April 15, 2011 Quickie up to Crystal Lake

Chuck in front of store at Crystal Lake Store at Crystal Lake, open first time in 7-9 years Chuck, Steve, and myself at roads end, hwy 39

Chuck and Steve entertaining Katie

Katie having fun

The highway finally opened up around March 22 to car travel for the first time in somewhere between 7 to 9 years. I have been up there on a bicycle in that time, but obviously not in a car. Steve had mentioned going up a few weeks back and today worked out to be a good time for the 3 of us to give it a go. We got started around 10:30 or so, when I got done with working. Steve graciously offered to drive, seeing how he wanted to bring along Katie. Seeing how it was not that far of a drive from Steve's house , we were up there in no time. Weather was perfect. Warm but not hoe, with the wind really blowing through the trees above us, but almost unnoticeable at ground level. We ordered up lunch to go, so we could find a table over in the campground and have beers along with it. After lunch, I found a nice sunny spot to take a nap while Steve and Chuck hiked around for an hour or so. All in all a great day spent in the mountains. Can't wait till they open the campground back up. Supposed to be sometime next month.

April 5, 2011 Spending the night up GMR

  Clouds coming up on us Wednesday morning.   Chuck in deep thought about something really sick   Looking West from where we spent the night

  Looking East towards Baldy Village

Seeing how the Tour Of California race is coming up in about 6 weeks or so, I have been trying to get Shuck up GMR to spend the night at what would be a great vantage point for watching the race from. I really want to drive the entire route and check out other spots, but from the top of this water tower, located about a mile and a half out GRR, this seems like as good a spot as any I can think of off the top of my head. Looking East to wards Badly Village, you have a view of the road for at least a couple miles. This stretch would be where the riders will be coming down the road from the Village, heading to the drop down the back side of GMR to the East Fork. Looking West from this tower, we would be seeing the riders as they head back up GRR to Baldy Village and the ride up to the ski lifts. I think this is as good of a spot as any out there . Anyway, as far as this short overnighter went, I dropped Chuck off at the bottom of Monroe Canyon so he could do the 8 mile hike up to the top of GMR. Got rid of his butt around 3 PM, and I went back to the house. I have a bum foot, so I was not willing, or able, to do the hike with him. I drove up to the top o GMR around 6:30 pm, waiting till he showed up about an hour later, just as it was getting dark for real. We drove the couple miles out GRR and carted our stuff up to the top of the tower and settled in. Cocktails were served, conversation started, and views enjoyed. Around 3:30 AM I noticed the fog from below us was starting to get a lot closer real fast, but wasn't worrying about it. When I woke up next time, we were in the middle of cloud, with soaking wet sleeping bags. Seeing how it was not cold out, the wetness was not a problem. Once the wind picked up, which it did with some intensity, things dried out quite nicely. Once the sun came up, we hung out till about 10 before heading back down the road. A nice, quick overnighter that got us an idea of where to watch the race from.

March 30, 2011 GMR SOLO

Summit of Baldy from below the shack The shack with Baldy in the background Glendora Ridge Road from top of GMR Not a good day for me on the bike. I started way too late to beat the heat, and boy was the bottom half of the ride "Hot". I came as close as I ever have to tossing in the towel and turning around, even before I hit the halfway mark in the ride. Only 3rd time on the bike this year, and I am SO out of shape it is not funny, Decided to keep going, but I did stop a few times to enjoy the day, and catch a few seconds of recovery. Once reaching Newman's point I got a second wind and things improved, but as usual, I am not going to make it that far and not make the top. Stubborn in that way. View on top was awesome as usual, making me glad I held on and didn't give in to the pain on way up. Great day in the mountains.

March 11, 2011 GMR plus bennies

Chuck shows up and plays bartender on GMR Shot from just before the shack on GMR

Me on top, waiting for refreshments.

Got home from work and thought I would try and talk Chuck into a ride up GMR. Knowing that anytime I call him about going up, he has a time delay of a couple hours it seems, I told him I would meet him at the top and for him to bring a beer along. Well, it was a good call on my part, as I had the few hours I needed to get ready and ride the bike up to the summit before I would expect him to show up. I left the house about 11:30 AM , telling him I would be on top around 1:30 to 1:45 PM . I had a great ride up, taking my time without pushing it too hard. Weather was a little warm on the bottom half, but it cooled off half way up. Hit the top at about 1:20PM, and figured I had some waiting to do for Chuck. While hanging out at the top, 2 riders topped out and talked for a little. I forget their names, but not their bikes. The bigger of the two riders was on a real nice Cervelo, and even had the same rims as I have. The other guy was on an older Litespeed, but it was in nice condition. After they headed down, I waited on Chuck until 2:15 PM before figuring he ran into problems or just blew me off. I headed down and after about a mile, saw his jeep coming up the road. We met right at the top of the 8% section, about .8 miles below the shack. While it had been almost warm for me on the top, Where we met and were having a beer or two was exposed to the wind, making it a little cool out for me. Not bad, just had to hide from the breeze now and then. After being there almost 2 hours, having a brew and shooting the shit, we headed down. And it was a great downhill for me. I took it a little faster than normal, but having Chuck right behind me boosted my confidence a little I guess. All in all, a great day int he mountains with great views, a great ride, and a great friend.

February 26, 2011 South Hills in the mud.

Looking towards downtown L. A. from top of South Hills. Another one from same spot.

Looking East from top of South Hill.

Towards mountains right above Glendora.

Finally got a new crank and bottom bracket on the MTB, so I had to try it out. Seeing how South Hills is doable from the house, that is where I headed. What a mistake. Having rained like it did for the last couple days, the road up the north side of the hill was as wet as one could imagine. Even had a stream running down it in more than a couple places. The worst part of the entire ride was the mud. It was the slimiest stuff I had ever ridden on. And you should have seen my bike the nest day once that stuff had dried on it. Wish I had taken a picture. The ride is a good one though, and can't wait till the trail dries out to do it again.

February 19, 2011 GMR in a SNOW STORM

click pic-Up at the shack, snowing though it is hard to tell in this shot. Right across the road from the shack, starting to come down. Just starting to come down heavy. Seeing how I had left my phone at home when I went to work last night, I had no idea that I had received a text from EyeMage to meet him and Beanz at the bottom of GMR at 1PM for a ride to the top. Took off from the house about 2 in the afternoon, into what I thought was to be no more than a cloudy ride, if done quick enough. It was my first ride in over 3 months, so I really wanted to take my time and enjoy it. There was no traffic on the way up, and at the first saddle it started to rain ever so slightly. Just a little bit higher, the temperature took a noticeable dive, and it started hailing like crazy. Seeing that I was already over half way to the top, I didn't want to even think about turning around, even though that was exactly what should have done. Just a little before Newman's Point, I came around a corner and rode past Eyemage. It being as cold as it was, I decided to not stop, thinking if I did, I would never keep going to the top. Just after passing EyeMage, Beanz comes down the road in what is now a snowing condition that is getting worse by the minute. He says Hi and I reply like wise, and once again keep going to stay warm. It doesn't take long for me to realize that heading for the top was a stupid decision, but being stubborn, I keep pedaling uphill. Long story short, I finally reach the top in what are now very serious conditions for someone on a bike. I go past the shack to the top, not stopping there as I usually do, but head back down to the shack to put on some needed clothes. By the time I get on wind pants and a dry shirt , the ground is completely covered, as I am also. The hands were starting to freeze up by this time, so I was unable to take more than the 3 pictures I snapped off when I first got to the shack. Heading back down, I was looking more like a snowman on wheels than anything else. My red jacket was undetectable under all the snow that was clinging to me. Conditions were by far and a way the worst I had ever been on a bike in, and I never hope to be anywhere near such conditions again. The one saving grace I had was that the pavement was so warm, that the snow didn't stick to much of it, but melted off for the most part. The ground had easily over an inch of snow on it, but the road was not much more than EXTREMELY wet, with streams running all over the place on it. It was without a doubt the slowest descent of GMR I had ever done. Brakes were on the entire way down, hands turned into frozen blocks, jacket as wet as it could ever get, and my outlook starting to scare me. Once below the snowline, a noticeable warming took place, but what is the difference between 30 degrees and 37 or 38 when you are as completly soaked to the bone. The longest 11 miles of my life ended back at the house, with my body completely in a state of convulsions that I could not control for the life of me. The only experience I could compare it to was Stan's and my spending the night out on Whitney in winter without any shelter that happened way back. After getting out of my soaked riding clothes, having a cocktail, and a very long hot shower, I thanked my lucky stars for getting back in one piece. This ride could have ended up like something you read or hear about in the news. with an ending other than the one I had. Live and learn, just thought I was a little smarter than letting myself get caught in such conditions.

January 23, 2011 Up GMR for the sunset

click Looking back down GMR from the water tower View looking back towards the basin

Baldy after the sun went down

Just another lucky shot

And another from same spot

Got ahold of Chuck and suggested a ride up GMR in the car to try and catch some sunset shots. Had been wanting to try from on top of the water tower that is located a few miles out on Glendora Ridge Road. Always thought it would be a great spot to take pictures at, and it proved to be just that. Enjoyed a beer or two before the cold finally chased us back inside the cars and down the road to home.