North Ranch Mountain Bikers  

885 St. Charles Dr. #11, Thousand Oaks, CA  91360 

805 373-8824  fax:  702-548-7197   e-mail:  mtbikesman@aol.com

web site:  http://www.nrmbc.org  webmaster: hoag.wen@verizon.net

photos:  photos.yahoo.com/mtbikesman

 

February 2004

 

Calendar of Events

 

         Sunday                    February 1             9:30 a.m. («««)........................................ Joanna:  Sycamore from the Beach

           Tuesday                 February 3               6:00 p.m. («««)........................................................... Charlotte: Space Mountain

           Thursday                February 5               6:00 p.m. (««««).......................................................................... Alan: Sycamore

         Saturday                 February 7             9:30 a.m. (««««½)............................................................... Randy:  Backbone

         Sunday                    February 8             9:30 a.m. («««½).......................................... Tamara:  Santa Rosa/Wildwood

           Tuesday                 February 10             6:00 p.m. («««).................................................................. Charlotte: Cheeseboro

           Thursday                February 12             6:00 p.m. (««««)......................................................................... Alan: Grasslands

         Saturday                 February 14          9:30 a.m. (««««)...................................... Tamara:  Caballero/Roger's Road

         Sunday                    February 15          9:30 a.m. (««)...................................................................... Joanna:  Grasslands

         Sunday                    February 15          9:30 a.m. («««).............................Tamara:  Grasslands/Short Bulldog Loop

           Tuesday                 February 17             6:00 p.m. («««)................................................................... Charlotte: Lang Ranch

           Thursday                February 19             6:00 p.m. (««««)................................................................ Alan: Space Mountain

         Saturday                 February 21          9:30 a.m. («««««)............................................. Randy:  Bulldog Tapia Loop

         Sunday                    February 22          8:30 a.m. ...................................................... Charlotte:  Hike – Matilija Creek

           Tuesday                 February 24             6:00 p.m. («««).................................................................... Charlotte: Wildwood

           Thursday                February 26             6:00 p.m. (««««)..................................................................... Alan:  Cheeseboro

         Saturday                 February 28          9:30 a.m. («««««).............................Tamara:  Santa Barbara – Little Pine

         Sunday                    February 29          9:30 a.m. («).......................................................................... Ginni:  Cheeseboro

         Sunday                    February 29          9:30 a.m. («««)............................................................ Charlotte:  Cheeseboro

         Sunday                    March                     9:30 a.m. (JJJJJ)............ NRMB 16th Anniversary Treasure Hunt Ride

         Thurs - Mon          May 13 - 17            ........................................................................................................................... Moab

 

RDR = Ride Difficulty Rating: 

One star represents an easy ride for beginners. 

Five stars represents a difficult ride that is for advanced riders.

 

News for Everybody: 

March:  NRMB 16th Anniversary Treasure Hunt Ride.  Can you believe it has been 16 years since the club started?  Get ready for one more NRMB Treasure Hunt Ride.  More details next issue.

 

May 13 – 17:  Moab!  Need I say more!!!  Join us for 3 glorious days of mountain biking at its finest.  Day 1:  Slick Rock.  Day 2:  Porcupine Rim.  Day 3:  Amassa Back.  Please let Tamara know if you are interested in going so we can coordinate lodging and carpooling.  Also planned is a hike to Delicate Arch on Sunday afternoon and if there’s enough interest, we might even do a little river raft trip on the Colorado Saturday afternoon.

 

Randy's Renowned Rides:

Saturday, February 7th:  Backbone.  This is an out and back ride that is 100% singletrack.  We will ride the Backbone singletrack approximately 7 miles to the parking area at the top of Coral Canyon. This trail has a lot of ups and downs and is quite technical in some sections.  We’ll stop at the parking area and play on little Moab and then head back to the cars.  This ride is approximately 14 miles round trip and should take about 3½ hours to complete.  Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m.  RDR  = ««««½

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Kanan exit in Agoura Hills.  At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean.  Take Kanan for several miles until you reach the third tunnel.  Park in the paved parking area just before the tunnel.  If you are coming from PCH then look for the parking area just after the first tunnel on the left. 

 

Saturday, February 21st:  Bulldog/Tapia Loop.  This is loop ride with beautiful vistas of both the mountains and the ocean.  The climb up bulldog is rather difficult due to its steepness and length, approximately 3.7 miles to the top.  From here we will climb the Castro Crest fireroad and meet up with the rather technical Backbone singletrack that leads to the Corral Canyon parking lot. Continuing on, we’ll take Mesa Peak, which has several good climbs and descents.  There is a great downhill to be enjoyed once we reach the Tapia fireroad.  This fireroad ends at Malibu Cyn Rd just south of Tapia County Park so; it’s a short road ride back to the cars (unless, of course, we can find out where the new Tapia Spur Connector trailhead is before then).  This ride is approximately 20 miles round trip and should take about 4½ hours to complete. Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m.  RDR = «««««

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Las Virgenes Road exit in Calabasas.  At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean.  The park entrance is on the West Side of the road just south of Mulholland.  There is a $5.00 parking fee for parking inside the park.  We will assemble in the last parking lot by the restrooms.

 

Tamara's Titillating Treks:

Please contact Tamara if you are interested in guest leading a ride.  If you have a favorite trail that we’ve not done before and you’d like to share it with the group let me know and we’ll work out the details.

 

Sunday, February 8th:  Santa Rosa/Wildwood Loop.  We start by climbing the hill behind CLU and traverse across the ridge toward the YMCA camp for a quick warm-up.  After a short stop we’ll retrace our tracks and cut-off onto the Santa Rosa trail that leads into Wildwood Park.  This is a very fun singletrack that is moderate to fairly technical.  There are some great views of the Santa Rosa Valley along the way.  Once down in Wildwood we’ll head out towards Lizard Rock via the Stagecoach singletrack or the fireroad (your choice).  From here we will take the Lizard Rock singletrack down to the valley floor and head on to the falls.  Then there’s a climb up the Lynn Muir trail with lots of fun to be had on the little singletrack that leads out to Lynn Road.  From here it is just a short road ride back to the cars.  This ride is approximately 13 miles round trip and should take about 3 hours to complete.  Meeting time: 9:30 a.m.  Ride time: 9:45 a.m.  RDR = «««½

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Lynn Road exit in Thousand Oaks.  At the end of the off-ramp proceed north.  Take Lynn for several miles (it will turn into Olsen Road) until you reach Mountclef Blvd. (at CLU).  Park in the dirt parking area at the northwest corner of Mountclef and Olsen.  This is our meeting spot.

 

Saturday, February 14th:  Caballero/Roger's Road.  We begin with a moderate to fairly difficult climb up the Caballero singletrack to dirt Mulholland.  From here it is a moderate climb on fireroads up to the hub and onto a fun new singletrack that leads to Roger's Road. We will proceed along Roger’s Road, a moderate singletrack, past the ‘Old Oak Tree’ to the bridge overlook.  The route back to the cars will mostly retrace our earlier path but this time it is mostly downhill.  This ride is approximately 15 miles round trip and should take about 3½ hours to complete.  Meeting time is 9:30 a.m.  Ride time:  9:45 a.m.    RDR = ««««

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Reseda Blvd. exit in Tarzana.  At the end of the off-ramp proceed south (towards the ocean).  Continue up Reseda a couple of miles and parallel park on the street at the trailhead.  If you come upon the Braemar Country Club you've gone too far.

 

Sunday, February 15th:  Grassland/Short Bulldog Loop.  We’ll bike over to Malibu Creek State Park via the Grasslands trail.  Once inside the park we’ll proceed along the main fireroad, which passes through a fairly short but technical rocky streambed. After a short stop at the M*A*S*H site we’ll tackle the first mile and ¼ of Bulldog.  After the steep but fairly short climb up Bulldog we’ll cut off onto another fireroad that will bring us down to a paved road in the Malibu Lake area.  Then we’ll take Craggs Road to a back entrance of the park and peddle back to the cars via the same path as before.  This ride is

approximately 14 miles round trip and should take about 3½ hours to complete. Total climb is about 2400’ spread over approximately 7 miles.  Meeting time is 9:30 a.m. and ride time is 9:45 a.m.  RDR = «««

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Lost Hills Road exit in Calabasas.  At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean.  Park in the lot for DeAnza Park located on the northwest corner of Lost Hills and Las Virgenes Roads.  This is our meeting spot.

 

Saturday, February 28thSanta Barbara - Little Pine (aka: "Little Grind").  Climbers, this is your ride: 13 miles of steep fireroad.  You will, however, be rewarded for your effort by a 6-7 mile super-sweet, super-technical singletrack that descends down a beautiful canyon.  From the Lower Oso parking lot we’ll climb approximately 4 miles up a steep fireroad, alongside a scenic riverbed, to the Cameusa Connector trail turnoff.  From here we will continue climbing 2 more miles to a fork in the road and continue up the left fork for another 4 miles to a section switchbacks known as "The Wall."  From the top of The Wall it's another 2 - 2.5 miles of moderate climbing to the Water Tower. We’ll continue along the saddle of the mountain from the Water Tower for about 1 - 1.5 more miles to the top where we'll enjoy some lunch and take in the scenic view of the Santa Barbara foothills, Cachuma Lake and, even the ocean on a clear day.  Now comes the very narrow and very technical 6-7 mile singletrack decent.  You also have the option of going back the down the fireroad to the parking lot if you don't feel up to the singletrack.  This ride is approximately 20 miles and should take about 4 - 5 hours to complete.

 

Directions: Take the 101 north to Santa Barbara and exit "154/Lake Cachuma".  Go straight through the signal light, crossing Hollister Ave. This road will curve around to the left and leads to another major signal intersection, turn right. This is Hwy 154.  The 154 will head up and over the mountain. Once you cross a very long bridge look for the Paradise Road turn-off, and turn right. Drive several miles to the Forest Ranger kiosk, in the middle of the road, where you can purchase an Adventure Pass. Continue straight across the cement bridge through the riverbed and park in the Lower Oso parking lot on the right by the bathrooms. Here's where we'll meet to start our ride.  Plan for a 1 ½ to 1 ¾ hour drive to get there.  We’ll try to get some carpools formed for this ride.  Meeting time is 9:30 a.m.    RDR = «««««

 

Bob’s BackHills will be back next month.

 

Ginni’s Gentle Get-Aways:

Sunday, February 29th:  Cheeseboro.  Ok, you beginners, let’s do our famous Cheeseboro out & back ride. This is a great one if you’re just beginning to ride on dirt trails or if you’ve been away for a while and want to get in shape before tackling one of Randy’s killer rides.  (From Randy:  “Give me a break!  Nobody’s died yet”.)  We’ll peddle out to Shepherd’s Flats (and beyond if everyone is in the mood), then retrace our way back for a fun downhill ride. We’ll meet in the parking lot at 9:30 am and start rolling at 9:45 am.  And then we’ll grab a bite to eat someplace and spend time getting to know one another. Join me for a fun time at Cheeseboro.    RDR = «

 

Directions:  Take the Chesebro exit off the 101 Freeway in Agoura, go north and swerve left with the road, take the first right turn and you are still on Chesebro Road.  Go about a mile up the road and look for the dirt road that leads up to the upper parking lot of Cheeseboro National Park. This is where we will meet.

 

Charlotte’s Crusades:

Sunday, February 22nd:  Matilija Creek.   Meet at 8:30 am at Starbucks in the shopping center off of Wendy Drive to carpool to the trailhead or meet at the trailhead at 9:30 am.  Difficulty:  Moderate – 9 miles with 800 ft elev. gain.

The destination of this hike is a spectacular section of Matilija Creek that flows over unusual rock slabs. Lovely pools and cascades abound.  After the hike, lunch at a local pub for those interested.  Matilija Creek can be high and requires wading across. A second pair of shoes or sandals is optional for the rocky bottom.

 

Directions to trailhead:  Travel 13.4 miles north, on Highway 33 from Highway 101, to the Y junction with Highway 150. Bear left staying on Highway 33 heading toward Maricopa. The gas station is on the right 0.1 mile after turning. Continue 5 miles, passing Matilija Road South, to Matilija Road where you turn left. It is another 4.9 miles to the parking area on the left.  An Adventure Pass is required for parking.

 

Sunday, February 29th:  Cheeseboro.  We'll take the main trail to Sulfur Springs (water crossing at the big rock) and continue up to Shepherds Flats.  Then we'll take the connector trail over to the Palo Camado fireroad and up to the China Flats area.  Then we retrace our steps back to the parking lot.  From here it’s all downhill back to the cars.  This ride should take about 2½ to 3 hours to complete.  Meeting time is 9:30 am and ride time is 9:45 amRDR  = «««

 

Directions:  Take the 101 Freeway to the Chesebro exit in Agoura.  Head north and make a right on Chesebro Road.  Follow the narrow road one-mile and turn right at the park entrance.  Continue up the paved road ¼ mile to the top parking lot.  We will assemble there.

 

Tuesday’s 3 Star Night Rides.  Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. and ride time is 6:15 p.m.  The length of all rides is between 10 & 15 miles with ride times of 1½ – 2½ hours.  The specific route taken will be determined at the trailhead.

Charlotte’s Cell #:  (805) 890-1234

Charlotte’s e-mail: Twirlygal2@aol.com

 

Tuesday, February 3rdSpace Mountain.  Meeting place: dirt parking area at the south end of Moorpark Road.

Tuesday, February 10th:  Cheeseboro.  Meeting place:  lower paved parking lot at Cheeseboro.

Tuesday, February 17th:  Lang Ranch.  Meeting place:  trailhead at the north end of Westlake Blvd.  (W.B. ends at Autumn Ridge Drive.)

Tuesday, February 24thWildwood.  Meeting place:  dirt parking lot at the west end of Avenida de los Arboles.

 

Joanna's Joyous Jaunts:

Sunday, February 1st:  Sycamore from the Beach.  Let’s meet at Beach side of Sycamore Canyon, (Pt. Mugu State Park) in the Beach parking lot at 9:30 am; ready to ride at 9:45 am. We will ascend the beautiful Overlook Fireroad over to the Guadalasca singletrack. From there we will make the descent down Guadalasca, through Wood Canyon over to the Big Sycamore Fireroad and back to the beach. Distance for this ride is approximately 13 miles.  Ride time is about 2½ - 3 hrs. Lunch afterwards at the Neptune’s Net.  Joanna’s cell: (805) 479-3087.    RDR  = «««

 

Sunday, February 15th:  Join us for a 2 star adventure at the beautiful grasslands countryside of Malibu Creek State Park. We will start at the De Anza Park, South off the 101 Freeway at Lost Hills Road. We’ll meet at 9:30 am and ride at 9:45 am. We’ll ride over to the ridge that descends down to the creek inside the Park.  From there we will ride as far the group is up for.  Joanna’s cell: (805) 479-3087.    RDR  = ««

 

Alan’s Afterdark Adventures:

Thursday’s 4 Star Night Rides.  Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. and ride time is 6:15 p.m.  The length of all rides is between 10 & 15 miles with ride times of 1½ – 2½ hours.  The specific route taken will be determined at the trailhead.

Please call or e-mail Alan before all night rides to confirm.  (Otherwise, risk not being notified of any changes to the ride.)

Alan’s Cell #:  (805) 405-1331

Alan’s e-mail: alan.sturm@verizon.net

 

Thursday, February 5thSycamore Canyon.  Meeting place:  Steve Clark’s house.  3168 Holloway Ct.  (Take Wendy Drive towards Sycamore Cyn…about a mile after Kimber is Holloway at the stop sign…turn left…Steve’s house is on the right.)

Thursday, February 12th:  Grasslands/Malibu Creek.   Meeting place: paved parking lot at De Anza Park in Calabasas.

Thursday, February 19thSpace Mountain.  Meeting place: dirt parking area at the south end of Moorpark Road.

Thursday, February 26th:  Cheeseboro.  Meeting place:  lower paved parking lot at Cheeseboro.

 

 

That's all for this newsletter.  Say Happy Valentine’s Day, Bob.  "Happy Valentine’s Day, Bob!"  

Hey Tam, will you be my Valentine?   "You need Viagra more than a Valentine!”

And I will see you in the saddle,