RR: Black Mountain Night Ride

I had the chance to do another night ride tonight, this time with my friend and neighbor Dave G. I left from home, and tried a new route down into the 4S trails that provided a little variety. We didn't have a clear route in mind as we set out, but I had some thoughts on what route I could handle and I’m happy with the end result.

We rode through the 4S trails, then up Carmel Valley Road to the paved road up to the Black Mountain trailhead. Dave usually rides up the rutted trail on the north side of the mountain, but I was worried that if I tried that climb right out of the shoot, I’d be baked for the rest of the night. So he agreed to take one for the team and do a little extra paved riding at the outset, which I appreciated.

At the trailhead we rode the main trail over to Miner’s Ridge Loop, and at my urging decided to ride it clockwise. Dave usually goes counter-clockwise, but I convinced him to go the opposite direction and we planned out a large loop that would include a trip to the summit and a downhill portion that I had never ridden from there.

The climb up Miner’s counter-clockwise was decent, but challenging. I had a few HAB sections where it got particularly techy, and also had some trouble with my light coming unplugged. I had gone with the TriNewt on my helmet for this ride, after having some trouble keeping the battery strapped to the bike with the light on the bars during my last night ride. Having the light on my helmet, however, was clearly a mistake. Not only did I use the wrong (short) cable to run from my helmet to my hydration pack, but having the light only on the helmet proved to be brutal with respect to depth perception and distance of beam penetration. The cable connecting the batter to the light came unplugged about seven or eight times during the ride, which sucked, and I also spent most of the ride either going slow or making last minute corrections because I could only see two to three feet in front of me.

With the amount of money I’ve spent on bike stuff recently, there’s no way I can afford a second light, but someday that may be the solution. Until then, I’m going with the light on my bars.
We made it up Miner’s to the cut-over trail, which I always enjoy. It is very narrow and a little overgrown, which was interesting at night, but we quickly made it over to the Nighthawk Trail. From there we had a short HAB up the steep, loose, rocky section that led us up to the main Black Mountain Service road. I remembered that climb being more difficult the last time I did it, and was pleased to be improving in either my fitness or bike selection. Likely the latter.

We made it to the summit, and were treated to almost 360* views of the county. It was a gorgeous night, and visibility was clear. At the top, Dave led the way down an unnamed trail that dropped off the northwest part of the mountain. For some reason it isn’t marked on the Black Mountain trail map, so I’ve decided to call it the Gorge Trail, owing to the massive rut that approaches gorge status which parallels the trail and crosses it near the bottom. The descent down the Gorge Trail was a little treacherous, especially at night. It’s pretty steep, and very rutted, and I dabbed several times, cursing my poor-penetrating light beam the whole way down. After a couple-hundred yard descent, the Gorge Trail then climbs briefly and then connects with either the Gilder Port Trail to the west, to the Miner’s Ridge Loop (via some singletrack) to the east. We went east, and hooked back up with Miner’s. From there we made a left and continued down Miner’s clockwise, which was one of my favorite parts of the ride. The switchbacks at the end (or beginning) of the Miner’s Ridge Loop are a blast to ride down, and I took the lead for the first and only time that night through that section.

After we finished Miner’s, we decided to head over and give the Canyon Rim descent a shot. That trail is a mess, with brutal sandy spots and horrible ruts that are filled with loose dirt and rocks. Even so, we elected to go for it, and I would live to regret that decision. There weren’t any big crashes or horrible incidents, but my decent was a mess. I almost went OTB at the very first tough turn, and it was a dabfest the rest of the way down. For a trail that I can usually clean without dabbing at all, that was discouraging. The trail conditions and the fact that it was at night played a huge role in the debacle, but I was annoyed anyway. Dave did better than I did, but also mentioned a few dabs, which made me feel a little better.

Because we had only been riding an hour and a half or so at that point, we elected to ride back up the paved road to the Black Mountain trailhead, and then ride down the rocky trail on the north side of the mountain back to Carmel Valley Road. The descent was uneventful, though both of us took it a little easy because we had both suffered brutal falls on that section recently. From there we rode along the 4S trails and home.

It was a fun ride, even with the light issues and some tricky descents. I think Miner’s Ridge Loop is an excellent training ground for technical riding, especially technical climbing, and I’d like to get over there more often to get some practice.

There were also several spots of warm or cold pockets that we rode through over the course of the ride, which was interesting and a little creepy. Overall though, the night was beautiful, and I was amazed at how balmy it was for mid-October at night.

I also am beginning to recognize the differences in bike geometry between the Spider and Enduro now. I almost went OTB several times tonight, and I hadn’t even come close to doing so on these trails on the Enduro. That’s not to say I’m complaining, I wanted a more XC ride, but I’ll need to adjust better to the more aggressive, less slack geometry on the descents.

I really enjoy riding with Dave, and am glad we’ve been able to get together more recently. Although he’s a much stronger rider, he doesn’t seem to mind going at a less aggressive pace and makes for good company.

I hit the Jacuzzi when I got home, which was awesome. The entire ride only took about two hours, and I felt great afterward, so I may try to do more of these night time Black Mountain rides in the future.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 9.97 miles
Total Time: 2:13:45
Ascent: 1885 feet
Average Speed: 4.5 mph
Top Speed: 19.7 mph
Bike: Intense Spider XVP
Map:

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