Bill and I headed out around 8 am in the midst of a cool, cloudy marine layer. I brought leg warms, arm warmers, head band, base layer, and windbreaker in case the clouds were thick and the weather didn't improve. The first few miles of climbing were chilly, however blue breaks peaked out between white wisps of sky canopy.
The warm October sun melted the clouds, and poured into my heart and soul. No more work worries here on the road. Plenty of immediate challenges to keep the body and brain occupied. Bill's photo of the valley from the first saddle (mile marker 9.45).
It is soooooo very good to get above it all.
Matt caught up with us before the first saddle. Bill and Matt discussed bikes, weather and life.
Bill made it to Newman's this week before heading back. At the maintenance shed we could see a buck running along the ridge. It was a large animal and it was dodging some thirty or more hunters who were out in force today. Amazing that wildlife escaped the Morris and the Station fires. It is a bit disconcerting when there are so many folks out walking around with rifles.
Met up with Mike and Chris on the way back from the San Dimas Experimental Forest (Fork plus 2.5). They were on their way to Baldy Village. Lots of stories swapped of collisions, San Diego County roads, friends, goals and shared experiences.
Chris reported that his son Alex had ridden to the shed and headed back home to run errands in preparation for homecoming this evening.
It was a great day for a ride. My time trial time was 30:10 an average of 7.6 mph. The cleats were working well and I could get a bit more power out of my legs on certain hills.
Life is good. The road is good. I hope a deer is sleeping well tonight.
Hi! I found this blog about a month ago and I appreciated your almost daily update while the road was closed.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Alejandro and I'm from Spain. I just landed in Pasadena to begin my grad studies at Caltech.
First thing I did when I arrived in the US was buying a road bike. Unfortunately, the fires didn't allow me to find the potential of the mountains surrounding Caltech.
Last week I decided that this Saturday must be the time for Glendora Mountain Road. Starting in Pasadena at 9am I arrived at the intersection of Sierra Madre and Glendora Mountain Road one hour later.
From that point to the top 52 minutes for 15 kilometers, which makes 16.42km/h or 10.2 m/hr (sorry, I still used to the metric system!)
After that I returned via East Fork and Hwy 39 with a front wind that didn't allow you to go fast, even going downhill (so frustrating) and then back to Pasadena.
What really impressed me was the amount of riders I saw in my route. From big packs of almost 50-70 riders to lone cyclists asking for a spare tube. All kind of people of all ages that contributed to make this a memorable ride.
Thank you for your blog. I can say this won't be my last GMR ride.
Alejandro