March 28, 2010 Up GMR for a beer

Close, but no cigar Chuck enjoying a cold one

The Peak

Didn't ride this weekend so I called Chuck about going up GMR for a beer. He came over about 5:30 ensuring we would get some sunset time up in the hills. Wore shorts by mistake, should have had pants on. Keep forgetting it is still March in the mountains still. Nice beer, nice views, nice company, good time as always.

March 26, 2010 Santa Fe Dam from the house

Was moving faster than these people GMR is up there if you look close

SG River at top of bike path

Needed to get in a few miles so I decided to see how much I could push myself on going across Sierra Madre and down the bike path and out to the other side of Santa Fe Dam. I feel I did a good enough job for me. Under 50 minutes to the far side of the dam, and under 52 on the way back. Total ride had 1355 feet of gain, which surprised me. 16.4 mph average, which was not bad seeing there was gain.

March 24, 2010 GMR/East Fork/Little GMR

Mr Beanz and FryDaddy Down Little GMR towards East Fork

East Fork San Gabrial River

Crystal Lake Basin

Mr Beanz on lower GMR

Nice cool morning for a ride, so Fred and I started at the bottom of GMR at 10 AM. Thought it was going to be warmer than it turned out, but got better as the day went on. A nice ride to the top of GMR and a quick descent to the East Fork went without a hitch. Hung out on the bridge where Cow Canyon meets the East Fork for a while, then headed back up. Going up was easier than the last time, but paid for it the next day as far as the knees were concerned. Forgot to mention we met FryDaddy around Newman's Point. Interesting guy, and we met him once again near the bottom as we got down. He was out to get 11,000feet of climbing in for the day, and it looked like he would end up making it. Nice day in all.

March 23, 2010 Skiing Baldy with Justin

Rhichard(?) and Justin on Thunder Mtn. GRR from top of Thunder

Justin on Thunder with Telegraph behind

Me on Thunder with Baldy Bowl in background

Gorgo from Backbone chair area

Decided I needed to ski Baldy a few more times before the snow disappears. Man was there a lot less snow than the last time I was up, but the temps have been very warm the last week or so. Spring is here for sure. Came across Justin in the parking lot, and he was already 3 sheets to the wind. Later , coming down Skuline, he got out of control and nearly took me out. Put me in a weird space for the remainder of the day, seeing how it was real close to where I had my incident with the tree. See a lot of me inJustin, not sure how that works, LOL . Windy all day, some 60 MPH wind gusts. As usuall, any day in the mountains is a good day.

March 21, 2010 SART/GMR

CalTrans shed with Baldy in background Top of GMR

Fred, his wife Gina, and Robert after SART ride

Stretch of Santa Ana River Trail

The group, Fred,Robert,Gina, and Jose

All really nice people and great riders

Having seen the videos and heard the stories of rides on the SART, I finally invited myself along on one of Fred's weekend rides down there. It was pretty much what I figured it was going to be like , except the flatness. Man was it ever flat. We put in 42 miles and only had 500 feet of gain the entire time. One thing I really enjoyed was the riding in a paceline for the first time ever. Learned a lot from that, mainly that you have to pay attention to what is going on around you at all times. We rode inland a little over 8 miles before turning around and heading to the beach(Huntington). Got there and hung out for a while, then headed back to the cars which were parked by Angel Stadium. All in all, a great time. Seeing how I felt that I really hadn't pushed myself, when I got home, I rested for a couple hours then went up GMR to the shack. Seeing how the SDSR was still going on, the road was pretty empty for a Sunday afternoon. High clouds kept the temp up, making for a good ride both up and down. Great day on the bike.

March 19, 2010 GMR Time Trials

Steve and Katie Start of Stage Race One of the racers

Waiting for his start

Couple hikers having fun with their dogs behind

Debris Basin

Got home from work and hit Steve up to see if he was interested in hiking up the trail above Loraine Ave to intersect GMR at the first switchback to watch as the racers from the San Dimas GMR stage race Time Trials rode by. Thought I could get a new hike in and get some pics at the same time. The hike was a nice one, and we hit the pavement right at the switchback. Stayed there for a while, getting plenty of shots as the riders were coming through quite often. Turns out they were being sent off from the bottom every 30 seconds. We then hiked down to behind the debris basin,which was empty for the most part, and I went up to the staging area and got some more pics. It was interesting to see the workings of how a race is sent off. We then hiked back to the trail and down to Steve's truck, where I got some really nice pics of some really colorfull flowers. Nice day all in all.

March 17, 2010 GMR/East Fork/Crystal Lake

Never have seen Fred so tired. Switchbacks below Crystal Lake

Sign on Bridge

Camp Williams, East Fork

Speaks for itself

Met Fred at the bottom of GMR a little after 7 AM. Was early for both of us, but more so for him. Made the top of GMR with no problems and headed down to Camp Williams before taking a break. Back on the bikes, and down the East Fork to 39. Water was backed up way under the bridge, which should not have surprised me, but it did. Hung a right and started the hard part of the ride. Only thing that can be said is that the scenery was really nice. A bunch of miles later we came around the bend and there was the cutoff for the lake. Damn it felt good getting up there. Nice downhill ride, but the way back across Sierra Madre made me hurt. LOL It was all good.

March 14, 2010 Train watching, Cajon Pas with Jason

Picked Jason up a little after 10 AM and headed out to Cajon Pass for a day of train watching. Was a really nice day, just a little bit windy, but not bad. Got of at Kenwood and drove out to see if we could get up to Sullivan's Curve from the bottom, but that was a no go. The stream had eroded the road too much for me to feel safe enough about not getting the car stuck, so we drove up and got over to the Curve via Lone Pine Canyon. There was not as much traffic as usual, but Jason was able to get some good footage anyway. Nice day spent with Jason watching trains.

March 12, 2010 Skiing Baldy Solo

Pic taken on Roller Coaster Telegraph Peak from Thunder Looking back down from Thunder Mtn. lift Top of Harwood. Was supposed to meet Justin at Baldy after work, but the shithead never showed up. Had a good time by myself, with pretty good skiing conditions. Made first run around 1:30 PM and skied down to the parking lot around 4PM. Great time in the mountains.

March 10,2010 GMR/Baldy Village, almost

What stopped us. Icy road. Fred out on Glendora Ridge Road. Highway 39 I should have known the day was going to be different when I was at the bottom of GMR BEFORE Fred. That never happens, as I run about 5 minutes late in life. The ride up to the top of GMR went as usual, lots of heavy breathing as we get warmed up and set a pace. Before you could say boo, we were at the top. Took the usual break at the wall and kept riding. The air temp was cooler than when we rode just 2 days earlier on Monday. I had checked the temp for Baldy Village at 6 AM and it was still below 30 degrees. That should have been a sign, but it did not register as such. The fact that it had snowed on Monday night/Tuesday morning never occurred to me, and it should have. Up past the fork (GMR/GRR) I was able to get a great shot of Fred out head of me on the road. Got some good shots on this ride altogether. Anyway, we worked out way up the main climb, huffing and puffing our way up to where we were at an elevation over 4500 feet. That is within 50 feet or so of the highpoint on the ride, when Fred, who had been out a little ahead of me comes back down the road. He says something about slush, maybe snow being on the road up ahead. We get up to the area he is talking about, and the road is covered with snow and ice. I guess he did a U turn right in the middle of an ice patch. He was SO lucky that he did not slip and fall on his ass, hurting himself and his nice Lemond. We decide to continue up the road, hoping not to see anymore ice, but fully expecting to. Sure enough, a little further up, more ice. That is where we decide the road ahead is only going to get worse, as it heads into some bends in the road that are very shaded, areas that for sure have not seen any sunshine, and would be all iced up for sure. So we stop and take our top of the ride break and head back the way we came. Disappointed in not making the Village, but knowing that turning around is the smart thing to do. The ride will always be there another day.

March 8, 2010 Up GMR with the Mayor

I wonder how ling this will stay before coming down. Fred at Newman's Point Myself at Newman's Morning started off cloudy and looking like if we rode, we would be getting wet. Got a phone call just before I left the house from Fred, thought he would be bailing, but he didn't. I over dressed thinking of the rain, but never needed most of it. But on the ride down, sure did appreciate all the clothes. Even though it was cloudy on way up, the sun broke out often enough that I sweat like a pig on the way up. Was drenched when reaching the top. Was a good ride all in all, and the downhill was fun as usual.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Skiing at Baldy with Justin, AGAIN

Justins Gonga Board Justin after being on the slopes After doing so much in the last 2 weeks, all the riding, hiking, and skiing, I have decided to take it easy this week, so as not to burn out. Skiing on Monday and today, Wednesday, is all I ended up doing for the entire week. And I still felt like a sore, tired out,old man. Oh well, skiing today was fun, and conditions are staying really good for Baldy, They could use a serious dumping though, but what the hay.

March 1, 2010 Skiing Baldy with Justin

At top of chair 4

Top of 4

Justin at top of chair 4

I did the REALLY STUPID today and went with Justin from work up to Baldy to try skiing for an hour or two. Not a smart thing to do the day after putting in 45 miles with 5000 feet of climbing the day before on the bike. The legs felt like jello from the get go, right off the first lift ride at the notch. I ended up only doing a total of maybe 5 or 6 runs, but did manage to ski down to the car as the last run of the day. While taking a break in the bar, I dropped my wad of money on the floor and did not know it. It got picked up by an employe, but I was unaware. Due to his honesty, I got my money back, and tipped him a ten spot for being a good person. Renewed my faith in people, as he could have easily kept the 50 to 60 bucks that were dropped. Shitty day skiing, good day in the mountains.

Feb. 28,2010 Cow Canyon Saddle

(click pic)

All shots taken on Sunday's ride up GMR/GRR to Cow Canyon Saddle. Was up at 5:00 AM or so and was keeping an eye on the temp up in the mountains. Wanted to ride early, but was afraid of ice on the road, seeing how it rained and snowed the day before. Was nice and warm when I took off at 11:45 but that didn't last for the entire ride. Ran into snow at the 3800 foot level , but not much. When I finally made the saddle, it was warm as long as I stayed in the sunshine. Ride back was cold, but I was dressed for it, and it was enjoyable. Ride ended up being 45 miles with over 4800 feet of climbing.