Catching up with Bill

Bill's Story..... I did get a ride in this morning. It was pretty quiet until I got to Newman's Point where I met a couple of CHP Officers that were with a group of photographers from Road and Track Magazine that were doing a car photo shoot. Not too long after I arrived, Pat Caro and his F.C.C. powered by Pure Gear cycling team showed up and took a break from their training on GMR. We'll see Pat and his team at the SDSR in March. All-in-all a very nice day and a great ride.

Week of 2013-01-28

Secret training. I did get one glorious ride in on the weekend. It was the driest part of Saturday. Plenty of clouds shrouding the sky. The game is on to get 30 minutes of exercise and still make it to work by 8 am.

On the Road 01/21/2013

Wow. The weather was warm. The gear was light weight. No jacket necessary. Plenty of road to ride.

On the Road 01/19/2013

It is a tale that spans nearly a decade of riding Glendora Mountain Road. A tale that relies solely on human memory during the prime exhaustion of climbing 2000 feet. It is the wonderful moment of Matt saying -- I know you, we met before eight years ago. Lisa's corresponding -- You rode on Wednesdays and Saturdays, right? You wore white in those days. The momentary sharing of the road as one went up while two went the other way and the acknowledgment we were all faster in those days, Good times. Great recall.

Matt, Lisae, Matt, Bill. Lisa's key to a good ride is no fighting on the bike. She pulls over to the side to resolve differences. Lisa is training for the triple crown with over 12,000 feet of climbing.

On the way up to the shed I bumped into Kai and Shorty.
From August 19, 2012...

Kai and Shorty

On the Road 01/11/2013

Friday, January 11 2013. One of the coldest days of the year. The day was clear, crisp, cold and most importantly dry. Visibility was incredible. Catalina stood out across the water. Ships were discernible in the bay. Bill had his new Canon SX50 with a 50X zoom (24 mm to 1200 mm).  The photo he took from Newman's Point to Catalina was a distance of 65 miles. The ships were estimated at 40 miles.  The afternoon lighting made the sea very bright and since the exposure was set from that, the land came out pretty dark.

Week of 01/07/2013

Today I envisioned gerbils spinning their wheels inside the confines of their cages was the forefront of my thoughts. It did wonders for my totals even tho this is a third day in a row.

My multiride analysis shows improvement.

Sunday Ride

I went for a ride on Sunday afternoon. It had been dry for the previous two-three hours. The sun peaking between the clouds. The ridge looked great from San Dimas.

Normally I ride a bike, but today I ended up washing my socks, my gloves, my jacket while I was wearing the gear. Or to say, you get much wetter going downhill than you do uphill in the rain.

There was a small patch of hail pelting me on Sierra Madre. I hope the electronics survived the splashing.

I thought of Levi Leipheimer's quote about a miserable day in the Tour of California, "It's like stepping into a cold shower and riding for six hours." My stint was much shorter.

First ride of 2013

I tested out the new Keo-Look Polar power pedals. I had to get accustomed to the new feel and just clipping in and out. It was nice to have power and cadence readings. Jason wanted a full photo of the power meter. Well, you're looking at it. There are eight strain gauges completely housed in the pedal and you can see the transmitter with the Polar logo proudly displayed.

We counted five or more tow trucks on the road today.

The New Year's Eve over the side vehicle was still being searched for at mile marker 8.44. The tow trucks are in the blue circle near the top right. The car is on the slope in the red circle. Bill brought his new camera with 50x zoom.

Pretty awesome zoom.

New Year's Resolution

 I was ready to write my own list of items on my own New Year's Resolution, a usual list of health, lots of riding, good fortune when Glendora Mountain Road declared its own New Year's Resolution:

Enjoy the road responsibly. Drive Safe.

Two persons were airlifted after crashing at mile marker 8.44 on New Year's eve. San Gabriel Tribune reported the crash occurred at 11:40 pm and the rescue was still in progress at 1:15 am. Its fairly steep drop along this section of road.