Thursday, December 30, 2010

Floating Holiday

Monday, rode a second day, back to back up the mountain before the next rain storm hit. The legs were less than cooperative. Met John of Arcadia and Matt after the first saddle. We rode to the top of Monroe and enjoyed the scenery.




Met up with John C. on the way down then rode up to the top of Monroe once more. Good to be on a bike.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Post Christmas

Sunday I hiked and determined if the storm was rolling in and and what rate.

The cloud cover was unique. I could see the towers of LA, but not the city of Covina.

Decided to go for it and rode the bike on GMR to Monroe.


The clouds came in and visibility was an issue for a few miles.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

New signage along colby trail.

Hillside slipage. the rain has caused erosion on the hillside in more than half a dozen spots between mile markers 14 and 11.5

Friday, December 24, 2010

Break in the Rain

The rain broke. Everyone headed outdoors. I hiked first as the air temperature warmed then took the bike out for a spin. The few of us on the road were ecstatic.



The rains dumped snow on Mt. Baldy.



Met Mauri a triathlete from New York. She likened our hills to the Pyrenees and the Rockies. I told her she had ridden a stage in the upcoming Tour of California.



The San Gabriel Reservoir was full and muddy from the rain storm and water poured out the bottom.



New signage at the shed. Thanks to Art Dito for the crew working on Christmas Eve clearing the mountainside off the road.



The road was open and dry but a lot of dirt. As cars rushed past the dirt storms in their wake were thick. At one point near Newman's, I heard a motorcycle approaching from behind, closer and closer, when suddenly the motor was overhead!? It was a small private plane, the yellow one. The pilot cruised alongside of the canyon. He performed a triple roll then turned right with hills. As he moved out of sight, I noticed he flew upside down. This was another happy dude enjoying the break in the rain.

Road conditions. Road is open

Road conditions. Road is open and pavement is dry. Sandy silt covers areas of the road. Crew is working to clear hillside slipage.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The mighty dalton creek

Little Dalton between the storms

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Ten days of rain in

Ten days of rain in december recorded. Storm total is 10.78 inches. GMR status was open Tuesday afternoon. Rock run was run.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Ron and his buddies

Deer not bear

Snake on the road

Little guy at the corral

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Encounters

After speaking with the sister in Montana, with a wintery 25F weather. The day in southern California felt incredibly gentle, warm and near perfect for an autumn day. The summer base layer was deployed as the thermometer rose steadily to 65F and hotter. The road was lightly used. Not a lot of traffic either up or down.

Marty of Riverside Bicycle Club spotted me at the corner of GMR and Sierra Madre. He had two new fresh bodies to inflict the road upon, Steve and Allison. Marty escorted Steve and Allison on the road, keeping their cheer up. Nice to hang with Marty and his crew. Steve in the yellow jersey, Marty in a Salix and RBC cap, Allison in deep colors. We bounced between Steve and Allison, while Bill and Matt cleaned up the road. I took leave and returned to Matt and Bill farther down the road, Bill stopped for a breather, Matt and I sprang into form to catch up with Steve and Marty. then Matt and I hung with Allison then sprinted to the top of Monroe.

At the top of Monroe I met the Greasers: Emily and Tom, Darrel and Ken. Ken was fit, a lean mean bicycle machine, the nicest guy you could meet on or off the road. Ken mentioned a Tuesday morning time trial ride on GMR. Wait, no. are you, no. Could you possibly be, the stuff of legends, the 100 mile a day guy who has a zillion miles logged on his Specialized S-Works bicycle. Fry Daddy?! Yes Way. Cool.

After enjoying the company. Matt and I headed down for the normal stop at Newman's to look at the reservoir and see the islands in the basin. I was in the lead when, I saw the fluffiest, furriest, brownest critter sitting on the road looking at me. Dog registered in my brain. Not a deer or a squirrel which both require me to stop. I kept on rolling. I couldn't pull my camera out fast enough. The forest dweller was smarter than me. Up it ran across the road as my bicycle slowing, but still in motion rolled towards it. Then, the shape registered. I realized that its deep black eyes, brown furry face on a bulky 130 pound plus body was a bear! Wow, 11:10 in the morning on a Saturday. Never would I guess thats when I would have first bear encounter. Saturday a busy day with alot of traffic on the road kept the wildlife at bay. The bear traversed the downsloping hillside quickly and disappered into the scrub. Cool. Fortunately for the bear, it missed the racing motorcycles and car that turned the corner < 10 minutes later. Good wild bear.

2010-12-04 Hike-Bike


Pano from a hike

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Spectacular Week

Bill took this panorama on his Thursday ride around Bonelli. He needed to stretch his legs after Thanksgiving Festivities took their toll.



Mystic Hike View of the city of Glendora on Sunday. The warm sun and clear sky picture perfect.



This view of Glendora Mountain Road shows the 15 acre burn area from July 31st when a young driver veered off the pavement into the canyon with an automobile. The car went off below the road (left on the picture). The fire jumped the road and burned more acreage above the road. The barren brown area in the middle attests to the quick work and decision making of Forest Service and Fire personnel.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Missing Dog

Signs about dog named rocky missing on dalton road.

On my Sunday hike I saw two guys running down a deer trail on the mountainside across from the Mystic Trail. The were looking for their lost dog.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Report from the Board of Highway 39

One of my long boarder friends Ian reports on the road conditions on Highway 39....

We hired a driver to take us up to Highway 2 and began the journey down highway 2 then (highway) 39. OMG it was so unbelievable. We got a late start and spent a lot of miles in the dark. My friend was on inline skates and was really tired from the top section. He held us up a lot but hey what can you do! It was tough and kinda scary for the rest of the trip to the ranger station in Azusa my niterider headlamp ran out of juice. I only had time to charge it about ¾ of the way but what a lifesaver! I almost ran into a big coyote we both were pretty freaked out!

Anyways I can’t wait to do it again. Only earlier.

As of today I would not suggest riding hwy 2 above 39 to much snow and ice. Ice and snow could be a problem till 5500 feet or so. Top 3 miles of 39 horrid. Missing road, huge rocks and small landslides. Saw like three of them.

No cell reception from Big Pine until the ranger station. You probably know most of this but thought I’d share.

Best,
Ian


Thanks for sharing Ian! Good to know. Spoke to a cyclist today who rode up Highway 39 to the Coldbrook Gate. He respected the signage and didn't hop the gate. One of his friends received a $200 ticket in September for jumping the gate. Another FYI.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Tru Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning was clear and cool in the mid thirtys, a bit brisk for this southern California biker. Got out for ride around 8:40 am and the sun had warmed the air nicely. I was a bit surprised at the amount of traffic parked north of the ranger station. A lot of "gravity guys" van pooled up to the top and careened down the Monroe Truck Trail 3-4 times on their mountain bikes through out the morning.

It was relatively quiet. Everyone who was out were happy to pre-burn their Thanksgiving dinners. For me the sun baked in happiness on my solo ride to the shed.

Met Alicia and her crew. They won the most distinctive cycling gear award for their eye catching socks. Their sag support driver reminds of the Fonze from Happy Days. Their smart plan was to ride to the ski lifts then drive home. Burn the most calories and make smart time to turkey dinner.

Then Tru Cycling showed up. Trust. Respect. Unity. Their club formed six years ago. They really enjoyed their ride. One fellow had an interesting tale of a top ten Irvine Criterium unfortunately he never saw the finish line and woke up in the hospital.

Ray was cold from his ride down from Baldy to the shed. He stopped along his descent on GRR to warm up. Matt, Ray and I headed down the hill. Near Sierra Madre met Ron and his wife Dixie on their tandem. I enjoyed meeting the woman in charge.















Wednesday, November 24, 2010

FWD:

Poop out and monroe intersection

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Window of Opportunity





A window of blue sky opened up on Sunday and I took it.

The road was mine. Three cars. One cyclist on the way up. Eight cyclists going up as I was headed down. More autos as well, one auto had snow on its roof. Must have come from Baldy Village or beyond as the snow line looked pretty high on the mountains. One lone motorcyclist. The road had a fair share of sand and silt from the rain on the road. The rock run truck scraped away only the largest of road debris.

Met Larry on a mountain bike at first saddle. He was sticking to the road as the Monroe trail would be muddy. His ambition was to ride to Baldy Village. Perhaps he would try on Friday after a heavy meal on Thanksgiving. I myself would wait for warmer weather.

The sunshine soaked into the body and my soul. It was the best ever to have warmth, sun and altitude. The sheer joy of riding twice a week put a smile on my face.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Tell your story

A student journalist, Anna from UCI wants to capture the stories of those who ride and hike the mountain. She is in town Saturday Nov. 20th as well as 11/24-11/28 (next Wednesday through Sunday).

To get a wide variety of stories Anna should hang around the shed and chat up those who show up. Volunteers? Don't be shy.

Rainy Days

Like clockwork, the weatherman predicted rain today. At 5:30 it started coming down. I got my ride in on Friday!

Bob had hip surgery two months ago. He can hike up Colby Trail and down GMR. Lookin good Bob!



Only the hardest of souls were out on the road. My glasses fogged up and misted over. This was the first autumn ride, cold and bleak. I have looked at this tree at the shed a hundred times before, yesterday these little holes caught my attention.


At the top of Monroe, the clouds hung close to ground and filled up the valley. This is a photo of Mt Baldy, the visibility is about 30-50 feet.

A San Bernadino sheriff out hunting asked me where my blinking lights were. At home. Below Newman's, the visibility was much better. An optimist I thought the sun would be out, and I could get above the cloud layer. Nope. Not with this November weather. Lights would have been a really good thing to bring. I had leg warmers, jacket, head band, dry socks, a cliff bar to munch, but no lights. Be careful of the motorcycles he said. Yep, I know about those folks. The motorcycles were smart enough to stay indoors. Friday was red sports car filming day. On the way down I noticed two cameramen on tripods overlooking the road below. around the bend their buddies were lined up for their moment on video. I waited while the three cars made their debut. Heeding the sheriff's warning.

My big toe suffered the most from the cold. Even with wool socks and shoe covers. A big bowl of chicken soup warmed me up nicely. Good ride.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Saturday

Saturday the weather warmed up nicely. Light winds. Clear sky. Light traffic all around. Perfect day for a ride.




Enhanced pictures...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Catching up with Matt

First hike up Poop Out Trail on Monday.


Matt's first night ride of the fall season. A bit chilly with very few riders.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Bike Fest 2010

A cosmic confluence of bike clubs converged on Glendora Mountain Road Saturday. Adobo Velo, Bike Forums, OC Rebel Riders and SC Velo fielded upwards of sixty riders. There were also duos, trios and single riders mixed along the groups. Lots of recreational riders were attacking the hill late in the morning. Based on my weight gained from noshing on snacks from the multiple sag vehicles -- this ride was the best!