Anyone been up to the SART lately? If so, what are the conditions like?
- Fallen trees?
- Creek crossings?
- Flies?
- Hamburgers at the Oaks Restaurant after the ride?
Rode it today. John Elliott Trail up from Mountain Home Center, quick Post Office Loop and back down.
I ride it in the snow, I throw my bike over the deadfalls, I put a bandana over my mouth and nose to keep bugs out, I wade thru the water when it is deap....point is I have never had a bad day riding the SART.
Don't know about the hamburgers, but they were open today at 2pm.
That is not where I dropin to the SART. I go up the road another mile, take the right fork and dropin up there...easy to find with all the sticks lineing the way. If you dropin at the first dropin you are missing some good stuff.
The ride on Saturday was awesome! Someone has obviously put a lot of effort into maintaining that trail and it was much appreciated.
- No downed trees crossing the trail
- No mud (except for one 2' long section after the first major creek crossing)
- Very few bugs (even by SoCal standards)
- Well maintained (little sand and ruts) fire road back to the top
- Incredible hamburgers at the Oaks
The only down side was a large group of riders (25+) that were riding down the trail from the top, but all were courteous and having a great day.
The large group on Saturday was BOMB (Believers on Mountain Bikes) I was one of the 25 riders you mentioned that started from the top. Its my first time riding with such a big group, I remember that we met a few riders coming the other way and felt kind of bad/guilty since they all gave us the right of way although technically we should have yielded to the uphill climbers.
Another thing i could not helpt thinking was what kind of damage were 25 sets of knobbys spaced so close together doing to that trail I love so much.........
And lastly after my experience with the group I believe so many riders riding together on a trail is not safe, I know at one point I was with about 10 riders and we were all bombing down a steep curvy section thank goodness nobody got hurt.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Does the Forest Service need to limit the # of riders in big groups, I would hate to have to get a permit to ride SART what does everyone else think?
The large group on Saturday was BOMB (Believers on Mountain Bikes) I was one of the 25 riders you mentioned that started from the top. Its my first time riding with such a big group, I remember that we met a few riders coming the other way and felt kind of bad/guilty since they all gave us the right of way although technically we should have yielded to the uphill climbers.
Another thing i could not helpt thinking was what kind of damage were 25 sets of knobbys spaced so close together doing to that trail I love so much.........
And lastly after my experience with the group I believe so many riders riding together on a trail is not safe, I know at one point I was with about 10 riders and we were all bombing down a steep curvy section thank goodness nobody got hurt.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Does the Forest Service need to limit the # of riders in big groups, I would hate to have to get a permit to ride SART what does everyone else think?
We were all spaced so far apart, I can't imagine it would cause anymore damage. It was more like 4-5 groups of 4-5 riders.
If you felt unsafe "bombing down a curvy section" you should've backed off and spaced out more. The group didn't cause you to feel unsafe, your riding practices did.
Also, I yielded to every rider I came across. Yes there were 25 of us, but like I said before, we were so far spread out, I can't see how it could've been that big of an issue. Proof being--I was in the middle of our group, I had to wait 10-15 minutes for other riders to rejoin us for the climb to the store/Post Office. At the end of our ride, the guys in the front had been done for over 30 minutes and the group right behind them for about 20. So your talking about 60 minutes between front and back.
IMHO.....a group of 25 is way too big for the SART. It's a little annoying and it detracts from the experience. I've only been on one large group ride on the SART and I'd not be a part of another.
I'm also curious why folks are going to the trouble of shuttling the trail. Why not ride it as an out and back or turn it into a loop? Why go through the hassle of parking a car at the top.....etc? I'm not trying to be a jerk....just genuinely curious about it as I ride the SART alot and it always surprises me that people choose to shuttle the trail.
We were all spaced so far apart, I can't imagine it would cause anymore damage. It was more like 4-5 groups of 4-5 riders.
If you felt unsafe "bombing down a curvy section" you should've backed off and spaced out more. The group didn't cause you to feel unsafe, your riding practices did.
Also, I yielded to every rider I came across. Yes there were 25 of us, but like I said before, we were so far spread out, I can't see how it could've been that big of an issue. Proof being--I was in the middle of our group, I had to wait 10-15 minutes for other riders to rejoin us at the store/Post Office. At the end of our ride, the guys in the front had been done for over 30 minutes and the group right behind them for about 20. So your talking about 60 minutes between front and back.
I was thinking along the same lines. Yes, there were a lot of us, but we were WAY spread out. The OC guys took off, and I never saw them again. There were some big gaps in the group.
In respone to Donkey, I shuttle it because I can hardly make it one way, let alone round trip.
Doing the entire trail out-and-back is how I prefer to do it. It's hard but fun. Of course, it's a lot easier for some and nearly impossible for others. I would think the reason some people shuttle it would be pretty obvious.
It's honestly not that obvious to me. I'm always curious as to why one would go to the trouble of orchestrating a shuttle instead of just riding the trail as an out and back or combining the SART with one of the many other trails/roads and making it a loop.
I am with Brian on this one. A easy beginner route is to park at Glass Road and 7 Oaks Road, ride the River Road up to South Fork Campground then come down the SART. If you need more miles, do more of the middle section as a out and back.
It's honestly not that obvious to me. I'm always curious as to why one would go to the trouble of orchestrating a shuttle instead of just riding the trail as an out and back or combining the SART with one of the many other trails/roads and making it a loop.
Well, if a person wanted to experience the entire trail, but was physically unable to out-and-back the whole 31 miles, they would then need to shuttle it.
I am with Brian on this one. A easy beginner route is to park at Glass Road and 7 Oaks Road, ride the River Road up to South Fork Campground then come down the SART. If you need more miles, do more of the middle section as a out and back.
Well, if a person wanted to experience the entire trail, but was physically unable to out-and-back the whole 31 miles, they would then need to shuttle it.
I was hoping for some opinions regarding the number of riders and whether there should be a daily limit (like they have for hiking San Gorgonio, for example)
Although I met lots of great folks on this ride, I don't think i will ever ride with such a big group in the future. We came up on several hiking groups and as far as saw not one mountain biker yielded to any of the hikers......
In addition, when riding in a group of say 4 or 5 or even 3 bikers, a lone biker will typically yield (I know that's what I do) I think it is silly for 5 bikers to yield to one biker.
No way should the Forest Service restrict access or limit trail use. If you don't like the crowds find more remote trails to ride...they are out there. We all know SART is way popular with easy access. PM me if you what some ride sugestions that are more remote.
I just rode SART solo on my rigid SS yesterday and it was a blast. I did have a hard time on the second half (past Glass Road), and my knees are definitely feeling it. I have also ridden there as part of a large group (most likely the time that you're referring to, Brian - SS group ride a couple years ago), and I much prefer riding in a small group or even solo.
And I actually can see how shuttling it could be fun.
And Devine, the bugs were killing me. Granted it was mostly when resting, but they were quite annoying. Next time I will not forget my bug repellent.:madman:
Well, if a person wanted to experience the entire trail, but was physically unable to out-and-back the whole 31 miles, they would then need to shuttle it.
I agree with your logic, but personally would not shuttle because I get a thrill out of kicking my focking arse on some heinous climbs!
On another note, I was with another group that witnessed your gaggle of cyclist at the Oaks and I am thankfull we did not encounter your large group on the trail. I was seriously expecting that we might get whiped out on a blind curve, but we didn't!
As a cyclist I have encountered multiple large groups of 15, 30, 40 or so hikers in groups on one ride and that really messes up the experience. I feel like telling these bone heads to break it down into smaller groups or to go somewhere else, it really spoils the serenity of the outdoor trail experience. As a hiker I am sure they feel the same way about us! The added bounus is that riders in a group tend to ride more competitively, agressively, faster and take more chances in a group, I know this from experience! Long live the group ride! Seriously!
We did 33 miles with about 4,000' of climbing, started at the Oaks, did the regular begining route to Glass then up to Jenks and down Poop Out trail to South Fork and back. It was beautiful in every way, the lake was awesome, streams were great and we ran into only 4 riders on the trail!
Anyone interested in riding SART up and back in the near future? My schedule is wide open. I can't justify driving there from Orange County to go by myself. Better yet, if you want to carpool from the OC area, that's an added bonus. I know sections of the trail, but I've never done the whole thing in its entirety... I need a guide... or could I could I just tag-along with a group that's already going? --like the group mentioned in this forum, or a smaller group I could tag-along with. (That's what I would prefer... I don't want to inconvience anyone) I don't really know anyone on mtbr but I thought I'd be brave and give it a whirl.
~joy
I rode it once with a really nice group from the Cannel Plunge ride last year. They were great & fun to ride with, but I don't know their mtbr names.
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