Rancho San Vicente and Calero Park
Trail Review
I entered Rancho San Vincente from Almaden Road. I then biked these trails Almaden, North Ridge, Lisa Killough, Oak Cove, then exited Calero Park, where I then rode my bike back via McKean Road.
The trails were mostly single (wide though) track dirt roads with just a few spots with rocks on them. The trails were dry and dusty for the most part. The climbs were gentle for the most part, except for on Oak Cove Trail near the parking lot, where there were a couple of hills that were steep.
There were plenty of other cyclists, though all were on mountain bikes. I didn’t see any other gravel bike riders.
On the ride, I spotted three snakes (one sitting on a picnic table, one that I narrowly missed crossing Oak Cove Trail, and the last that was already run over on McKean Road) and a couple of squirrels.
There was not much shade on the trails. There were pockets of shade on Lisa Killough Trail and Oak Cove Trail that were welcome.
What I Learned
Near the end of Lisa Killough Trail, I had a fall where I scraped my knee in a couple of spots. After fixing the alignment of my handle bar by 90 degrees, I opened my first aid kit and got to cleaning the blood and bandaging myself up. I was so so so glad to have my first aid kit and the knowledge from my Wilderness First Responder course to take care of myself.
After the fall, my front brake was squeaking, so I stopped at a picnic bench to fix it, only to find out that my bike tool was broken from the fall. Time to get a better bike tool that won’t break.
My bike has served me well for over 2000 miles, but it also means that my tires are pretty worn. While its more than good enough for asphalt, it just isn’t very grippy on loose sand, and I think that’s the biggest reason I fell (because I really don’t think I was going way too fast). Until I get new tires, I’m swearing off any mountain biking trails. Or like my friend Steve suggests, maybe I should just get another set of wheels that I can put mountain biking tires on.
Media Consumed
Different Seasons by Stephen King
What Happened?
19.6 miles, 2 hr 59 mins, 1377 ft of ascent
On a weekend where Cassie and I stayed home for once, I went for an easy ride by myself. I had ridden Lisa Killough Trail once before, but at that time, I was hurried and it wasn’t the experience I now wanted to experience. But not wanting to do the exact same route, I decided to ride the Lisa Killough Trail then ride through the rest of Calero County Park by linking through Oak Cove Trail.
The ride started off great with me riding with Cassie around the neighborhood for an easy ride to help her ease back into cycling after a knee injury. I then rode down Almaden Road to get to the Rancho San Vicente entrance. Because on the opposite side of the ridge from the main parking lot, there was no soul to see—only swaying grass sashaying in the wind. The green-gold field looked alive as the puffy white clouds trudged unhurriedly. When I got on the North Ridge Trail, much of the same continued—a steady single track dirt trail with some pretty views all around.
Lisa Killough Trail was pretty much the same, except when the trail turned into the hillside, the waves of grass stalks were met by dense trees. These oasis of shadows were an awesome respite from the sun, though because it was also shaded from the wind, the dirt was looser and slippery.
On one of these last turns on this trail, I came down the trail a bit faster than I should have, tried to turn, and I somehow ended up with two gashes on my right leg and some small scuffs on my hands. I wish I could remember the accident in more detail, but I don’t really remember much except, I know I was going too fast for the turn, then I’m up on my feet, holding my bike which has its front handlebar turned 90 degrees, my leg is gashed, but not yet bleeding, and the sides of my arms, shorts, and legs are dusty. I think my right leg must have run into my bike during the fall as the gashed areas were free of dust. I gathered my wits, moved my bike off the trail, found my first aid kit, and while blood started running down my leg, got a prep pad, a triangular bandage, and a self-adherent wrap. I first cleaned the would that was bleeding the most, then tied the triangular bandage around it, and then held that tight with the wrap. When I was done with the bottom would, I looked at the top gash but it had stopped dripping blood, so I left it alone and decided to work on it later. During this time, half a dozen bikers passed by with more than half asking me if I was all right (which I responded to by saying that I was fine). I then rode down to the intersection where Lisa Killough Trail ended and Oak Cove Trail started.
At this point, I could have ridden the Cottle Trail back to McKean Road, but I had ridden that way before, it wouldn’t save me that many miles, and my right leg felt better than it looked—so I continued on to Oak Cove Trail. I did notice that my front brake was squeaking, so I found a bench and tried to fix it, only to find out that my multi-tool was broken (and without the body that it connected to, it was impossible to apply enough torque to undo the screws to adjust my brake). Given that my hands weren’t free of pain either, I just gave up and got back on the bike.
I had hiked Oak Cove Trail before, but I remembered almost nothing about it. I guess I had hiked it the opposite direction, so maybe that’s why nothing looked familiar, but I throughly enjoyed the mellow single track dirt trail, well until the final few hills near the parking lot that were pretty darn steep. I even had to walk up one of them as it was just too steep and too loose for me who had too recently fallen off my bike when I did not want to.
When I got back on McKean Road, it was so nice. I think every time I ride my bike on a dirt trail and it transitions to concrete where my wheels don’t slip at all, it is an amazing feeling. Kind of like hiking on sand and then walking on some solid rock—you just feel so much more able. But the downside was that there are cars screaming by you at 50 mph, sometimes with only a feet or two separating you and certain death.
I made it back all right though. Once I got home, I pretty much just abandoned everything in the garage, took a shower to clean up (and gently rubbed soap all up in the gashes), and dressed up the wounds with lots of Neosporin and gauze. Thinking back on this route though, it is a lovely, mellow route that I would still recommend to others… would just suggest trying it with newer mountain biking tires.