RR: Big Laguna Trail (w/Extras)

This morning was a ride I've been looking forward to for a while: Big Laguna Trail (BLT) with the Skyline MTB crew. BLT was one of two rides left on my 2008 Ride List, and while I thought I would have gotten up there before now, it was worth the wait.

I left home early, and met up with Nate at the park and ride at Los Coches. We carpooled up the rest of the way to the BLT trailhead, and had a great time catching up during the drive. We had technically ridden together a few weeks ago at the Spring Canyon ride, but I hadn't seen him much, so that didn't count.

We made it to the trailhead first, but were soon joined by Michael, Billy and his family, and a new Skyline MTB rider, Amy. We milled about for a bit at the trailhead getting ready, and had a short time of prayer before we set out.

We immediately split into two groups, with Billy and his family heading out to do the basic BLT loop around the lake, and Nate, Michael, Amy and I heading up a fire road to the south so that we could work in some bonus trails before meeting back up with Billy and company at the benches for a devotional time.

The fire road wasn't too bad, and actually made for a good warm up.

We inadvertently missed the singletrack turnoff for the trail they call "Little Noble," so we actually climbed the fire road all the way back to 79 near the Laguna Lodge. From there it was a short road ride over to Red Tail Roost and our first taste of singletrack this morning.

We started with some rolling climbs through narrow singletrack, which gave way to some really fun descents. The weather was flawless, and I was having a blast on my new Spider. The turns were a little loose and sandy because of the lack of moisture, but the trail itself was in great shape overall. Nate and I were out in front a bit, and had a chance to stop and enjoy the scenery during a regroup.

Michael and Amy were not far behind, and we got back under way after a short break.

From there it was more beautiful singletrack, including some more swoopy descents. I had not ridden this particular section of trails before, and won't make that mistake again. It was awesome.

We then came to another short climb, and then started down a fire road marked Agua Dulce. It was a short, fun fire road descent that dumped us in to our next significant climb of the day.

As we spun along, I was actually feeling pretty good. The pace was not super-fast, but we were moving along and I wasn't getting tired really at all. At the top of the climb, we made our way through a singletrack cutover that involved a little HAB over some obstacles, and then took a minute for Michael to huck a nearby rock.

After seeing him nail it, I decided to give it a try, and rolled it. [Not pictured]. From there it was another short climb, then over to Chico Ravine.

This was probably my absolute favorite section of trail today; an awesome twisty singletrack descent with some techy stuff near the bottom to make things really interesting. The Spider ate it up, and I was particularly thankful for some suspension changes Nate had helped me with before the ride started.


We took a minute at the bottom of the singletrack to regroup, then rode over to main BLT trail to the benches, where Billy and his family were waiting. Our timing was almost perfect because they had only been waiting a few minutes, and we had a neat time of discussion.

I led a devotional from 1 Kings and Psalm 42 regarding being still and listening to God, which seemed to resonate with people. After we were done sharing, it was time to complete the BLT loop and we got underway as a whole group. I took this shot blind, over my shoulder:

I have ridden around BLT a couple of times, and always really enjoy it. The scenery is beautiful, the trail is fun and varied enough to be interesting, and the last section is always a lot of fun in particular.

Nate and eventually got out in front, and rode at a little faster pace than the rest of the group. This also gave me a chance to get ahead and shoot some pictures of almost everyone:

Michael-

Amy-

Helenka-


Willie-


Billy-

Amanda-

After taking the pics I caught up and rode ahead of most of the group and railed the last section around the north side of the lake. Billy calls that section the roller coasters, and its the most fun part of the BLT loop itself.

Amy did really well for just her second or third time on her new Specialized Myka, and stayed close behind us.

We finished up back at the trailhead at the cars, and hung out for a bit talking bikes and enjoying each other's company. It was an awesome morning of riding, and I'm really glad I went. The new trails we rode other than the BLT loop were a ton of fun as well, and I won't ride up here without hitting them next time.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 15.02 miles
Total Time: 2:09:37
Ascent: 2015 feet
Average Speed: 7.0 mph
Top Speed: 25.0 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Map:

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