Saturday, December 18, 2021

Up, Up and Away

So to start off my end of year vacation I decided to ride Blackbirb up to the top of Loma Prieta. And by the top I mean "almost, but not quite, the top" because some cantankerous land owners won't let Midpen open up that part of Sierra Azul to public access.

But why am I climbing the mountain?

For the views, mostly. It felt like it had been a while since I saw the pacific.

It looks nice from up there.

With the waves catching the sun.

But I'd also never ridden up to Summit via Lexington. I'd only done it the long way via Mt Madonna.

Did I mention it was cold? It was very cold. It didn't crack +5c until I had reached Loma Prieta Ave, and eventually crept up to +15c in the sunny spots along the ridge line leading towards the mountain itself. Dropping back down it was still only +10c in the shady areas.

This here is sort of the long-term goal. Along that ridgeline to the right is a fire road that leads all the way from Loma Prieta to Mt Um. You can see the cube in the distance, which actually looks a lot farther away than it really is due to the wide angle lens on my iPhone. This is what it looks like closer up.

And potato quality thanks to the digital zoom.

Anyway, the road is almost entirely within the bounds of Sierra Azul, but again due to the cranky landowners it's not open to the public. Either this trail or the trail that drops down to Almaden Reservoir would make it incredibly more convenient to do rides along Summit.

Some day, perhaps.

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