Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Once again it was that time of year for Crash Maxwell’s PushaKona. (The spirit of the ride is to take your freeride bike out for a long ride in the Santa Ana’s and feel lots of pain.)
Videos: There are 5 videos in all throughout this post. The ride videos are broken down into 4 parts with a bonus "Can't See Bottom" video.
I didn’t think I would do it this year since I tend to not do long rides in the Santa Ana’s anymore. What ended up hooking me into the ride was the fact that I had never ridden Bell Ridge, so I figured it was time to cross that one off my list. What better way to do it than with a great group of riders.
We met in a parking lot in RSM at around 7:00 AM. The weather was a little cold and cloudy at times. One of those almost warm in the sun, cool in the shade types of day.
We would have nearly 35 riders for this one, with Bill out from Washington state and DT aka dft, Brent and Dirty D up from San Diego:
This year, Crash Maxwell decided to invite the SS community out as well. Of course I’m not sure how carrying a 20 pound bike up West Horsethief is considered suffering, but ok. I’m glad they came, because I have ridden with many of them through the years.
There was little delay waiting for the XC folks to fix their flat tires:
Jon gets his tunes ready:
A little after 7:30 AM, we were off and rolling:
We made our way up the Trabuco Wash to the Holy Jim parking area to regroup:
From there it was up Trabuco.
Here the group tries to clean the short creek bed section:
We would regroup again about two thirds of the way to the West Horsethief trailhead:
Let the climb up West Horsethief begin:
I must say that thanks to the Warrior’s Society, West Horsethief is the best shape I have ever seen.
It’s always a great feeling when West Horsethief levels off and you are able to pedal again.
Pain Freak nears the top:
The regroup on the Main Divide above West Horsethief:
For all you DT (dft) fans out there, DT had started the ride with a bad brake rub on his rear wheel. The wheel would not spin more than one revolution on its own. Good stuff.
Time for the short ride across the Main Divide.
Here DT fixes a chain issue:
Pain Freak and gurp13 pass by on the Main Divide:
A big thanks to Steve T. for giving me a push on the final climb before reaching Trabuco. He must have pushed me for about 30 seconds. I was hurting.
Serge, Brent, Jon and Dirty D arrive at the Trabuco/Los Pinos trailhead:
From here we lost Serge, Cow and Spooky Dave. They decided it was better to bail down Trabuco.
The rest of us would head up Los Pinos.
Frank pushes up the first long climb:
A couple of rolls later the group regrouped one final time at the Bell Ridge trailhead:
Video:
Bell Ridge Part I (Please right click and select Save Target As...)
Crash Maxwell leads us down the first part of Bell. Note the tight singletrack and heavy brush. Plus Crash lives up to his name twice.
Duration = 7:39
File size = 67.6 MB
The trail started off fun under thick brush. But soon the smile on my face turned to tears when I saw this:
Two steep hike-a-bikes. (The first one is not visible in the picture above.)
At the bottom of the first hike-a-bike I ask Jon to please shoot me:
Looking up at the second major hike-a-bike:
It took a lot to get to the top, but I made it. (At a snails pace.)
A nice view across the way of West Horsethief:
Video:
Bell Ridge Part II (Please right click and select Save Target As...)
Featuring the riding talents of Dirty D and Brent. Some nice views in this one.
Duration = 5:35
File size = 49.1 MB
About half way through we arrived at the highlight of Bell Ridge. This section is known as “Can’t See Bottom.”
You know what, they are right:
DT was only one skilled enough to clean it today.
CalEpic would OTB on the upper portion and cut his ear and injure his middle finger:
Dirty D:
Crash Maxwell:
Speed control and the S turn up top is what makes this section a real challenge. (Don’t forget it’s in the middle of Bell Ridge, so most mortals are tired by this point.)
I didn’t have any luck with the S turn, but had fun none the less:
Photo by Crash Maxwell
Video:
Can't See Bottom (Please right click and select Save Target As...)
Duration = 3:05
File size = 26.5 MB
From there the rolls aren't so bad.
Here the heavy bike crew, some as much as 40+ pounds stop and take in the scenery. Bell Ridge has some of the best views in the OC.
Danno, DT, Crash Maxwell, Dirty D and Brent:
Video:
Bell Ridge Part III (Please right click and select Save Target As...)
Jon and Crash Maxwell. The trail opens up and picks up speed.
Duration = 5:45
File size = 49.9 MB
Eventually the bushes fade into tall grass, signaling that you are near the end. You would think that Bell Ridge is going end with a whimper. It did not!
Looking down at the Trabuco Wash:
Let me pause to give a big thanks to Jon and Crash Maxwell for hanging at the back with me as I struggled on the smallest of inclines. Crash Maxwell would even say, “Winston you are getting out of here even if I have to carry you out.” Fortunately it never got close to that point.
Also, once again a big thanks goes out to the Warrior’s Society for their work on Bell Ridge. This ride could have been much more painful.
Looking down the trail from the last picture I spotted Dirty D and a rider fixing his bike. When Jon, Crash Maxwell and I rolled up we discovered it was none other than DT fixing a flat:
Talk about an instant morale booster. “Darn Winston, I almost had it fixed.”
Video:
Bell Ridge Part IV (Please right click and select Save Target As...)
Once again Jon and Crash Maxwell are featured. (Jon's excellent bike control and Maxwell's special talent.) Plus a look into the world of DT's fragile tubes.
Duration = 6:47
File size = 59.6 MB
From here the trail was a blast. Rough, fast, baby heads and lots of fun. For a second I thought I was on Tunnel.
Well that leads us to DT’s second flat:
Like I said, the last section was fun and it should show in the video. Of course it took the San Diego guys to guide the OC guys out of their own trail. DOH!
A little after 3:30 PM we arrived back in the parking lot:
Andy was nice enough to have a cold Pepsi waiting for me. We sat around for an hour reliving the fantastic ride we had just been on.
Of course in the end, all I got was this darn t-shirt:
Great riding with everyone!
More PushaKona 3 recaps
"This stinks! This is total BS!" - Bob 'Bulldog' Briscoe