:roflmao2:......You're a nut Jimmy, but I like Ya!:)...........Yup Grrlyrida, you wouldn't be alone up there. There's always a gang of riders riding by. The 8 mile point is a hangout for motorsickle riders. Always someone aound.;)....Heck, sometimes you think you're alone then someone like Brandy flies by and blows your SPD's off!:D

I also make a point on the weekends to talk to the guys on the motorcycles if they're staging at the base. I give them a little "you're going to keep your eye out for me, right boys?" along with a bat of the lashes. :roflmao2: I also talk to the forest service guys, in fact I ran into one when I was up at Manker Flats playing in the snow with the kids and he remembered me being up there last month and needing Aleve for me knee.

I guess my point is that I'm not shy in talking to people up there. I think it makes me look less vulnerable.

:roflmao2: :roflmao2: You can always beat me on the descent Beanz! :p

You're right though, I can't go up there on a Saturday morning without running into at least three people that I know.

Sorry to hear about you losing your job. Seems like I see more people riding in the middle of the day in Griffith Park. Looks like many are in the same boat. I'm underemployed so I know how you feel. I was going to do my 40 mile La Tuna Cyn loop, but I know GMR much nicer. :)If it's not raining I will meet you there. What time? From Encanto? Btw, great blog post. How timely.

Ok, I'm signed up. I don't plan to do any specific training for this; I'm racing crits just about every Sunday between now and then. I'll do the San Luis Road Race in May to get some extra fast climbing in. I'm doing hill interval workouts up Starcrest in Turtle Rock every Thursday, so that will have to do (short, but steep).

I did GMR last November and that went OK.

Hopefully this ride will give me plenty of extra red blood cells to take home for the crit on Sunday :)

It seems like The Bear is filling up more slowly than previous years. Maybe the recession is keeping riders close to home? So far (forumites wise) I see Mr. Beanz, Ron Smith and myself. Of course I don't know grrlyrida and OCShark's real names, so count the sharkster and grrlyrida too!

Don't see Brandy's name there either, though it should fall pretty close to Mr. Beanz!

Rick / OCRR

My first name is Jeff.

Thanks...I'll be okay, just need to figure out my next step. :)

What time is good for you? I was going to head out early, early, early...if that is too early for you, I can climb GMR, descend little GMR and 39 and meet you at Encanto. I'm pretty flexible. :)

I am still thinking about it. I hate paying for centuries! :p

How early is "early." Is there snow up there?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...14&postcount=1 :lol:

I'll be up there before 7:00, it would take me a couple of hours to get to Encanto, I imagine.

Yikes snow. I saw that thread, but didn't make the connection of being the same place. But it must not be that cold. No one is dressed warm. Just trying to figure out what to wear. I can be there around 9. I'll probably see you coming down as I'm going up. You can't miss me I'm in pink.:) Thanks for inviting me Brandy.

I have been a BCI member for a couple of years now and it has been a great experience. My riding skills and increased dramatically as a result of riding the club. BCI is a great group of people and I always enjoy the coffee stops with the club.

I see DScott and Obie. The Obester is a Rebel, I thought your kind stuck together! :p

Thanks Beanz,

I wasn't putting the "real" names together with the "bikeforums.net" names! I know the Obester, but I can't put a face with the name for DScott. Do you have any photos of this rider from you SART rides?

I hear you Brandy, and I agree, but on the other side of the coin(s), it does cost something to put on the ride/event, plus it's a fund raiser for their club, so I'm okay with it.

Rick / OCRR

I don't SART, at least when I'm feeling well. ;)

We met last year at the start of Breathless Agony, and passed weach other on Angeles Crest, I think. I ride the black/white/red Time, and I'm slow. Remember now? :p

Ahh, actually . . . no, sorry! I was thinking we met at the start of The Bear, and I don't remember you from Angeles Crest either. Hopefully I'll see you at the Bear this year:).

I usually ride with OCRR kit on event rides, either that or CA Triple Crown kit if its a double. I will look for your LOOK on The Bear, Angeles Crest and Breathless Agony!

Rick / OCRR

Rick, you may be right about meeting at the Bear. I couldn't remember where it was we rode together for a few minutes at the start. On Angeles Crest, I hollered at you on your way back down from Mt. Wilson (I was going up), but I think we were all just a bit pre-occupied with being cold and miserable that day.

I know what you look like. I'll say hi next time I see you. How much of the KOM series are you doing this year?

True DScott,

We were totally pre-occupied with being cold (wet) and miserable that day, easily one of my most frozen days on the bike :(. After the finish, I sat in my car with the heater on full-blast and it still took me 15 min. before I could stop shivering.

Re: KOM, my goal is to do them all, but that was my goal last year too and I DNF'd on Mulholland at mile 167 (top of Decker). So for 2009 I'm doing Mulholland as a Century only. I've done BA three times already, and the Heartbreak Century once, so I think the KOM is quite do-able.

Are you doing all three KOM's this year?

Rick / OCRR

The AC was miserable, but then, that made it all the more memorable. I felt really good about finishing that one, more so than other rides. There's something magical about being more or less alone up in the mountains, in the cold and the rain...

I am signed up for the whole KOM series, and looking to do a bit better than last year. I hadn't seen alot of the route before last year's MC. We've been riding various bits of the MC route for the last couple of months, especially Decker, so I'm expecting this to go better.

MC last year was brutal. I blame the heat, combined with my own limited experience. I'm of the opinion that MC is the hardest of the three, but I'm sure others might have a different expereince.

More than anything, I'd like to be at the level of fitness where I can enjoy more of the ride, and be less preoccupied with just surviving it. Doing more extended climbing earlier in the year seems to help some with that.

Memorable rides are always the brutal ones :(. The ones with beautiful weather, easy climbs, no headwinds . . . easily to forget. Still . . . I like those "good conditions" rides better :lol:. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst; something like that.

My Mulholland Double attempt was windy and hot; plus the climbing (but I expected that). I was simply dehydrated, in the extreme, the same thing that killed me (mostly) on my other double DNF, Death Valley. But, I figure that if I can do 167 miles of the double, I should be able to survive 100 miles of the single.

Yes, more extended climbing is the key. That's why I was on GMR last weekend, and going to Anza Borrego (Montezuma Grade) this weekend. My goal is to be comfortable on what I call "infinite climbs," that is, climbs that are so long, you can't even think about the summit for over an hour. Plus, I need to learn to spin faster on long climbs (65 - 68 rpm doesn't cut it!).

Rick / OCRR

I realize that...it's just silly to me when I ride unsupported mountain centuries. :p That said, I am considering it.

Okay, well, I understand but hopefully I'll see you there :thumb:. The ride is very well organized, well supported, plus it's timed (don't know if you've ridden it before?), plus I always meet new people to ride with, so (needless to say!), I really like The Bear.

This year I'll be coming off the Eastern Sierra double the prev. weekend, so will probably be slower than last year, but whatever . . . just have to see how my legs feel on the day.

Rick / OCRR

After a few years of paying for rides I also don't care to pay when one can get together with a few buds and have just as much fun!...But for some reason, The Bear is my favorite! If I pay for one ride a year, this is my choice. CoolB, Solvang, AMtrak and a few others just don't seem to tickle my fancy like The Bear!:D Plus, all the Cool Kidz do it!:p