web site: www.nrmbc.org
885 St. Charles Dr. #11, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805 373-8824 e-mail: mtbikesman@aol.com

September 2010

Remember to have your radios for the rides and tune them to channel 5.25.

Summary

The Fine Print

By riding with the North Ranch Mountain Bikers I understand and accept the following:

► I understand that mountain biking can be dangerous and accidents can result in either injury or death.

► I understand there is no charge for the bike rides.

► I understand that the trails the North Ranch Mountain Bikers ride may not be verified for safety or ridability.

► I understand that it is my responsibility to determine if my riding skills match the difficulty of the trail we are riding on.

► I understand that the ride leaders accept no responsibility for my safety on any ride and that I undertake any ride knowing that I and I alone am responsible for my safety on the ride.

NEWS FOR EVERYONE

Saturday, September 4: CORBA Trail Work Day.   Come out and help build and fix up the trails we love to ride! It feels great to ride a trail you've helped build and maintain. For more information, visit the CORBA Trail Crew page. Work days usually last until about 2:00. Be sure to wear suitable clothing (sturdy shoes, long pants and sleeves, hat, GLOVES) and bring snacks, sunscreen and WATER. CORBA will provide the tools and training. Time: 7:15 am.

Trailwork will be on Rogers Road in Topanga State Park. CORBA will be providing lunch afterwards. Meet at the south end of Reseda Blvd to drive to the trailhead, then ride or hike 2 miles down to the work area. Or let us know that you will get there on your own. More details: http://tinyurl.com/2agzsza

Sunday, October 17: CORBA Fat Tire Fest @ Castaic Lake Recreation Center.   Join us for CORBA's biggest fundraising event (not to mention CORBA's biggest PARTY) of the year!

The Fat Tire Fest is an all-day event geared for the entire family, featuring a huge raffle, activities for all levels and ages of riders, catered lunch and more.

This year’s Festival aims to be the biggest ever! Activities range from the classic Poker Ride to a Hill Climb competition, Bike Limbo and Wheelie contests, Skills Clinic, Beginner and Advanced guided rides, even demo bikes! NEW this year: special outdoor recreation clinics presented by REI! AND….. For the first time, a cyclo-cross race! There will also be a special area for kids to test their skills, guided rides and demo bikes featuring some of the industry’s top mountain bikes.

Pre registration is now open! Register before October 10 and receive 10 additional raffle tickets. Choose between riding the Poker Ride and participating in a cross race. Visit http://corbamtb.com/FTF/ for details and to register.

Volunteers are still needed for both the set up on Oct 16th and the day of the festival on Oct 17th. Please contact Wendy Engelberg to volunteer: cyberdivachick@yahoo.com or sign-up online.

Directions:   Take the 405 / 5 Fwy North a few miles past Magic Mountain. Take Exit 176A for Parker Rd toward Castaic. Head to the right. Parker will turn into Ridge Route Road. Stay on that until you get to Castaic Lake Drive, three way stop, turn right. Then look for guard shack on right.

WEEKEND RIDES

Sunday, September 5: Grasslands - 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 1.25 miles of Bulldog. After the steep but fairly short climb up Bulldog we’ll cut off onto Lookout Fireroad that will bring us down to a paved road in the Malibu Lake area. Then we’ll take Crags Road to a back entrance of the park and pedal back to the cars via the same path as before. Meet at 9:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3, Technical Rating = T3, 14 Miles and 2100 Feet of Climbing , About 3.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Tom

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.

Monday, September 6: Sycamore Canyon from the Beach - Two Foxes & Wood Canyon.   We’ll meet at the parking lot restroom on the hill side of PCH. We begin with a ride up the Big Sycamore Trail. At about three miles, turn left on to Wood Canyon and then a quick right turn to Two Foxes for some single track riding. At the junction with the Sin Nombre trail we have two options: option 1, take Sin Nombre to Ranch Center Road; option 2, less experienced riders can turn right for a short distance and turn left at Big the Sycamore Trail; turn left at the paved Ranch Center Road. We regroup at the water tower and after a short break, continue down Ranch Center Road and turn left at Wood Canyon. The best part of this ride is blasting down Wood Canyon and then back to the main fire road and on to the parking lot. Meet at 9:30 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E2, Technical Rating = T2, 13 Miles and 950 Feet of Climbing , About 2.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Michael

Helmets are mandatory and please bring a two-way radio, it helps keep the group together.
If you plan to attend, please RSVP to mk4524@yahoo.com

Directions:   For those who are coming from the San Fernando/ Los Angeles area: Take the 101 Fwy towards Ventura and exit on Kanan Road (make a left turn from the exit ramp).
Then make a right turn on PCH 1 and head towards Sycamore Canyon (it is approximately 14 miles northwest of Kanan Road and is on the right side).

For those who are coming from the Santa Barbara/ Ventura/ Oxnard/ Camarillo area: Take the 101S Fwy (101N for those who are coming from Thousand Oaks/ Simi Valley) and exit on S Las Posas Road (going towards PCH). Then go to PCH 1 South and look for signs to go to Sycamore Canyon (which is on the left side).

If you don’t want to pay the $12 fee for parking in the lot you can look for parking on PCH. For the ride we'll meet on the park side of Pacific Coast Hwy 1 for the ride (in front of the restrooms, located by the campground/ parking lot area, turn left after you pass the gaurd).

Thursday, September 9: Weekday Morning Ride.   Are you free during the week? If so, join us for our weekday morning ride! The location of the the ride will be determined 1 to 2 days in advance. If the weather is expected to be cool, we'll ride at one of our regular inland spots. If it looks like it's going to be a scorcher, we'll find somewhere cooler! The location will be announced on the eGroup (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/North_Ranch_Mtn_Bikers/) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/CORBAmtb) the evening before the ride at the latest. The expected difficulty will be about E3-T3, but the ride route will be determined at the trailhead and may be a little easier or more difficult than this. Meet at 8:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3, Technical Rating = T3, About 3.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Steve

Saturday, September 11: Santa Rosa/Wildwood Loop.   We start by climbing the hill behind CLU and traverse across the ridge toward the nursery 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 fairly steep but relatively short climb up the beginning part of the Lynn Muir trail. After the climb there is a lot of fun to be had on the rest of the singletrack, which leads out to Lynn Road. From here it is just a short road ride back to the cars. Meet at 9:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3.5, Technical Rating = T4, 13 Miles, About 3 Hours , Ride Leader: Randy

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). Or, from the 23 Freeway, exit at Avenida de los Arboles and go west. Turn right on Montclef (third stop sign), cross Olsen Rd. and park on the street.

Sunday, September 12: Cheeseboro/China Flat/Albertson/Gas Pipe.   We start with an easy to moderate climb up the Sulphur Springs trail to Shepherd’s Flat. From here we take the Sheep Corral trail west to the lookout spot, down Dead Cow Trail (optional), and continue up to China Flat on the Palo Comado Canyon fire road. We will complete part of the China Flat loop and connect to the Albertson Fire Road and head east for about two miles. The trip along Albertson includes the highest elevation of the ride and affords some beautiful views. We take a short connector trail to the power line road and go south for another climb over the ridge. Then, its downhill to the upper Gas Pipe trailhead. We go east on the technical Gas Pipe trail into Las Virgines Canyon. After a short distance, we hop on a fun single track that connects us to Pump Road. We grind up Pump Road and drop back into Cheeseboro Canyon and our starting point. Meet at 8:30 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E4, Technical Rating = T4, 19 Miles and 2500 Feet of Climbing , About 4 Hours , Ride Leader: Jonathan

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 1/4 mile to the top parking lot.

Saturday, September 18: Caballero/Roger's Rd/Rustic Cyn/Sullivan Fire 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 singletrack that leads to Roger's Road. We will proceed along Roger’s Road, a moderate singletrack, past the ‘Old Oak Tree’. We will take Josepho drop (J-drop), a rocky/rutted singletrack, into Rustic Canyon. We'll climb back out of Rustic Canyon and head up the paved segment of Sullivan fireroad .  We will then enjoy a short climb on the Rustic Ridge singletrack leading us back again to the Sullivan fireroad. From here we climb up Sullivan Canyon Fireroad back to Mulholland. Then back to Caballero and the cars. Meet at 7:30 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E4, Technical Rating = T4, 20 Miles and 3500 Feet of Climbing , About 4 Hours , Ride Leader: Wendy

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 park on the street at the trailhead. If you come upon the Braemar Country Club you've gone a little too far.

Sunday, September 19: Limekiln, Brown's Cyn & Comanche.   We will ride up Limekiln Canyon from Rinaldi to where it exits at Sesnon.  Then we head West on Moonshine Canyon veering off to the north into the Oak groves where we descend into Browns Canyon.  The decent is using a nice single track that is referred to as the "Luge" since it kind of feels like a bobsled track.  From the bottom we will make multiple stream crossings ending up on Browns Canyon Road.  We will ride uphill (North) about a mile on pavement to Antonivich park.  Here we will ride down the combination of fireroads, rocky sections, single tracks and stream bed until we climb out by the 118 Fwy.  Finally we will take the Mission trail East back to our original starting location.  Meet at 8:30 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3, Technical Rating = T3.5, 13 Miles and 2300 Feet of Climbing , About 3 Hours , Ride Leader: Charlotte

Directions:   Coming from the West (i.e. Chatsworth, Simi Valley, etc.):
Take the 118 East and exit Porter Ranch Drive. You will make a left when exiting the offramp and then a right onto Rinaldi St. Take Rinaldi past Corbin and you will see a park area on your left past the shopping area. You may have to head past the location to turn around and park on the North (Left) side of Rinaldi.

Coming from East (i.e. 405 North):
Take 118 West and exit Tampa. You will make a right when exiting the offramp and head to the left. You will make a left on Rinaldi and park on the right (North) past the townhomes.

Sunday, September 19: Grasslands to Dam.   Starting from De Anza Park, we’ll bike over to Malibu Creek State Park via the Grasslands Trail. Once inside the park, we will proceed along the main fireroad that leads up to Crags Road, which passes through a fairly short but technical rocky streambed (some of the technical parts can be rideable, but you can walk this area to be on the safe side). After a short stop at the M*A*S*H area, we continue on to the dam. We’ll retrace our tracks that take us back to De Anza Park. Meet at 9:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E2.5, Technical Rating = T3, 12 Miles and 1400 Feet of Climbing , About 2.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Kerry

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.

Thursday, September 23: Weekday Morning Ride.   Are you free during the week? If so, join us for our weekday morning ride! The location of the the ride will be determined 1 to 2 days in advance. If the weather is expected to be cool, we'll ride at one of our regular inland spots. If it looks like it's going to be a scorcher, we'll find somewhere cooler! The location will be announced on the eGroup (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/North_Ranch_Mtn_Bikers/) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/CORBAmtb) the evening before the ride at the latest. The expected difficulty will be about E3-T3, but the ride route will be determined at the trailhead and may be a little easier or more difficult than this. Meet at 8:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3, Technical Rating = T3, About 3.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Steve

Saturday, September 25: Las Llajas/Devil's Canyon/Johnson Mtwy/Chumash.   We will start at the bottom of Chumash Trail and ride on the street to Las Llajas Canyon, where we climb a gentle fireroad with 530 ft of elevation gain over 3.5 miles. At this point we will turn up the steep Oil Well Road until we reach Rocky Peak Fireroad. Here we can take a break to catch our breath and regroup.  We will then head east a bit to start our descent along Devil's Canyon.  This will be 4.5 miles of technical single-track navigating along the exciting canyon floor.  When we reach the end, we will climb out above the 118 Fwy and up through the mansions of Chatsworth to reach Johnson's Motorway. This 2.8 mile climb along a rocky fireroad will get your heart pumping.  After resting at the top, we will ride down to the bottom on Chumash Trail, a mostly firm but often rocky singletrack. Meet at 8:00 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E4, Technical Rating = T4, 18 Miles and 3200 Feet of Climbing , About 4 Hours , Ride Leader: Huck

Directions:   Take the 118 Freeway to the Yosemite Avenue exit in Simi Valley. At the end of the off-ramp proceed north to Flanagan and make a right. Park on the side of the road at the end of Flanagan.

Sunday, September 26: Space Mountain/Rosewood.   This is a fun loop ride with lots of singletrack and switchbacks for your biking enjoyment. We start with a singletrack climb up Space Mountain. Then we’ll continue along the Los Robles Trail to the "Lookout" and take a break at the picnic table. Then it’s time to catch some thrills as we make our way down the Rosewood Singletrack to Lynn Road. After a short jaunt on pavement we are back on dirt again. This portion of the trail has a few ups and downs and connects with the whoop-de-doo trail that leads back to the cars. Meet at 9:30 am and be ready to depart 15 minutes later.
Endurance Rating = E3, Technical Rating = T3, 8 Miles and 1500 Feet of Climbing , About 2.5 Hours , Ride Leader: Randy

Directions:   Take the 101 Freeway to the Moorpark Road exit in Thousand Oaks. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean. Take Moorpark till it dead-ends at Greenmeadow Avenue and park in the dirt lot on the right.

NIGHT RIDES

Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday Nights.  See Summary Section of the Newsletter for meeting times, ride times are 15 minutes later. The lengths of all rides are between 10 & 15 miles with ride times of 1.5 - 2.5 hours. Lights are needed for the months of September to May. During the summer months they may not be needed, but it's a good idea to bring them just in case there's a delay. The specific routes taken for the night rides will be determined at the trailhead.

Meeting Locations for Evening Rides:

Calabasas Peak at Night.   Take the 101 Fwy to Valley Circle/Mulholland Dr. exit. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south (towards the ocean). Continue south on Mulholland and make a right on Valmar which becomes Old Topanga Canyon Rd. Continue on Old Topanga which will join Mulholland Hwy briefly and then continue on the left. Follow Old Topanga about 1.5 miles and look for the Calabasas Peak trail head on the right across from Summit to Summit trail.

Lang Ranch/Sunset at Night.   Heading north on the 23 toward Simi, get off at Sunset Blvd and turn right. Continue straight until just before you get to the guard shack. Park in the lot on the right.

MTB Backbone from Kanan at Night.   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.

MTB Cheeseboro - Moderate Pace.   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. Park in the lower, paved parking lot (the gate to the upper lot is closed and locked at sunset).

MTB Cheeseboro at Night.   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. Park in the lower, paved parking lot (the gate to the upper lot is closed and locked at sunset).

MTB Chumash at Night.   Take the 118 Freeway to the Yosemite Avenue exit in Simi Valley. At the end of the off-ramp proceed north to Flanagan and make a right. Park on the side of the road at the end of Flanagan.

MTB Dos Vientos at Night.   From the 101 freeway, turn south onto Wendy Drive, towards the ocean. Continue for about 0.7 miles and turn right at Borchard Rd and head West 0.5 miles. Turn left on to S. Reino Rd taking this South for about a mile passing Maurice Dr. On your left as you pass Paseo de Leon will be a Church parking lot. We will meet there.

MTB Grasslands - Moderate Pace.   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.

MTB Grasslands at Night.   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.

MTB Grasslands/Las Virgenes View - Moderate Pace.   Take the 101 Freeway to the Las Virgenes Road exit in Calabasas. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south on Las Virgenes toward the ocean. Park in one of the dirt areas on the corner of Las Virgenes and Mulholland.

MTB Grasslands/MCSP/Las Virgenes View.   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.

MTB Grasslands/New Millennium/Las Virgenes View.   Take the 101 Freeway to the Las Virgenes Road exit in Calabasas. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south on Las Virgenes toward the ocean. Park in one of the dirt areas on the corner of Las Virgenes and Mulholland.

MTB Johnson's Motorway.   Take the 118 Fwy and exit at Topanga Blvd. in Chatsworth. Head North and it will end immediately. Turn left onto Poema Place (don't accidentally turn onto the Freeway on ramp.) Drive West up Poema Place and park about 100 yards before the guard gate.

MTB Lang Ranch/Albertson at Night.   Exit the 101 Freeway on Westlake Blvd and head north for about 3 miles. When you go past the North Ranch Community Center you will go downhill and the first traffic light is at the corner of Westlake and Lang Ranch Parkway. Turn right onto Lang Ranch Parkway and drive about 0.8 miles to where the pavement ends and Albertson Fire Road begins.

MTB Las Virgenes Canyon at Night.   From the 101, exit Las Virgenes and turn North (away from the ocean). Proceed approximately one mile to the dead end.

MTB Las Virgenes Cyn - Moderate Pace.   From the 101, exit Las Virgenes and turn North (away from the ocean). Proceed approximately one mile to the dead end.

MTB Reseda at Night.   Due to the extra drive, we will meet @ 6:15 and ride by 6:30. Meeting place: 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 and park at the Caballero trailhead. Trailhead is on the left. If you pass the Braemar Country Club you’ve gone too far.

MTB Space Mountain - Moderate Pace.   Steve Clark’s house 3168 Holloway Ct. (Take Wendy Drive towards Sycamore Cyn - about a mile after Kimber turn left onto Holloway - Steve’s house is on the right.)

MTB Space Mountain at Night.   Take the 101 Freeway to the Moorpark Road exit in Thousand Oaks. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south toward the ocean. Take Moorpark till it dead-ends at Greenmeadow Avenue and park in the dirt lot on the right.

MTB Sycamore - Moderate Pace.   Take the 101 Freeway to the Wendy exit in Newbury Park. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south on Wendy until it dead-ends at Potrero Road. Park in the adjacent dirt parking area.

MTB Sycamore Canyon at Night.   Take the 101 Freeway to the Wendy exit in Newbury Park. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south on Wendy until it dead-ends at Potrero Road. Park in the adjacent dirt parking area.

MTB Triunfo - Moderate Pace.   Exit the 101 Freeway going south on Westlake Blvd. Go south for about a mile and then turn west (right) on Triunfo Canyon Road. This will lead you to Triunfo Park. Turn left onto Tamarack St and turn into the second parking lot on the left. We start at the far west end of the park.

MTB Triunfo Canyon Trail at Night.   Exit the 101 Freeway going south on Westlake Blvd. Go south for about a mile and then turn west (right) on Triunfo Canyon Road. This will lead you to Triunfo Park. Turn left onto Tamarack St and turn into the second parking lot on the left. We start at the far west end of the park.

MTB Wildwood at Night.   Take the Lynn Road exit, off of the 101 Fwy in Thousand Oaks, and go north until you come to Avenida De Los Arboles. Turn left and go about 1 mile to the end. From Simi Valley, go west on the 118 Fwy and then south when it turns into the 23 Fwy. Get off on Avenida De Los Arboles and go right for about 2 miles to the end. Hang a U-turn at the end (watch for opposing traffic) and then turn right into the dirt parking lot.

Trippet Ranch to Overlook at Night.   Take the 101 Fwy to the Topanga Blvd exit. At the end of the off-ramp proceed south (towards the ocean). Continue up Topange approx. 5 miles until you reach Entrada which is the entrance to the park on the left. Follow Entrada to the park entrance.