Adventure Ride!
So my buddy Guy Dutton posted on social media that he was planning on riding Box Canyon, Black Canyon, and Brown Canyon on Saturday morning and it would include a brutally steep climb up to the top of Oat Mountain north of Chatsworth. On the way down we could visit the Nike Missile Defense site that is decaying there.
I agreed to meet up in Calabasas at 8 am and it looked like it was going to be a perfect day for a ride like this. I was a bit overkitted but I was able to stuff pockets and be comfortable throughout the day.
We zoomed up Valley Circle and took the hook left up Box Canyon. Not knowing how far away the summit was I hunkered down and just tried to keep Guy within sight. Soon enough we were at the top and we dropped down into Simi Valley near Corriganville and we headed to Black Canyon which featured some 30% sections that had me serpentining and cursing at the sun.
Had some great views at the top and we descended Woolsey (?) Canyon back to the reservoir. Had a quick stop for fuel before climbing up DeSoto north of the 188 which is Brown Canyon.
Brown Canyon was one of the hardest climbs I’ve ever had to do in my life as a California roadie. What a steep mother fo! Halfway up the climb Guy snapped a pic of me in front of the Ancestral Tree where people go to consult their spirits:
We passed by free ranging cows and horses with no fences between us and some pretty intimidating looking bulls. Thankfully they let us pass and we got to enjoy the views of the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, and the Santa Clarita Valley.
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On the way down we stopped at the Nike site and it was quite a trip to see the old buildings. The first one we entered had a couple rattlesnakes in there who were kind enough to rattle at us assholes to let us know this was their turf.
We descended into a missile silo where there was a crazy fortified bomb shelter and a huge cavernous space that used to hold the anti-ballistic missiles
Had a nice descent until hitting a cattle guard a little too hard and I got a flat.
Not to worry — Guy helped me out with some CO2 before he had to go on for an appointment and I was able to throw a tube into my tubeless rear wheel and tire.
Rewarded myself with a michelada and a burger at Pedaler’s Fork and limped home with some pretty sore legs.
Many thanks to Guy who I met riding the Belgian Waffle Ride a couple years back and who is one of the strongest fellow Velo Club LaGrange riders I know.
Kudos to Guy!
Speaking of kudos, here’s the Strava map from today.
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