Originally Posted by
cdp8
On Saturday, I rode from West Fork to the Crystal Lake Cafe then on to Dawson Saddle via the closed section of CA 39. It is still quite clear of debris. Started at 6:45 am and the weather was perfect. Met up at the cafe with a buddy of mine who is doing the Death Ride next weekend; he started at Santa Fe Dam for extra miles and climbing. That closed section of 39 is spectacularly beautiful. I hope Caltrans reconsiders and keeps working on it. The large majority of the roadbed has been rebuilt. I think there was only one small section that was one lane. There was also one small section with water on the road that needs improved drainage. But other than that, it just needs some fresh black top.
My computer crapped out for a while, but based on my buddies garmin I put in about 48 miles and about 7000 feet of climbing (all of which was in the first 26 miles). What a ride. I'll be doing that one at least once a month until the snow flies.
frankly...and i don't think i'm alone in this assessment...i pray caltrans never reopens it to automobile traffic but keeps it relatively clear of debris
officially for the usfs and fire trucks.
i don't mind it being our little high-altitude bike path
unofficially. when relatively clear of rockfall, the road is in decent shape. could it use repaving? of course but i feel the caltrans 'rockplows' are enough of a luxury considering the road is closed.