Riding your local trails is always a blast right? The majority of us started mountain biking as trail riders and for good reason. Nothing beats rolling with your friends(or alone) through some sweet, twisty singletrack. But, unfortunately, we live in a moron-rich planet.
This past year my favorite local trail, Santiago Oaks, was burned to the ground, I’m talking every last inch, because one of those morons stole a car and torched it near the trail. His goal was to destroy the evidence bit he ultimately succeeded in burning down the entire area. This was probably the greatest section of this trail. After several rains it was shaped naturally into a tiny halfpipe. Running it at full speed required your full concentration and it felt like you were on the speeder bike, chasing stormtroopers. No, I’m not a Star Wars geek!
This lovely trail has all the fixens: dirt jumping, downhill, steep climbs, and some wicked twisty singletrack! Here’s some crazy Bears fan on the top of the trail when it was in its prime.ÂÂ
Fires happen all the time here in Southern California but it has always irked me when humans start them. In addition to the being severely burned, the trail was closed down for almost a year while environmentalists ran their studies, etc. The trail was recently opened and I headed back their to snap some shots for posterity. What a sad ride it was.
The trail was always pretty dry through the summer months but I do miss sections like this that are now just dirt. The above tunnel section was completely plowed to make a fire break(it’s the middle trail that runs along the side of the hill’s face).
A lot of the crew and myself will be heading out to this trail this Saturday so hopefully it’s a little more green. The seeds from the dead plants will spread and the plants will eventually grow back. It’s already happening in certain sections.
I guess there is no point to this story other than a little lesson in life. Life is a wheel and it always rolls back around, so if your trail has been ravaged by fire or rains(whether natural or not), take heart. Plants re-grow and the rain will come, and you’ll get another chance to get back out there but it might not be when you think. So when you do have the chance to ride your favorite trail make sure you really take advantage and enjoy everything it has to offer. You never know what might happen and the time to ride is always now! What are you reading for? Go give your trail some lovin!
