Gates after the first part of the climb, more climbing to come
I started off riding solo on Saturday morning at Chino Hills State Park. For people unfamiliar with CHSP, I always describe it (coming in from the west side through Carbon Canyon Regional Park) as a canyon with trails running along both ridges (North & South Ridge) and along the canyon floor (Telegraph). This description gets you to Four Corners. After that things change and it’s less describable (is that a word?). There are also different trails that connect Telegraph to both ridges.
Most of CHSP is fireroads except for those little connector trails; those are usually singletrack or off limits. Because of this CHSP gets a bit of a bad rap, this is OK with me because it means less people on the trails and more animals to see (especially rabbits). But what CHSP lacks in singletrack it makes up for in long lung-busting climbs. Since I was riding alone I was able to ride the lung-busting climb without worrying about being the slacker of the group or enduring snickers for the amount of hike-a-bike I had to do.
Doesn’t look too bad, but it is
One of the great things about mountain biking is that although you can start riding solo you can end with a new riding buddy. Saturday’s ride was an example of that. When I reached Four Corners I met John (who had ridden nearly the same thing I did but he started about 5 minutes after me). He planned on finishing his ride along the same route I was going to do but he hadn’t done it before. Naturally I offered to lead and we finished the last 5+ miles together. Since he lives in the area, I’ve got a new riding buddy. I’m such an idiot though, I forgot to get a picture of him.
Me at CHSP, with JOHN taking the picture. Doh!
