DS RIDE 10: LOCKWOOD LOOP B – TAKE TWO
ORIENTATION
ORIENTATION
What . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dualsport Ride, full day
When . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Meet Sunday, 02 December, 6:30 AM
Where . . . . . . . Meet @ BMW Motorcycles of Ventura County
Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Laine MacTague
If you have not yet read, or have not yet memorized – the VCDSRS General Ride Orientation Please look over it by clicking HERE.
Rides at this stage of the series are designed with intermediate / advanced riders in mind. Maps will be supplied, with the main route and go-around routes clearly marked. This should allow more advanced riders to maintain a pace they like, while allowing less experienced riders to join in on easier sections, and go around or catch up on harder sections, as desired.
WHERE WE GO
Meet @ BMW Motorcycles of Ventura County @ 6:30AM Sunday December 2nd. Show up on time with at least 60 miles worth of fuel.
This loop takes us into Castaic, then onto some slightly whooped-out sandy trails in Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area. From there, riders eschewing the go-around will take a long narrow steep winding rocky sandy twisty obstacle-benighted single-track into somewhere in Lockwood Valley. A short break there will see us onto a more sedate but still engaging jeep trail which will bring us to another short break in Frazier Park.
By “short break”, I intend a maximum 10-minute stop by the lead riders. A rider falling behind the leaders by more than 10 minutes on these sections may need to refer to the map or make use of a go-around in order to link up with the lead group.
Meantime, any riders having initially chosen the go-around route for this, the most challenging portion of the ride, will be able to reach either above-mentioned rest stop, or our lunch stop, well ahead of the other riders. Which stop to aim for will be discussed en route as necessary. All roads, however, lead to the Screaming Squirrel (SS): Lost, dazed, confused? Hungry? Head for the SS; sooner or later we will all meet up there.
After lunch comes another potentially challenging section of trail. About a half mile of highly technical, slow-motion route-choosing around loose rocks, sand, and ruts is followed by a (comparatively) breezy and fun riverbed run. The go-around for this section is also fun; a well-graded, potentially high speed fire road with several “lado”s and large water bars.
This section expels us into the Cuyama Valley, to face the brilliant paved riding that Hwy 33 has to offer between the middle of nowhere and Ojai. Ojai presents us several celebratory dinner options before disbanding to return home, hug our loved ones, and mourn the day’s casualties in our own private ways…
Casualties? Possibly. We broke a fuel line last month. The 10-minute break plan mentioned above will be aborted if a rider gets into major problems:
We know from experience that riders do sometimes (for example) “navigate unsuccessfully”, their bikes ending up off the trail, upside-down against an oak tree 45 feet down a 30 degree embankment covered in snow (see the DSR 04 Recap – or ask Keith about it – he’ll be on this ride as well). Oddly enough, we also discovered that solving such problems is pretty fun, so if this or something similar happens to you (or someone you care about) during the ride, get on the horn and we will all come down and take photos and work out 3-to-1 force ratio hauling systems using a front wheel as a pulley and a rubber band and three shoe laces as rope, or whatever that special situation requires… and be late for lunch.
In order to get on the horn you will have to have one. Radios (walkie-talkies) are MANDATORY for this ride, and will be turned on at full volume while we are on the most challenging sections. Cell phones are highly recommended but will likely be useless in some areas.
WHAT GOES [Items listed here represent changes to the list in the General Orientation, to which you should refer if you can’t recall what is listed there…]
PLANNED STOPS [“2-3P” means “Second stop on the third paved section.” “D” = dirt]
1) 1-1P – Castaic – Fuel stop at the corner of Castaic Rd & Lake Hughes Rd. The next fuel opportunity will be in Pine Mountain Club—around 40 miles later.
2) 1-1D – Hungry Valley – We may be required to stop and pay the $5.00 entrance fee at the kiosk.
3) 1-3D – Hungry Valley – Getting through the trailhead gate will require a stop.
4) 2-3D – Lockwood Valley – This is our first 10-minute break, at the exit gate of the same trail.
5) 3-3D – NFS Ranger Station @ Frazier Park – Our second short break / regroup.
6) 1-4P – The Sign of the Screaming Squirrel – Lunch, Pine Mountain Club.
7) 1-4D – Qatal Canyon – We will stop where we exit the riverbed for our last 10-minute break / regroup.
8) 1-5P – Ojai – Dinner.
KNOWN HAZARDS
There is always the risk that the shop will not be opened in the morning, which could result in a serious caffeine shortage. I think this is unlikely to happen this month, but I would be remiss not to warn you of the possibility.
HV SVRA can be quite crowded. Watch and listen for oncoming traffic. Remember to signal the number of riders following you as described in the General Orientation (see footnote as well). Of course, we could run into traffic anywhere along the ride.
PRIMARY CHALLENGES
Challenges include – roughly in order of appearance – sand, whoop-dee-doos, narrow trail gates, Dreaded Challenge Number 10, minus (for the most part) the water crossings, sand, significant obstacles in a sandy undefined trail… and repeats of same.
DC #10 is the primary challenge. Sections of trail are narrow, steep enough to require inlaid honeycomb blocks, and traversing a very steep slope. Turns are often sharp. The key skill is the ability to maintain balance and maneouver effectively at slow speed. A lot of simultaneous use of clutch / throttle / brake / steering (and counter-balancing around turns) is required. Even doing this successfully, riders may need to pause at times, simply to rest the clutch hand. Of course, the go-around options are significantly less skill-intensive.
Consider yourself oriented! See you soon…
Rides at this stage of the series are designed with intermediate / advanced riders in mind. Maps will be supplied, with the main route and go-around routes clearly marked. This should allow more advanced riders to maintain a pace they like, while allowing less experienced riders to join in on easier sections, and go around or catch up on harder sections, as desired.
WHERE WE GO
Meet @ BMW Motorcycles of Ventura County @ 6:30AM Sunday December 2nd. Show up on time with at least 60 miles worth of fuel.
This loop takes us into Castaic, then onto some slightly whooped-out sandy trails in Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area. From there, riders eschewing the go-around will take a long narrow steep winding rocky sandy twisty obstacle-benighted single-track into somewhere in Lockwood Valley. A short break there will see us onto a more sedate but still engaging jeep trail which will bring us to another short break in Frazier Park.By “short break”, I intend a maximum 10-minute stop by the lead riders. A rider falling behind the leaders by more than 10 minutes on these sections may need to refer to the map or make use of a go-around in order to link up with the lead group.
Meantime, any riders having initially chosen the go-around route for this, the most challenging portion of the ride, will be able to reach either above-mentioned rest stop, or our lunch stop, well ahead of the other riders. Which stop to aim for will be discussed en route as necessary. All roads, however, lead to the Screaming Squirrel (SS): Lost, dazed, confused? Hungry? Head for the SS; sooner or later we will all meet up there.
After lunch comes another potentially challenging section of trail. About a half mile of highly technical, slow-motion route-choosing around loose rocks, sand, and ruts is followed by a (comparatively) breezy and fun riverbed run. The go-around for this section is also fun; a well-graded, potentially high speed fire road with several “lado”s and large water bars.
This section expels us into the Cuyama Valley, to face the brilliant paved riding that Hwy 33 has to offer between the middle of nowhere and Ojai. Ojai presents us several celebratory dinner options before disbanding to return home, hug our loved ones, and mourn the day’s casualties in our own private ways…
Casualties? Possibly. We broke a fuel line last month. The 10-minute break plan mentioned above will be aborted if a rider gets into major problems:
We know from experience that riders do sometimes (for example) “navigate unsuccessfully”, their bikes ending up off the trail, upside-down against an oak tree 45 feet down a 30 degree embankment covered in snow (see the DSR 04 Recap – or ask Keith about it – he’ll be on this ride as well). Oddly enough, we also discovered that solving such problems is pretty fun, so if this or something similar happens to you (or someone you care about) during the ride, get on the horn and we will all come down and take photos and work out 3-to-1 force ratio hauling systems using a front wheel as a pulley and a rubber band and three shoe laces as rope, or whatever that special situation requires… and be late for lunch.
In order to get on the horn you will have to have one. Radios (walkie-talkies) are MANDATORY for this ride, and will be turned on at full volume while we are on the most challenging sections. Cell phones are highly recommended but will likely be useless in some areas.
WHAT GOES [Items listed here represent changes to the list in the General Orientation, to which you should refer if you can’t recall what is listed there…]
YOU MUST BRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YOU SHOULD BRING
2-way radio! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cell phone
$5.00 (see Planned Stops, below) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2-way radio! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cell phone
$5.00 (see Planned Stops, below) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PLANNED STOPS [“2-3P” means “Second stop on the third paved section.” “D” = dirt]
1) 1-1P – Castaic – Fuel stop at the corner of Castaic Rd & Lake Hughes Rd. The next fuel opportunity will be in Pine Mountain Club—around 40 miles later.
2) 1-1D – Hungry Valley – We may be required to stop and pay the $5.00 entrance fee at the kiosk.
3) 1-3D – Hungry Valley – Getting through the trailhead gate will require a stop.
4) 2-3D – Lockwood Valley – This is our first 10-minute break, at the exit gate of the same trail.
5) 3-3D – NFS Ranger Station @ Frazier Park – Our second short break / regroup.
6) 1-4P – The Sign of the Screaming Squirrel – Lunch, Pine Mountain Club.
7) 1-4D – Qatal Canyon – We will stop where we exit the riverbed for our last 10-minute break / regroup.
8) 1-5P – Ojai – Dinner.
KNOWN HAZARDS
There is always the risk that the shop will not be opened in the morning, which could result in a serious caffeine shortage. I think this is unlikely to happen this month, but I would be remiss not to warn you of the possibility.
HV SVRA can be quite crowded. Watch and listen for oncoming traffic. Remember to signal the number of riders following you as described in the General Orientation (see footnote as well). Of course, we could run into traffic anywhere along the ride.
PRIMARY CHALLENGES
Challenges include – roughly in order of appearance – sand, whoop-dee-doos, narrow trail gates, Dreaded Challenge Number 10, minus (for the most part) the water crossings, sand, significant obstacles in a sandy undefined trail… and repeats of same.
DC #10 is the primary challenge. Sections of trail are narrow, steep enough to require inlaid honeycomb blocks, and traversing a very steep slope. Turns are often sharp. The key skill is the ability to maintain balance and maneouver effectively at slow speed. A lot of simultaneous use of clutch / throttle / brake / steering (and counter-balancing around turns) is required. Even doing this successfully, riders may need to pause at times, simply to rest the clutch hand. Of course, the go-around options are significantly less skill-intensive.
Consider yourself oriented! See you soon…
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