Sunday, December 16, 2007

Clear and cold

Sunday December 9, 2007 -- The storm that brought rain on Friday and clouds on Saturday have cleared out. The wind was strong. The snow was evident on the peaks.



The views were extraordinary.




Every turn seemed to jump out and grab the eye.




At the top looking down on Glendora and the valley. The air quality was very good for the San Gabriel Valley. In the photo, the 57 Freeway is the road in the middle. Puddingstone Resevoir in San Dimas is to the left of the road.





It was quite breezy on the way down. I noticed the red-tailed hawk was flying lower than usual and its feathers were spread wide. A creature that lives in the sky was fighting the wind as much as I was. I could see the individual feathers on its tail. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture.


Cloaked in Clouds




Saturday December 8, 2007 -- as everyone in Glendora headed towards the center of town for the annual Christmas Parade, I headed up the mountain. The clouds draped the mountains with ominous delight scaring off most and only a hardy few were out and about.




I met "Replacement Bike" guy headed up to Mt Baldy. He explained with the rain on Friday there were rocks and sand on the road. Poor conditions for motorcyclists, yet perfect for bicycling. A seven year veteran on the bike he said he had recently wiped out near Sierra Madre and took the opportunity to replace the bike.



The Toyon Berries or Catalina Holly Bushes were extremely festive and apropos to the holiday. The red berry is astringent which is to say don't eat it.





I had a good ride up to the "top" where GMR meets the Monroe Truck trail at mile marker 5.00. The panorama at the "top" just past the maintenance shed on GMR.


Sunday, December 2, 2007

Deutsche Telekom

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. With another corporate sponsor, Deutsche Telekom pulling the plug on the sponsorship of their once pro-cycling team, executives should be required to participate in random drug testing along with the prior notification of scheduling to WADA agencies for a minimum of a year before they drop their support. A few false positives and the lack of a career on the “big boys” would wake up the influential folks and clear up the problems in the WADA “results management”.