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.

2 comments:

yeahian said...

How I said my inline friend held us back was worded wrong and I had to clarify this. He was cautious and for good reason.He didn't study the tutorial on http://www.toughascent.com/
Nor spend the time I did researching the trip down. After the first couple of miles of road (construction, rocks...) The extreme cold, ice on the road... He was being smart. I had a pretty good idea of what was ahead from first hand accounts... Anyways my friend who I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with, was far from someone holding me back he was the reason I finally made it up there and now have a exerience not soon forgotten!
Oh and $200 for 39! Its $400 for skating GMR! That's two tickets for the price of one! Seriously though you also have to go to court in Pomona if you get one of those tickets. So it ends u costing a lot more than just the fine.

Hope everyone enjoys their ride(s) this week, and if anyone wants to race a longboarder down 39 I'm game!
Thanks Annette!

Unknown said...

I rode up 39 to where it meets Hwy 2 back in June.
It was on a Sunday, so I figured no one was
working. Beautiful ride, which I thought that I
would do before 39 reopens to traffic, which I heard
was going to happen this year. Where is the Coldwater
Gate- is that before the lake? Thanks all for
the news.... Joe