RR: Lake Hodges North

For the second weekend in a row I was able to get in an unexpected afternoon ride. Rach wanted to take a quick nap after CERT ended at 1:30, so I did some chores and set off for Hodges. I wasn't sure how long I had, since Rachel is not a long napper, and we wanted to go out to dinner later in the evening.

I decided on the way over to the lake that today was Bernardo Peak day. And so it was.

I parked at park & ride off Via Rancho Parkway for the first time (I usually park by the self-storage and ride under the freeway). After getting out of the car and getting geared up, I realized that my Garmin 205 had a dead battery, so I would not have a GPS record of this ride. I was bummed, since I wanted to see how high Bernardo Peak was, but the technical setback was not going to deter me from achieving my goal of climbing the peak.

I also decided on this ride to once again listen to an MP3 player while I was riding. I had only done it one other time, on another solo ride, and it was OK, but nothing special. I figured it might help me be distracted for the climbs, which it really didn't.

I started from the park and ride, crossed Via Rancho Parkway, and headed up the singletrack that parallels the freeway. I drive by there every day, and always look up to see if there are any riders. Today I was one of them. I doubt anyone was looking at me though.

As I reached the top of the hill, I saw that a fence had been erected, blocking off entrance to the trail toward the lake. I don't know why, since there was no fire damage or other visible problems. Faced with a dilemma, I considered hopping the fence, but decided instead to ride down a nearby drainage ditch to the main trail entrance near where I usually ride. I wasn't looking forward to riding back to the car, however, because I would have to take the long way home. But that was a problem for later, and I had a peak to climb.

I actually wasn't sure at that point if I could get to the peak with the trail closures, but kept riding anyway. After less than a mile, I found a trail that took me up to the ridge near the houses that rimmed the lake. It looked like the right path to get to the peak, so I took it. I rode along the ridge for a mile and a half or so, with the houses on my right and the lake and some beautiful views down to my left.

I did briefly overshoot the singletrack that lead to the trail up the peak, and turned around and went back to it after I followed the ridge trail too far to a paved road. From there I dropped down into a shady wooded area, and encountered a bridge which spanned a small creek. After a moment of consideration, I elected to walk across the bridge, because the lip up to it was a little high, and I didn't want to be dinged up from a lame fall during my climb.

After crossing the bridge I made the short climb out of the shady area and began up the trail to the peak. I was feeling good, and while a little apprehensive about the climb, was committed to doing it no matter what. The first part wasn't that bad. It was a little steep, but nothing I couldn't handle, and I was encouraged. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad! Perhaps all my conditioning work was paying off! I am a biking rock star!

And then came the next section.

As I came around the peak toward the north side, the incline became a little steeper, but the incline wasn't the problem. The trail was so loose, rocky, and rutted that I had a horrible time keeping my balance. I tried several times to re-start pedaling after having to dab, but the incline and looseness proved too difficult a combination. I just couldn't get traction.

So about 1/3 of the way in, I began my hike-a-bike. Having never ridden the trail before, I didn't know how long I would have to hike, and held out hope that it would become harder packed and ridable around each turn.

It didn't.

My HAB continued basically unabated until the peak. I briefly considered turning back a few times, but I wanted to meet the goal to climb it, even if I was essentially hiking it while dragging a bike.

Eventually I made it to the water tower, and was not sure where to go from there. I spotted what looked a little like a trail near the fence line, and continued my hike. The whole time I was seriously wondering if people actually ride up this trail. I know there are some impressive riders out there, who make the impossible look easy, but this was ridiculous. It wasn't just how steep it was, but the loose, rocky, rutted trail that was so imposing.

Anyway I continued the HAB a little longer, and eventually the end was in sight. I made it to the peak. There were some beautiful 360 degree views of North County, and I spent a few minutes up there just enjoying the scenery.

After a while though, the wind picked up, and I began to have some concern about riding back down. I'm not usually intimidated by tricky downhill sections, but as loose and rocky as the climb was, I was a tad nervous.

I elected not to write on the paper in the mailbox at the top, but was glad to see that it was there. I had meant to read some of the notes inside, but was too concerned about getting home in a reasonable time to check them out. I did take a few pictures up at the top of the peak, though.




At that point I lowered my seat and began the ride back down. It was nowhere near as bad as I had feared. It was tricky in spots, but manageable. It was still extremely loose in many spots. Don't know if I mentioned that.

At the base of the peak I ran into two other bikers who were stopped on the trail. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I decided to head back to the car rather than continue on the trail around the lake.

As I rode back down into the shady area, I decided to ride the bridge this time. I made it over with no problem, and some of the confidence that had left me during my climb up the peak began to return. But right then, as I made the short climb out of the shady area back to the ridge trail, my chain snapped. I'd never fixed a chain, and didn't really know how. Fortunately, it didn't come off the derailleur. I saw the link that was broken and used my leatherman to simply put the broken pin back into the link. I used the pliers to cramp it down, and it held the rest of the ride. I was pretty pleased with myself and my ghetto bike repair.

From there I rode gingerly back along the ridge trail, and decided to keep riding all the way to where the fence had blocked my way earlier. I didn't want to ride back to self storage lot and then up street to park and ride if I could help it.

As I arrived at the fence, I decided to gingerly drop bike over the fence, and then crawled under at spot nearby. Everything survived in one piece, and I cut 15 minutes off of my return trip. Woohoo!

I made it back to the car without incident, and felt OK about the ride. I was happy to have climbed the peak, but a bit disappointed that I had so much HAB. Realistically, though, there was no way I could ride it. Conditioning was a minor factor, but the trail condition was the main thing for me. I'm apparently terrible at at uphill restarts, and even if I was better, the trail was so loose and rutted that there was no way I was making it. People really ride it?? All the way?? Maybe someday, but not for a while for me.

I was also still a little bummed that I had no GPS record of the ride, so I have no stats to share, but whatever. I am proud that I was able to fix the chain, and that I made it to the summit of the peak, and overall it was a good day.