Wind Advisory and I Ride Right Into It

So I finally find a day that it’s not raining, and is a gorgeous day.  I did recall the news, and my accuweather app stating there is a wind advisory, especially in the San Gabriel Mountains.  However, that was not in the forefront of my mind … what was on my mind was getting on the bike, and doing some climbing miles. 

It was pretty busy on the climb up Hwy 2 (Angeles Crest Highway), but I’m used to riding with high speed traffic.  There was a hot rod club speeding up the highway, but they did give me a wide birth, so it wasn’t that bad.

The wind was blowing me across the road at times and I had to stop a number of times, just to make sure I wouldn’t go out of control.  That’s an excellent opportunity to take a few scenic shots.

I get to Clear Creek Information Center, and this is the point at which I decide to go up to Mt. Wilson, or to turn back.  With all the wind throwing me around, I figure it would be safer to turn back … So yes, I wimped out.

Turning back, I did have a nice descent going down.  If you listen carefully, you can hear the wind swirling around me.

Got One Ride In During Christmas Holidays

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope everyone spent some quality time with family. This years routine was a little different, with Christmas being on a Thursday, which meant we had to work on Friday. I forgot to accommodate for this, and didn’t get that day off. Luckily, I was able to work from LA remotely.

What this meant was little time for cycling, but I was able to sneak in one ride, and boy what a day that was. However, it was a cold ride. I couldn’t really tell from my Garmin, as it was saying it was average temperature of 8 F. Uh, I don’t think so. If I was to guess, it was probably in the low 40s.

I couldn’t make this an all day ride, so this was an out and back to Clear Creek Junction. On a cold day like this, all I knew is I needed to climb, just to keep me warm. This was a straight climb up Hwy 2, from the beginning in La Canada, straight up until the Rangers Station, so very hard to get lost.

After climbing from the base (probably the hardest part of the climb) I turned off to the scenic overlooks, and boy what a view. I could see the LA skyline … Yes, you can see LA from here. Picture doesn’t show how clear you could see.

It was funny, while taking off layers there, a kid came up to me and asked me if they drove far enough, would they see snow? What’s funny is he asks me, the crazy dude on a bike, climbing Angeles Crest Highway, instead of asking dad, who is driving the family up. I mean, if we were heading for snow, would the guy on the bike be going up? Er, on second thought, don’t answer that. (I probably would)

I love climbing, especially when you pass elevation signs. It gives me some motivation, as mere mortals are down below worrying about a single hill, and here I am passing the 2000 foot level.

One guy passed me, pretty easily, and was going at a pretty good clip. I just wasn’t able to keep up with him. Unfortunately, I saw him pull over, 2/3 the way up, who had a flat. Oh that sucks. That meant he had to alter his original trip of going up to Red Box.

The roads were all clear … But I was only going to go as far as Clear Creek, as going any further would be a bit cold. I used the excuse of needing to be back home early, and not leaving dad alone by himself, as my excuse for not going to Red Box.

Its amazing how camaraderie of other climbers on the same route brings cyclists together. While at the junction, I had a nice chat with 3 other riders, who were riding solo, just like me, and just commenting on the climb, past rides, and experiences of riding the mountains in the cold.

Ok, now time for the descent back down, and yup, it’s cold. I had three layers on, so that made it not so bad. I had nice warm long fingered gloves, as well as toe warmers, so at least I wasn’t unprepared. I mean, who would expect this coming down to Southern California?

I often like comparing rides in Southern California to rides in the Bay Area. I would say this is very comparable to the Hwy 9 climb from Saratoga to Saratoga Gap, except this is just a little longer. So if you are asking what this rides compares to, well there you have it.

PTO Ride Angeles Crest Hwy to Red Box

I had my forced 3 day pto this week, so I decided to take Hwy 2 up to Red Box Junction, which is one the road up to the top of Mt. Wilson goes.  What better day to go, on a Friday, when everyone is still in the office and don’t have to contend with crazy drivers on a normal weekend.

I started from the Rose Bowl and it was a little overcast but now too bad. One thing I forgot .. sunscreen. Overcast skies made me forget about it. I was hoping the 7-11 art the bottom of the hill would have some. I asked the guy if he had some … he said no, but I was able to find one. Does he not know what sunscreen is? Oh well, not to worry. At least I can lather up so I won’t turn into a tomato.

Once I got into Angeles Forest, the sun was out. Good thing I stopped at 7-11.  I started out with a good cadence, beginning the ride in my middle ring.  I was following the advise from the cycling360 podcast (http://www.cycling360media.com/gears-and-gear-ratios/) to shift often.  I typically went straight to the granny gear, but today, I decided to try powering up, at least for a little bit of it.  That kept the climb from being boring but the scenery and the fact that there wasn’t a constant flow of mad trucks and motorcycles, did help a lot.

At Clear Creek Junction

My original goal was just to get up to Clear Creek Junction, and depending on how I felt, I would either continue up to Red Box, head back down, or head down on Angeles Forest Hwy, and onto Big Tujunga.  Well, I got to Clear Creek around 10:45 am, and I was not completely wiped, so I decided to continue onto Red Box.

When you look at the road ahead, the climb looks daunting. It’s actually not as bad as it looks. It’s an optical illusion. I just had to continue on the same climbing cadence that got me this far. Another rider passed me, commenting that he hates this bump. I told him he looks better than me, and his response was “I don’t feel better” as he speeds away from me. He’s just sand bagging, that’s all.

I got up to Red Box Junction at around 11:30 am .. wow got here faster than I thought I would. I did start going up Mt. Wilson for a short while, but I want feeling it. I should probably head back, ago I just turned back. I was just enjoying the scenery and the thought of the long fast descent just kept me smiling.

I got back down to the Rose Bowl around 1 pm. Pretty good timing. That’s a good PTO ride. Nicer little 41 mile, 4500 feet climb. Now to spend the rest of the day like a normal human being.

More pictures at https://plus.google.com/photos/107775104280723216283/albums/5806421351100399393?authkey=CMPT7OKy2fz8ag