Big Laguna Trail, part 2
After the craptacular ride I had up in the Laguna mountains a couple weeks ago, I was chomping at the bit to get back. I was also looking forward to it because I was able to get Dylan’s bike all squared away last week and this would be his first ride up in the Laguna’s. I’ve been wanting to take him up here since the first time I rode here myself. The trail is awesome and the scenery is spectacular. He’s grown into such a strong rider these last couple months I knew he’d ride strong enough to have fun without being wiped out.
I was able to get the 5 Spot repaired from its issues that ruined that last ride. I also picked up some blingy new pedals. The pedals that were on it were totally trashed and I’ve been eying up the new Azonic 420 pedals. They come in a variety of colors, including Red, so that’s what I went with. Might as well go for a matching color, right?
Our main goal of the day was to find and ride the new Los Gatos Spur trail that I’ve read and heard a lot about. I got some directions and we set out. We started from the Penny Pines trailhead and I could just tell it was going to be an awesome day. The weather was very mild and it was a beautiful day. We put Dylan out front and he was flying right away. I reminded him we had a long day ahead of us and he toned it down a little. He really enjoyed the trail though and was riding well. I didn’t take any pics of the BLT trail. I’ve posted many of those in the past.
We took a wrong turn once or twice but didn’t care. We were just out to have fun and at least we were on mountain single track. It’s hard to care if you get turned around under those conditions. Back on trail, we were heading up Agua Dulce when Dylan started to get a little fatigued. We took a break towards the end and I got my first pics of the day.
Dylan stops for a Clif Bar and a rest:
Awesome scenery:
The Spot in all her glory:
J, me and Dyl:
Token handlebar shot:
Over the river and through the woods…
We finally made it to the Los Gatos Spur trail. After reading the trail signage, we knew right away we were in for a good time!!
It starts off with the techy stuff right away with the “Lincoln Logs” feature. I got it after a few attempts:
Failed attempt–sorry for the cursing:
Lod Gatos Lincoln Logs first attempt FAIL
Made it:
The next log feature looked harder and sketchier, but wasn’t too bad. The video does it NO justice though. It was pretty steep:
There are lots of really narrow log rides on the trail and I wasn’t feeling them. That’s OK though–it gives me something to shoot for. I did hit the “easiest” one though:
Followed by Dylan!!
Dylan rolls the easy one
Before too long, the Los Gatos trail came to an end. Wow was it a good time though!! I almost can’t believe that a trail that fun and with all those techy features actually sits here in San Diego. I will definitely be coming back soon.
We headed back out the main trail to the trailhead and to finish off the ride. We ended up running into Noble Canyon/BLT legend Steve and his friend Mark. Steve was working on his latest crazy trail feature. He was just putting the finishing touches on it when we rolled up. It was just beyond crazy. Super hard to pop up onto. He went after it anyway. I have a pic of it a little further down. Wait ’til you see it.
He made a few attempts, trying to get it dialed in:
Steve\’s new craziness, attempt #1
Steve\’s new craziness, attempt #2
The lip was just too sharp, so I helped him move another log/tree trunk perpindicular to it, so at least he had a rounded adge to work with, instead of a square one:
New and improved, attempt #1
He almost had it, so he went for attempt #2 and nailed it:
New and improved, attempt #2–nailed it!!
After that, we went on our way, but not before I got a pic of our rides, all lined up:
All in all, it was a great day. No mechanicals this time. Dylan’s first ride at BLT. Cool new trail in the Los Gatos trail–all that in awesome weather.Thanks for coming along!! Until next time, seek your bliss and plant new seeds.
Ride lots…
