Sounds like a great time!If it was just regular conditions, it wouldnt
have been as memorable!-Mike
On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 7:58 PM, dougP wrote:
> My fellow steel bike enthusiast Noel got a rare mid-week day off work &
> kid duties so we planned a ride up Saddleback. The highest peaks in Orange
> County are Modjeska & Santiago, at over 5,000'. They are informally
> referred to as Saddleback. Last week the snow level in Southern California
> dropped to around 3,000' in places, and Saddleback looked to have a nice
> dusting but was clear within a few days. We never expected to ride in
> snow. For those familiar with the area, our route was out Santiago Cyn
> from the El Toro area, over Modejeska Grade (a speed bump on the way) then
> up Modejska Cyn to the end where the Harding Truck Trail is the dirt road
> up to Saddleback. One the way we met a trail runner who let us know to
> expect snow & ice if we planned to go over the ridge & drop into Silverado
> Cyn, which was our plan. Sure enough, as we gained altitude, the temp
> dropped & we slogged thru a few inches of snow & broke thru crusts of ice
> on shaded, north facing sections of the road. Amazing how little snow it
> takes to cover rocks that one wishes he'd avoided. A bit of skating here,
> rear wheel spinning there, and some pushing but we slogged thru without
> getting our feet seriously wet or falling over. Noel's bike is a custom
> 650b with Rohloff hub and my Atlantis uses 40 mm tires, just right for
> trail blazing.
>
> The top out at the main divide is over 4,000'. We elected not to try the
> last 1,000' feet or so to the absolute top of the mountain but plunged down
> into Silverado. More snow & ice lurked in the protected areas. We were
> passed by one MTBer who said he was not enjoying that part one bit. Maybe
> he had the wrong bike?
>
> Lunch at the Silverado Cafe was at hour 5 & mile 23. I'm not a good
> descender (heck, not much of a climber either!) but Noel was kind enough to
> wait up for me. We finished up back at Noel's house for a total of 31
> miles. No idea on total elevation gain but let's call it "good enough".
> And neither of us carry a camera so no photos to prove it really happened.
> We both agreed photos of a couple of So Cal natives in shorts & T-shirts,
> on road bikes in the snow on a dirt road would have been worthwhile. Maybe
> we'll do it tomorrow just for the pix (NOT!).
>
> dougP
>
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