[Raymo]

Thanks

Do not miss MdO, the bluff trail along the cliffs is an easy ride for all with excellent views, add Islay creek road (no cars and a 3 mile out/back) for a easy 10 mile ride. You can hit any of the Mdo trails with your skills but East boundary can be messy and usually needs a week to dry out. Better bet is Ridge trail cause its sandy.

Great! Thanks for the info. I can't wait to check it out.:thumbsup:

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Lopez is very nice too but its a fee area with nice camping if its in your plans. Those MdO trails mentioned are totally easy and free and will introduce you to the area. On Islay creek road the two trails branching to the left will get the heart working and give great views. Enjoy and there are trail maps posted at access points.

 

[Raymo]

Lopez is very nice too but its a fee area with nice camping if its in your plans. Those MdO trails mentioned are totally easy and free and will introduce you to the area. On Islay creek road the two trails branching to the left will get the heart working and give great views. Enjoy and there are trail maps posted at access points.

Cool Bro - thanks alot!

 

[bikefoolery]

Hey there BT - My wife and I are planning to visit SLO the third week in February. She's a novice on a hardtail and I am a decent rider who will be rocking my new Heckler:thumbsup: . What trails do you suggest?

Thanks for your help.

R

A great intermediate area is Cabrillo Peaks. It's just up the road from MdO, lots of singletrack, and no real technical stuff like rock gardens. I take my wife there to ride. Also, Islay creek and bluff trail at MdO are great as well for novice MTBers.

 

[Raymo]

Cool

A great intermediate area is Cabrillo Peaks. It's just up the road from MdO, lots of singletrack, and no real technical stuff like rock gardens. I take my wife there to ride. Also, Islay creek and bluff trail at MdO are great as well for novice MTBers.

That's perfect!

Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[socalenduro]

Just got back, the 1+ inch of rains we received the past couple weeks have made the dust go away and its tacky goooood:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Even the dog likes it!

My dog loves trails, but sometimes rangers, and more importantly other users dont love dogs. What places in socal have you found that are more welcoming to a mountian biker and thier dog?

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Besides beach rides its always best to take the dog on trails way far away from the hatmen. So it goes living in land of rules even if no one uses the trails...

 

[HarryCallahan]

My dog loves trails, but sometimes rangers, and more importantly other users dont love dogs. What places in socal have you found that are more welcoming to a mountian biker and thier dog?

Can't say about specific spots any more, but as a rule of thumb, the further out in the backcountry the better. State Parks has a leash rule that I think is Statewide. National forests on the other hand may be more lax.

I used to run my dogs at an undisclosed location in San Diego, but would leave and approach the parking lot with them on leash.

edit: Just checked your profile, and saw you are in SD. One place you can take the dogs and maybe let them off leash with some discretion is the extreme south end of Black's. Walk around the point there from Scripps, and if you don't see the life guard jeep and there are no crowds, you can slip off the leash. Just keep an eye peeled for that jeep. The inland place I used to run the dogs was San Clemente Canyon, east of Genesee. That was before the 52 extension. I'm not sure how far you can legally go these days without running afoul of the Marines.

 

[Bryguy17]

FYI, i rode MDO today and it was prime. headed up east boundary and there was a little mud here and there, but nothing too terrible. the rest of it was pure tacky goodness. did the downhill off of ridge twice (once down the old way, once down the new way) and it was great both times.

the new single track is quite nice, as you can fly down the first straightaway. and the part after that is just a bunch of flowy fun. good times.

btw, you guys should out for trailwork tomorrow, give back to the trail

Peace,
-Bryan

 

[slocaus]

Anyone have an update on MdO since the Sunday rains? Poly and above (Shooters, etc.) are drying out nicely. I'd like to ride Cabrillo or MdO on Thursday, it they are dry enough.

 

[Bryguy17]

MdO should be fine by thursday. It was really nice on friday, and it didnt get that much rain sunday. That entire area usually just sucks up the water and gets nice and packed. Plus, they did some trail work out there too, which should help things.

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Rode Cabrillo yesterday, Black hill is way better since its sandier and steeper. Cabrillo meadows are soupy and all the springs are running so best stay on the steep stuff and don't forget the fenders.

 

[slocaus]

Rode it early, 715am. It is good. East Boundary near the back (east) side has some mud, especially after the bridge back there. Walked around it, a couple hundred feet. Islay has some mud in places. Even a little bit on Ridge, and only 20 feet from the bottomless sand. Gorgeous morning! :thumbsup:

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Nice shots, this is from last May. I'm stuck here doing 90 minute rides. New puppy, worse than a kid for the first 6 months.

 

[slocaus]

Nice shots, this is from last May. I'm stuck here doing 90 minute rides. New puppy, worse than a kid for the first 6 months.

Thanks. I really got into the early morning light with the camera. Been up the new Ridge trail?

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Did the upper section of the new ridge late summer it was very loose fresh cut, I'm sure the rains helped it a bunch. I'm sticking to Black hill/Cabrillo until the mutt can stand a 3 hour ride. Just did an hour to pick up my kid and the pup was trying to pull the big catfood bag out the closet

 

[Bryguy17]

haha, i know how the puppy thing can be. have a chocolate lab and she was a pain when she was young.

New ridge is a lot better than the last time I rode it (last spring when they had first made it, probably looser than when brown teeth rode it). The straight shot right after it parts with the old trail CAN be fun, since you can pump every little roller and get going really fast. The exposure scares me a good bit though. if i screw up im in for a few hundred feet of tumbling :eekster:

after you hang a right and head into the tamer area, its a lot of fun though (this is going down btw). Theres a lot of really quicker S-turns that get a little hairy at full speed (its like a sideways pumptrack. your body goes in a straight line down the trail, but the bike is 2-3 feet to either side of you for most of it).

I still enjoy the old trail though, lots of fun loose sections and big rocks to avoid. Its probably faster too, but thats more due to steepness and going less out of the way.

The only thing that I think ridge needs is some berm fixing here and there. Especially that one right turn right at the bottom once you drop off the hill. Theres no good way of hitting it

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Yup a lab mix from the shelter is what the kids wanted, I get stuck with raising it right:yesnod:

haha, i know how the puppy thing can be. have a chocolate lab and she was a pain when she was young.

 

[Bryguy17]

awww....i want a puppy...

at least labs are very easy to train dogs. quite smart. Unfortunately, mine has had the bad influence of two very stubborn Chesapeake Bay retrievers, so shes picked up a few of their bad habits.

 

[Raymo]

Lopez Lake?

Lopez lake had some really nice flowing singletrack. It is back behind some sort of boyscout camp area. Pretty easy to find. they will give you a trail map at the parking area. You have to pay to park though and I forgot how much but it is worth it. I didn't get to explore as much as I would've liked but I rode about 22 miles that day. I would say half of that was singletrack. The one trail that runs adjacent to the lake is so much fun I hit it 4 times and it is about 1-2 miles long, pretty smooth but lots of short ups and downs and tight turns, a couple of little drops so it is like a roller coaster. Lots of wildlife, saw about 20 deer and some wild turkeys. Overall not a very difficult ride but lots of fun and the scenery is beautiful.

So do you just enter the Lopez Lake area and the main entrance has trail maps? This sounds like the spot i want to hit on Monday