14 DEAD COW/CHINA FLATS/SUICIDE LOOP

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

Length: 6.5 miles

Configuration: Figure-8

Technical difficulty: 5

Aerobic difficulty: 3

Scenery: Simi Peak, Simi Hills

Exposure: 90% exposed to sunshine

Trail traffic: Light on weekdays, moderate on weekend

Trail surface: Dry hardpack with embedded sandstone boulders and small rocks—90% singletrack

Riding time: 1–2 hours

Access: Sunrise–sunset, 7 days a week

Maps: USGS 7.5-minute quad: Thousand Oaks

Special comments: Stay away from Suicide Trail if you’re a novice rider.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES (WGS84)

UTM Zone 11S

Easting 336281

Northing 3785253

Latitude N 34.11′44″

Longitude W 118.46′37″

DIRECTIONS

From Los Angeles, take US 101 northbound to Thousand Oaks and exit at Lindero Canyon Road. Turn right (north) onto Lindero Canyon, and continue for 3.8 miles; then turn left onto King James Court. After about a tenth of a mile, you’ll come to a dead end where you can park. The trailhead lies at the end of King James Court.

In Brief

Just 6.5 miles long, the Dead Cow/China Flats/Suicide Loop is scarcely a test of one’s aerobic capabilities on a mountain bike. It is, however, a challenging test of two-wheeled technical prowess. If you have any doubts about this particular skill set, avoid this route entirely. To complete this trail with grace, you must be a stellar technical climber and downhiller, which are two terms rarely uttered in the same breath. A dab-free day in this area is a medal of honor bestowed upon few mortals, or rather, immortals.

Description

After you’ve geared up, said your prayers, and strapped on knee pads and elbow guards, go around the gate at the end of King James Court and start ascending the vaunted Dead Cow singletrack.

The 1.2-mile ascent wouldn’t be an easy spin if it were a groomed fire road—you gain roughly 850 feet along the way. Adding to the steepness is a minefield of embedded sandstone dab traps. The key to cleaning this climb, I’ve been told, is to keep up your momentum as you loft your front wheel over the rocky obstacles. As impossible as it may seem, the climb has been ridden without a dab. To do it, you’ve got to be on the top of your cardiovascular and technical games. Riders adept at both are few and far between because downhillers generally aren’t uphill inclined, and XC specialists generally shy away from rocks. It’s as if John Tomac never lived.

Believe it or not, people used to ride this trail without body armor or long-travel suspension.

Once at the summit, you’ll notice a rocky, narrow path that splits off the main trail over a small hill to your right. This is the start of Suicide Trail. Save that treat for later and continue on the main trail around a gate to the beginning of a short loop around China Flats.

After a 0.3-mile descent, veer left at the 1.6-mile mark for a short singletrack climb that ends at the 2-mile mark, after which is a fairly level, zigzagging section of trail that crosses a fire road at the 2.8-mile mark and ends at a perpendicular fire road. Turn right at the fire road, and then turn right at the 3.5-mile mark, heading west on singletrack. This little loop diversion ends roughly 3.7 miles from its start, after which a left turn will have you heading south, retracing your tire tracks back to the base of Suicide Trail.

The first few feet of Suicide are impassable on wheels, so carry your bike up the small hill. Once you get to the start of the Suicide descent, peer down at the wickedly steep and rocky chute so you can pick a safe line before you start your descent (keep your weight back as far as possible to avoid the dreaded endo). If you’re in one piece at the 5.2-mile mark, turn right the first chance you get, and begin the comparatively mundane singletrack traverse back to the lower end of Dead Cow.

After the Ride

For Mexican food and margaritas to soothe the pain of injuries sustained on Suicide Trail, check out Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant, at 1712 East Avenida De Los Arboles, Thousand Oaks; (805) 493-0533. For one of the area’s best diners, check out Du-Par’s Restaurant, at 75 West Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks; (805) 373-8785.