Mountain Mike Rides the Point

December 30, 2019

Mountain Mike Rides the Point

Think of a place you know to be awesome by have not ridden in a while; maybe it is a place with spectacular scenery, maybe the riding is simply sublime, maybe there is some sentimental significance to the place. Now go there. Why are you putting it off?

Before today, years had passed since I had last spun wheels through the canyons and over the hills of Point Mugu State Park. There was only one way to remedy that. A cold wind was blowing, but the sun was able to break through the clouds more often than not, which kept the day from becoming uncomfortable. The sycamores, for some reason, were unwilling to give up their leaves quite yet, but that was okay - from the Overlook trail you could look down and trace their line marking Big Sycamore Canyon.

I have never ridden the entirety of the canyon, from one end to the other, from coast to city... and still haven't. While heading up that final paved push to Satwiwa, (about half way up it looks like), I realized that I really wanted to do my climbing on the Overlook Trail where I would have those grand views over the Pacific on one hand, and the canyons and mountains on the other. So back down it was, followed by a quick turn onto Wood Canyon Road, and then the Overlook Trail. Woof, that first half-mile is one steep SOB - what a reward, though, once the top is attained. There's Big Sycamore Canyon, there's Anacapa Island, there's Boney Mountain, there's the broad Pacific, and... is that? Could it be? It is... the edge of the world.

There are some bigger loops I think need to be done at some point in the future, but for now the twenty miles and 1500 feet of elevation were satisfying. There is still one more opportunity to ring out 2019 with a ride, but whatever I might manage to do on New Years Eve day will likely be pale in comparison. The trails of Point Mugu State Park - check 'em out.