China Camp

Huge group ride

Oct 29, 2006

What a turnout. I couldn't believe it. I was expecting MAYBE 5 people on this ride. We started out with twice that, and ended up with 12 folks at the end of the ride. Even though this was a Mere Mortals ride, we had some folks from MTBR who recently joined, and even caught up with two folks I have ridden with in a looooong time (Rose and Kurt).

One of the guys we rode with, Mike from El Cerrito High School MTB Race Team, got some great photos of the 'flow on the trail. The next time was I just barely able to get ahead of the group to take photos on a wide sweeping turn. Cindy wasn't too far behind me, and I think she was amused that I thought she was farther back.

I could barely snap the photo of Cindy, where the others were a bit easier as I was in position.

The interesting thing with a group this size is that people tend to ride in clumps. The faster people tend to be together with a decent gap that separates the slower folks. Interestingly enough, this order can change during downhills and climbs. Then again, there are people who are always fast :-)

Having Mike ride with us was really cool. He was patient to hang with different groups and give various people advice. He even was joking around with Russ.

Before we hit the Miwok Meadows campground, Mike was able to get up in a tree and get some great sweeping shots. We when we took the campground, Karen and Cindy found a tire to play on..

..And this tire appears to provide a world of fun. I wish we had the giant q-tips from American Gladiator as that would have added to the fun :-) We also took a group picture using the really cool tripod Russ gave me for our anniversary. In the background of the last picture, you can see two characters watching us: that's Kurt and Rose :-) They joined us on the ride after losing touch with them last year.

Next, I rushed ahead to get some pictures..

Wow.. people were cruising here.. and Cindy is still smiling. :-)

The last of the folks flew through. Mike was riding behind everyone, as he watched the others ride. Unfortunately, I didn't get Mike in motion.. instead, I photographed him in track-stand. After this point we continued until we reached the top (note that not many people take pictures on the climb, but we should change that). When we started down the fun rocky run, I finally made it through the trees (Bill got this shot of me screaming happily). Thanks to Ray for helping me get over my mental blocks :-)

This section of trail is really interesting. You have to take the steep left turn at the top with a wide apex, or you find yourself in a funny angle and can't shot the gap between the trees. Also, if someone stops in the path, it makes it very hard to fix your line.

As the last folks continued downhill, some of us were waiting at the lower part waiting for everyone. I unfortunately didn't get my camera out for the climbing contest between Karen, Cindy, and Mike (Mike won, even though he fell at the top :-), Mike did get some shots of Bill and I descending down.

Route Taken: Shoreline/Bayview Loop. No pictures of the view this time.. there are too many from the last times :-)

Lovely ride in Marin..

June 4, 2006

I love China Camp, and the Shoreline trail out and back for me is still fun. It's a great place to introduce folks to the joy of singletrack, and I can still work on my switchbacks. :-) We had quite the turnout too.. myself, Russ, Heather, Jeannie, and Larry.

Everyone did quite well with their riding. Heather and Jeannie both looked very comfortable on their bikes, and had a good time.

As you can imagine, some ruts may have even gotten their adreline up a bit..

The trail provides some beautiful views without a lot of climbing, and even some wildlife..

Even for a fairly level trail, there are some adventures, like creek crossings..

And always bridge crossings..

Lots of happy people riding today..

With all this picture taking, there was some great scenery and terrain between open trails...

..and shady forests.

Route taken: Shoreline trail out and back.

Dios Mio! Hace Mucho Frio!

April 3, 2005

This was probably the coldest ride I've had in a while. I went biking with my buddy Rene and his daughter Danae. When we got started, it seemed like we just couldn't get warm enough. As we continued down the Shoreline Trail, there are some great smooth spots to get some speed. Rene and Denae are cruising along..

Even though it was muddy and cold (did I mention this ride was c-c-c-o-l-d?), the green hills between Rene and Danae makes a beautiful view...Of course.. the bridge shot.. :-)

I love these shots of Rene and Danae.. the first one of them flying by me, and the second one at the campground before we turn around on the Shoreline Trail and retrace our route... Finally, me in my warm cycling clothes...(brrr...)

Skin diving..

March 26, 2005

Russ and I went up to China Camp after a few month hiatus from being on our bikes. I thought a week would be enough time to let the trail dry out.

Riiiiight....

We decided to ride, even after the Village trail connects up with the Shoreline trail. We did our usual out and back on the Shoreline trail, as it's a great way to get in some miles and get comfortable again.

When we hit the first campground, we had already been through quite a bit of mud. I was hoping it was going to dry out because we were going higher. Well, silly me.

At one point, there was a little dip in the trail. Interestingly enough, when China Camp gets muddy, it becomes that North Carolina-style clay that's really slick. If you don't hit it at speed, your bike stops. You don't. I got tossed from my bike into a slab of rock helmet-first. Wear your helmet.

This was a really exhausting ride because of the mud. I couldn't believe how coated we were by the end. Even though I really want to test out my new digital camera, I only have a couple of pics because of the mud.

Chick riders!

June 26, 2004

For this ride, we had all chicks. Awesome :-)
Here are the group shot, sans Rose. Now, we just have to find someone good with photoshop.. And of course, one of the many views from the Shoreline trail as it runs near the road, alogn with some serious chick riders..

I love photos, so does Ayumi and Marianne! There's also a brake check :)

Tammy and I are goofing off for pics, and in the meantime, Marianne shows up the "Station Wagon." When we head up, Anne Marie shows off some of those mad skillz.

Check out the view.. ahhh... Marianne was enjoying it.

And look, Tammy beat us to the top to take a self-portrait! :-) Rose waits at the top for the rest of us, while the rest of us come up..

As you can see, we'll downhill in slow motion until we get to our rest stop.

The usual rest stop and the views.. Plus, a complete group pic from left to right: Marianne, Ayumi, Rose, Tammy, Anne-Marie, and Anne.

Thanks to Tammy for copies of the photos :-)

Beautiful Summer Day in Marin..

June 22, 2004

I've ridden at China Camp a few times now, and it's quickly becoming one
of my favorite rides. This time, Russ and I went with three other bikers:
Rose (who I met at China Camp), and her friends from work--Mike and Maria.

We parked at the China Camp Village (pay the $3 for parking if you're down
below), and took the Village trail to the Shoreline trail. There really isn't
too much climbing involved. The first part, though, is some really difficult
switchbacks to navigate through. Once you get past that, it's nice and
rollercoast-ry for a while.

Our first stop is the Miwok campground. It's a great place to check out some cool BBQs and, of course, take pictures. The group photo from left to right is Mike, Maria, Russ, Anne, and Rose.

After we continue along the trail, there is some really nice trail work done. Much of this portion of the trail is really clean, and part of it is armoured (has a rock surface where water flows down). There is also a fun bridge to cross, not to mention turkeys on the trail (not us, the wild turkeys).

Before we start the climb, we enjoyed the remainder of the rolling singletrack of the Shoreline trail. Russ took off ahead of the rest of us so he could get a photo of us before we cut into a switchback. You can see by these photos that Mike is the bravest of all of us. Not only is he riding rigid, but he's riding on semi-slicks.

After this, no photos for a while until we reach the top of the loop. The Shoreline trails ends, and with a few turns, we go up the Bay View trail. The Bay View trail has similar singletrack to the Shoreline trail, but several sections have a bit of exposure, and others are really rocky. We were debating on going up the Echo Trail to the vista point to see three of the bridges; instead, we decided to take pictures.

Next, we continue downhill along the ridgeline until we hit some fireroads. Some of the fireroads are a bit steep, but they definitely made a good opportunity to take pictures.

Before heading back along the Shoreline trail, we take a break at a Vista point. The views were very nice, and it was a great place for a snack before heading to the cars.

Route taken: Shoreline trail out to the Back Ranch trail, up and then down the Bay View trail, out to the Oak Ridge trail, then reconnecting to the Shoreline trail.