http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1016/1246741944_62705c08d3_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1016/1246741944_62705c08d3_o.jpg
SoCal Ladies!



Great pic!!!! This definitely should go on the Ladies of Foo! :D

Hi,

First, I want to thank Luwin and the young woman, Travis' friend, for providing sag support. The ride would not have been as pleasant without their presence. :beer:

Next, I'll try to post some photos later today. :o

The morning rollout was kind of interesting ;) with nygirl saying something to the effect of, "Let's go," and some, but not everyone hearing it and starting the ride.

Disclaimer: I will do my best with names (screen and real) but I am not great at remembering names. :o

So I rode next to Dave (from San Diego) long enough to hear about Jason, ME, and Joy (I didn't see the famous sign). Then I rode next to Efficiency for a bit and we chatted about this being his first time to Baldy. When we finally hit the first climb on Highway 39, BlastinBob started upping the pace and I decided to get on his wheel. Shortly, Extort went flying by and then Chucklehead went by too. I stayed with Bob until a group went by led by a guy wearing a Santiago Canyon jersey. I got on to that group and eventually caught up to Phil and Chucklehead. I sort of rode with them until the East fork rest stop.

I left the stop with Shai, Checklehead and Mo'Phat and basically got into a rhythm going to the GMR/GRR intersection. I said hi to Chucklehead and Phil as the rode by me. ;)

I took advantage of the sag support at the intersection but obviously I didn't take enough. Left the stop with a bunch of people, including Shai, Mo'Phat, and James, and after getting into what I thought was a sustainable tempo I cramped a few miles before the saddle where you drop down to Baldy Village. :eek: Watched a few people rolled by while the cramp subsided and then limped to the village. :o

Tried to rehydrate and get more electrolytes into my system and chatted with a number of people. I had purposely geared the bike so that I wouldn't be tempted to ride to the ski lifts as I had an important engagement in the late afternoon. Left Baldy with BlastinBob and JimmyNH. Was going pretty easy with Bob on the grade out of the village when my right hamstring cramped up. Bob kindly gave me some more electrolytes (THANKS!!!) and after a brief break on the side of the road we started out again. Bob got ahead and Jimmy and I rode together through the rain sprinkles until one of the climbs before GMR/GRR. I got ahead of him and never saw him again. :(

Ended up ride that last 20-25 miles by myself but no more cramps. :)

Distance: 62.03 miles
Time: 4:12:16
Average speed: 14.8 MPH
Climb: 6249 ft

Had a good time, except for the cramps and mad it home with enough time to get to see "Wired to Win" with my club. (BTW, I really like the movie and didn't fall asleep.) :D

Thanks to Asia and Travis for organizing this one!

Great pic!!!! This definitely should go on the Ladies of Foo! :D

Why?

this ride was a lot of fun. i don't know why this always happens, but a bunch of us started out about five minutes behind the main group and ended-up making the catch just after the climbing started on 39. i had said i was going to ride up to the top with voltman, but the legs were giving me the signal to go. i checked my wingman and he looked good with the rest of the group, so i went ahead and took off.
i eventually caught a glimpse of some dude in a socal jersey up ahead, and set my initial goal of catching him. as i got closer, i realized it was phil. awesome. once i finally closed the gap, we exchanged pulls into the first stop where we waited for short time while the fast people rolled in. and there were LOTS of fast people on this ride.
after a few minutes, i rolled out of stop one with paul and cleave, and we started the steepish section up little GMR. at this point, i wasn't really feeling it and decided to hang back for a bit while Mo'Phat and i chatted a little, and cleave just kinda floated away up the hill. after chatting with paul for a bit, i eventually just rediscovered the good rythm i had coming up 39 and decided to go ahead and kill the hill.
i probably popped a little about 100 yards from the top, but it was just a little pop, and i recovered from it in the time that it took to stop pedalling and roll over to luwin, who was on SAG duty(thanks luwin and pam for the great support!). he asked if i was the first one up, and i said i didn't know. then he said "i think you are..."
that was a nice surprise, because i didn't think i was feeling all that great at the start, but managed to work through it a little bit.
from here, i rode to the village with voltman and br..uh..tiffanie;) tiff, thanks for keeping me company and letting me talk your ear off. you're such a good listener!

once we made it to the village, paul, tiff, dave, tak, and i all waited for the studs and studettes who decided they had to climb to the lifts. for the second week in a row, i commend those(james, phil, mel, and mark. there were others, but i didn't catch their names.) with the commitment to put themselves through a little extra pain and suffering. after 39 and little GMR, the idea of going to the lifts wasn't very appealing to me.

so i had a coke instead.

the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful aside from a broken spoke for NDG on the GMR descent, and a GREAT little group sprint up a little roller on the road back to the cars.

thanks, asia and travis for setting this up. i always say it's a great confidence booster just to know that there is someone driving the route and looking after everyone when riding in areas like this, so thanks again to luwin and pam. wish we could have compensated you two somehow!
hanging out and having food afterwards was also a lot of fun.

good times!

Great photos everyone! Sorry I missed this ride...had to work.

Brandy, what bars are those on your Cervelo?

I'm really bummed I missed this ride - it would have been my first ride with this group and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately my wife and I had to go to a wedding (that I was unaware of) the night before and we didn't get home until after midnight - I guess that's what I get for making plans without first checking with the boss! Anyhow, it looks like you all had a great time and glad to hear everyone got up and down safely. I hoep to be there for the next ride to the lifts.

For the record, I think Virgil (did I get his name right) gets hella props for driving behind the cyclists to make sure all goes well!!

Curious... did anyone get a head count for the ride? I think the last GMR ride had 40+, but this looked like an even bigger one.

great pics everyone!!!!!!!!

For the record, I think Virgil (did I get his name right) gets hella props for driving behind the cyclists to make sure all goes well!!

there were 3 sag vehicles?

there were 3 sag vehicles?


Yes! The black Explorer that Pam was driving where she went ahead at waited at the intersection of GMR/little GMR/GRR, I went up GMR, and there was a white Armada that Virgil was driving with a sign that said "Caution: Bicyclists Ahead" and he was playing sweeper?

oh, that's right! i remember seeing him in the parking lot, but for some reason didn't think he was connected to our group. that's awesome :beer:

oh, that's right! i remember seeing him in the parking lot, but for some reason didn't think he was connected to our group. that's awesome :beer:


And there was a fourth vehicle - a stretch Hummer limo with a hot tub in the back with the Swedish bikini team ready to give a full-body massage - it was for the first person to reach GMR/little GMR/GRR as our own "KOM" - but I sent them away as soon as I saw you heading up towards me because I simply knew they would not be able to handle your heat.

damn you...

...they would not be able to handle your heat.

Few can. :p

Yes! The black Explorer that Pam was driving where she went ahead at waited at the intersection of GMR/little GMR/GRR, I went up GMR, and there was a white Armada that Virgil was driving with a sign that said "Caution: Bicyclists Ahead" and he was playing sweeper?

I saw that black Expo like 4 times on GRR, didn't know the driver though........I need a BF jersey for my next "catch up" ride:D

Great pics and reports everyone. Had a lot of fun on this ride. Amazing how well everyone climbs around here!

and a GREAT little group sprint up a little roller on the road back to the cars.
And if you ever sprint w/ Jason, you'll know where he got his screename.

For the record, I think Virgil (did I get his name right) gets hella props for driving behind the cyclists to make sure all goes well!!

Hella? Hey, that's a bay area term ... where'd you get that term from???

Hella? Hey, that's a bay area term ... where'd you get that term from???

I dated a girl that went to Cal and I was up there every other weekend . . .

WHAT A RIDE!! :-) Asia and Travis...the HOSTS with the MOST...thanks again for another great organized ride!!! Very nice to meet and represent the SoCal group!

My shout-outs are to SAG for keeping us hydrated, Vegas Homies for keeping me in stitches and making this such a fun weekend, Louie and Efficiency for the company on the big climb and M.E. for the great welcome and send-off from the village (BTW, girl...we really appreciated the warning for gravel on the GMR descent...but you haven't seen gravel til you ride in Vegas!)

Efficiency....you are the summit!
Louie....you got the shot...now I just need to superimpose my face on your body and say 'I did It'!! Who has photoshop skillz?? Let me know when you organize a ride in Montreal...I want to see these trees you are talking about!
WhiteCarbonDude...you are scary fast on the descent!

Hope to see you all again soon!! Until then..... Ride Hard...Spin Happy!!

I dated a girl that went to Cal and I was up there every other weekend . . .

Ah, that explains it ...

Cynthia, I would not recommend superimposing your face on my body.
I think yours is much nicer looking...
;)
As for the ride in Montreal, I would be happy to organize a "Hug a tree" metric century in the Laurentian mountains north of Montreal anytime. Perhaps you guys could get a group rate and fly with your bike to Montreal. After the ride, we could plan a French cuisine extravaganza....

WHAT A RIDE!! :-) Asia and Travis...the HOSTS with the MOST...thanks again for another great organized ride!!! Very nice to meet and represent the SoCal group!

My shout-outs are to SAG for keeping us hydrated, Vegas Homies for keeping me in stitches and making this such a fun weekend, Louie and Efficiency for the company on the big climb and M.E. for the great welcome and send-off from the village (BTW, girl...we really appreciated the warning for gravel on the GMR descent...but you haven't seen gravel til you ride in Vegas!)

Efficiency....you are the summit!
Louie....you got the shot...now I just need to superimpose my face on your body and say 'I did It'!! Who has photoshop skillz?? Let me know when you organize a ride in Montreal...I want to see these trees you are talking about!
WhiteCarbonDude...you are scary fast on the descent!

Hope to see you all again soon!! Until then..... Ride Hard...Spin Happy!!

Here's my stats for the day.
http://home.earthlink.net/~shellenbargers/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/260807.jpg

Thank you Asia and Travis for all organizing this ride.

My day started out crummy, I forgot to zip up my seat bag that morning as I was in a hurry to meet the group at Encanto. I lost everything. :mad: Crank bros multi tool, 2 tubes, co2 and other stuff I can't remember what was in there. I'm glad I didn't flat otherwise I would have been sitting on the side of the road for a while waiting for sag. I rode half of the day with my peeps from my club but they turned around somewhere before Cow Saddle. I pulled ahead and didn't see them again. I got to the Village and filled my bottles, as I left for the lifts a group came up behind me so I talked with them a bit. They were a club that started from Encanto at 7:30. On my way up the lifts I saw Joy and Thompson and stopped to pose:) When I got to the top the early bird group was heading down so I followed. That descent was crazy with all that gravel on the road. I DO NOT recommend going up there until it is done being repaved. After stopping at the Village to refill I left with Brandy, Voltman, and some Vegas crew. They were very nice people. That woman in the socal girls jersey, damn she can ride. I love descending GRR and GMR the only thing is now that there is traffic on GMR you have to be CAREFUL! I was almost turned into a hood ornament of a big white ford superduty. I made sure to stay to the right of the center line but that doesn't matter when the big ass*4x4 drives right up the middle of the road. This was on a very fast right blind turn so I didn't even see him coming up. After that I did my best to stay on the white line on those turns. So other than almost being killed and losing all my sh!t it was a nice day.

NDG - Hug a Tree in Montreal...I'm there!! :) Let's talk about this one sometime....maybe we could get the Garrett Gang to do a trip.

Thanks WhiteCarbonDude....it was a pleasure to wear the SoCal jersey! Asia said I was to 'represent'!! I didn't want to let her down!! :) As for the descent....all I have to say is "Over the Line"...in my best Lebowski voice. :lol:

Great:
People
Sag Wagons
Ride
Weather
Shai running into McDonalds for a chicken sandwich.
And all the good times in between

First things first, I want to thank the sag wagons for helping us out with water, snacks, cookies, tools, and accessories.
This ride was nothing short of amazing. I'm very grateful to have met some very nice people and made some new friends. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to riding with you all again.

Before we headed up GMR, VerticalBob warned us about the last time he went down GMR ... that there were guys racing down GMR in cars ... it's a good thing I listened, because on my descent, I hear the roar of car engines, and next thing I knew, two Lotus's were screaming down the mountain. They didn't buzz me, and did get too close to the shoulder, so I was okay ... but they were going pretty fast.

Thanks for the warning, VerticalBob.

And if you ever sprint w/ Jason, you'll know where he got his screename.

don't expose my weakness.

I DO NOT recommend going up there until it is done being repaved..

Hi Jon,

While I understand your meaning, I didn't think it was that much worse in its present "Loose Gravel" state. Sure, there was a bit more bouncing around, and loose gravel even on the far right of the road, but I certainly found it ride-able.

Even the descent, which I thought might be more "exciting" turned out to be pretty much the usual foolishness. For anyone wanting to have a go at it, I'd say just start out and if you aren't comfortable with it when you get to the gravel section, just turn back.

Of course, Jon, you climb at about twice the speed that I do, so maybe that's why you thought it was so much worse!

Rick / OCRR

don't expose my weakness.
Nobody said anything about cream-filled sponge cakes.

damn you....

Of course, Jon, you climb at about twice the speed that I do, so maybe that's why you thought it was so much worse!

Rick / OCRR
I'm more like 1.2x your speed:)

On the steep sections I kept spinning the rear tire, I was all over the road looking for traction.

I also descend a hell-of-a-lot faster than most and with that gravel it was like riding on marbles.:eek:

I didn't have problems climbing the gravel surface. Sure, my rear tire would slip sometimes, but nothing that smooth pedal strokes couldn't deal with, not even when powering up on the inside pitches of the switchbacks. It's no different from climbing on a steep concrete grade that's wet (from rain or someone's sprinklers or whatever), which I don't hesitate to do. Admittedly, I don't put out the torque that some of you put out.

I wasn't descending very fast yesterday through there, and as long as it's gravel, I'll be taking extremely cautious lines and very long braking zones. My biggest concern is that my soft, supple Vittoria open tubulars were getting cuts all over them (none going all the way through to the casing, happily) in that section, and I was very afraid of getting a flat. But it turned out just fine.

Congratulations to everyone that conquered the mountain! Or just had a good time!

I didn't have problems climbing the gravel surface. Sure, my rear tire would slip sometimes, but nothing that smooth pedal strokes couldn't deal with, not even when powering up on the inside pitches of the switchbacks. It's no different from climbing on a steep concrete grade that's wet (from rain or someone's sprinklers or whatever), which I don't hesitate to do. Admittedly, I don't put out the torque that some of you put out.

I wasn't descending very fast yesterday through there, and as long as it's gravel, I'll be taking extremely cautious lines and very long braking zones. My biggest concern is that my soft, supple Vittoria open tubulars were getting cuts all over them (none going all the way through to the casing, happily) in that section, and I was very afraid of getting a flat. But it turned out just fine.


nothing on my bike is soft and supple:(

nothing on my bike is soft and supple:(Let's ask, uh...nevermind.

Let's ask, uh...nevermind.

+1 ... don't go there!

Thanks to everyone that came and enjoyed the ride. I finally got to meet quite a few new BFers. It was a great day, the weather was fantastic and as usual the company was beyond comparison. Thanks also to Pam and Luwin who drove SAG - we certainly appreciate you sharing part of your day with us to help us stay safe.

Virgil the "SAG MAN" getting ready to do his thing. Thanks Virg!!!
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/virgilrockinsag.jpg

Everyone getting ready
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/beforetheride.jpg

Easy E (Eric)
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/easye.jpg

Tiff, Brandy and Shai
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/tiffbrandyandshai.jpg

Shai posing in the Village
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/shai.jpg

Jorge, Dr. Dog and Cyn ( Vegas Crew )
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/Jorgedrdogandcy.jpg

Hollywood
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/hollywoodwithcyn.jpg

Efficiency
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/efficiency.jpg

Dr. Dog bustin a move
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/docdog.jpg

Hanging in the Village with PAM our wonderful SAG lady
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/atthevillage.jpg

Cyn
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/cyn.jpg

Me and Brandy. It was great seeing you Brandy
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/Brandyandme.jpg

Tiff, Brandy and Shai
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s280/nygirl777/GMR/tiffbrandyandshai.jpg


See, now just Saturday night we convinced Shai's wife to let him come out and play more often. Photos like that are sure to put him back on a short leash!

See, now just Saturday night we convinced Shai's wife to let him come out and play more often. Photos like that are sure to put him back on a short leash!

Ummmmm ..... Shai doesn't look like he's enjoying it. I forced him to stand there and take the picture....yeah that's it :o

Big shout out to my friends from Vegas who made the trek to California and camped out in our home. They occupied every bit of living space:

Lara
Cyn
Hollywood
Jorge
Dr. Dog
Martin
Haeran

I appreciate it.

No joke, we did take up every bit of living space! Felt like the Brady Bunch with one bathroom! Here's a Story....of a lovely lady (Asia)..... Damn, now that song is stuck in my head!! :)

Let's ask, uh...nevermind.

ovoleg doesn't know me that well yet.

I had a great time and really appreciated the SAG support.

Asia, tell Pam thanks for getting my camera to ME... I'll upload the pics tonight so that everyone can see.

And by 'tonight', you mean....?

tonight.... like right after I finish watching the lunar eclipse...

Here is the link (http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/BF%20082607/)..

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/BF%20082607/P8260014.jpg

Nice pics everyone! I must get a smaller camera so that I can contribute next ride. :D

weird. i had no idea that logo on my butt was reflective.