Southern California - GMR/BALDY ride reports for sep 2 GO HERE! lol!

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caligurl
09-02-06, 03:52 AM
i never get to start these cuz i live so far away.... so i'm starting it now! lets see your pics and hear your stories!!!!!


roadfix
09-02-06, 07:13 AM
Hey Cali.....didn't you know it's against forum rules to reserve a titled thread?...:p

Mr. Beanz
09-02-06, 02:16 PM
I live close and cut the ride short so I'm first!:D I gave Gina an hour hadstart so that she could do her pace to the shack then wait fer me. I thought I would be therre maybe 10 minutes after her, but she waited 1/2 an hour. That was good as it gave er time to watch a few of the riders go by. She was suprised that quite a few cyclists went by and said," oh, you must be Gina". Gina was happy as she felt pretty good at that point. Last week she was calling me names at mile 2. After we left the shack, my legs were tired and she dropped me on a couple of the early climbs.

About a mile after we crossed the gate, sure enough first bee I see hits me and stings me near the neck!:mad: We stopped for a bit and packed some mud on it. Then continued but was worried as I swell a bit when stung. Last year, bees got me about 5 times and every time there was swelling. I was actually tired this time so I told Gina, if it got too hot for her, I'd be happy to turn back. We got to about mile 15, she had to stop and cool off for the 2nd or 3 rd time within 3 miles, so I just turned us back. No sense in suffering. I told her I was concerned about her riding in extreme heat. I didn't say anything about my legs hurting! What she don't know won't hurt her!:p

She felt much better than last week though, even after the ride. I think the 8 am start in the heat is just too much for her. Last week was a 7 am start and it was hot even then.

The ride: It was real nice to meet a few of the people from the forums. A few of the guys riding around me were very friendly. I met Voltguy,Cj,Jason,Matt,Celtic, Fixie and a few others while riding. I'm not sure who a couple of the other guys were but it's tough trying to keep up with those liteweight flyguys!

Fixer would pass me, take a few pix, then drop back. Pass me again, take a few more then drop back again.What the....? Made me wanna cry cause it looked like he was toying with me!:p

I pretty much gave it my all on the first 8 cause I knew I'd slow when I met Gina. I didn't count on her dropping my azz! I think she was happy to punish me a bit! My legs hurt like they haven't in a couple of years. I really need to do more hills!

I always hear Jason say he's slow. but he looked pretty fast to me, Maybe the new bike?;) I don't know where he came from but right before the shack, he came flying up the road! Then after the 8 mile gate, he flew by again. Good thing I was with Gina, I had an excuse to fall behind!:p

When I stopped a the shack, a few of the guys gathered. It was nice to speak with a few of the boys. All seemed very nice. Then met up again with SCVRoadie for a lil chat. Talked to TCR for a while and had a few good laughs before and after the ride. Met Grumpypig, but never saw him on the ride. Danger guy went by with a high five! One other guy tha came up behind me with Fixer right before the shack, that dude was fast but can't 'member his name right now. Spoke to Rick OCR, rode with Malcolm for a while and said hi to Linda Adams.

Was cool to met everybody that I met. All seemed like very good riders. Sorry we didn't make it all the way. Missed out on a chance to hang with The Village People (:D ) for some more chit chat, but I swear it was Gina, she held me back, yeah that's it, it was Gina!:D

Gina was really happy that I dragged her out there! Said she had a good time and she appreciates the fact that everybody was very friendly! She gets so tickled that people already know her name when the ride by!:p

Thanx for the ride!


dragoon976
09-02-06, 03:08 PM
I also live close, and was hoping to be the first but I can't beat Mr. Beanz nor fixer's pre ride report! I am sure a lot of you guys don't know me 'cause you all are so fast, but I was the guy on the BMC taking up the rear with my brother on his siena. I got to meet SirLanceImNot, 1955, GrumpyPig, JsChen, Dave, and a few others at the beginning in the parking lot. Sandbaggers the lot of you, I swear it. Caligurl and a handful of others were already to the lifts and back by the time I got to the lodge:eek:

From my house, just a hair under 45 miles round trip with an avg speed of 11.2 and a max of 44.3mph. Yes, the engine needs a major overhaul! It was definitely hot, and I was out of water bout halfway through. Thank you Baldy Lodge for $1.75 bottomless cokes and water (Thanks Voltman, I owe you $3.50). It was nice hanging and talking with a bunch of yous at the lodge like CJBruin, Extort, Voltman, Mateo, Isits etc. Also, all the people who were constantly passing me and my brother were very curteous, friendly, and helpful. If you're thinking about joining a BF ride for the first time, I strongly recommend it.

Most sore body part of the day: hammies. Any suggestions as to what can cause this? Or is it in climbing, that is what usually is supposed to hurt? (I do not climb much nor well).

Thanks again JSChen for organizing this ride, me and my brother will be sure to try and make it out to a lot more of these. Thanks to Celtic and Volt for pacing me and my brother most of the way. Thanks to Isits and Beanz/Gina for showing me what determination is. You guys are tough. I hope to get the chance next time to talk with/meet more of you all next time, instead of being forced to grit my teeth and pedal in anger (at least for me it was in anger!).

Jeremy
P.S. Fixer was constantly passing me and falling back as taking pictures as well. It was quite disheartening and inspirational at the same time to see him dance by me probably more than five times, only to turn around and start snapping away as I passed him at my measly 5mph while trying to make it look like I was going fast off the front.

my58vw
09-02-06, 03:36 PM
Sounds like you had lots of fun! I could not get away from the kids (sisters) today, too bad because I live 10 miles from the start. Going for a job interview today, hope to be able to come out next time!

Oh ya, if you were climbing at 5 MPH maybe it was better that I didn't attempt right now... my 11-23 roadbike would be about 20 RPMS at maybe 4 MPH :eek:

1955
09-02-06, 04:10 PM
Had a great time on the ride and also meeting everyone, too many to mention!

Pico
09-02-06, 04:23 PM
I had an awesome time, although it was very hot. I can't wait to see some pictures on SirLanceImNot's hardbar carnage.:D

roadfix
09-02-06, 04:32 PM
Great ride everyone and thanks for organizing this ride Jason! After I got home, I quickly showered as I was already running late for work so I headed straight here to work. I had to be in at work by 2 this afternoon so unfortunately I had to skip the last steep 4.5 mile climb up to the ski lifts (thank God!..:)). That would have taken me an additional hour just to get up to the top. I didn't feel too bad as many actually decided to pass on that climb to the lifts, mostly due to the heat. Instead, most of us gathered and spent some quality time together at Mt. Baldy Lodge while waiting for those who made it up to the ski lifts to return.
After a few short minutes, a few riders came descending down from the lifts including caligurl who seemed to be in a state of panic because apparently her hubby's (Sir-Lanceimnot) carbon handlebar had snapped during the descent from the ski lifts. She wanted to get back to her car asap so she can drive back up to pick him up. Fortunately, Sir-Lance was ok. Since I was in a rush to get back home myself, Pico, caligurl, and I left the group immediately and descended straight down Baldy Road into Claremont and eventually back to our vehicles parked at the base of GMR.
I met so many new faces today. I pretty much stayed near the back during the entire climb up to Baldy Village. Since we were all so spread apart, I spent a good portion of GRR with mateo44. There seemed to be no one else around us.
I also snapped a few pictures and will post them later on this evening...:)
I apologize for not taking pics of so many of you as most of you were ahead of me....:(

But in the meantime let's thank Tom for sweeping GMR of road debris every Saturday so that we can enjoy our rides!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/P1000397.jpg

Tiffanie
09-02-06, 04:49 PM
Glad to see some ride reports coming in! Scary about SirLance's handlebar. :eek: Glad he wasn't hurt! Looking forward to many more reports and seeing some pics! :)

cjbruin
09-02-06, 04:53 PM
WANTED: 30-50 Voodoo Dolls & 5,000 needles.

Also needed: Overweight bicycle riders who enjoy riding on flats or downhills.

1265 Lombardi
09-02-06, 04:54 PM
Ok, first of all, SirLanceIamnot I hope made it out alright. I was really bummed to see you get stranded and were sorry to leave you behind. I am still amazed the fact you had avoided a crash ( both sides of his handle bar had snapped and were basically held on by a bar tape). I hope you didnt have to wait too long for Caligirl to pick you up. With all that climbing finished only thing left was to blast down the mountain, what a freakin' luck.... but things could have been whole lot worse and I thank god you didnt crash at that speed. Time to invest in a sturdier handle bar.

With that being said, I hope everyone made out ok. What a climb! Its the most climbing Ive ever done on a ride. I tried to hang with Pico for through the climbs to the village but I couldnt match his climbing prowess. He was dishing out some major pain. I dont suffer like that unless I am in a race. Man what a pain in the ass trying to get up to the ski lifts. SirLanceIamnot did it with 23s in the back. I had 25s and it would've been so nice to have 27s. Coming down on GRR and GMR was phenomenal. So many curves, so much fun! It made going up worth while.... almost. I wished it wasnt so hot coming down. Killer ride today and it was nice to meet and ride with you all. Lets do it again.

Hey Caligirl, I got to find a woman like you who can ride up to the Ski lifts!( and she beat us all up there:D )

Thanks Jason for organizing this ride. You got a pretty sweet ride! Hope you get your new wheels in soon!

cjbruin
09-02-06, 05:00 PM
OK...now that I got that out of my system...

Really enjoyed seeing everyone and meeting new people. I pretty much barely made it to the village and there was no way I was going to the lifts. A BIG thanks to Mad Mike who hung back and tried to keep my mind off the pain (not that it worked...but he tried).

Great conversations in the lodge!

What happened to Sir Lance was totally crazy. Less experienced riders would have hit the deck...I'm very impressed by his presence of mind and skills!!!

Thanks everyone. Sorry, I didn't bring a camera but since I was slower than 95% of the group, I would have probably had to take most of the pics of myself.

Nap time! Have a great weekend.
-CJ

TCR
09-02-06, 05:42 PM
I had a fun ride. Got to talk to Beanzies at the start and then talked with Sirlance a while on the way up and met a new forumite - sorry but I forget who. I think he called himself bigjohn or bigjim or bigsomebody. Then I rode with Sirlance and some guy wearing a grey Verge sleveless jersey. Sorry, never got your name. Anyway, these two set a fast pace up to the shack. I was so glad to see Gina sitting there as it gave me an excuse to stop the suffering! :D From the shack up to the village I took it easy and just enjoyed the ride. At the gate at GRR I tried to swap my yellow Giant for a yellow crotch rocket but the guy wasn't interested. Oh well, I tried. I have to mention the nice folks up at the restaurant/lodge. They happily filled up our water bottles with ice and water. I think I may actually take my wife up there and stay sometime soon. The ride down was way cool and way easier. Took Baldy rd down to baseline and then back over to GMR. Got some serious speed coming down Baldy and flying though those tunnels was very fun. Ended up with 40.24 miles in 2hr and 35min. Good times! :D

What's this about SirLance's bars? They broke climbing up to the lifts or what?

NDG
09-02-06, 05:44 PM
Hey everybody! I really enjoyed this ride. This was a first for me. I have never climbed this big a mountain before. I am so glad I changed my 12-23 cassette to a 12-27 two days before the ride! When I was riding up that last stretch to the ski lifts I could not beleive I was running a 27 tooth gear at the back: it felt like a 12! But nonetheless, I made it to the top! (had to take a few pauses along the way, unlike a few others that passed me by!). It was really great riding with you California roadies (Extort, Matteo44, 1955, Voltman and many others). Thanks Matt for the ride. Also got to meet the famous (at least by the number of postings she has!) Calligurl!
Hope to ride again with you guys (and girls) in the near future (although I am going back to Montreal on September 28).

I would really love to obtain pictures of todays' ride to show my buddies in Montreal. If you can, please PM me and I will provide my email so you could send me pictures.

Extort
09-02-06, 06:06 PM
I'll just do a photo journal first...

Sir Lance on the way to the top:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/SirLanceImNot.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/SirLanceImNotII.jpg

NDG at the top:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/NDG.jpg

Pico at the top:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Pico.jpg

Picture of me going up the mountain: (Thanks to Sir Lance)
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Extort.jpg

Voltman after hearing about the ride to the lifts:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Voltmanwhenwearrived.jpg

Mt. Baldy Cafe:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/HolyCrinkeythatsalotofcyclists.jpg

and lastly, the reason why it took so long to get this ride report up...
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Wherewewentrightaftertheride.jpg

big john
09-02-06, 06:08 PM
Big group that splintered into small groups right away. I climbed up to the village with 3 friends and hardly even saw any cyclists. We stopped at the trout ponds for a snack before going up to the ski area. I didn't summit, got close, but turned back. I saw sirlance walking and he told me he hit a crack/separation in the road at 30mph and the bars broke on both sides. He grabbed the stem and somehow kept it upright and stopped. A cab came by and gave him a free ride to the village to wait for caligurl to get the car.
I met a few BF members for the first time, but wish I could have met more.
Nearly called Ralph on the way down with an upset stomach, but ate a granola bar and felt better.
A fun day, lets do it again when it cools off. Thanks again, Jason.

roadfix
09-02-06, 06:18 PM
and lastly, the reason why it took so long to get this ride report up...
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Wherewewentrightaftertheride.jpg

Had I known you guys were gonna stop for some sushi, I would have stuck around a little longer. I see salmon, yellowtail, fatty tuna, and some California rolls.....:D

Mr. Beanz
09-02-06, 06:57 PM
Gina' keeps crackin' up over the Voltman pic!:D

Tiffanie
09-02-06, 07:14 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/ptbryant/rotfl.gif

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Voltmanwhenwearrived.jpg

Rick@OCRR
09-02-06, 07:16 PM
A fun ride, and I met a lot of great BikeForums riders, but didn't get any names, so I can only tell you the ones I knew from the "other" forum, and Rebels of course. Saw Beans at the start, plus caligurl and SirLance, then saw SCRoadie at The Village. I passed Gina somewhere it the first 7 miles and she was riding strong and looking good:) .

I started a little after 7:00 AM since I don't do well in heat. That was my green Miata parked on Boulder Springs in case you were wondering who got there first. Started with Arthur Shipiro and Linda Adams (Rebels both, Arthur is our webmaster), pulled away from them and didn't see any other riders (well, some coming down at high speed!) on my way to The Village.

Did see Tom the Sweeper and thanked him for all his work (guess I shoulda left a tip too . . . )

Stopped at The Village for a Coke and a Hammer Gel, then headed for the Lifts. My time to The Village was 2:02, and my time at the Lifts (or where the pavement ends) was 3:05. When I headed down I saw someone close to the top. I gave him a little preview (pavements stays good until the switchbacks, etc.) then headed down and took out my camera.

Unfortunately it was after caligurl had gone by so I didn't get a photo of her. Plus a couple others went by before I stopped at a little turn-off.

Got a good shot of SirLance (going up, good handlebars still), and other riders whom I don't know. After a few photos I rolled back to the village and talked with several riders (Jason and a few others) but didn't get many names. One guy recognized my GT Ti bike from a previous post. Didn't get his name either!

Met up with Malcolm (another Rebel), drank another Coke and sucked down 2 Hammer Gels, then rode back to Glendora via the same route I'd come up.

I passed four riders on the way back (2 asians riding together, then several miles later an hispanic and a white boy; sorry didn't get names!). The asians were definitely BikeForum members though, I did ask that!

To see Arhur's photos of the day, go to: www.ocrebels.com (http://www.ocrebels.com) then click on "Photographs." I'm in shot #2 and shot #21 in case you wonder in the heck who I am!

I have other photos which I can send to Arthur, so if someone can email me and tell me how to put photos on this thread, I'll be happy to post them. My email is: rb.housa@verizon.net

Best Regs,
Rick / OCRR

celticfrost
09-02-06, 07:18 PM
*Caution: Long Ride Report Ahead.*

I arrived in time to get my bike, gear and self ready and start by 8am, but not enough time to meet and greet as many people as I would have liked. Since this was my last ride w/ the SoCal group, I wanted to savor it and make it last. Little did I know that I had little say in the matter, because as the day progressed the heat and hills made sure this torturefest would last plenty long. I'd rank this ride as one of my 2 or 3 toughest, but I'll get to that later.

I rolled in at about 7:45 and got a parking spot behind big john, said hello to him and talked w/ him for a little bit. Got my bike and me ready to roll and made some pre-ride small talk w/ Isits, Voltman and jschen, then we were off. I saw valleygirl and we talked a bit -- she is so cool and big john is lucky to have her in his "harem". The gate at GMR broke up the pack a bit and I found myself riding solo for the 1st 10-15 minutes, which was fine because I just wanted to take some scenery and get myself psyched for the ride ahead. I soon found myself alongside The Fixer, who was smiling away, taking in the scenery with both his eyes and camera lens. It's pretty fun to watch him yo-yo amongst the pack, effortlessly performing his role as SoCal's photographer/ PR Manager :p . Next it was time to spin alongside Mateo44 and jschen. Mateo was pounding along GMR and GRR for the 1st time, determined to conquer both climbs. He did and was justifiably pumped when I met up w/ him later in Baldy Village. A couple bikes caught my eye and I ended up being drawn to dragoon976's BMC, who I met for the 1st time today. I wound up riding w/ him, his broher Phil and Voltman for the majority of GRR. I also got to meet Mr. Beanz and Gina as we took turns passing and being passed by them. I'm not sure why the bees have such a problem w/ Mr. Beanz.
About 2/3rds the way up GRR, we realized we lost Voltman, so I turned back to investigate. A couple turns later, I see him shaking his jersey all over the place and his bike on the ground. WTF?? Upon closer inspection, I see a slightly bloody battlewound on his right knee! :beer: I didn't get to see it, but he told me he was practicing clipping in 1st w/ his left(?) foot instead of clipping in first w/ his right(?) as usual and wound up falling into a small bush. Sorry to have to share that w/ the rest of the forum Voltman, but it was one of the highlights of my ride! Voltman and I then caught up w/ Mad Mike and CJBruin w/ Mad Mike trying to keep the heat and pain out of CJBruin's mind. It basically worked and CJBruin found his 2nd (or perhaps 3rd?) wind and finished GRR on a strong note. My "Guts Award" goes to both CJBuin and Voltman for sticking it out on the climbs and finishing strong.

At Baldy Village, we ordered some Cokes met some others who were hanging out there. I slammed an ice cold Coke and proceeded to get back on my bike, determined to give Mt. Baldy an ole fashioned ass whoopin'. Before taking off, I gave Fixer a handshake as he wished me luck. At this point I had been climbing for about 3 hours and hadn't ate anything since the 3 egg breakfast (**$HIT!!! --- without warning, my right hamstring just cramped up like a muthah and I instinctively started flailing my right leg around, sending a full glass of Cytomax all over the place!! What a mess, but at least the glass didn't break**) 5 hours prior. I saw JS Lopez screaming down the mountain and gave him a loud hello as he whizzed by. At this point, I was running on fumes as I had forgot my Clif bars . My stomach felt like crap and I think the ice cold Coke I slammed was causing sickening belly cramps. 0.2 miles into the 4.6 mile, 2100ft final climb, I found myself doubled over my bike, dizzy, mouth drooling (the saliva was lubing up the exit way for the projectile of vomit that I was getting ready to spurt out). I contemplated barfing and heading back down in shame. 5 minutes later I didn't feel like puking and made an agreement that I'd try to make it to the 1st (of 8) switchbacks, call my battle w/ Baldy a minor loss and make it back to Baldy village, demoralized, but in one piece :o . I trudged to the 1st switchback, feeling crappy, but relatively better. But at the 2nd switchback, the pukey, dizzy feeling came back. Baldy was going to make sure that our last grudge match was going to bring me to my knees. To add insult to injury I saw some smiling forumites zooming down from the other direction -- Pico, Extort, etc.. I didn't want them to see me at my low point, my Waterloo. The only things in my corner were my ego and pride -- which can be pretty strong when you're a knucklehead like me. FU MT. BALDY!!, I thought. I finished my last couple swigs of Cytomax and decided to go for an additional switchback or 2, zigzagging, taking breaks -- ANYTHING but quitting. This game continued for some time as fellow forumites, done w/ the climb passed by in the opposite direction and waved at me while I sulked and weakly muttered "Hi". An occasional leg cramp had me popping off the bike cursing, but I made it to the top as DangerMan offered encouragement while he was camped in the shade. Victory was mine. I bidded Baldy a fond farewell and glided back to the Village to be greeted by the few remaining stragglers.

I found out that SirLanceImNot had broken his bars on the hairy descent and somehow managed to not only survive, but remain unscathed. I'm not too sure if I'm more impressed by that or the fact he did this climb with and 39*23 as his low gear. I was humbled. I then got to meet Caligurl as she performed SAG support for SirLanceImNot. I sucked down some liquids and some fries and true to his word our fearless Ride Leader jschen guided me home as I was the last one to make the climb to the top. Jason -- you're getting faster in every area, but I was particularly impressed by the breakneck pace on the descent back to the windy, 95 degree oven that awaited us in the flats. I was fried and just sat in the shade with jschen for 10 minutes or so, shook his hand as we departed and made it home, happy that I was able to be a part of such a brutal, but fun ride w/ some fellow bike dorks. :beer:

Naptime.

celticfrost
09-02-06, 07:19 PM
Get back to work, slacker.

roadfix
09-02-06, 07:28 PM
Wow! Great report, Celtic! We'll sure miss you...

roadfix
09-02-06, 07:31 PM
Footrace to the gate!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/MB003.jpg

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roadfix
09-02-06, 07:31 PM
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roadfix
09-02-06, 07:32 PM
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roadfix
09-02-06, 07:32 PM
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roadfix
09-02-06, 07:33 PM
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roadfix
09-02-06, 07:33 PM
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bitingduck
09-02-06, 07:54 PM
Well I'm bummed that I showed up 10 minutes late and had to turn around early. I rode from Altadena and would have been on time but a big chunk of Sierra Madre was ripped up with big detour signs-- I started to ride through and then decided it may or may not be passable so took the detour, which took me down to foothill, over to citrus, and back up to SM, adding a bit of time, especially since I kept looking for shortcuts through the neighborhoods. Big John later told me that it had been passable a few weeks ago, and probably still is.

I caught a bunch of people once I hit the climb, but there were a bunch of groups behind you all and I kept asking if they were with the bikeforums group and getting funny looks. I finally caught Jason and chatted with him for a while to catch my breath, then we caught fixer and his camera, and a few other people. I had to turn around at the 7 mile mark after the intersection to meet some other people from my club and go open a new bank account, so I didn't get to go to the top and hang out or eat in the village. I met a couple new people, but it would have been nice to meet more. One guy (who I'm not sure was with the group or not) recognized me from the track while I was noodling along with Jason.

The pictures from later in the ride look like it was fun (and I missed the food!!) so I'll have to come out and meet some of you that I haven't met yet on another ride.

1955
09-02-06, 08:20 PM
WANTED: 30-50 Voodoo Dolls & 5,000 needles.

Also needed: Overweight bicycle riders who enjoy riding on flats or downhills.

Tell me when and where!

1955
09-02-06, 08:30 PM
Nearly called Ralph on the way down


Hey John, it wouldn't have helped, I'm a little deaf and probably wouldn't have heard you anyway.:rolleyes:

Mr. Beanz
09-02-06, 08:57 PM
Hey, which one of you's called me a clydesdale on the way up?:mad:

Was it CJBruin?......It's only cause I'm big boned!:D

scvroadie
09-02-06, 10:39 PM
Great ride, got to the gate about 8:10 after our little ride over from Duarte. Rode with my friends from Santa Clarita, as we were climbing up it was nice to meet a few more people from the forum and re-establish contacts with the others. Got to the village, and it was great to see a lot of other BF members.

Jason, Jane says thank you for the water, she was having a tough day, she is still suffering from an accident at Cool Breeze where a vehicle turned in front of her. Like everyone has said you did a great job putting this ride together. Lets do it again when its about 20 degrees cooler.

Sorry I missed you Cali, and the a bummer about Lance's handlebars. Big John, missed you and the harem. We had to get back, and one of my gang didn't want anymore climbing so we went down through Claremont. Ended up with a total of 55 miles and 4700 feet of climbing.

dangerman
09-02-06, 11:16 PM
I showed up as the pack rolled off with my two skater/biker buds. Took us a few minutes to get rolling, then we hit the hill. Passed someone before the gate who had a major mechanical. Better there than on ridge road.

We started climbing up the frontside, and started catching people who had know idea there was a bike forum. Then we started catching some of the bf members.

FYI, that skateboarder is John Rogers. He's one of those skateboarding legends from the dogtown days. I know him from the gravity competitions. He and his brother design and build those boards. All T6 aluminum plate.

One of my guys, John, was riding a 30 year old cross bike. Must have weighed 40 lbs. John is strong, and yet this boat anchor really slowed him down. The other guy, Dave, competes in inline marathons, and is very fast. After waiting at the first summit for twenty minutes for John to catch up, Dave and I decided to press on and meet him at the village. We beat him by a half hour. Good thing his new ride arrives next week.

It was late when we took off for the switchbacks, and saw many BF riders heading down. I don't know who you are, but we waved at all.

By 1:30, the switchbacks were in the 90's, and heat management seemed to be the game. I dumped at least a full bottle on my head attempting to stay cool.

Celtic Frost was on my tail for a bit, then seemed to drop off. I stopped at the false summit to clean my sweat-covered glasses. My eyes were stinging from the sweat, and my face was covered in salt. I was out of cytomax, and was relying on Gu to get me to the lifts.

I've skated down from the lifts before, and knew it was steep. The last few hundred yards are 15%, and the only way I could make it with my 12-27 was to invoke the meander gear. Weaving back and forth allowed me to go from 38 rpm to 50, bringing my speed up from 3.8 to 5. Granted, I wasn't making a faster ascent, I was just doing it at a rpm that worked.

Dave beat me by 15 minutes or more. He's got a motor. I got to watch Celtic Frost take on the summit. He's got heart. Did not give up, although I could tell the heat was really getting him. Hats off dude. Come back and do it again someday.

Dave and I waited for 45 minutes for John to arrive. He never showed, so we figured he was waiting down in the village.

My thing is descending, whether its skates or bikes. I know Baldy from out skating ventures, and as far as I know, am the only inline nutcase to descend Baldy with no brakes. Dave pretty much gave up trying to follow me.

We got to the village, and looked for our wayward friend. "Anyone see a guy on a old green bike?" Celtic Frost passed him on the second switchback, and that was the last person that saw him. Jason was at the lower restaurant, and hadn't seen him either.

Dave and I filled our bottles, and headed out for GMR. It must have been 100 on that long climb to the first summit. Dave smoked me again, and was waiting at the top.

After that, we had an epic battle all the way to the car. He'd gain a few hundred yards on a climb, and I'd reel him back in on the decent. There are 4-5 climbs before the front side decent, and I timed my output to put me in position to catch him on the last grade. I caught him just before the construction zone.

When we got to the bottom, John was not there. We waited long enough for Jason and Celtic Frost to make their way up GMR from Sierra Madre. They hadn't seen him either. We figured he must have stopped at that restaurant near the lifts for a water stop, and we missed him on the way down. I figured John would summit Baldy, then go all the way up to the top of the parking lot before discovering we weren't there, then go to the village to hunt for us, which should take 20 minutes. Once he figured we weren't there, he'd be 30 minutes slower than Dave and I to the car. Turns out we guessed right, and John showed up 58 minutes after we arrived.

Jason came down to our car as John was dismounting, and seemed relieved we didn't lose our rider. We were the last ones out of there. John seemed fresh though, a testament to his conditioning. He might have been slow, but it was the bike's fault, really.

That was an epically hot ride. Can't wait to do it again in cooler weather. october?

T

caligurl
09-02-06, 11:26 PM
i'm HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we went to tommy! (and i couldn't even eat my burger! i got stuffed on chili cheese fries!).... then went to performance (the new one).... where someone NOT named caligurl got a cute new mountain bike outfit....:mad: however i did get a cute paire of mountain bike capris! and that other someone not named caligurl also got new, cool mountain bike tires that will look awesome on his bike.... not me! oh.... i got 5 new pair of socks :rolleyes: then we went to in cycle.... where again.... someone NOT named caligurl got ANOTHER cool mountain bike outfit.. this time oakley! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: then we were hungry again... :rolleyes: so went to panda express in redlands.... then it was time to come home... and i DESPISE lookie loo traffic... there was a wicked accident on the 10 past redlands.... and OUR SIDE of the freeway was backed up so the gawkers could gawk! then i made my chauffer stop at the oakley outlet store cuz "I" wanted a new shirt to go with my cute mtb shorts (that i have absolutely NOTHING to wear with them!) now we are home.... it rained :eek: don't know when.... long enough ago that brie is dry! i smell smoke :( haven't looked on the internet yet to see what's burning!

i have pictures... but they are still on the camera!

thanx to jason for organizing this ride! we need to do it again since i got gyped and had to ride down baldy instead of gmr!!!! big thanx to pico and the fixer for being my knights of the roundtable and escorting ladylanceimnot down the mountain!

report on the ride (that was AWESOME!) tomorrow!!!!! (had to talk about the important stuff first... SHOPPING! even though i got gyped there, too! :p )

oh... and we're obviously going mountain biking tomorrow.... not because "I" have anything NEW to wear

caligurl
09-02-06, 11:33 PM
Hey Cali.....didn't you know it's against forum rules to reserve a titled thread?...:p


http://www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/149.gif well it's the ONLY way i'll ever get to start a ride report thread! http://www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/149.gif

http://www.smileycons.com/img/emotions/217.gif

DaveSANYYZ
09-03-06, 12:09 AM
Thanks all! I had a great time!

At first I didn't have the confidence to complete the climb, but I actually made it (excl the ski lift section). The hardest part turns out to be keeping up with Extort/Ralph/NDG on the return trip. :p

Nice to see some of you again as well as meeting other BF members.

Fixer, thanks for the photos!

cjbruin
09-03-06, 12:32 AM
Hey, which one of you's called me a clydesdale on the way up?:mad:

Was it CJBruin?......It's only cause I'm big boned!:D

Yeah, that was me. But I said TEAM Clydesdale!!! I meant it in a good way :) You certainly kicked my butt on the way up. It was nice meeting you and your wife.

Mr. Beanz
09-03-06, 12:41 AM
Yeah, that was me. But I said TEAM Clydesdale!!! I meant it in a good way :) You certainly kicked my butt on the way up. It was nice meeting you and your wife.


I know, I was just having fun with the thread!:D ...but then again, sometimes I do like to think of myself as a petite!:p

Was nice meeting you too. I'm suprised at how friendly you guys are! Lots of sobby riders give cyclists a bad rep! But you guys are COOOOL!:)

jslopez
09-03-06, 01:29 AM
Hey guys I must say it was an awesome way to spend my Birthday :)

In case you missed me I was the guy in yellow on an Orbea, streching and whining at the village (pinched nerve was drivng me nuts). At least my goal of giving it my all to the ski lifts was accomplished as we got back I got word that the new condo we were hoping to get was finally signed so Birthday epic ride, Conquering the ski lifts plus a new home by October first, pretty cool way to Turn 32.

Thanks to the organizers and hopefully I will see more of you guys next time.

voltman
09-03-06, 08:22 AM
That was the most whining I've done in my life. Thanks to celtic to putting up with it on the way up. I took too much advantage of the free refills of Coke at the top and paid for it for the rest of the day. Nice ride down with the pack where we really felt the heat set in. Sushi was fun with mateo, Dave, Extort, NDG, and madmike.

Good stuff, Jason! And it was nice meeting everyone else I did.

Brandy
09-03-06, 08:39 AM
Sushi was fun with mateo, Dave, Extort, NDG, and madmike.


You had post-ride sushi without me? :cry:

lsits
09-03-06, 09:58 AM
I was going to post yesterday but I was too tired. I got home at 3:00, took a shower and then took a two-hour nap. The ride took everything I had and then some. I think it was the heat. It was almost 80 degrees when we started out. I did ok (but slow) up GMR. I got passed by quite a few people. Jason was waiting for me at the shack. The hard part for me was the fove mile climb on GRR. I was playing leap-frog with dragon976 and his brother most of the way. I stopped at a patch of shade about 50 yards short of the summit. I didn't know it was so close. A rider came by going the other way and said I was near the top. That gave me the motivation to get to the village.

I could feel the temperatures increasing as I was decending from the village. By the time I got to claremont it was over 100 degrees. I stopped at Coates Cyclery on Foothill. That's where I got the Bianchi last week. I wanted to say "hi" and let them know how the bike was riding.

Thanks, Jason for the organization. It was nice seeing all the people I've met before, and meeting new people. This was probably the toughest ride I've done all year. I had almost nothing in the tank by the time I reached the village, despite having a good breakfast before the ride and a gel before the GRR climb. I think that the heat played a significant role in my exhaustion. Thanks for the pictures, everyone. Fixer said he wanted to get one of me while I was still fresh.

Til next time,

Jim

Brandy
09-03-06, 10:04 AM
Great pictures Fixer...I wish that I could have been there with all of you!

voltman
09-03-06, 10:08 AM
Great pictures Fixer...I wish that I could have been there with all of you!

Next time, you buy the sushi!

Brandy
09-03-06, 10:18 AM
Next time, you buy the sushi!


No, no, no...you've got it all wrong. Jason is buying the sushi! :D

lsits
09-03-06, 10:26 AM
My vote for most awesomeist picture.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/MB036.jpg

GP
09-03-06, 10:35 AM
Well, I had a great time too. I rode with another forumite, Jimmy, to the village. Then I tried for the summit but turned back after about 3 miles. Went back to the village and rode down to the cars with Extort, Voltman, Dave, Mateo, et al.

Traffic on the south 5 was backed up from Irvine so it took me awhile to get home.

Jason, thanks again for organizing the ride.

Cleave
09-03-06, 10:37 AM
Hi All,

Now I'm even more depressed about this injury. :cry:

Looks like a good time. It's been a few years since I've been up there so I WAS really looking forward to joining all of you. I think that it will be about a week until I can get on a trainer. Hopefully, I'll be able to ride my cruiser bike (Bianchi Milano) in two weeks.

Anyway, glad to see that everyone had a good time and a safe ride -- including SirLanceImNot.