DS Ride 02 - Sept. '06 - Recap

PUTTING “DUAL” INTO DUALSPORT:
A PROLOGUE

What….......……………Dualsport Ride, full day
When…Meet Sunday, 10 September, 6:30 AM
Where…….Meet @ BMW Ventura parking lot
Contact...…Laine_MacTague@verizon.net

DS RIDE 02: RECAP

Ride 02’s 0-dark-thirty am start drew only three complaints, the loudest coming from ride leader Laine MacTague. All complaints were forgotten when, after a refreshing morning slab ride through rural Ventura and Santa Barbara backcountry, the seven of us who left the shop met four more riders at rider Don Gordon’s house. What was billed as a quick coffee and doughnut stop turned out to be a complete continental breakfast arranged by Don and his wife Shannon at their Mediterranean villa on the Santa Barbara Mesa.

It was the row of 9 shiny GSes, book-ended by a V-Strom and a dualsport Honda, that finally beckoned riders from as far south as Manhattan Beach, and as far north as Cambria, to saddle up and head for the hills. We took an old, steep, twisting, pot-holed, tree-shaded, one-lane road out of Santa Barbara, and shortly found ourselves adjusting tire pressure at the Buckhorn trailhead.

The ride started with a steep climb, punctuated with silty switchbacks. Laine had warned us that this would be the most challenging section of the ride. Nevertheless, the entire group successfully navigated the climb in short order, and regrouped at a 3-way intersection on Buckhorn Ridge. After a brief review of off-road techniques, we headed north along the ridge toward the San Rafael Wilderness. Panoramic views of the Los Padres greeted us at every turn, and the occasional small sandy patch kept the fire road riding interesting. Some of the stronger riders chose speeds that exercised their skills, while others turned the tail end of the ride into a fruitful technique clinic for the less experienced; great fun was had by all.

After a re-grouping at the turnaround point, we headed back to the 3-way intersection, taking it easy on the generally downhill ridge run. Riders with other obligations took the opportunity to head homeward. Eight of us continued down Romero-Camuesa OHV Route to the east. This canyon route produced a surprise for us all – lead riders rounded a bend and skidded to a halt in front of a 40-foot river crossing. Laine was the only rider who had experience with off-road river crossings; we therefore – made Don go first! As Don rounded the bend, the lead riders waved him past with enthusiasm: He took the bait, and plunged right in. Our initial apprehension evaporated as the crossing turned out to be low on difficulty and high on entertainment; the bow wave produced by Roman Cooper’s 1200 Adventure drew a lot of smiles. We navigated this and a few other crossings with no mishaps.

This trail, like the northern route, ends at a gate in the middle of nowhere. We took the enforced turnaround as an opportunity to rest and debrief. We could all see our riding abilities improving. We spent some time discussing technique with Laine, and reliving some of the most notable experiences of the day. Little did we know that the most challenging riding was yet to come.

On the way down the canyon, we had passed a narrow side trail. We stopped to consider it on the way back to the ridge. Two riders opted to head homeward, and the remaining six of us launched off on the unexplored side trail.

It was a matter of yards before our group realized we had taken a big bite to chew on. The trail was basically a wide, rutted, rocky single-track. Laine warned us early on that this was not what he had in mind for a beginning ride, but he also enforces a challenge-by-choice attitude; make the ride as easy or as hard as you want it to be. We all chose to continue – carefully.

The trail ran along a straight and extremely narrow ridgeline. At times, the trail was all the flat ground available; to the right and left, chaparral sloped steeply toward valley floors far below. We had learned on DS Ride 01 – where half of the riders fell over, at one point or another – that dropping a GS is not necessarily a catastrophe, and that knowledge made us more comfortable attempting this trail. As it happened, only 2 of us did fall, both with little consequence. The end of the trail was a tiny cul-de-sac where the ridge itself came to an abrupt stop. The view of the surrounding mountains was unlimited. We were at the top of Camuesa Peak, looking out over the entire Los Prietos region of Los Padres National Forest.

For whatever reason, the return trip seemed fairly easy, as did our descent of the silt-laden switchbacks we had climbed that morning. Only one more adventure remained; a quick bite at Cold Springs Tavern, the back-woodsy biker hangout tucked in a side canyon along the north side of San Marcos Pass. Six dust- and mud-covered dualsport bikes nuzzled in between shiny street bikes and Harleys drew a lot of curiosity:
“Where have you guys been?”
“Over there,” we answered, pointing across pristine ridgelines into paveless mountains.