big john

Yesterday I did another century put on by a local Fillipino bike club. These are the best! Everyone is friendly, the food is amazing, and the support is terrific. About 80 riders this time, and about 20 degrees warmer than last year.
The profile includes almost 10,000 feet of climbing including a steep finish line climb.

The lunch stop included hot soup, this time it was pozole, a red broth with hominy and tender pork, yum.

This is the old ridge route north of Castaic. Beautiful, car free roads.

big john

I was overdressed and became quite salty. It was so cold last year that a lot of us were overdressed this time.

My friend Carrie was the fastest woman there. I couldn't stay with her on the climbs.

jppe

That is just super!! I haven't climbing that much elevation in total over the last 3 months!!!!! Isn't it interesting how most rides seem to finish with a darn climb........seems like we ought to be rewarded after doing all the work for 98-99 miles and have a little downhill!!

Is that homemade bread?

big john

I think some of those breads were home baked. There was such a huge selection that I really couldn't sample everything, and if I had tried, I wouldn't have been able to climb.
At the finish they had a feast with chicken and rice, a fruit salad, menudo Fillipino style, a seafood stew with shrimp, scallops, and squid, lots of vegetables and a custard for dessert.
They usually have empanadas, (little turnovers stuffed with chicken), but the woman who makes them is out of town.

big john

The man in the center is the organizer, it's his mother who does a lot of the cooking. He's a distance racer, like 500 miles in 35 hours kind of guy. They don't even ask for money, just put out a donation box. That's our club pres Keith on the left and BF member umd on the right. umd is a great climber and finished first in 6 hours!

DnvrFox

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

When I was a kid of about 8 or so (about 1947), my dad would work summers in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

We would leave San Diego, stay overnight in Alhambra with my cousins, and then leave early in the morning with a 1939 Ford pulling a trailer filled with summer supplies, etc., and the car with 5 people in it.

The Ridge Route was our nemesis, and whether or not we boiled over depended on whether or not we had a head or tail wind. If we had a tail wind going up we would boil, a head wind would provide further cooling to the radiator and we wouldn't.

Eventually we always made it, then on to Visalia and up the steep grade to Sequoia.

big john

We were talking about cars going over those hills years ago before the I5 was built. I saw a TV show about it with pics of gas stations and hotels up there. Those are all gone now but there are ruins in a few spots.
Near the spot where that picture was taken we had to turn off the ridge route because there is a gate. I've gone around that gate with the mtb but wouldn't try it with the road bike, it's pretty beat up and not maintained in that section.

big john

Here's a picture from the road that by-passes the old ridge route. That's the amazing Sarah in the center.

Mojo Slim

What a special ride. Very interesting rest stop food. I hate women who weigh the same as their bikes and climb better than me!

big john

Oh, I don't know. I really enjoy their company when I can keep up, (flats and downhills).

George

Way to go John. umd is the guy that told me about a good saddle to buy, I did and he was right. Thanks for sharing.

big john

Someone put up a pic of BFer Cassave on the bike he built himself.

Here is the thread about the building of this frame.
https://www.bikeforums.net/framebuilders/399311-how-build-lugged-steel-frame-pics.html

Wildwood 

looks like good fun was had by all.
Hey what's with all that blue sky in winter?
I miss California.