Danielle it's time to come back for another picnic. The rainfall and snowfall has filled the reservoir nicely. Can you see the islands?
The road had a few areas with sand and silt. Avoidable. Rideable. Pleasant. The view from top of Monroe:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday Ride
I met Danielle with her dad Mike and brother James the day before Thanksgiving. Danielle was enjoying the outdoors with a tailgate picnic at Newman's Point on Glendora Mountain Road. We shared the view of the reservoir. The water level was down from a long hot summer and fires. Recall the view from November 25, 2009:
Danielle it's time to come back for another picnic. The rainfall and snowfall has filled the reservoir nicely. Can you see the islands?
The road had a few areas with sand and silt. Avoidable. Rideable. Pleasant. The view from top of Monroe:
Danielle it's time to come back for another picnic. The rainfall and snowfall has filled the reservoir nicely. Can you see the islands?
The road had a few areas with sand and silt. Avoidable. Rideable. Pleasant. The view from top of Monroe:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday
After 10 days of no mountain and no rain, I set a leisurely pace. I had energy to look up at the sky enjoy the clouds, the near full moon and sunset.
Talked with a number of folks and characters along the road. Brian from SC Velo shouted hello as he descended. One white haired rube sitting in back of his blue van at the First Saddle chuckled as I passed by. He was already done with the hard part! I agreed. He explained his route. He drove to the saddle then pedaled his bike to the shed twice. This longer 4 mile section of road from saddle to she was also flatter. True enough. Interesting concept.
Saw Matt coming up as I was going down when Charlie also stopped and chatted. German triathletes were coming to try out our mountain in February. They planned bike adventures in the Alps and the Dolomites. We will see if GMR can charm them with its curves, easy slope and our warmer winter weather.
Charlie and I descended together. He wondered how in the heck I was braking. Easy. Dual sets of brake handles. None of this leaning way down to squeeze the front brake levers. We were zipping down at 27 mph around the ranger station where the pavement was bumpy at best and strewn with sharp rocks from last week's rain fall. I approached the light at Boulder Springs and realized Charlie was no longer with me. I circled around. Flat tire. A cycling dude walking his German Shepard agreed how cold it got when whipping down the mountain. He asked Charlie if there was snow at the shed. Not today. The walker and I recalled the snow from last year. The icy patches of road. Today it was dry and warm.
Wednesday evening bike ride bliss. Life was good on the road.
Talked with a number of folks and characters along the road. Brian from SC Velo shouted hello as he descended. One white haired rube sitting in back of his blue van at the First Saddle chuckled as I passed by. He was already done with the hard part! I agreed. He explained his route. He drove to the saddle then pedaled his bike to the shed twice. This longer 4 mile section of road from saddle to she was also flatter. True enough. Interesting concept.
Saw Matt coming up as I was going down when Charlie also stopped and chatted. German triathletes were coming to try out our mountain in February. They planned bike adventures in the Alps and the Dolomites. We will see if GMR can charm them with its curves, easy slope and our warmer winter weather.
Charlie and I descended together. He wondered how in the heck I was braking. Easy. Dual sets of brake handles. None of this leaning way down to squeeze the front brake levers. We were zipping down at 27 mph around the ranger station where the pavement was bumpy at best and strewn with sharp rocks from last week's rain fall. I approached the light at Boulder Springs and realized Charlie was no longer with me. I circled around. Flat tire. A cycling dude walking his German Shepard agreed how cold it got when whipping down the mountain. He asked Charlie if there was snow at the shed. Not today. The walker and I recalled the snow from last year. The icy patches of road. Today it was dry and warm.
Wednesday evening bike ride bliss. Life was good on the road.
Sunday Hike
Met Ty and Dan at the Monroe and Mystic Canyon Y. Dan has a new nick name Dan, the Buck Man. He earned it by spotting a six point buck in the canyon. He commented that he also found a carcass presumed to be a mountain lion kill.
Hiking farther each week, I reached a new point of interest.
And of course the view of Glendora Mountain Road. Definitely click for a larger view.
Hiking farther each week, I reached a new point of interest.
And of course the view of Glendora Mountain Road. Definitely click for a larger view.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Different Perspective
The day dawned crisp with patchy clouds. The furnace rumbled on early. The roar of the fans circulated warm air through the house as the digital thermometer read 36.9F! Chilly.
The daughter living in Columbus, Ohio had called Friday night and cheerfully described her first winter "abroad" in the mid-west. It's raining here. Do you know that it has to warm up to be able to rain? It's 40F. It's the warmest winter Ohio has had. There was happiness in her details. At 40F she relished the Ohio winter heat wave. Southern California, also needed warming up.
After the week of rain storms, GMR would be wet and muddy. Shaded in the winter from the southern sun, the road near Newman's Point would be icy. I have watched as intrepid sojourners ventured over those slick slippery and treacherous patches. Not so bad on the slower upwards bound trek, but required heaving breaking on the downhill.
Jason brought his green fixed speed bike. The sun had warmed the air to 45F. We headed down the San Gabriel River Trail leaving my house at 9 am. Jason attacked the hills on Sierra Madre on his single speed with strength and enthusiasm. Plentiful recumbent bicyclers out on the city street. They were cloaked with a protective tarp to break the wind. They looked toasty warm in their wheeled tents.
Arriving at the SG River trail, the dry, parched river bed of September flowed with water. We stopped in at the Encanto Park in Duarte. A helicopter flying low was headed up the canyon. A massive peloton cruised by, perhaps the Montrose Ride. I snapped pictures of Mount Baldy between the chain links of the bridge to the park.
The water flowed down the weirs, the horses kicked up their heels, the goats happily chewed everything and anything while the sun danced and shone.
The game became did you see that? Traffic was light, but when it happened people rushed by tight and fast. I watched cadence and leg position. Easy pedaling on the downhill we arrived at the 10 freeway at 10:45 am. I was ready to head back. That easy downhill became that subtle uphill challenging nonetheless.
We assisted one rider stopped fixing a flat tire. Christopher had gone through two CO2 cartridges. I loaned him the micro hand pump. He lived downtown and drove to Whittier Narrows to ride the trail. Today's ride was short. He was ready to invest in hand pump.
Plenty of stopping and pictures along the way. At the Nature Center we enjoyed the outing of gopher snake who had decided that a visitor's green fleece jacket fit him perfectly. One passer by said the snakes could not digest their food at low temperatures hence the hibernation.
The challenge of keeping up with Jason on the way back, left a huge hole in my stomach and I was ready to chow down on lunch when I arrived home. It was a great day to be outside. A very good adventure indeed.
Check out the slideshow:
The daughter living in Columbus, Ohio had called Friday night and cheerfully described her first winter "abroad" in the mid-west. It's raining here. Do you know that it has to warm up to be able to rain? It's 40F. It's the warmest winter Ohio has had. There was happiness in her details. At 40F she relished the Ohio winter heat wave. Southern California, also needed warming up.
After the week of rain storms, GMR would be wet and muddy. Shaded in the winter from the southern sun, the road near Newman's Point would be icy. I have watched as intrepid sojourners ventured over those slick slippery and treacherous patches. Not so bad on the slower upwards bound trek, but required heaving breaking on the downhill.
Jason brought his green fixed speed bike. The sun had warmed the air to 45F. We headed down the San Gabriel River Trail leaving my house at 9 am. Jason attacked the hills on Sierra Madre on his single speed with strength and enthusiasm. Plentiful recumbent bicyclers out on the city street. They were cloaked with a protective tarp to break the wind. They looked toasty warm in their wheeled tents.
Arriving at the SG River trail, the dry, parched river bed of September flowed with water. We stopped in at the Encanto Park in Duarte. A helicopter flying low was headed up the canyon. A massive peloton cruised by, perhaps the Montrose Ride. I snapped pictures of Mount Baldy between the chain links of the bridge to the park.
The water flowed down the weirs, the horses kicked up their heels, the goats happily chewed everything and anything while the sun danced and shone.
The game became did you see that? Traffic was light, but when it happened people rushed by tight and fast. I watched cadence and leg position. Easy pedaling on the downhill we arrived at the 10 freeway at 10:45 am. I was ready to head back. That easy downhill became that subtle uphill challenging nonetheless.
We assisted one rider stopped fixing a flat tire. Christopher had gone through two CO2 cartridges. I loaned him the micro hand pump. He lived downtown and drove to Whittier Narrows to ride the trail. Today's ride was short. He was ready to invest in hand pump.
Plenty of stopping and pictures along the way. At the Nature Center we enjoyed the outing of gopher snake who had decided that a visitor's green fleece jacket fit him perfectly. One passer by said the snakes could not digest their food at low temperatures hence the hibernation.
The challenge of keeping up with Jason on the way back, left a huge hole in my stomach and I was ready to chow down on lunch when I arrived home. It was a great day to be outside. A very good adventure indeed.
Check out the slideshow:
 |
| 2010-01-23 San Gabriel River Trail |
Friday, January 22, 2010
Road Status 2010-01-22
ROAD CLOSED!
The last rock run truck headed south on Glendora Mountain Road to Sierra Madre at 16:18. I continued on up the road to check on the gate status. It was locked. Artful avoidance of the turnout while changing direction kept my car from getting stuck in the mud. A sheriff's vehicle headed up the road at 16:22. Busy place for a rainy Friday afternoon.
During the Thursday evening check on the gate, the rain pounded my windshield obliterating any visual on the road near the ranger station. The windshield wipers had no impact in clearing the huge droplets. It felt like I was driving blind. I slowed down to a virtual stop. The density of rainfall conditions improved within a few feet. The dramatic difference could impact the burn area.
Glendora had 6.95 inches of rainfall this week. More than half the season total of 12.59 inches.
The last rock run truck headed south on Glendora Mountain Road to Sierra Madre at 16:18. I continued on up the road to check on the gate status. It was locked. Artful avoidance of the turnout while changing direction kept my car from getting stuck in the mud. A sheriff's vehicle headed up the road at 16:22. Busy place for a rainy Friday afternoon.
During the Thursday evening check on the gate, the rain pounded my windshield obliterating any visual on the road near the ranger station. The windshield wipers had no impact in clearing the huge droplets. It felt like I was driving blind. I slowed down to a virtual stop. The density of rainfall conditions improved within a few feet. The dramatic difference could impact the burn area.
Glendora had 6.95 inches of rainfall this week. More than half the season total of 12.59 inches.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Road Status 2010-01-19
Incredible. The gate was open at 16:45. The storm headed in on Wednesday and Thursday promised lots of rainfall. Brace yourself.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Honda Firesale
Mandy of Adobovelo.com has the weekend scoop. Sunday January 17, 2010 at 8:30 in the morning on Glendora Mountain Road approximately mile marker 3.0 or two miles from the GMR/GRR junction a Honda two door Civic met its demise. There's debris on the wall where the car initially hit, showing pieces of red bumper and glass.
The car was consumed until there was no more material to burn. There's no sign of the fire being put out by firemen. Seems the car hit the wall while coming downhill, then did a 360, and came to a stop on the other lane.
The car was consumed until there was no more material to burn. There's no sign of the fire being put out by firemen. Seems the car hit the wall while coming downhill, then did a 360, and came to a stop on the other lane.
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