Alright y’all. 2nd time ever on a mountain bike. Thought I’d hit up Sycamore Canyon in Riverside because, hey, how bad could it be? Y’ALL ARE LIARS. I was breathing like a dying vacuum cleaner and dry heaving like a cat with a hairball.
Started at the North Entrance because I thought it was for bikes. Spoiler: it’s not. That trail was built by mountain goats with a grudge. Thirty minutes of non-stop climbing, hiking across sketchy ravine drops, and questioning every life decision I’ve ever made later—I bailed and switched spots.
That’s when I met the legends: Chicken Hawk and Ammo Gulley. Way more fun. Tons of looping trails where I could practice and pretend I knew what I was doing. I hit as many as my 220lb, 31-year-old dad-bod could handle before my legs started writing their will.
Meanwhile, my bike’s chain was out here shifting on its own like it had unfinished business in another dimension. Every time I hit a bump it made a sound like a dying squirrel getting exorcised. And the only thing louder than my screams of regret were my brakes begging for mercy.
10/10 would suffer again.
by Even_Formal5903
4 Comments
Keep going. It gets better with time and skill
Nice! Nice writing too 😉
Hopefully I’ll see you out there one day since I live only a few miles away from Sycamore Canyon (other side of UCR)!
Yeah, the initial climbing is tough but it’s better to get it out of the way first, eh? I thought of trying to drive to that tiny little subdivision park on the east side and unload the bike there instead. It’s right where the worst of the climbing ends, on the east side, so seems doable.
What I don’t like about sycamore canyon is the lack of trail signs or any unique features to make navigating around there easier. I’ve been there probably 10 times. I feel confident that I’ve ridden every section at least once. My last ride there I started from the north end and pedaled all the way to the south end. On the way I saw some of the fun looking dh sections with the winding berms. I thought, “Ooh! Can’t wait to hit that coming back!” Well I never got to. I got lost and ended up somewhere at the bottom of a hill where I had to hike most of the way back up. Ran out of time and sprinted back to the car and never came across that dh section I wanted to hit. A lot of the topographical sections look the same, and I feel I have to stumble upon the fun dh section thru sheer luck to get to ride em.
Keep on ripping bud.
I took 10yrs off from 4 knee surgeries. Honestly thought I’d never ride again. 2 yrs ago I bought a HT, I was 47 and 280lbs. And now all I think about is being on my bike. I haven’t lost much, down to 250. Anyway sorry for rambling, what I’m trying to say is this a great community and the biking only gets better.