So I went up Azusa from West Covina to the closed gate. Walked my bike around it. I know it says it's closed to pedestrians and cyclist, but that's fucking stupid and you know it, so I go back there anyway. I cannot be convinced otherwise. I've done this many times before, but this was the first time I was talked to by a CalTrans worker, a supervisor guy. He told me I'm not supposed to be back there because of falling rock (if only he knew my history), and that he can't stop me but I'm not supposed to be back there. I thanked him for his time and continued riding on. Sorry to be a dick, guy. I don't mean to make your day slightly harder, but we live in a society run by clowns and lawyers and the only thing that matters is money. Anything the government can do to save a penny, they will. They do it to veterans all the time. Fuck that. A big part of why I could give a shit about these sorts of things.
Ice on 39
Continuing on, I made it to Islip saddle in much less time than usual, as I'm riding my work bike, an aluminium frame carbon fork Giant Revolt all road whatever the hell it is anymore. Basically like a road bike that has disc brakes, weird geometry, and can fit 700x50mm tires. I used to ride my all steel heavy Surly Disc Trucker touring bike up here but I'm glad I've switched over to something lighter that's actually fun to ride. Anywho, made good time, took a break, gave my ass a break. Got a new saddle on it to replace the awful stock one, but it still hurts when climbing a lot, as is the order of the day in the mountains. Kinda sick of climbing big hills, I much prefer flying down them. From here I ride west on ACH up some hills to Cloudburst Summit, where you get a fun downhill down past Newcomb's. I continued to the Silver Moccasin Trail, and carried my bike down it to the dirt road south of ACH. The sun was down at this point, and I rode the dirt road down into Redbox Canyon, at least I think that's the name of the canyon. Made it down to the bottom and refilled my bottles and stomach with water at the stream, which was flowing more than adequately for my purposes. I had hard touring tires on that don't perform that well on any surface (they last forever, though), Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 40mm's. Thus, I pushed my bike for a few miles or so up the hill to Rincon Redbox Road.
Tunnels on 2
I had a decision point coming up. I was going to head west, where I would hit the junction between RR Road to the right, and the road down to Cogswell Dam to the left. I had ridden West Fork to Cogswell Dam a few months back and they were building a new gate around the caretaker's village thing up there. It appeared it would be closed off to cyclists, which I thought was sad cause it's a cool spot for a picture, snacks, and chilling. This being post 9/11 America, I understand it's considered a target or whatever, so I'd probably get a JDAM dropped on me if I even considered the unpatriotic duty of riding my bicycle harmlessly over the dam road. Anyway what I'm getting at is I didn't know if the way would be clear once I reached the dam from the back side. I might have to play dumb if confronted by the people there, since I've done this several times before and I always just ride straight through the open chain link gate cause I'm just a bike hobo doing no harm.
The alternative would be much more climbing and distance on RR road, on a surface that really sucks to ride on with my bikes and tires but would probably be very tame and fun on a mountainbike with 2"+ tires. It really is miserable on my setup, but I can't afford something better so I just do my best and go slow.
I thought this over for a long time, took a break on the 'road closed' gate (which has a sticker saying no jeeps, dirt bikes, or ATV's, but not bicycles or people). Ate a bit, and decided to give it a shot, knowing that I could possibly play dumb and have them let me through, or they could be dicks and tell me to beat feet back up to RR rd. The latter option would give me 15 miles of shitty night riding before I reach the downhill section near Pine Mountain, followed by 4mi or so down to the 39. I swallowed the lump in my throat and went down. The initial "what're you doing?" feeling of slight panic ran out after a few hundred meters, and I focused on not crashing in the soft sand or hitting any bigger rocks. Riding a cyclocross bike on these tires on these roads feels like riding a butter knife. The slightest angle and the tire cuts under the surface and you have no steering input, you just go wherever gravity sends you. It sucks. Not fun. I find myself doing this often, however, as I'm usually with my homie Luis who is better equipped. Perhaps different tires will help? Honestly I'd rather just wait until I have a mountain bike set up for this shit so I know it will be an improvement.
I make it down to the fun paved switchbacks above the reservoir, and fly down those in the dark, avoiding dirt patches. The Schwalbe Mondials don't have great traction or sensitivity, and the small side knobs on the shoulders handle disconcertingly when on tarmac. I carve a tighter line than previously, as I've been working as a bike courier lately and now know this bike/frame quite well, and can more confidently push. You only take two switchbacks before jumping on the remaining dirt road to the dam. I feel very slightly nervous as I expect to round a corner to see a new steel gate telling me to fuck right off back to whence I came, but thankfully this does not materialize. Instead I am greeted by the happy christmas lights on the houses near the dam, which cheers me up a bit. I anticipate that one dog that always goes nuts, and he/she does right as i come into view of the garage. I pass a Prius coming up the hill, who slows to talk to me maybe, then kinda speeds up then kinda slows again, the usual dance we all do to each other when we're not sure if we're gonna react, which always prompts an unusual and often awkward conversation about someone being somewhere they shouldn't be but it's not really wrong, just illegal, or some grey area. You know. We both basically say "whatever" in our heads, disconnect, and continue. I make it to the last house and see the big new gate, the first time seeing it complete. I'm ready to act ignorant and like a cute girl who can get someone to do nice things for her even though I'd make a really ugly girl, and I notice the gate doesn't go that far to the right. There's just enough space for me to squeeze around the gate between the end and some Scrub Oak or whatever, and I hustle around it and go to the helipad to get out of the dog's view so the locals won't be so pissed off at me. I'm still gonna go where I like around here, but I do my best to leave no trace or whatever, and to just take it easy on the people who live here, cause I'm sure they deal with actual assholes on occasion.
The next section is a super steep paved road, very very steep and fast, with quick turns and lots of camber and elevation changes. An awesome rally stage of sorts. Really fun during the day. I get the touring bike over 40mph on this section, but that's when I can see and I'm not freezing. West Fork is much colder than surrounding areas, so I put my warm stuff on and get ready to go down. I debate putting my helmet on, as it will force me to lean my head further back, uncomfortable for this steep section and the angle of my bars. It would also be practically unsecured on my dome with my beanie on, and I won't need it for the remaining 8 miles or so gently gliding down the road to route 39, so I decide to keep the helmet off and just take it real slow. My brakes are out of adjustment from the previous big hills of the day, as well as being on nearly the entire time going down the dirt road from RR rd to the dam, so I am quite careful on this steep section, avoiding patches of dirt and picking what I call the 'luxury line', a line that disturbs the balance of the chassis/tires/suspension of your vehicle and is meant to keep passengers as comfortable as possible. Big slow lazy arcs, long front wheel drive-esque recovery lines with more runout on corner exit, earlier braking initiation, and slower corner exit power application favoring low end torque buildup and delivery. I miss driving. The steep section over with, you flow to the outside/left side of the road, as the first 'blind' right hander comes up, and I usually botch the apex and lose speed on the following straight. Not the case this time as I'm going much slower (something like 4/10ths), and I'm welcomed by the cold air near the Glenn campground. I say to myself that I'm glad I didn't bivy there (I brought bivy gear on this trip, in my handlebar roll), as I'd be cold and unable to build a fire as there's a no fire no stove order in effect right now since we're having just such a wonderful big great fire season this year.
The rest of the road goes by quite swimmingly, with no surprises. West Fork rd is a fun ride, all just very slightly uphill westbound for 8 miles, which means you barely need to pedal on the way out. I typically shift into a big gear and put out a balanced effort to keep my speed up without actually working all that hard, so I'm able to hustle along at 20 something mph, maybe on the higher end of the scale. I'm sure if I checked Strava I'd be something like 4,235th place or some shit. I'm having fun going what I feel is fast, so I'm great. I reach the gate at R39, hop it, and pull over to take layers off and drink some water and down some snacks. It's much warmer away from the creek. The rest of the ride down 39 goes fine, with a lot of Hondas, a few Miatas, and some BRZ/FRS/GT86/etc's mixed in with some random shitboxes that clearly don't pass smog (and are probably very fun to drive). Back in the city, glad to be off the dirt roads, but not so happy to be back here again. I make it back to West Covina, take a shower, eat, and edit my photos.
98 miles and 10,000ft gain or so.
Hope you dig my writing. I reckon I might do this more often. I had fun writing it. I've just been real burned out on social media and writing and the internet and everything. Been super busy.
Cheers
