Brigadoon

Friday January 2, 2009

The clouds touched the ground creating a thick blanket of fog which seemed impassable during the morning. Wetness clung to my forward progress cloaking the world except for five feet around me, I had to cancel the planned bike ride. The dense moisture settled in for the day and the afternoon the sun had no chance to completely break through, although it did lift some of the fog. My sister Michelle and I hiked the Colby Ranger route up and then took the Colby Dalton Trail down making a loop within the confines of Glendora Mountain Road.


Michelle near the top of the trip. The valley in the background was cloaked in white.


Canopy.



Visibility across GMR.

New Year's Day Hike

Thursday January 1, 2009.

The stream in Little Dalton Canyon gurgled with the sound of water as the Magor Mold Company held its second annual New Year's Day hike. We started on the lower Monroe Truck Trail and hiked up to the "Y" and then proceeded downward on the Mystic Canyon Trail. Attendees included: Dan, Matt, Pam, Tyler, Manny, Hans and Martin.




A cave slightly off the trail caught the interest of the group. The resident seemed human with sleeping bag and other accessories lining the cave. Photos by Manny and Hans.



Interior decorating.



Tyler was patient for my lens.



Hans hikes the mountains regularly. Photo by Manny



The complete slideshow of Hans and Manny's pictures.

Mini Peloton

Wednesday December 31, 2008.

Today's ride picked up steam as Joan, Cathy and Matt joined Steve and myself above Colby trail on GMR. The miles seem to melt quickly as we chatted about college, jobs and Siberian forest burns. We stopped at mile marker 9.06. A hunter passing by was kind enough to stop and take our picture. Joan and Cathy headed downhill as the rest of us enjoyed a quiet day on the road to the maintenance shed.

Pictured: Joan, Cathy, Matt, Steve, myself.



Joan and Cathy watching



Steve.



Cathy


Matt

Catch up

Saturday, Sunday, Monday December 27-29, 2008

With the holidays comes a break from routines and schedules. The normal pressure to get a few minutes of exercise before the long morning commute to work is easily cast aside for the luxury of sleeping in, or a marathon of baking pies and rolls for family events, the escape of a hike up Mystic Canyon or the bounding out for a family walk in the morning before everyone splits up for their day of entertainment.

The sunny but cold temperatures of Saturday have now turned into the southern- California-famous Rose Parade weather. The temperature a beautiful 76F , I was dressed for 45F. My wardrobe miscalculation cost me time. I should have been dressed for spring in reality I was dressed for winter riding. The wool socks were turned down. The long pants were wetted for cooling, the top base layer was shed, but I could have done with short sleeves. The jacket wrapped around my waist kept slipping off forcing me to stop and adjust. Not a cloud in the sky. The sun was more than warm. The traffic included seven motorcycles, several cars, a few cyclists. Perfect day. My SDSR time was 37:55. I am glad it is under 38 minutes. I made it to mile marker 9.49 which is the end of the first saddle. Took pictures and ate cookies. A red tailed hawk was cruising the air currents. It was calming to watch how it floated with out flapping a wing. Gliding around, hoping for small rodents to venture out on a glorious day. The freeways are far in the distant. Every day I don't get on a freeway is a very good day indeed.

Spent two hours cleaning the bike using the new xmas present. Less bending is very good.



Sunday 28, December 2008
Hike in Mystic Canyon. A beautiful morning.



Afternoon venture to Cal Poly Voorhis Botanical Gardens.



The evening family entertainment was a game called "Apples to Apples". Players held seven cards with nouns on them such as "My bedroom", "James Bond", "Spit", "United Nations" or "Waco, Texas". Players took turns drawing a green card with an adjective, such as "juicy", "obnoxious", or "manly". I judged the adjective word "nasty". It came down to two choices: pigeons or motorcycles. Nasty motorcycles won.

Saturday 27, December 2008
Apple pies and roll baking in the morning. With a walk around Glendora. Almost bit by a goose! Traffic on the mountain was very light. The temperature was still very chilly. Afternoon was family event.

Afternoon ride

Friday December 26, 2008 13:30

Tom on his recumbant bike had a head start. Steve and I caught him at mile marker 11.53. I had to finish my time trial before I could slow down. We grouped at the first saddle. Met Alan who rode down with us.

Tremendous amount of SUV traffic on the road. Lots of lost people searching for the adventure of snow. Glendora Ridge Road was closed.



The view never disappoints.




Steve and Tom at the first saddle.



Alan C. stopped on his way down as we grouped at the first saddle. Many folks are asking him how to get to the snow but the road is closed.

Hiking with Hans

Friday December 26, 2008.

Hans hiked to the top of Colby Trail. Along the way large paw prints were embedded in the dirt. Dog or mountain lion? Compare with the post on Sunday.



Looking south onto Glendora, Hans has captured the thrill of the bike ramp that BMXers and mountain bikers enjoy.



His view of Mt Baldy was spectacular.



Here the beehives were in the foreground.



Great hike Hans!

Tuesday Ride

Tuesday December 23, 2008

What does one do when you can leave work early for the holiday break? The answer was simple, the road was dry the temperature hovered between 52-61F and the clouds played peek-a-boo with the sun.

The descent was a bit chilly inspite of my extra layers of ear warmer, ski gloves and warm jacket. My toes needed extra warming in the post ride shower. The Montana relatives arrive on Friday and will enjoy the southern California heat wave, while I shiver.

More car and truck traffic than cyclists. There were a few hikers out today. Was that Cathy and Joan of Glendora on bikes descending as I made my final push to the saddle?

My SDSR time was better than expected as the mountain seemed like an entirely different road in afternoon with shadows in all the "wrong places". Time: 36:40. Average Speed 6.2 mph. Average power 140 watts.