Did You Ride Today?

[Red Rider]

Easy shop ride this morning. After the coffee stop about 8 of us headed off to add some miles. The hammerheads took right off, too -- so the team GM (also a friend, LBS owner, and great conversationalist), Mr. RR & I settled into an easy pace, which allowed us to talk & enjoy it without killing ourselves.

50.7 miles in just under 3 hrs. Fun ride!

[Biker395]

Great weekend!

Some friends and I took a 5:30AM start up Highway 39, to ride up to Dawson Saddle and back. We got things together and actually hit the road at first light. Not a lot of cars on Highway 39 at that time of the morning, so we pretty much had it all to ourselves.



Once you pass the ATV area, any vehicular traffic pretty much disappears and all you have are the occasional cars heading up to Crystal Lake. The climb is a solid 6-8% almost the whole way up, and it does get hot. But since we left early, it was perfect.



There’s a spring about 2/3 of the way up that offers fresh drinkable water, but with the cooler weather, we didn’t need it. The road is closed just past the Crystal Lake turnoff, but the road Is still in good shape, so we ducked under the gate and kept going. What is kind of iffy about this section of road are the many rocks that find their way down from the hillside. They can be nasty sharp, and can cut your tires up pretty good if you’re not careful. Something or other got me on the way up and I got a flat.

Once we got to Islip, we turned right and headed up Angeles Crest to Dawson Saddle. The slope is a reasonable 5-6%, so it’s an easy climb. And here we are!



From Dawson, it’s downhill all the way back to the Crystal Lake cutoff.

Gotta be careful though. All those rocks make for an easy flat … as Clem found out.



See that water bottle in the pix? I discovered that and considered taking it with me. Then I thought better of it … the owner might be looking to come back and get it, and I really didn’t have a good place to put it. I later found out it had been dropped earlier by Ken … one of our group. Shoulda listened to that inner voice that told me to bring it with me.

Beautiful views from up there.




We decided to have a bite at the Crystal Lake Café. I had a chili dog and some fries … yum.



Here, is Sparky … one of Crystal Lake Café’s denizens.



One more shot of Teresa and I, and we were ready for the long descent to the bottom:



Believe it or not, Clem got another flat on the way down! Since the girls were gone and neither he nor I had a good tube, he needed to repair his. A motorist offered Clem her floor pump, and I took off to see if I could catch the girls.

No way. Teresa and I hooked up at the Bear Creek Trailhead, but we didn’t see Anny until we got to the bottom. Clem was late getting back, so Teresa and I drove back up to see if we could help. Turns out he got yet another flat, and someone gave him a tube.

What a beautiful day in the mountains. The only way to top it was to head off and watch my son do the pier to pier swim. Here’s the guys:

And the girls:


I’m doing this one next year.

What better way to wrap up the weekend than a recovery ride? A little mocha at the Yellow Vase:


A ride up Via Campesina:



Down the coast:


And took in some great views:




And last but not least, meeting a 189 pound Wolfhound. Yikes:


Not a bad weekend!

[MarkAJ]

^
Nice to see you get out of the office once in a while.

[ohmannuel]

Didn't know Sparky's name but he was there and super friendly when I went up too.
P.S. Irish Wolfhounds are one of my favorite breeds!

[Biker395]

Originally Posted by ohmannuel

Didn't know Sparky's name but he was there and super friendly when I went up too.
P.S. Irish Wolfhounds are one of my favorite breeds!

Sweet. They told us the name of that orange cat too, but I instantly forgot it.

[jsigone]

did a nice MTB yesterday after work, was about 93* when i started....warm but had a breeze
http://app.strava.com/rides/16996347

[M2M]

Originally Posted by Biker395

Great weekend!

Some friends and I took a 5:30AM start up Highway 39, to ride up to Dawson Saddle and back. We got things together and actually hit the road at first light. Not a lot of cars on Highway 39 at that time of the morning, so we pretty much had it all to ourselves.

Not a bad weekend!

wait -
couldn't make to my house to go to big bear but, got up and drove to 39 for 5:30 start ?????? -
!

[MarkAJ]

IMO The only place to be riding today in this heat is at the beach. So I found myself clipping in at 7 a.m. in Brentwood going down San Vicente Blvd. to ride PCH north. I planned to ride about 31 miles and turn around to ride back. As soon as I started riding I could tell my body had not recovered from previous rides, I was weak and had no strength out of the saddle. So I decide to cruse with no hammering or climbing.

I was riding up the hill on PCH by the Malibu Civic Center to Pepperdine University when Shi Shprung came up next to me. He was doing a quick ride around the Santa Monica Mountains on his fixie before work. We did manage to exchange pleasantries before I was dropped. He is doing fine in case you have not checked in with him lately.

The traffic was light; the weather great and riding along the beach always has a soothing effect on me. I could not just let it go. I wanted to just be out there and be riding. I ended up riding out to Las Posas Road before heading back. I did stop briefly here for something to eat from my jersey and potty.

There are always two catering trucks parked at the top the climb from Zuma beach south bound on PCH. I have stopped there several times over the years to get a cold drink. Feeling lesser today I stopped bought and drank a Mexican coke. You know, the one in the bottle made with real sugar and not fructose. That pushed the level up a bit.

When I got back to my truck I did not have 90 miles so I got creative and made it so. It was a great day riding alongside the ocean, just great.

92.1 miles; 2,785 feet

[Red Rider]

I would have loved to ride on the coast today.

Instead, I rode this, and it was hot, and it hurt. I was off my time and will to suffer as much as I'd intended.

I blame the reaction my digestive tract had to last night's Chinese food.

[MarkAJ]

Originally Posted by Red Rider

I would have loved to ride on the coast today.

Instead, I rode this, and it was hot, and it hurt. I was off my time and will to suffer as much as I'd intended.

I blame the reaction my digestive tract had to last night's Chinese food.

Chinese food is over rated. Riding with a stomach issue is no fun-been there done that. Still the math says your average speed fast.