Southern California - GMR ride time estimates?

Im going to attempt the GMR this upcoming week. This will be my final ride of the year.

Let me tell you a few things about myself.

1. I am not a good climber. I struggle going up 7% grade and I estimate my speed will be roughly 7MPH the whole way if not slower.

2. I nearly have a heart attack just reaching the Shin Rd Intersection when I am trying the Mount Baldy Road.

3. My toughest climb to this day is the Mountain road from Euclid on way to Shin Road Intersection on Mount Baldy. Also the Carbon Canyon Road switchback from Chino Hills to Brea is pretty tough for me.

I estimated the ride length from equestrian park to mount baldy village will be 21 miles. I estimate that it will take me roughly 3 hours to get there. I believe my way back will be faster. Total time for entire ride is estimated to be atleast 4 hours. Correct me if my estimation is wrong.

Also tell me how difficult this route is? Considering I crack near the end of Euclid ave going up from Foothill blvd, will this climb have me quitting halfway? Im pretty determined to make it to the village. I might go really slow but unless my legs totally quit, I am going to ride all the way over there.

If I bring two huge 24 FL ounce bottles filled up, would that be enough for fluids? Do I really need to bring food? Snickers bars maybe?

How cold is it going to be up there when the temperature below will be 65 degrees during noon?

Biggest question is this.

How tough is this climb? on a scale of 1 to 10.

I rate the swithbacks on carbon canyon road from chino hills to brea as an 8 for me. 10 being impossible. 9 being possible but absolutely excruciating.

I also rate the foothill blvd start up euclid all the way to mountain road fork as a 9.

based on these two, tell me how tough will GMR be on my rating scale.

The grade on gmr is right at 5-7% with some of the turns being a little steeper.. The grade is steady so keeping a consistent pace is pretty easy to do.. Since you say you are not a good climber pacing yourself is a must..

Bring extra food with you, you do not want to bonk up there.. The 1st 1/2 has good amounts of sun coverage while the 2nd half has shaded areas that can be very cold..

There is a maintenance shack about 8 miles up.. If you find yourself suffering at that point, you may consider turning around..

The climb up euclid is easier than GMR.. The grade up euclid is 3-4% and then kicks up to 5-6% once you pass 22nd street to the Nursery.. Once you pass the nursery, that last .4 miles is 7-10% grade..

From the way you describe yourself and your abilities, I think you have the timing about right. Of course if you stop for several minutes to eat, or simply to rest, you should probably add half an hour.

My usual time from the Equestrian Park/Boulder Springs is 2:15. I've done it under two hours a couple of times, but I've also taken almost 3 hours depending on the variables.

Right out of the chute, you'll climb for 7.6 miles on Glendora Mountain Road. When you get to the shack mentioned above, you'll be almost to the end of GMR. From here (about mile 9) you'll have a bit of a climb, then a descent to the junction of Glendora Ridge Road; go to the right (up).

You'll have more climbs and descents until mile 14 where you will begin a 3.5 mile climb to the highest point on Glendora Ridge Road. Important: Don't let this bit get to you in a negative-mental way. I have seen so many riders (on their first attempt) get discouraged here.

Just remember, 3.5 miles is a finite distance. True, seems obvious, but by this time you have almost 3,000 feet of climbing on your legs. For you, and if its true that you're not a good climber, these 3.5 miles can seem to take an eternity.

Stop and rest, eat, if you must, but don't give up. For first timers this area is a real resolve-tester. Yes, you can do it; you have to convince yourself and no one else.

Once you hit mile 17.5 it's more rollies (with twisties) until the descent (almost a mile) into Mt. Baldy Village. Turn left, and stop at the Lodge on the right (about 1/4 mile up) for something to eat and drink, plus for a bit of rest before you start back.

If, however, you're still feeling pretty spunky, you can continue up Mt. Baldy road for another 4.6 miles (and 2,000 more feet of elevation gain) to the base of the ski lifts. This bit goes beyond resolve-testing and character building. Some riders have claimed to have seen God on this stretch, but I think that's a bit over the top.

Anyway, yes, Boulder Springs to the Village and back is a good route for your first time. And just remember, when you get to an intersection, GO UP. This instruction is equally valid on the way to the Village, and the way back.

Also, socalrider's advice above is very good too!

Rick / OCRR

GMR to the shack is a near perfect climbing ride. The grade is just right and very consistent without any noticeably cruxes. The motorized traffic volume is by SoCal standards moderate. The surface is excellent without potholes and there's none of those center stripe reflective bumps that can mess with your descent.

From the schack to the Village the character of the ride changes a bit. The road gets narrower, dirtier and the surface a little less perfect. The views are now all mountains, giving you a sense of adventure and isolation, which is reinforced by even less traffic. There's ups and downs, plus the already mentioned 'mur' at mile 14.

The two rides in combination (GMR+GRR) as an out and back ride to the village is a very high quality outing as bicycle rides go.

From Sierra Madre I can do it to the schack in 50 minutes, plus/minus. To the upper end of the Village it takes me an hour more. I don't race, but simply a reasonably fit recreational rider with many other recreational pursuits too.

Hope this helps, in addition to all the other excellent advice already presented.

I'm no climber either (too big & heavy). In my experience, I've only ever gone to Baldy Village up the "back side" of GMR, called "Little GMR". Then hung a 180 onto GRR. And I almost always seem to use all my matches on Little GMR turning GRR into a sufferfest for me.

So, my advice: pace yourself wisely on GMR. It's an 8-mile climb--by itself not bad at all--but then you have another 10+ miles of climbing on GRR. Granted, GRR is not always up, but it's definitely tough with some 10%+ pitches here and there, especially in the corners.

-Going straight up Baldy Rd.(to village) is the shortest but steepest way.
-Front side GMR will take a normal paced rider about 1 hour to reach the fork and another hour to reach the village.
-Starting from the bottom of Azusa will take about 50min to get to E. Fork, another 5 Flat miles to "Little GMR" I've seen fast climbers climb Little GMR in 30min and slower ones in about 45min. Then an hour or so to the village.

For the first timer I would recommend Azusa to little GMR then descend front side GMR(Big GMR). This would be a great climb for the first timer but add the GMR descent. The GMR descent is the best descent I know of. I descended a lot of places all over California(North and South),a few places in Arizona, and a nice ride in the Basque country in Spain. GMR is the funnest descent. But not now 'cause its to cold.

I did the ride today. It took me a little over an hour (roughly 1 hour and 5 minutes) to get to the fork. I had a stupid couple ask me if I need assistance when I was there cause I was staring at them for staring at me while I was trying to take some photos of the scenery with my cellphone. The guy commented that I rode a bike up there as if nobody does that??? Apparently he didnt see ANY cyclists on his way up?? Or maybe he thought its too tough of a ride for me and figured I should be about to pass out or something? Anyways I was just one second away from telling them to FORK off but they left before that happened.

Yes the GMR descent was absolutely amazing. That alone is enough to do this ride again and again. This is my favorite ride from this point onwards. I dont think I want to ride the GRR section unless someone tells me the ride is even more enjoyable. I dont want to descend down Mt. Baldy because its all speed and no switchbacks.

It was cold while I was descending. But not THAT cold.

I dont know which is little GMR and which is big GMR. I rode from Glendora. Parked at the gravel right after Dalton Canyon Road and the Equestrian park. So I did only about 9 miles to the fork and that took over an hour. The descent was well worth the effort of getting up there. It was amazing.

I think that the ride up GRR is much better. It isn't as step and has some rollers. The decent on Baldy Rd. is killer. Fun and flows well.

Yes, GRR is awesome. There's less traffic, too.

I dislike the Mt. Baldy Road descent because of the required junk miles to get back home. However, I sometimes get dropped off at Mills & Mt. Baldy Rd, and I ride up to the lifts, then do GRR to GMR and the Montrose route back to Pasadena-- I really enjoy that route.

took me 55 minutes and 46 seconds to get to the fork from the gravel parking lot right after dalton canyon road. is that good, bad or average? I used an easier gear in the rear this time and I think that made a difference because I didnt have to slow down my cadence as much.

took me 55 minutes and 46 seconds to get to the fork from the gravel parking lot right after dalton canyon road. is that good, bad or average? I used an easier gear in the rear this time and I think that made a difference because I didnt have to slow down my cadence as much.

I've done that section in 56 minutes to the landing right before the downhill to the fork (subtract couple hundred yards of downhill). But I was riding to the village so I wasn't doing an all out effort (not sure if you were either) since I was heading to the village (220 when I posted that time). Now at 235, I 've done it in 60 minutes but wasn't pushing too hard.

Being that I outweigh you by 70-85 lbs, I'd say 55 minutes for a 150 lb guy is slow since I'm an average rider for a big guy.:(