Acadian's Memorial Day weekend trip report
This past Memorial Day weekend I decided migrate south to beautiful Southern California and get my riding fix. I meet up with a good mate of mine, Jeff, which I hadn’t seen in a while.I left around lunch Friday and got to Orange County around 6 in the afternoon. Upon my arrival Jeff & Denise, his gorgeous wife, gave me the red carpet treatment. Jeff already had the grill going and the fridge was fully stocked with tasty suds!!
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Loaded up and ready to hit the road
Our master plan was to get up early Saturday morning and do an epic trail ride in Laguna/Aliso Viejo. Sunday was going to be spent on the big bikes – shuttling a popular Laguna DH run.
We woke up to some prime riding weather – overcast, cool and just enough mist in the air to keep the dust down. Saturday’s plan was on! At 8:30am we meet up with Chris, one of Jeff’s friend, and headed out for the mountains. The ride was a good mix of gradual climbs and fast descents. We started with this trail called Five Oaks. This trail is named from the canyon's five oak trees of which the trail passes as it winds up/down the canyon. The climb to the trail head was pretty nice and gradual - nothing too strenuous. The descent started with a few water bars/steps into sage scrubs just and terminates with these cool little bridges at the end.
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Jeff trying to impress Eve - haha!
After Five Oaks we headed back up to this trail called StairSteps. This trail was somewhat technical – point in case: Lets say it’s pretty much impossible to ride back up it. Heck at the end of out ride we had to come back via StairSteps and we had to push up it – although it was nice to check out the lines going up. It starts with this steep rock drop ledge then gets rockier and rockier as you go down. There is an intense middle section of about 200 yards of steep and rocky drops. The bottom is somewhat easier with a few tricky sections. This is where we also met up with two local riders, and friends of Jeff, Louie and Liz, who I’m told ride in that area all the time!
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Jeff, Louie, Liz and Chris
Next was T&A. This had to be the less fun of all the trails we rode. It was so overgrown that it was like riding in the middle of the jungle. This due in part to the unusual amount of rain Southern California got this year. But Jeff told me it will be better next time I head down since he's planning on doing to do some trail maintenance – atta-boy Jeff!!
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Jeff going down StairSteps
Rock-it – now this was a fun, fast, flowy trail. Wish I had my bigger bike to bomb down this one though. It was pretty strenuous on the shorter travel bike due to its speed and amount of bumpy rock heads. Rock-it is a relatively steep trail that originates on top of the ridge. Named from the trails crossings of rock outcrops, Rock-it is a popular trail with mountain bikers because it provides a challenge and serves as an access trail to Wood Canyon from the Top of the World area and the City's West Ridge Trail. It provides a panoramic overview of Wood Canyon.
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Me going down StairSteps
Last but not least, we finally hit this short trail called Lynx. It descends at a moderate grade down the edge of a side canyon through coastal sage scrub and above the canyon's oak canopy. The trail follows a relatively milder grade to it's joining with Wood Canyon. This was a nice flowy trail to finish with.
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Jeff pushing up StairSteps
Keep in mind that for every trail we hit, we had to do a good amount of climbing…wish I would of had a GPS with me to keep track of the elevation gains. We then headed back to Jeff’s place to chill and do a bit of rehydrating.
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There are no rocks in California
For dinner we had some great sushi at Maki Maki - a restaurant in Irvine Spectrum. Jeff made me taste this Uni Shooter which consists of Uni (Sea Urchin), quail egg, Sake and some spices. Basically looked like one of those creepy jars you see in those laboratories – the one with brains in it..haha. But dayum was it ever good!! We then went to Yard House pub next door. Imagine 130 to 250 taps of ice-cold draft beer behind an island bar served from a state of the art draft beer system that incorporates between three to five miles of beer lines – Effin’ eh!!!
Again…woke up to some great riding weather! Not too hot and slightly overcast. Gonna be another fun day! Grabbed a quick breakkie, geared up and ready to roll…
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Heading out for some shuttles
This was my first real shuttle runs on the new Iron Horse Sunday. The first 2-3 runs were pretty much “exploratory” – i.e. getting familiar with the trail, getting use to the feel of the bike, few adjustments here, few adjustments there, etc.. But after that, I could only focus on one thing, and that's where I was going because all the bike wanted to do is go faster and faster!! May I point out that it wanted to go faster than my wussy a$$ could handle! Almost like my skill set wasn’t worthy of this bike.
All jokes aside – I really like the bike and it feels just right. The Top Tube length is nice and roomy, without being too long. Head angle isn’t too steep nor too slack. Low BB makes for a fast cornering bike. The Sunday pedals real well, especially on downhill sections. The suspension also worked real well that day – and the bike seems to react even better the faster you go. Stoked - good first impressions that’s for sure! The bike steers real well on steep stuff and corners like no other – although I’ve noticed that the bike corners best when you keep your head and shoulder over the bars. Allows you to ride aggressively!!
I must of gotten 6 to 7 shuttle runs that day – I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to stop! But like I was telling Jeff – I needed to either call it a day or eat tarmac and be forced to stop. Guess I took the right decision. It’s too early in the season to get over your head and risk of getting injured. Unfortunately - I was having so much fun that I totally forgot to take pictures during our ride.
When we got home, Jeff cooked up some of the best steaks I’ve had in a long while! He made his own special steak rub which was so damn good. Then I started thinking: “I didn’t want to deal with Monday’s Memorial Day weekend traffic when heading home” So I decided it would be better if I left that night. 8:30pm and I was on the road. Considering we were up like at 6am, it made for a long and tough ride. Got home like at 2:45 am. Never tanked so much 7Eleven coffee in my life – it had this double effect. First there was the nasty taste, then the little caffeine it has kicked in.
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Not only can Jeff ride - but he can also cook
The next day I did a quick road ride - just to loosen up the legs a bit. Afternoon was spent doing laundry, maintaining the bikes and hydrating on tasty suds!
What a great weekend of riding – hope it’s a sign of what is to come this summer!
Big thanks to:
- Jeff and Denise: Can’t thank you enough for the royal treatment!!
- Chris, Mark, Louie and Liz: great riding with you guys!
- Monster, NoFear, 7Eleven Coffee: for keeping me awake during the ride back home.
Mad Props:
- To Mark for ripping all those DH trails on his HT. Gnar-Core!
Our master plan was to get up early Saturday morning and do an epic trail ride in Laguna/Aliso Viejo. Sunday was going to be spent on the big bikes – shuttling a popular Laguna DH run.
SATURDAY
We woke up to some prime riding weather – overcast, cool and just enough mist in the air to keep the dust down. Saturday’s plan was on! At 8:30am we meet up with Chris, one of Jeff’s friend, and headed out for the mountains. The ride was a good mix of gradual climbs and fast descents. We started with this trail called Five Oaks. This trail is named from the canyon's five oak trees of which the trail passes as it winds up/down the canyon. The climb to the trail head was pretty nice and gradual - nothing too strenuous. The descent started with a few water bars/steps into sage scrubs just and terminates with these cool little bridges at the end.
After Five Oaks we headed back up to this trail called StairSteps. This trail was somewhat technical – point in case: Lets say it’s pretty much impossible to ride back up it. Heck at the end of out ride we had to come back via StairSteps and we had to push up it – although it was nice to check out the lines going up. It starts with this steep rock drop ledge then gets rockier and rockier as you go down. There is an intense middle section of about 200 yards of steep and rocky drops. The bottom is somewhat easier with a few tricky sections. This is where we also met up with two local riders, and friends of Jeff, Louie and Liz, who I’m told ride in that area all the time!
Next was T&A. This had to be the less fun of all the trails we rode. It was so overgrown that it was like riding in the middle of the jungle. This due in part to the unusual amount of rain Southern California got this year. But Jeff told me it will be better next time I head down since he's planning on doing to do some trail maintenance – atta-boy Jeff!!
Rock-it – now this was a fun, fast, flowy trail. Wish I had my bigger bike to bomb down this one though. It was pretty strenuous on the shorter travel bike due to its speed and amount of bumpy rock heads. Rock-it is a relatively steep trail that originates on top of the ridge. Named from the trails crossings of rock outcrops, Rock-it is a popular trail with mountain bikers because it provides a challenge and serves as an access trail to Wood Canyon from the Top of the World area and the City's West Ridge Trail. It provides a panoramic overview of Wood Canyon.
Last but not least, we finally hit this short trail called Lynx. It descends at a moderate grade down the edge of a side canyon through coastal sage scrub and above the canyon's oak canopy. The trail follows a relatively milder grade to it's joining with Wood Canyon. This was a nice flowy trail to finish with.
Keep in mind that for every trail we hit, we had to do a good amount of climbing…wish I would of had a GPS with me to keep track of the elevation gains. We then headed back to Jeff’s place to chill and do a bit of rehydrating.
For dinner we had some great sushi at Maki Maki - a restaurant in Irvine Spectrum. Jeff made me taste this Uni Shooter which consists of Uni (Sea Urchin), quail egg, Sake and some spices. Basically looked like one of those creepy jars you see in those laboratories – the one with brains in it..haha. But dayum was it ever good!! We then went to Yard House pub next door. Imagine 130 to 250 taps of ice-cold draft beer behind an island bar served from a state of the art draft beer system that incorporates between three to five miles of beer lines – Effin’ eh!!!
SUNDAY
Again…woke up to some great riding weather! Not too hot and slightly overcast. Gonna be another fun day! Grabbed a quick breakkie, geared up and ready to roll…
This was my first real shuttle runs on the new Iron Horse Sunday. The first 2-3 runs were pretty much “exploratory” – i.e. getting familiar with the trail, getting use to the feel of the bike, few adjustments here, few adjustments there, etc.. But after that, I could only focus on one thing, and that's where I was going because all the bike wanted to do is go faster and faster!! May I point out that it wanted to go faster than my wussy a$$ could handle! Almost like my skill set wasn’t worthy of this bike.
All jokes aside – I really like the bike and it feels just right. The Top Tube length is nice and roomy, without being too long. Head angle isn’t too steep nor too slack. Low BB makes for a fast cornering bike. The Sunday pedals real well, especially on downhill sections. The suspension also worked real well that day – and the bike seems to react even better the faster you go. Stoked - good first impressions that’s for sure! The bike steers real well on steep stuff and corners like no other – although I’ve noticed that the bike corners best when you keep your head and shoulder over the bars. Allows you to ride aggressively!!
I must of gotten 6 to 7 shuttle runs that day – I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to stop! But like I was telling Jeff – I needed to either call it a day or eat tarmac and be forced to stop. Guess I took the right decision. It’s too early in the season to get over your head and risk of getting injured. Unfortunately - I was having so much fun that I totally forgot to take pictures during our ride.
When we got home, Jeff cooked up some of the best steaks I’ve had in a long while! He made his own special steak rub which was so damn good. Then I started thinking: “I didn’t want to deal with Monday’s Memorial Day weekend traffic when heading home” So I decided it would be better if I left that night. 8:30pm and I was on the road. Considering we were up like at 6am, it made for a long and tough ride. Got home like at 2:45 am. Never tanked so much 7Eleven coffee in my life – it had this double effect. First there was the nasty taste, then the little caffeine it has kicked in.
The next day I did a quick road ride - just to loosen up the legs a bit. Afternoon was spent doing laundry, maintaining the bikes and hydrating on tasty suds!
What a great weekend of riding – hope it’s a sign of what is to come this summer!
Big thanks to:
- Jeff and Denise: Can’t thank you enough for the royal treatment!!
- Chris, Mark, Louie and Liz: great riding with you guys!
- Monster, NoFear, 7Eleven Coffee: for keeping me awake during the ride back home.
Mad Props:
- To Mark for ripping all those DH trails on his HT. Gnar-Core!
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