Pug

For those who are familiar with these closures, can I still ride GMR on a bike, or when it's closed no one is allowed up at all? Thanks

PhotoJoe 

Usually you can just throw your bike over the gate and keep on going. A GREAT way to ride GMR. HOWEVER, I have heard of one instance where there was a cop stationed at the gate and would not let anyone pass, even on a bike.

FYI, they also close it on July 4, however, I've never heard of them stopping cyclists then. It's supposed to be a pretty popular ride.

volosong

On July 4th, GMR is closed specifically to allow bicycles a safe ride up the hill. If the gate is closed due to fire danger/hazard, you best not be caught up there. I agree that it's silly to think that a cyclist can cause a fire, but they are serious about closures due to possible fires.

PhotoJoe 

I did not know that they do it specifically for us. I always thought they shut it down to keep people with fireworks from burning down California. A group from the C/A forum rode it while closed for fire danger once. Glad nothing bad came of it.

volosong

Hmmm. You may be right. That could be the initial reason they close the road. They do welcome cyclists that day and know that it is one of the most popular rides of the year.




So . . . what's to stop cyclists from bring fireworks up the hill?

diphthong

i find it almost unfathomable in the current california car climate to consider the closure of gmr/grr during the 4th of july (weekend if applicable) primarily for the benefit of cyclists.

guessing...just guessing here, that it gets closed during that time (and was the original inspiration) to minimize fire danger from spike and his friends bombing up there in the ole '73 opal, having a few brewhas and
sparking up whatever they have on hand-be it fireworks, cheech homage, or bonfires.

less worried about cyclists dragging heavy fireworx up a relatively steep grade than i am about same said weight-weenie cyclists dropping their skanky gu pax all over the road because they can't be bothered to
bring along a lil plastic ziploc baggie to drop their own trash in. you know who you are and you suck.

diphthong

there were several posts from forumites last year regarding being turned away from ascending gmr/grr by the proverbial cop. didn't see any governmental intervention
last year but started around 7:30am and finished around 1pm so perhaps a few were unlucky. there were hundreds of cyclists along the way.

CommuteCommando

Going up there during a red flag closure may be a bad idea as far as me as an individual cyclist goes. I suspect that the authorities take a dim view of cyclists due to the potential need to have emergency vehicles screaming through there.

iTrek

I know two ladies that rode part way up last night. They told me they did see an officer up there, but he didn't say anything to them and they just set bikes over gate and had good ride.

JimmyNH

It looks like GMR will be re-opened on Saturday (5/17).

Road Closures Website

To answer the OP - I don't think they stop cyclists from riding up GMR when the road is closed due to fire danger. I've ridden it myself. The closure on the 4-th of July is also prompted by concerns of fire danger but there are thousands of bicycles up there on that day.

Pug

I rode GMR/GRR to Mt Baldy village this morning. I just hopped the gate and was on my way. I started the ride around 6:30am and didn't see any official presence along the entire route. Added bonus of riding early was lots of shade. Saw one other cyclist near the shack. Closer to Mt Baldy Village saw a jogger and a dog walker. It was really awesome to not worry about getting buzzed by motorists and high speed motorcycles. Coolest/scariest thing I saw was a pair of mountain lions (I think that's what they were; large cats about the size of great danes) run in front of me near the intersection of GMR/GRR/East Fork.

peckma

How was the road? Clean or littered with debris?

Pug

An odd rock or two around some corners, but overall very clean. Several spots looked freshly swept.

bitingduck

One of those posts was from me. It's happened twice, several years apart, that we encountered police (once Forest Service LEO, once CHP) who told us the road was supposed to be closed to everyone, including cyclists. Both times they were mistaken. The first time was with the FS LEO who made us go down Baldy Rd (open, with lots of traffic). We talked to the district ranger (his boss) the following monday who said that the guy was completely mistaken and if it happens again to have them call the forest status phone line, which generally says "closed to motor traffic, open to cyclists and hikers" for the 4th of July weekend. The second time was a couple CHP--one moto, one car, who said it was closed to everyone (even though the forest was open). We explained what happened the previous time (including the call to the Ranger) and they went away. We verified on the FS website when we were back in internet range that it specifically said "GMR closed to motor traffic, open to cyclists" on the front page of the ANF site. A general rule of thumb (not guaranteed) is that if the *forest* is closed, then it's closed to everyone. If the road is closed, it's closed to motor traffic, but non-motor traffic (peds, bikes, horses) is ok.