For the record here is an account of the longest single speed ride I have done, as of this writing, in Coe.
Tom Oshima did it as well.
To begin, one needn't suffer an explanation of what ss mtb is all about. Yet in order to understand it, one would have to actually ride an ss.
Coe is considered a hilly place. SS bikes are considered hard to pedal uphill. Therefore Coe and ss are meant for each other, because the previous statements are wrong. Coe is not always hilly, and single speeds are easier to pedal uphill because they are typically lighter than geared bikes.
While I have yet to tackle Coit Road from the end of Gilroy Hot Springs Road on an SS, and I am pretty sure it is do-able, the natural place to begin a ride would be up the Jim Donnelly Trail.
When I was involved with the construction of the JDT I began to take an ss bike up and down the trail as we worked on it. From this experience the germ-idea of venturing deep into the park on an ss was formed.
The idea of riding to the far eastern end of the park and back was tested in May 2013:
http://forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/ssschitterend-netherland-coe-ride-report-849383.htmlThe route was a modest mostly out and back affair which I named "ssschitterend" after a Dutch word that means "brilliant" because ss bikes are brilliant and they popular in flat geographies like the Netherlands. But I also named the ride after a trail I named in Coe in the far eastern end of the park which is also quite brilliant, called the Schitterend Trail.
One more thing to add is that I once or twice saw a Coe rider named Kevin riding an ss in Coe while working on the Cougar Trail. Now Cougar is one of the meanest steeps, and Kevin was going up it. Well, he shouldered his bike, and just hiked up it. That showed me something. Hmm, I thought.
Alright then, so Tom and I meant to start the ride at 7am, but actually began around 7:45 I imagine. Starting earlier than the 2013 Ssschitterende was important because we knew we needed all the daylight we could get. We barely beat darkness in '13, and we wanted to go a little deeper this time. Getting ready and getting up is such a drag sometimes. At least with an ss bike there is less crap to deal with.
Of course our bikes are rigid front and rear. This keeps the weight down a bit. In my view the best thing about it is that you feel the terrain and ride the terrain more directly. Plus the no-bob front end is essential when honking up steep grades.
The flowers are great. In my memory, the best displays of the day were on Jim to Jones, early on in the ride. No pics.
As we left the car and rode up the first ramp of the JDT I realized I had forgotten to put a spare inner tube in my pocket. Tom said I should go back and get. I said screw it, I hadn't had a flat in 100s of miles, and after all I could patch a hole if needed. So we pedaled on.
On Steer Ridge Road near the top of Lyman Wilson Trail we saw mudworm. Funny thing is, we would have missed her if we took the bovine trail. We skipped the single track to keep our feet dry. I told her we were going big. She just said she was going to HQ. Yeah right.
At Wasno Wall we rode cross country on an old road spur to get down to Wasno Pond, and got closed out on a steep hill side. We dismounted and pushed our bikes up to the ridge top and noticed a nice rock outcrop. We took a break and hiked up to the top. This is a cool place, El Dnurt Peak.
At the top of Wagon Rd we paused to eat, and presently Charlie rode up. Upon greetings he invited us to ride with him to Rose Dam Trail. This was very cool because it took us where we needed to go over fun trails, and added some yards and easy climbs. So we rode together to Pacheco Camp. This section of the ride was one of the highlights.
At Pacheco Camp we observed the camping equipment of the Coe MTB outing that Ed Martini and Paul Liebenberg had organized. Everyone was away. We all would return here later to visit with our old chums. Obviously I was scheming on bumming free beer.
The weather had been perfect all day, and it held. If anything it was on the cool side.
We decided to skip climbing up Mustang Peak, to save time and energy. That's kind of pathetic, and I regret not climbing it. However, it all worked out because while we breaked at the top of Long Ridge Rd a Taco drove by, which we greeted with smiles and hollers, as they drove down that steep decline to the north. We would see this truck again.
We spun the Schitterend, reached the far gate, and began the plod back.
The steepest grades on our route were a couple of rollers on Long Ridge Rd.
When we arrived at Jackrabbit Lake we rode right up to the Taco and I asked them if they had any ice-cold beer. Yes! Tom and I chugged one Tecate each. So dam good!
We rode off side by side on the double track down from the pond eager to reel in the pleasant miles to Pacheco Camp. In the first swale I saw a clump of grass in the bottom of the crossing and blithely pinned it. Pinned the front tire hard into a hidden angular stone, and pinch flatted severely.
Luckily the tire was okay. There were two 1/2" cuts in the inner tube. Yes, I should convert to tubeless I know. I will soon, because this repair turned into a real pain in the ass. My kit contained two tubes of glue. Both dry. Now what? Tom, do you have a patch kit? Yes. But the first tube was dry. The second kit had some barely moist glue in it, which I used up, and patched with. But it didn't hold upon inflation. Fiddled with it, and tried again, no go. So this was close to panic. But Tom had found a third tube of glue which was full and good. We got the tire patched up, and it held, so it seemed.
We rode down to the creek, and my front tire was almost flat. We stopped again to re-repair it. This time it held better, but was going flat every 2-4 miles, thereafter. Tom had a good Lezyne pump with a hose on the end that was very efficient. I ended up using this to firm up the tire every few miles until we reached Pacheco Camp.
The Orestimba Creek section and Alquist were stunning. Since we had spent so much time on tire problem we just kept moving as much as possible knowing that the day was growing short. It was exciting. I was pretty sure I would get a new tube at Pacheco Camp.
Bacon and then beer were the first thin' we got after hand shakes and hugs at camp. Getting an innertube proved to be more challenging.
I went through four of Eric Simonsen's tubes he offered me, until I found one that would work. It was starting to get cold, and our time here was longer and more toilsome than I wanted it to be. Everyone was so relaxed with brewskis and rides all done. Eddie had a feast lovingly prepared for the campers. It looked awesome.
