Jay Barre’s Bike-In Birthday Bash!
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley
A couple weeks ago I heard that the boys from Topanga Creek Bicycle were heading to Mt. Lowe Trail Camp for their Unpredict Your Wednesday event. In case you aren’t familiar with the event – TCB goes camping every Tuesday night and then does some kind of epic ride wherever they might be on Wednesday. It is basically one of the coolest things that any bike shop has ever done. I am not able to make it to these events very often because of my work schedule and/or the location mixed with my lack of car. So when I found out about the proximity of this particular Unpredict Your Wednesday, along with the fact that my buddy Jay Barre from TCB celebrated his birthday a few days before, I knew I had to be there.
Topanga Creek is open on Tuesday so it made the most sense to meet above Mt. Lowe Trail Camp, off Mt. Wilson Road, and drop down into camp rather than riding from the city. After setting up camp I asked if anyone wanted to head up to Inspiration Point with me and was surprised that so many of the people with us had never been. We took a quick moonlit ride up there before returning to camp to kick back, have a few beers and tell stories until we couldn’t hold our eyes open anymore.
The next morning I woke up early and rode back out to Inspiration Point to get a few photos in the glorious morning light and to take in the view of the city I love. Cruising towards camp the sweet smell of people brewing coffee welcomed me back. It’s been said that people hiking or riding up Mt. Lowe in the morning know if anyone is at the trail camp immediately upon their arrival to the trail head because the strong aroma of coffee carries all the way down the canyon.
As we hung out around the campfire cooking our breakfast we discussed what kind of ride to do that day. I had a route in mind for my way back home that I thought would work. I proposed we descend Mt. Lowe Road to Sunset Ridge, take that to Millard campground, then up to the newly opened Ken Burton Trail, down to the Arroyo and then back to Silver Lake for me. The ride would normally be pretty easy, but normally we aren’t riding with fully loaded rigid mountain bikes. I had three takers. Birthday boy Jay Barre, who is currently riding TDR on a single-speed and was looking to put in the miles. Spencer J Harding, who can be talked into just about anything you do outdoors, was easy. And the winner of the best breakfast competition, Ryan Hilaman, needed to work off all the calories from his gourmet camp breakfast. Everyone thought it was a great idea and it most definitely turned out to be.
At the end of the day we were covered in mother nature, our legs were tired and our skin was burnt, but everyone was smiling. Chris Kelly from TCB drove down the mountain and rode up the Arroyo to meet us at the end of Ken Burton Trail. Ryan left his car back up on Mt. Wilson Road so Chris agreed to give him a lift up to get it. (Thanks again Chris, you’re the best!) While Chris, Jay, and Ryan loaded into Chris’s car Spencer and I headed back towards the city. With a quick stop to harass the boys at the Cub House we made it back to Los Angels just in time to catch the sunset from the Blacktop. Being out all day on a bike is not something I get to do very often. I was on my saddle from sunup to sundown that day and I’d definitely say that exemplifies an Unpredict Your Wednesday!
____
Follow Kyle on Instagram, Jay on Instagram, Spencer on Instagram, Topanga Creek on Instagram, Unpredict Your Wednesday on Instagram and Ryan on Instagram.
