Southern California - Getting Lost Sucks.

So I started out today thinking I would get in about 70-80 miles or so. A good ride, but nothing crazy. Didn't bother to mapquest it or even look at a map really as I knew where to make the turns. Started out in Pasadena - honolulu - La Tuna - Glenoaks - Foothill - Sierra Highway - soledad canyon - something or other to make it out to acton / lancaster area - pearblossom highway - angeles forest - angeles crest. Was at 60 miles at Acton (further than I thought it would be as last time I did it I forgot I started in glendald instead of pasadena), a little more than I planned, but I figured the rest would be downhill as I would come down the crest, makes sense right. Well I had never been that far up the crest and found out it's uphill for quite a ways. Uphill and into a headwind for quite a ways as it turned out. I was already tired from doing a century yesterday and was struggling to go 5mph up a slight incline because the wind was blowing at what must have been 35mph gusts. Then made a wrong turn on Big T instead of just continuing down the angeles forest and ended up a little higher than mount wilson with an extra 15-20 miles or so, during which time I had no idea where I was, just following the road.

One of the slowest rides I think I've ever done and most painful. ~7000 feet of climbing. Add that to the heat and it was a brutal ride, epic but brutal. Finished 8 water bottles I think ( many thanks to the coffee shop who filled them up half way) and ran out of food at mile 80 or 90, thankfully I was almost to the downhill section by then. Never underestimate how big of a difference having the last 15 miles of a ride being downhill. The scary thing was, when I was up in the crest I had no cell service and I was thinking about if I made a wrong turn and went 10 miles or so and hit a dead end and had to climb back out then I would be essentially screwed. Out of food, out of water, out of legs, and stuck in the middle of nowhere. Lesson learned, Plan out the route before you leave. Can't move my legs right now and every time I try to stand up they cramp up.

bummer man.....that seriously sucks

What doesn't kill you...

you should do a ride just like that on friday, april 25th;)

a new script for a movie! "into the wild 2" ;-))



So I started out today thinking I would get in about 70-80 miles or so. A good ride, but nothing crazy. Didn't bother to mapquest it or even look at a map really as I knew where to make the turns. Started out in Pasadena - honolulu - La Tuna - Glenoaks - Foothill - Sierra Highway - soledad canyon - something or other to make it out to acton / lancaster area - pearblossom highway - angeles forest - angeles crest. Was at 60 miles at Acton (further than I thought it would be as last time I did it I forgot I started in glendald instead of pasadena), a little more than I planned, but I figured the rest would be downhill as I would come down the crest, makes sense right. Well I had never been that far up the crest and found out it's uphill for quite a ways. Uphill and into a headwind for quite a ways as it turned out. I was already tired from doing a century yesterday and was struggling to go 5mph up a slight incline because the wind was blowing at what must have been 35mph gusts. Then made a wrong turn on Big T instead of just continuing down the angeles forest and ended up a little higher than mount wilson with an extra 15-20 miles or so, during which time I had no idea where I was, just following the road.

One of the slowest rides I think I've ever done and most painful. ~7000 feet of climbing. Add that to the heat and it was a brutal ride, epic but brutal. Finished 8 water bottles I think ( many thanks to the coffee shop who filled them up half way) and ran out of food at mile 80 or 90, thankfully I was almost to the downhill section by then. Never underestimate how big of a difference having the last 15 miles of a ride being downhill. The scary thing was, when I was up in the crest I had no cell service and I was thinking about if I made a wrong turn and went 10 miles or so and hit a dead end and had to climb back out then I would be essentially screwed. Out of food, out of water, out of legs, and stuck in the middle of nowhere. Lesson learned, Plan out the route before you leave. Can't move my legs right now and every time I try to stand up they cramp up.

I hate to keep harping on SPOT, etc. but seriously...

Spot?

Cal Worthington's SPOT?

you should do a ride just like that on friday, april 25th;)

As long as you come with me, and I'm sitting on your wheel.

whats SPOT?

whats SPOT?



Spot (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=384519&highlight=spot)

yay! another gadget!!!

Actually, he needs a Garmin 705... :D

Actually, he needs a Garmin 705... :D

Can I use this as an excuse to get more bike stuff? If so then Yippee, I can now tell myself that I need a garmin. The spot thing sounds like a great idea, if I did rides like this more often, then I would definitely consider one.

Actually he needs something that has not been invented yet...something like a combination of a Garmin 705 AND Spot...

We are close to the technology needed for having something like that...for people who have serious problems out of cell phone range...

Oh..I get it....OnStar for the bike...
Could have used that this weekend...

How about a $10 compass and a map? We started losing our ability to do simple math when the calculator was first marketed. Now we're going to loose our ability to figure out where we are without a specific, satellite connected gadget?! Anyone besides me see this as ludicrous?

Note: "our" means us as a society, people as a group. Don't believe we're dumbing down? Just look at recent school test scores...

How about a $10 compass and a map? We started losing our ability to do simple math when the calculator was first marketed. Now we're going to loose our ability to figure out where we are without a specific, satellite connected gadget?! Anyone besides me see this as ludicrous?

Note: "our" means us as a society, people as a group. Don't believe we're dumbing down? Just look at recent school test scores...

What about our ability to determine when to use lose/loose? :D

How about a $10 compass and a map? We started losing our ability to do simple math when the calculator was first marketed. Now we're going to loose our ability to figure out where we are without a specific, satellite connected gadget?! Anyone besides me see this as ludicrous?

Note: "our" means us as a society, people as a group. Don't believe we're dumbing down? Just look at recent school test scores...

yea I would have been fine with a map, one problem, I had not envisioned going out that far to begin with. A map would have also gotten soaked with sweat about 3 hours into the ride and been unusable. Yea sure if your hiking and have a backpack with you then great. Besides gadgets are fun. (FWIW I do know how to read a map and have gone backpacking for days with just that and a compass, so I'm not entirely stupid)

I guess sometimes when you're pressed for time (daylight running out), or just too tired/out of food, a nice set of turn-by-turn instructions will be nice... especially if the magical device can tell you the fastest way to a Starbucks! :D

you know what else sucks? streets without signs!

and clowns.....clowns suck too!!!! especially if yer lost....


just sayin'

I actually have a hilarious story about scary clowns, but will save it for another time.

all clowns are scary......but mostly in a sad way.....another story for another time though, eh? cant wait.

I actually have a hilarious story about scary clowns, but will save it for another time.

I wanna hear!! :D

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=385904&highlight=clowns

I wanna hear!! :D

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=385904&highlight=clowns

Well since you brought up that thread... Me and about 5 or 6 friends (cross country team) were at knotts scary farm one year. One guy was deathly afraid of clowns. We had been walking around for about a couple hours or so when we see the clown hospital, at least I think that's what it was, only place of then night we had left to hit, so we go in. The guy (mike) that afraid of clowns is just freaking out and when we finally get close to the end of it, there is a glass wall I guess you would call it between us and the last clown, the things about 15 feet long and we had just come around it. As we start to leave he begins to make fun of the clown, I guess he had no idea that they can pretty much do anything but touch you, he thought that they just moved around in their spot. Well the clown didn't like it so it starts to come around the glass wall, Mike thinking that he'll just run out the door and be fine does so, but upon looking back sees a rabid clown running after him. The freaking clown chased him like 1/2 a mile around the park before coming back and mike was scared ****less. Fastest we had ever seen him run too, amazing what you can do when you get the adrenaline flowing. Wouldn't go near that place again. We were debating whether or not to have someone show up at a race in a clown costume and jump out at him , see what happened, but never did.

you guys dont have a single hair on yer ***** if you dont do that to him....freakin' awesome!!!! had a similiar story from knotts. same type of friend, scared sh!tless of clowns, walking through that thng with one fist cockes, ready to throw down!!!!! funniest thing ive ever seen!!!!! he was freaked!!!

Voltman:
Spell check and grammar check software (obviously deficient here) are in the same category for me as calculators. My mistake proves my point.

merckx89:
I was making a comment about the possible future state of society, and certainly didn't mean anything personal. Please accept my apology if you were offended.