Catching up with Ron

With the change from Pacific Daylight time to Pacific Standard time, the impact meant later start times, shorter rides and earlier sunsets.



Ron captured these moments on Monday.



Flash back to early October, I caught up with Ron and Matt, the first day GMR opened after the Morris Fire. Happiness was an open road to ride.



Ron shot this footage of a coyote who survived the Morris Fire. It decided people were less dangerous. Ron also captured the mountain side when sunlight was still abundant: GMR pan and GMR pan down.

Catching up with Bill

Last year we visited Stratford-upon-Avon to take in truly phenomenal performance of David Tenant and Patrick Stewart in Shakespeare's Hamlet. We stayed in the city and had plenty of time to stroll along the river, take in the butterfly farm and visit every single shore the town had to offer. The Cycle Studio was a bit off the beaten track. Bill showing off his new Cycle Studio colors.



Water fowl.

Saturday Ride

Skateboarders careened down the road, the first time (I saw them) since the road opened October 1st. They have a unique stopping style that surprised me as they crossed into my lane.

Rick from Pasadena caught me in the midst of my time trial. It was good to have him pace me to the second saddle. We slowed and dodged around the maintenance vehicles as Public Works crews carved out various portion of the mountain. A rare site for a Saturday. Large trucks, scoops and water tankers slowed traffic. Preparation for the next rain continued along burned and non-burned hillside.

Met Oscar another first since early August, Juan and Willie. Talk included bear and coyote encounters, along with the upcoming Tour de Foothills on November 14th.



Another great day of weather the sun was warm and pleasant after a chilly beginning. I rode to fork plus 4.5 getting that extra uphill climb. Spotted Mount Wilson and could make out Station Fire damage some twenty miles away. All in all, a good ride with good friends always a nice Halloween treat.

Monday night ride. This was the last Monday before the time change.

Met Zack! Nice guy.



Good time tonight. 30:00

Late update: In a large dirt turnout about mile maker 10.2, two vehicles and a sheriffs van were stopped. The jeep's front wheels straddled the berm, but not endanger of rolling over the side. The other auto centered in the middle of the turnout. The sheriff sat busily writing notes or tickets in his van. Two blond teenaged females looked very distressed were talking on their cell phones. I hurried past. On my way down, another van driven by a pissed off mom, had joined this morality play. Unfortunately I got ahead of "POM". She had never driven the mountain and didn't realize when she should move around me. With the light waning, I realized I should have stopped and made her pass me. It was a rare event to ride down with an auto on my tail with three distressed people.

It was a perfect day for a ride. Warming from 54F to 91F. Clear skies. Light breeze.



Rick from Pasadena paced me to the first saddle. Traffic was light. lighter than Monday night! Rick a triathlete had tales to tell of ocean swims, running and cycling. Pools have painted black lines to keep you in your lane, in the ocean that black line was wiggling and hungry! From the first saddle I road back to check on Bill.



Beyond the first saddle, mechanical gouges clawed the cliff, leaving the road heaped with scrapped hillside in the turnouts. Preparation for the eventual rains. The pavement relatively free of dirt and rocks still had sandy patches.



Velo Viet Cycling Association commanded presence on the road. Adobe Velo was out in full force. As well as a group of Redlands riders, with their Breathless Agony kits. Remax and my favorite a Caltech jersey. Riders spurred on by my camera sprinted for the photo finish!



The gentle weather egged me on, luring me to ride farther for scenery I haven't enjoyed in months. I rode to the "Point of No Return" or Fork plus four miles. Enjoying the lack of time, speed or distance constraints, I stopped frequently for pictures.



A good day for a ride indeed.

National Park Service Study

The San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study conducted by the National Park Service has an additional public meeting on Wednesday October 28, 7-9 pm at the Northeast Valley City Hall Auditorium 7747 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga, CA 91042.

This study proposes several different strategies about resource protection, public use and enjoyment of the Angeles National Forest. Start here at the National Parks Site. Be sure to read the alternative concepts document. Then put your two cents in by sending them a comment. The comment period has been extended to Monday November 16, 2009. Or send an email to pwr_sangabriel@nps.gov.

Catching up with Ron

I have been corrected. Fortunately this is not Ron's bike, however the rider of this bike had a collision with an automobile.



Not happy times.



An investigation was pending.