Mountain biking California, Rancho San Vicente
Hello all, this is my mtb ride from yesterday at Rancho San Vicente open space preserve in South San Jose, CA. It was a warm 75* day with a nice breeze. I was testing out a new drive train that I installed on my hard tail, more on that later.
This is a shot of a natural rock feature near the park entrance.
The ride was 25 miles and 2,200 feet of climbing.
GPS data uploaded to Strava
The landscape and ground cover changes quite a bit as the elevation changes. There is a lot of tree cover on the upper mountain with small feeder streams going to Calero reservoir. This makes for some lush almost tropical environment with bright green ferns.
Calero reservoir in the distance.
A shot of the double track in the upper portion of the mountains. It's really fun coming back down =)
At the top, this is a shot of Mt Umunhum which is the tallest peak in the range. The US Airforce installed a radar station back in 1958 during the 'cold war' and was active until 1980. The tower was looking for potential attacking aircraft that were arriving from the pacific ocean. (Can you see the small tower on the top?)
Here is a shot of Mt Umunhum from Jitze Couperus of Los Altos Hills, CA. It was closed off for years due to asbestos contamination at the tower. It is now open to the public as a park. There is a dirt path that I will eventually ride and report on.
For reference, here is the location of Mt Umunhum from Google maps.
I needed easier gearing for getting up 15% to 20% grades, yes that is STEEP and I'm not a youngster.... =) Mtb'ing in the bay area has plenty of very steep climbs, some that you need to mentally prepare for before starting. (You know you in for some suffering)
The front chain ring is now a 34 tooth from a 32 tooth.
The rear cassette is now a 11-46 tooth from a 11-40 tooth.
Sram GX shifter and long cage derailleur.
KMC 10 speed chain.
A really interesting little article. The pictures are really neat and just reading the size of the hills you rode up and want to in the future made me wince but I can see the appeal of going down hill. Cheers for putting this up and sharing though, its all ways cool to read about random peoples past times around the world.
A 1*10 gearing is becoming quite popular here as well. Was the lowest gear low enough for climbing the 20% gradient slopes? Did you manage to ride it out or did you have to get off your bike and push?
I see no people in any of your photos. Is it really that desolate and what if something goes wrong, considering you are riding alone.
The 34x46 is easier than the 32x40 that I had on there previously. Based on Strava, the steepest part of the climb was 26% grade. I made it up without getting off, but it is a big effort. The segment is .3 mile at an average of 14%
I ride alone about 90% of the time, most people are working M-W. There is one mtb'ing place here that is way out in the mountains and if something should happen, it may be a while before you see someone. (Soquel demonstration forest in Santa Cruz) People need to get airlifted out by helicopter if they have a major accident.
Check out your gearing ratios here:
http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_ratios
Looking great! I never really did bike for fun, mostly just commuting and chores, but I am more and more fond of just going biking for fun. have you seen @holm's project: going to South Africa from Denmark?
I don't commute by bike, funny huh? I cycle for exercise, health and outdoor adventures.
I'll check out holm's ride, seems like a very large endeavor.
Not unusual to just bike for fun, I just never did. I am an artist and early on dropped the thought of having a drivers license. Cars are expensive in Denmark due to high taxes, so I would rather save the money and be able to make art instead :) Copenhagen has some of the best bike infrastructure in the world so it is easy and safe to go around everywhere.
Holm's project is pretty wild indeed.
Great landscapes :) Just amazing. Sometimes is better to run or walk instead of ride ;)
I've seen a few people jogging on the trail. I actually ran today, but not on this trail.
Very interesting article ;) Amazing photos and good spots.
Awesome pictures...indeed a great experience