Life on the Road

Plans were set. Meet Jason early Saturday morning. He was riding to Baldy Village, I would decide how far I would go based on road conditions, weather, and performance. The morning was cool with a breeze and my muscles twitched as I pedaled on Sierra Madre before hooking up with Jason.

The road relatively quiet for a Saturday morning, we enjoyed the light traffic during the first hour. My muscles sufficiently warmed up with the climb. There were several areas of the road where dirt and rocks littered the pavement making navigation precarious.

At the shed the Riverside Bicycle Club were on their way to Crystal Lake. A nice long bike ride for Jim, Marty and Edith. Has it really been a year, Marty?



Single speed Ron with a gear ratio of 46-to-16 had a good morning out.




Tranquility rarely lasts and the motor traffic picked up significantly past the fork. Jason spotted something moving around the bend. A lone coyote loped along the pavement at nine am in the morning. It looked hot, tired and hungry and stayed its course. Jason took his camera out of its pocket. I have seen other coyotes approach when people pull things out of their pockets in hopes of food. It did not spook nor did it approach. I passed it giving it wide berth. My pepper spray was deep in a pocket.

Jason was on form to make Baldy Village over the first three rolling hills. A bit surprised Jason stopped just before the Point of No Return (fork plus four). It was still shaded and there was a bit of wall. Both front and back tires were leaking air rapidly. He had double flatted! Visual inspection of the outer tire showed no thorns. Sharp pointy tube penetrating rocks were the cause. A motorcyclist stopped and checked on our status. That was most appreciated.



Between the two of us we had two tubes, a mirco pump, CO2 cartridges, a patch kit and levers. It took 30 minutes to replace and fill the tubes. A number of interesting folks passed us by, inquiring if help was needed. The matching green and yellow Candidae jerseys caught one cyclist's eye. He mentioned he read our blogs! Which one? Cycling Glendora Mountain Road. Awesome! Readership! Adobo Velo and Jesse passed us by. I recognized Daryl's voice as he and Rick approached.

Jason abandoned the Village goal and opted to travel back the same way. Several close encounters with motorcycles were par for the course. On a blind bend, riding single file we were on the right white line when a motorcycle zipped past in the opposite direction! a mere few inches from colliding. Expletives gushed from my mouth.

Traffic increased as we transitioned from Glendora Ridge Road to GMR. It was a confluence of cyclists and bikers at one point. Jason was in front and witnessed one biker losing control of his vehicle. He was on the ground when I arrived. He quickly got up and swore. Two other bikers stopped. The three of them rolled the bike upright.

Today's ride qualifies as an adventure. Glad to be alive and in one piece.