Two Flat Day

Story coming later...

Madre Fire 9/24 - A Day Later

The fire crews did a superb job on the Madre Fire.

Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Date of Origin	Monday September 23rd, 2013 approx. 06:00 PM
Location	San Gabriel Canyon 1/4 mile west of the entrance station
Incident Commander	Tomaselli

Current Situation as of 09/24/2013 5 pm

Total Personnel	450
Size	250 acres
Percent Contained	70%
Estimated Containment Date	Friday September 27th, 2013 approx. 08:00 AM
Fuels Involved	Chaparral (6 feet), dormant brush, hardwood slash.
Fire Behavior	Active backing
Significant Events	Unified command with US Forest Service & LA County.

The Madre Fire - Azusa Canyon 2013

Fire in the forest. Azusa canyon. From Sierra Madre

Fire in Azusa from Glendora Mountain Road. photo by Matt

Saturday 9/21

Wasn't it just 110F? Now its merely 60F. If the photos look a bit bleary, I am shivering.

Glorious Ride

Matt - It was great. I hit clouds at the second saddle comming down.Sunny at east fork.

Matt - Was God looking for me up Azusa Canyon?

Tuesday 9/17 and Thursday Rides 9/19

Road on Tuesday and Thursday. Sweet. Two days of riding during the week. This is motivation. Perfect timing meeting John C. on Tuesday. No sign of him on Thursday. Notable sightings were Scott S. a lean, green, cycling machine. And John C. from Matt's work. The Thursday ride had the moments of excitement when I burst to 9-10 mph on the hill. Construction at mile marker 8.9

Sunday Hike 9/15

Went for a hike in Big Dalton Canyon and chatted with the new celebrities Robert and Natalie of Parliament0f0wls. It was only the third time we have talked in person. Natalie astutely examined all the tracks for wildlife activity. Robert had many a tale to tell. One was about his close call with a newly killed deer and a mountain lion watching him. Robert has amassed an impressive collection of wildlife antics as they enjoy their home in the Angeles National Forest.

Saturday 9/14 - Tour de Foothills

Left the house at 6:30 am to beat the heat. Saw John's truck and attempted to catch up with him. Never caught up with or saw John but the game of pursuit and pushing hard to the shed paid off with my best performance this year of 1:28 for the 11.5 miles. Sure, there are plenty of folks who are faster, but it does feel like the right direction for my own efforts. Any time spent at 8 mph or higher is cause for celebration. On the last climb to the shed, one cyclist passed me by. I picked up his cadence caught up with him told him I liked his speed then sailed on ahead with a two minute burst of 9-10 mph. Nice flurry to the line.

Matt, Wayne and Bill arrived at the shed. Dang. I didn't get Wayne's picture. Fun talk and procrastinating from chores.

Matt, Bill and I rode to fork plus four. Going early meant more shade. How did I ever make Baldy? Its nice to take time to look across the canyon, see Mt. Wilson and reflect on the miles covered. A second week in a row met up with Mark. Mark also rode early on Thursday morning. 13 riders on Thursday. We rode back to the shed together. Going uphill in the heat saps the soul. It was 92F at 10:30 am.

Returning to the shed, spent time with Mr. Beanz and Gina. Must thank Mr. Beanz for sweeping up the glass at the first saddle. It covered the entire lane. Eric also stopped by.

Watched the Tour de Foothills riders complete their KOM climb. A lot of Rock Racing jerseys in the top 25 riders. Downhill was a sweet reward in the heat.

Baldy at Fork Plus Four.

Mark

Matt

Bill

Mr. Beanz and Gina

Gina

Eric

Mr. Beanz in Action

Eric

A rare sighting.

Tour de Foothills Cyclist Ahead Sign

Mark at Fork+4 on 9/7