Camp 9 Firestation

One of the great rides that I managed to sneak in during my recent trip to California was to the Camp 9 mountain-top firestation in the hills outside of Santa Clarita. This route was nice since you quickly escaped the hustle of the city and you were soon onto a nice open climb up to the station.

After a few rolling hills you arrived at a small farm that claimed to be a filming site for tv and movies. It looked a little small for that work to me, but it was a great place to get a view of the hills you were heading into.

From this point it was all climbing. The road slowly turned up past a small park and started to cut a path along the sides of the mountain as you climbed up. The view along the entire climb was great since you had a open side to the valley and could watch the road as it climbed up ahead of you. After the main climb you ended up in another small park area where you could rest before heading deeper into the mountains or turn onto the fireroad and climb up to the firestation at the top. This road was a little rougher, with large cracks and a rougher chip-seal finish, but the climbing was still great. Since the fireroad was up so high, each corner offered a new view of the valleys, a great little prize for the work of climbing up this far.

Finally you arrived at the top and into the parking area for the firestation. It was surprising to see so many cars there since the climb was so quiet. From this vantage point you could look one way to see Santa Clarita and look the other way and see Los Angeles and even the shine of the ocean.

Once you were ready to move again (and throw on a wind jacket or a vest to keep the chill out) it was time for the long descent. Once again you were subject to the rougher pavement of the fireroads, albeit at a much quicker rate this time. Turning back onto the main roads you were able to really kick up the speed and settle in for an awesome descent. On the smooth and open roads you could really tuck in and fly down. Before you knew it, you were back to the farm and heading back into town. If you are ever in the Santa Clarita area, look up the Camp 9 and plan out a ride. I promise you won't be disappointed.

California Dreaming

Just returned from a brief holiday trip down in the Los Angeles area, and was lucky to borrow a S&S travel bike for the trip. This nice titanium machine was built by Davidson bicycles, a fixture in the Seattle area. Lightweight and strong, titanium is a great choice for a travel bike, ready for anything you might run into, and ready for years of service.

The great part of the S&S design is that these bikes are full-size and ride like a standard bike, while breaking down into a plastic case that is standard luggage size (no oversize charges or random surcharges here). Once you arrive at your final destination you simply reassemble, and within a hour you are ready to hit the road.

The Davidson looked and rode great, and this model has already seen more than 4 years of good use. I had never ridden a titanium frame before, but this beautiful machine was a perfect first example. Fine, even welds and a clean brushed finish drew a few looks on my rides, and the beefy tubes created an excellent ride. I have heard plenty of talk about titanium running soft after years of hard use, but from my brief experience, I noticed nothing to give that impression. I put the bike through only about 200 miles and about 15,000 feet of climbing, but it felt stiff and ready for each climb I approached. Multiple trips into the mountains around Santa Clarita were solid tests, and I also accompanied some friends on a hilly trip through some great spots in LA.
I hope to get some more ride time on this great bike in the future, but was definitely pleased with the performance this time. Some great ride reviews shortly!