August 28, 2011 Up GMR with Chuck for a beer

The view from the bar. Ran out. May as well head for home. Iron Mtn. Little GMR with Baldy . The Queen of the San Gabrials. Closer shot of Iron. The only way to keep the bugs away. but man oh man does that just look wrong. Seeing how I had done the healthy thing this morning. ( got up early and rode to the shack at the top of GMR) I got in touch with Chuck about heading up GMR for some photo shooting, and, oh ya, maybe a beer of three. Well by the time Chuck got there, the thunder heads that had been over the mountains all day had lost their photo appeal, so we went for the beer. Not that I still didn't shoot some pics, just lost the chance for some nice cloud shots. Once on top, we broke out the chairs and staked out a spot in the shade of the mountain side with a great view towards Baldy. the temp was easy 15 degrees cooler than back down in Glendora. Very nice as a matter of fact. Once we sat down though, we discovered the down side. BUGS. Lots and lots of the lousy , no good for anything, little bastards. At least I had a hat I could use to swish back and forth around my head to try and keep the little SOB's away, Chuck had nothing. After an hour of putting up with them, we came up with the idea of pulling our shirts up over our ears so as to keep them off. Seemed to work well enough. We sat around and watched as the sunlight on Baldy went from bright yellow to alpenglow, and eventually total darkness. An evening well spent shooting the breeze with Chuck while enjoying a beer and watching the sunset. Yet another great time in the mountains.

August 28, 2011 GMR Solo

At the bottom of GMR heading down. Me up at the shack, just below the top. Top of GMR with sit down wall on the side. Newman's Point is just around the bend. The curve right above Newman's Point. Thought I would get a few miles in solo this morning so I got my ass out of bed and on the bike just around 7 AM. Was surprised at the lack of riders out today, though knew it was going to be an extremely warm day. Ride went pretty much to norm, a few riders passing me on their downward stretches, and a few passing me on the way up. Got up to the top and went immediately back down to the shack to try and find some shade for resting in. Not much there, but was better than being in the sun. Enjoyed the downhill, as it had been awhile since the last time. Nice day, great ride.

August 24, 2011 GMR, East Fork, 39, West Fork to Cogswell with Mr Beanz

The ride on top of Cogswell Dam, West Fork Camp Williams, East Fork San Gabriel River Top of GMR where we met these 2 guys. Interesting people with a good cause. Fred giving me some of his video editing experience Park down on Sierra Madre after turning left off highway 39 Suggested to Fred giving Cogswell Dam a chance, seeing how it is yet another ride I have been trying to get him to do for a long time. Thought, up GMR, down to the East Fork, out to 39, up the West Fork, and back sounded like a good day spent on the bikes. Man was it ever going to turn into the ride from hell for me. Got started around 7 AM, which is an early one for Fred. Figured it was going to be a warm day, so the earlier the better. We met 2 riders up at the top of GMR, and they explained an organization that they rode for. Seems it helps out families in need with not only money and mentoring, but through riding as well. Told us about a ride they have going next August that sounded really nice, only kicker is one has to raise over $2000 in pledges to participate. Anyway, after talking with them for a while we headed down little GMR to Camp Williams, where we took another longer than needed break. All this time not riding, the heat was building up to a place we were not keeping an eye on. Once we started back up, it was a hot stretch just from Williams out to 39, getting hotter the closer to the highway we got. Luckily it is only a couple of miles up 39 to the West Fork turnoff. Once there we hopped the gate and started up stream. I had told Fred it was mainly flat up to the base of the dam, but I had forgotten just how much it does go uphill. Not steep mind you, just not flat as I thought. The ride to the base was nice if not warm. A few places even were completely under a canopy of trees and nice and shady. Once we got to the campground about 6 miles back though, I knew about the hill that gets one to the top of the dam. Tried to prepare Fred for it, but I guess he thought I was kidding when I told him it went straight up, like a wall. Well we made the top all right, but it took more out of me than I needed. Once out on top of the dam, I started not feeling very well. All heat related I am sure. No dinner the night before and no breakfast before riding though did not help in the slightest. After spending time on top of Cogswell, we headed back down to the highway. Going down the West Fork, one realizes that it definitely is not flat on the way in, and you can almost coast all the way out. Which was fine with me the way I was still feeling. Once back on 39, we headed down the canyon, with Fred way out in front, and me taking my time in the full on heat and blazing sunshine. Stopped a time or two just to rest and keep from getting a bad feeling. Preventative resting I called it. Once down out of the canyon we stopped at Pioneer Park on Sierra Madre to rehydrate and rest up before the hills on the way back to the base of GMR. Had never stopped there before, but will again in the future. Nice ride if not for the intolerable heat that day.

August 10, 2011 Mt Baldy lifts with Mr. Beanz

Beanz at the Post Office after the "EASY" half of the ride to the lifts. The two of us at the Post Office trying to decide if we really want to continue upward. Beanz at the first tunnel, where the climbing starts to get real. Yours truly at the bottom of the lift. Beanz shot at the bottom of lifts, proof that he did it. Best shot showing steepness of some of the switchbacks we rode up. Fred at the bottom of the climb. At the Ice House Canyon split, where I asked Beanz if he wanted to continue up. Funny that the sign above his head got real bright, pointing the way down the road, not up. I had been trying to get Beanz to try the lifts for some time. Seemed we never hit it just right when ever the chance presented its self, but that all changed on today's ride. After my screwing up and forgetting the key to the lock on my bike, we started an hour behind schedule. (Had to go home an get the key). We started off in heavy overcast, guess more like a fog than anything else. Once we topped out at the top of the damn though, we were in bright sunshine the rest of the day. And a hot one it would turn out to be. Getting through the tunnels wasn't too bad, but from there to the village seemed like the hardest part of the entire ride to me. Up, up, and up was all I saw every time I looked ahead of me on the road. The Post Office never looked so good to me as it did that morning. The next section, up to Ice House Canyon went a lot easier than I was expecting. Was only 1.7 miles and gained only 700 feet, not the thousand I thought it did. Anyway, we made that, and both Beanz and I were happy to be there with still something left in both the legs and tank. Guess even I can surprise myself once in a while. Seeing how that point had been the intended destination for the day, I was a little surprised when Beanz agreed to give a few of the switchbacks a try. We agreed upon going on till we didn't feel like going uphill anymore, and that would be an added bonus of already meeting our goal for the day. Well, just like I knew he would, Beanz found the switchbacks hard, but not undoable. We did 3 or 4 and stopped for some pictures, and then just kept going. We finally topped out after the 8th or 9th one, then took a short break by Manker Flats. I needed it to get me up to the parking lot, with that final quarter mile of over 15% grade almost stopping my heart. Thought I was going to fall off the bike, but didn't. Yee Haa. There it was, the big yellow sign welcoming you to Mt Baldy Ski Lifts. We made it. Boy howdy. We wound our way through the parking lot and up the last steep stretch to the ticket windows and it was over. Baldy lifts for the first time in, I am guessing here about 15 years maybe. I don't really remember. Now all that was left was staying upright for the 15 miles down a steep ass road back to the car. Incredible how slow going up and fast coming down. Can't wait to do it again.