Back in the early 2000’s Derek raced and even won his Expert category at the Keyesville Classic mountain bike race in Lake Isabella, CA. I remember being injured and not able to race, so this ride was new for me. The trails are fast and flowy classic cross country trails.
This area is beautiful with big views of grassy hillsides with huge granite boulders, wildflowers, and the Kern River racing rambunctiously through the canyon below. It’s a warm week so we tried to get out early-ish to ride. We did a loop of the race course and then added on an out and back on the Kern Canyon Trail for a ways.
From the race loop, the Kern Canyon Trail drops way down to the river and then rolls up and down through meadows and along ridges. Motos are allowed on these trails and there are sections that are quite rutted and loose due to wear and tear. The tread is pretty narrow in sections…almost overgrown with grasses, willdflowers, and branches. We didn’t see anyone else on our whole ride. Just rattlesnakes. Yes, we saw two on this ride, in fact one was coiled up rattling at me as I came around a corner. That’s where we turned around and headed back up the trail. Yikes!
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