I see Vance fixed that quickly. Good idea fixer, and thanks Vance!

Large John: you happy? ;)

I'm happy too! Thanks Vance! :)

I'm happy, especially after that ride today in th Santa Monicas. Fixer, you need to try some of these rides.

Oh, no problem Fixer. I was just giving John some smack for saying I never ride with him. Was a good ride today... way too much climbing after that lay-off, but some gorgeous views at the top,eh?

Yeah, we could see the islands but the sun was very bright on the ocean. Lots of climbing, and, at that pace, I just try to limit my losses. It's cool riding with those girls when they're not dropping me in the hills. Sarah was having an off day, but Cathy kicks butt.

Valleygirl -- gonna post your pics from today?

Yeah Cathy, post some pics (specially since Vance rode with us. :D )
I saw on the NOAA website that the Santa Monicas were showing 70+ mph winds today.
That's technically hurricane force.

I'm sorry guys I'm a camera and computer Klutz. I'm going to have to wait for my daughter to get home and help this dumb mom.

Anybody riding tomorrow besides me?
It's gonna be a mite chilly.

There seems to be a consensus building for the "Beach Canyon Climbs" ride.

As an aside, Mario can't ride Saturday, so he and I are going out on a long ride on Sunday. We'd like to get a few more people, so please join us if you are looking for something a little longer than the usual recovery ride the club does on Sundays. (I may do the Ring Around the Rosebowl ride on Saturday, since I'm not sure I've recovered enough to do back-to-back longs, yet.)

I'll do Latigo on Saturday if anyone else does or Rosebowl if that's the group preference. It's all good.
I'll certainly do a Sunday ride, don't know if long or short yet.

I think we'll be going to Latigo unless there is high wind, then Rose bowl is possible.

I'll have to start joining you guys on some rides. I'm booked up for this weekend (solo century through Angeles Forest in tomorrow's weather ought to be interesting), but I'll get out there in future weeks.

Sounds groovy, dude. What's your route?

Hey John, I'll see you guys somewhere on Topange, PCH, or Latigo tomorrow. I'll start in Calabassas. Sunday I have plans to meet a couple of BF'rs on GMR at 9am. May meet some doing the Baldy Challenge from Santa Ana.

Woodman
Osbourne
Little Tujunga
Sand Canyon
Soledad Canyon
Angeles Forest
Angeles Crest down into Pasadena
Colorado, then getting over to Riverside somehow through GP and back to Sherman Oaks

(still haven't figured out any good routes from Pasadena over to Griffith Park - any advice is appreciated, otherwise I just make it up as I go)

We'll see how it goes. It's a new route for me, so I've loaded up my touring bike with everything I might possibly need for survival! The temperatures I'm seeing in the forecast have me a little spooked.

That is a great route. Be careful on Angeles Forest and Angeles Crest. With the temps falling you may encounter some black ice.

31° wind chill at the ride start tomorrow. Brrr. I think I've got it covered from the waist up... but I sure wish I had bought those toe covers. Do you think knee warmers are enough -- or tights on top of those?

I've been over-dressing, lately... but that seems hard to do tomorrow.

I think I'm prepped for the temperatures, but I do wish I had toe covers and a balaclava. Not so worried about the feet (mine don't get cold while I'm riding), but I think my face is going to freeze on the downhills.

I'm just wearing shorts and tights, no knee warmers. But my lower body handles temps pretty well. Upper body, I've got several layers planned.

I was okay on the Baldy ride, but I think the coldest that got was high 30s by the time we got to GRR.

Yeah, I'm wavering a bit on this ride this weekend. I'm sure I'll end up doing it but going to be slooooow.

When we go that way, we go up Aliso Canyon to Angeles Forest. You get on Aliso just past Acton, it's quieter than the bottom of A.F., but the climb is a little harder. After the top, you will come to Hidden Springs Cafe 7 miles down. You could also go down Big Tujunga instead of going to Angeles Crest, which would make it the Two Tujungas ride. If you do go down A.C. you end up in La Canada, not Pasadena. To get to Riverside, turn right on Foothill, left on Verdugo, all the way to Mountain, right to Kenneth, left on Sonora wich turns into Riverside.

Great - thanks for the recommendations, John! I'll take a look and see what adjustments I can make.

Big John (in e-mail): "Latigo! Latigo!"
Cassave: "I'll do Latigo on Saturday..."
Vance: "Rosebowl"

So, of course, I do Latigo and John/Cassave do Rosebowl. lol. They made the right choice, though, as we fought a lot of wind. Still, I had never done Latigo, and it's a beautiful climb. We ran into Vertical Bob again. He's like a mountain spirit... there's always a good chance of running into him on the climbs.

Hey Cathy, did you get your daughter to help with the camera, yet? :)

Thanks Vance for not calling me a goat. I thought the day turned out all right. A more challenging ride than the Rose Bowl. I was glad to run into you guys, misery loves company. I'm looking forward to GMR tomorrow, haven't been there in a while. See ya there 9am.