Tiya gets all Muddy

Last week Devyn and I went mountain biking in Sullivan Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. Tiya couldn't join us because she had made other plans so this week I took Tiya to the same place. I was expecting Tiya to have more trouble with the ride but she surprised me by rising to the challenge. In contrast to last weeks ride with Devyn it was nice and overcast allowing us much cooler temperatures and I didn't make the mistake of forgetting water this time.

We slowly made our way through the dreaded residential area which is the steepest section of the ride. She seemed a little relieved once we got to the fire road but still had a look of concern in her eyes for what the rest of the ride might be like. There were fewer complaints than I had anticipated as we rode the 4 miles to the top of the mountain. We stopped occasionally along the way to rest and to take pictures. I continually assured Tiya that we were just going to take our time and enjoy the ride, the beautiful scenery and the nice cool breeze.



The wild flowers are all in bloom right now filling the air with a wonderful fragrance that will soon be replaced with the strong smell of sage as the temperatures continue to rise. We couldn't have asked for a better day to go riding.


We finally made it to the Nike Base at the "Top" of the mountain with Tiya asking, "We're all done climbing right Dad?" "Yep, that's it. It's all down hill from here," I told her. Well... apparently my opinion of "all done climbing" is different than Tiya's. As we left the Nike Base we continued along the ridge which has less than a 2 degree incline- barely a climb at all. I don't even count it as a climb but by the way Tiya was carrying on you would have thought we were back in the residential area. Another 1/2 mile up the ridge we turned onto Sullivan fire road and continued another 1/2 mile where we jumped onto the single track trail that would lead us down into the canyon.

Now that we are on the single track and heading, without a doubt, downhill I figure Tiya will start to really enjoy the ride. I stop on the trail about 100 yards down to wait for Tiya who I can hear yelling, "Ouch! Argh! Oh! Ahh!" As she catches up to me I can clearly tell that she is not having fun. One thought quickly rushes through my head- "Oh Crap! I'll never get her out here again!" "Dad, I thought you said this was the fun part," she says to me.

My ship is sinking fast!

I tell her to stand up on her pedals and not to sit on her seat as we descend into the canyon. Another 100 yards or so down the trail we come up to a narrow portion of the trail that has a large trench to the left of us. I yell back to Tiya, "Stay to the right Sweatheart!" This is of course followed by her screaming and falling into the trench. She scrambles to her feet and jumps out quickly afraid of what she might find in the trench. I have to admit, I probably would have done the same thing- No snakes for me thank you very much! At this point I get to play hero and retrieve the shoe that she has lost in the trench. Tiya puts her shoe back on, brushes herself off, laughs a little bit and gets back on her bike. The further we descend the less screaming I hear. We begin to zig zag through the trees and tall brush and cross over the stream that runs through the canyon. She now has mud splattered up her legs and is wet from crossing over the water but the screaming has been replaced by cheers and laughing and as I look back I see a big smile on her face. It was great to see my little girl so happy to get so muddy and dirty. We had an awesome ride down through the canyon.


We were both bummed to see the end of the trail and the last short, steep climb to the car didn't seem to faze her.