So after the last week of rides, my muscles feel ready to kill something akin to Godzilla, but my joints are very displeased. I have arthritis in my knees from carrying heavy packs long distances and running everywhere and having a chassis with a million miles on it in general, so today felt easy, but there was unwanted pain. I had to end a tour of California in 2015 because I didn’t stretch enough, and jacked my knees up so bad I could barely go up and down stairs. I stretch a lot nowadays, but there will always be pain, and I’m fine with pain, just not further damage.
So Luis and I rode up the usual gmr loop, but instead of descending frontside we took ridge to Baldy Village and down to the city. Numbers say 66mi 5,600ft gain. It was warm, not hot yet, and not as busy as earlier. I guess people don’t like the heat as much. It hasn’t gotten hot enough for me to start riding at night just yet. It appears the highs in the city next week will be in the 80’s, so that’s nice. Maybe get a few more weeks of moderate weather in before solar laser death heat stroke storm ‘98 begins.
Some big buff dude musta ate it, as he passed us going down backside with his road bike clothes torn up and blood on his left side. He seemed lucid. Apparently the cops were looking for him to see if he was okay. He took the long way home, I guess, assuming he didn’t park at the bottom of backside.
Not really much to say today. No snakes, no huge bugs... the flies are out in force. I got to use my bugnet for the first time this year. I stuck my heel in an ant hill while stretching. Strava says I hit a max speed of 55mph, which I mostly believe since I was in my highest gear spinning fast (53-11) chasing a Honda Pilot down Baldy road, drafting him and breathing in his brake dust deeply. I think the fastest I’ve gone down Baldy was around 130, but that was in a 240SX, not an ‘adventure’ bike. Old suspension meant that when I got a little bit of air, it was unsettled when the suspension compressed. I remember that fear. Suspension is important, kids, and don’t upset the balance. Fastest I have gone on a bike was probably descending Pikes Peak in 2017, where strava said I did 71, and my cat eye bike computer said 60 something. That was on my Surly Disc Trucker touring bike with nothing on it. Both of our cars blew up that race, unfortunately, so I had a chance to ride from the summit down to our lowest pit around 9,000ft I think, where we staged for the lowest sector on practice day for that sector, and for race day. Our S13 240sx suffered a blown turbo from sucking in debris when the filter fell off in shakedown, which then went into the engine and made lots of holes in the pistons, which didn’t do us any favors. Our STi blew up on race day not far from the top. Big sad. That was a tiring event. And then it rained as we pushed the Subie into the trailer. I had a goddamn headache everyday from the elevation, and the damn ethanol corn fuel. I’ll never forget that smell.
Anyway, it was fun ripping down Baldy road. Go have fun, break rules, be smart, don’t get sick and be nice to people (unless they’re pricks, then maybe tell em to fuck off). Bye guys.
GRR to Baldy - No More Quarantine Body
I went 120 on the 10 east in El Monte once. Got a bit of air off a small bump and freaked myself out. This was in my first car, a manual '86 Honda Accord. Never drove any faster than that. But I once had a lucid dream where I flew like Superman over Temple City. That was freakier, though not as fast.
Great story, Sean.
Great story, Sean.
I did GMR to mount baldy town this last Sunday... I think the same day. On the ride up maybe 2/3 of the way encountered a rattle snake in the middle of the road, doing that spooky rattle head shaking thing. After staring at this spectacle for a few minutes a chubby dude on his road bike came down 'round the bend, and despite our warnings nonchalantly sped by it with maybe 6 inches of clearance... the snake then decided to slither off.
I say the same day because in the afternoon on the way down we spotted a sheriff heli looking around for someone/somebody. Guess it was this dude you describe.
and oh yes, it was hot
I say the same day because in the afternoon on the way down we spotted a sheriff heli looking around for someone/somebody. Guess it was this dude you describe.
and oh yes, it was hot
yeah, I was sticking to the pavement on my cross bike, but there seems to be plenty of fireroads and trails coming off GMR that caught my attention: lLooking out east from the high point just outside of Mt Baldy town, I spied a path going east and south. Looks like it's Barrett Stoddard Trailhead, and seems to connect with the city south. Anyone check that trail out?
Barrett Stoddard Road, I’ve ridden it once. Took it to Cucamonga Canyon, then south into ranch Cucamonga a few years ago on a hot day in summer. If you continue instead, it goes up a bigass hill, and there are major washouts and tons of buckthorn towards Bull Canyon. A project of mine.