Russian Ridge

So life is full of little disappointments. I was all set to race, but ended up having to work. Instead of an afternoon on my bike full of downhill excitment, I got an afternoon of "The magic treehouse series is over in the paperbacks under O for Osborne" and "Could you please use your cellphone outside?"

Yeah. Sometimes you race. Sometimes you work.

So this morning when I got up I was determined that I was going to have an epic ride. If I couldn't race yesterday, then I could at least ride somewhere else besides friggin' Fremont Older. So I pulled out my Mountain Biking the Bay Area trail maps, and perused my choices.

I settled on:



Russian Ridge was going to be an adventure. First of all I've never gone mountain biking by myself on an unknown trail. So there was not going to be any relying on (or blaming) anybody elses directions. I was in charge of the map, and the trail. If there was any complaining about the trail, I was going to have to direct it towards the lizards.

From the book, I chose the 8 1/2 mile route marked intermediate for both aerobic fitness, and technical. I didn't ride anything too technical, so I don't know where they got the intermediate part, but there was enough climbing that I felt like I was getting a workout.

The ride, of course, started with a climb.

The view from Ancient Oaks Trail.

Ancient Oaks Trail had it all; climbing through open hillside, and a fun downhill singletrack through the woods that lasted quite awhile. I almost pitched myself off my bike riding over a gnarly root, but recovered quickly and rode on.



What goes down, always goes up. Riding up Ancient Oaks Trail to Hawk Trail.


Crossed over Skyline Blvd and took a moment to enjoy the view, before heading down Meadow Trail.


Meadown Trail was the best trail; fireroad, singletrack, woods and meadows all in one mile. Too bad it didn't last longer.


A quick stop to check the map.

The next part of the ride I could have skipped. I crossed Page Mill Road and picked up the trail over in the Monte Bello Open Space Preserves. I was suppose to make a left, but went straight instead. I rode a fun little downhill trail into nothing, before realizing I was going to wrong way. I turned back around, rode back to the gate, and made my left onto a trail that had recently been plowed. I hiked my bike for .3 miles then stood in an empty field/parking lot trying to figure out where White Oak Trail went to. After riding aways, I found a marker, and pushed off down White Oaks Trail.

The guide describes the trail as "scenic, sometimes rutted singletrack through open oak grasslands and woods."

Sometimes rutted? They weren't kidding. My bike went bam, bam, bam, bam the entire downhill, my head bobbing around like those little plastic bobble head dogs you put in the back window of your car. So I stopped to rest a bit, then I heard the snort. I'm pretty sure lizards don't snort. Horses do, but this was not a horse snort. This was more of a wild animal type snort. Like a rhinocheros. But rhinos aren't native to California, I don't think. Unfortunately (or fortunatley?) the trail was surrounded by "open oak grasslands" so I all I heard was the snorting. Enough resting. I took off down the rutted trail so fast my teeth rattled.

There was a nice singletrack through the woods, but I was a bit leery about charging rhinos, so I didn't linger.


Feeling a little tired, I rode around Horseshoe Lake, then picked up the Ridge Trail back to the car. Of course it was all uphill from there. I hiked my bike up a long, long hill then finally .1 miles away from the Alping Parking lot I came across this...


I rode past this building and thought "I've been here before..."


Then I came across the Alpine Lake and realized I was here on my first ride at Saratoga Gap almost a year and a half ago. I didn't remember any of the other trails I rode, but I remember this lake. I was glad to see it again, because sometimes I think about that ride and how nice it was at the lake.


Still .1 miles away from the car, I found a very cool rock, and a place to take a picture of my very cool juliana at the end of the trail.

So that's my epic ride for Monday. Not as exciting as a downhill race, or a ride in Tahoe, but it'll do.