh my eyes are melting (knowing you don't like road bikes...how 'bout triathlon bikes?)