This past Sunday I headed back to Santiago Oaks, one of my favorite trails in So Cal. Meeting me were RL, Val and our friend Khoa (this would be his first time at S. Oaks). RL was riding his recently built Sette Venom, a 7” travel bike. The night before RL had some reservations about riding the Venom. Built for FR/DH, he didn’t have the right gearing for the 3Bs. At some point I was able to convince him to bring it and I’ll walk up with him, if I had to…
Onto the trail – Most of the time, the ride into the park and the climb up the 3Bs is uneventful. Just as we reach the base of the 1st B, I started shifting to a higher cog to be ready for the climb and SNAP! The right thumb shifter was super loose with no tension what so ever. Looking at my chain, it was positioned at the middle of my cassette, unable to go any higher. We stopped and tried to fix it but no luck. The cable was not loose and it appears there was something broken internally within the right shifter pod. So what happens next? I did end up walking with RL.
No biggie as the 1st B, is really the tougher of the three. Reaching the top of the 1st B, we rested for a bit and tried to tinker with my rear derailleur. Still no luck! The good thing is I can still drop down to my granny. Val and Khoa went ahead on the climb while RL and I stopped at the top of the 2nd B. Here were some boulders that look like a fun spot to for the Venom to jump over . RL took a few runs which you will see in the video below.
Dropping down into Chutes is always a blast. RL and I went down the first section fairly fast. However, since there were other bikers on the trail we slowed down a few times just so we can stay together as a group. Khoa was riding fairly well for a newbie. As we reached the bottom of Chutes, RL was behind Khoa. Not exactly sure what happened next but as we continued to descend, the trail narrowed and all of a sudden Khoa crashes. RL stops to his left and I continue to go forward towards Khoa. Not wanting to run him over or go OTB I veered to the right into the shrubs. We got up, gathered ourselves and finished the ride. Scratches were the worst of it… a good breakfast after and we were all good. Below is a video of our ride.
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(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
