By now most of you know I did a solo ride through a canyon that has some RR tracks, tunnels and trestles.
While the ride itself isn't that difficult, I won't be doing it again solo ever (maybe).
It's not something I would suggest unless you are comfortable with the possibility of not coming back for a while if ever, because it could easily happen out there.
It's really a matter of risk management and how much risk you're willing to manage/take. For me and some of the things I do for "recreation" this is probably at the lower end of moderate risk.
While I knew it was remote and I knew there was some exposure I under estimated the amount of exposure along the way. For instance, for the most part you ride along the tracks on the downhill side of the canyon. While there aren't any huge obstacles to roll over, there are a few places where you could take a fall.
Fall the wrong way and you're going to be tumbling down a steep hill filled with rocks and all type of not so fun "desert plants" etc. for a long way.
Likely it's going to hurt, and likely you won't be getting up without some injury; if you are able to get up at all. Bad enough if you're with someone; potentially really bad (or worse) if you are alone.
The chances of someone coming along and finding you aren't great. I was out there a little more than five hours and didn't see or hear another soul.
The weather can play a few tricks on you as well if you are not aware and prepared, as can the "easy" uphill ride back if you're doing a out and back.
The day I rode out there (last Saturday) the temps were pretty mild in the gorge and there was a nice breeze blowing. It felt pretty comfortable on the way out and I drank all the bottled water I took with me and a little water from my camel back; even though I didn't feel like I needed to drink that much I knew better and knew I needed to stay hydrated.
I hydrated and ate well the night before and ate a good but small breakfast that morning. So I felt very good when I started the ride and pretty good when I turned around to go back to the trial head. I also ate a package of gue chomps right before I stared the ride and another at the Goat Canyon Trestle as well as a Cliff bar while I was at the Trestle and I hydrated well and spent probably 30 minutes or so at the Trestle.
The wind is one of the things than can "get you". It wasn't blowing much when I left and was at my back on the way out which is also down hill.
On the way back it had picked up and was a head wind, and, of course it's a "easy" uphill all the way back. Those two things can cause you a problem if you're not prepared and/or don't think about it.
The pedal back up the hill isn't too difficult but it's a constant pedal. The wind while it makes you feel cool is doing so because it's evaporating your sweat.
Add in the temp if it's a bit hot and you could easily get yourself into trouble.
I parked at De Anza resort. They will let you park there by the office (or anywhere if you want) for $5.00 for the day. Yes, there are of course some naked people running around, and, yes all them are not "beautiful" people. But you of course don't have to look, and we are after all, all adults... (I think)
I parked there mainly because I wasn't comfortable leaving my car out by the gas stations just off the freeway and because it was already later (and warmer) than I planned to start (because SOMEONE forgot their bike and I also added to the late start by being absent minded) as a added benifit I saved about four miles of pedaling; which as it turned out was a good thing. I mean it wouldn't have been the end of the world having the extra two miles to pedal back, but, it would have been uncomfortable and not much fun.
Turns out the people that run De Anza are really very nice and good people.
When I checked in they took a copy of my drivers license and wrote some notes about where I planned to ride to and when I would be back. They took the DL copy and clipped it to the notes and asked me to make sure I checked in when I got back. They asked me to park my car by the office and point it out to them so that if I forgot to check in they could at least see that my car was gone and would give me a call to make sure I was ok.
Not bad for $5.00; when I got back I was tired and hungry and really wanted to get some food to eat. The "snack bar/resturant" was closed because they were preparing dinner. The guy who ran it first told me that and then said he'd be happy to make me a sandwhich anyway. I needed it...
The ride itself was awesome, though it started off with a bit of a "oops" moment.
I met up with Dan at the designated place right on time bright and early Saturday morning. He was perfectly on time which was good...
He pulls up next to me while I was filling the X with gas and asks where to park his car. I said I thought his car would be fine in the lot since most everything would be closed and said I'd be over in a minute to load his bike on the top of my car...
It was then that it happened....
He turns around to look at his bike.... then turns around and looks at me with a look like... well like... WTF....
Then he utters the words... very quietly... "I forgot my bike"....
Turns out he live about 30 minutes away, so heading out to pick up his bike then driving back right past where we are at the moment just isn't the best idea.
So we say goodby... and off I go to De Anza...
So far so good time wise, I just lost Dan, but decide that I'll do the ride solo. All is well, full tank of gas in the X, Trance on the roof heading out on the freeway, listening to some tunes and thinking about the ride I've waited so long to do... the stoke is building....
The miles (and minutes) are clicking by and the next thing you know I'm east of Alpine... then it happened. I suddenly had this sinking feeling as I realized I forgot the battery to my brand new light that I bought the night before just for this ride.
So I think screw it how dark can it be in those tunnels, hell I've been inside wrecks 300+ feet deep and had my light fail (of course I had multple back up lights) I don't need no stinking light...
A few seconds later I come back to reality and five miles further east I get to the next exit and head back to Scripps Ranch to get the battery. I get there get my battery spend about ten minutes trying to convince my GF she REALLY should come with me.
Well, okay, maybe three minutes on that and seven minutes trying to explaing that it really is easy for someone to FORGET TO BRING THEIR BIKE to a bike ride...
Both prove impossible so off I go (again).
Long story short the ride we planned to start at 8:30 in the morning with two people actually gets started at 10:30 with just me....
I've been wanting to and looking forward to doing theis ride since I got my bike last year. Now that I've done this out and back I really want to shuttle this down to Dos Cabezas or Ocotillo badly.
It's not a real difficult out and back to the Goat Canyon Trestle but it was hot and it was a bit harder getting back than one thinks it will be based on the grade.
Getting out there however is a easy coast for the most part. You have to, or at least should, set a slow pace if you are alone (which you shouldn't be). The penalty for falling could be pretty bad in a lot of spots.
I walked some stuff I would have likely ridden if I were not alone; I just didn't want to take the chance of falling and going down that hill/cliff.
In the tunnels a decent light is necessary. The light I bought was fine and worked well once I figured out why it didn't seem bright enough.
The long tunnel is probably close to half mile long or so, I'd guess; and it was in this tunnel I figured out what the problem was with my light.
I was riding alongside the tracks in the tunnel and ran into a old bag of cement I didn't see; it was pitch dark in there and my light just didn't seem to bright enough and just didn't see the bag or much of anything else really.
Anyway I smash my front wheel into something and and it pretty much stopped me but at least I didn't OTB. It kind of shocked me and I looked down to see what I hit.
When that bag stopped me I went to put my foot down I was up on the side of a little burm and didn't even realize it, so when I dabbed my foot there was nothing there and over I went. It was like a slow motion tip over, kinda like when you're clipped in and stop and forget to unclip; tha kinda tip over, but I couldn't see what I was falling into; it was just pitch black.
When I got up my light shined into the middle of the tracks and it looked like a smooth freeway in there, so I got in between the tracks and road out the rest of the tunnel from there.
My light that I was so impressed with the night before just didn't seem very bright in the tunnels and I was sure it was more than enough light for those tunnels when I picked up at Bike Bling.
The rest of the way down the tunnel was pretty much uneventful except I hit a couple holes I couldn't see but didn't fall my front wheel just kind of dropped into them pretty hard and it was a "what the hell was that" kind of moment because I just couldn't see shit with that friking light....
I was getting kind of pissed about the brightness of my light and seriously considering hiking my bike to the end to keep me from running into crap I can't see. But before I HAB outa there I stopped in the tunnel to see if maybe I just needed to adjust the aim of my light or something.
It was then that I noticed I still had my sun glasses on....
What a fing DORK... I rode into all the tunnels before this one and obviously including this one and didn't even think about my sun glasses. Most of them you could see the other end so while I wasn't happy about the light output it really didn't bother me too much because I could see all the shit I was about to smash into and avoid it.
Until I got to the really long one...
After that revelation I took my sun glasses off before going into any more tunnels and all was well...
Pretty much from there the rest of the ride was uneventful and really fun. I pretty much coasted out to Goat Canyon for the most part stopping to take a few pictures along the way and messing with shooting some video with the new Contour HD.
Spent a little time at Goat as I mentioned an headed back to De Anza.
On the way back the temp had gone up and the wind had picked up. The "easy" up hill was pretty much a contant grind, not hard just a grind.
When I got to goat I have most of my 3 liter camel back still full, I hadn't taken but a few sips off it on the way out because I had a couple bottle of water with me as well. Keep in mind I purposly drank both those bottels on the way out there; about 2 quarts of water and, by the time I turned around at Goat I had eaten two packs of Gue Chomps and a Cliff bar.
By the time I got back to the entrance of the long tunnel (maybe 2/3's of the way back) I was starting to bonk. So I stopped at the entrance of that tunnel; here:
I rested for a while here. By the time I got here I had drank more than half the water in my camel back.
By the time I got about a mile from De Anza I was starting to cramp and had to stop rest and stretch. I also had finished all but a few sips of water from my camel back by this point.
I'm glad that I decided to park at De Anza, not just because I knew my car was safe but also because that last 11/2 to 2 miles would have been a bitch to ride back to the gas stations.
All in all an awesome day. But it's not likely I would do it alone again.
I'm really wanting to and looking forward to shuttling this though...
Here's a few pics from the day and if I can get it to work one not so good video, don't watch the video (assuming it works) if you are prone to motion sickness...
