Recent Road and MTB Rides

Finally replaced my old Garmin Edge 305 which wouldn't hold a charge for more than 90 minutes. For about $85, got a refurbished unit which seems to working well. We'll see how long this lasts...

Here are a few recent rides mapped out on Garmin Connect:

Mt. Wilson MTB Ride

After failing to reach the top of Mt. Wilson last month, I gave it another try on Saturday via a more direct route with less climbing. Along with Mike and Miles, started at the bottom of Chaney Trail at about 1,500 ft and made it to the antennas at 5,600+ ft.

Here's a Google Map with a few data errors:


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Here's an elevation graph:



A few photos from the trail:



A view of the antennas in the distance from the saddle near Inspiration Point.



Mike (with his new Blur LT) and Miles in front a rock-slide at the tunnel.



A view of the antennas from below.



An encouraging sign on the far side of the tunnel.

The ride was marred by a crash towards the end. Miles went over the bars in a rocky section near the bottom of the Merrill single-track and landed on his head. After the incident, we skipped the Sunset Peak single-track opting instead for the smoother Lower Merrill Trail. He went to Urgent Care the next day and got X-rays which luckily confirmed that nothing was broken. Gnarly.

Friday MTB Ride

Took the day off work yesterday and squeezed in a ride.

Heading up Sullivan Canyon, ran into two Gas Company workers. The latest is that they'll be making minor repairs to the exposed gas line through the spring. The big plow job to create truck access to the pipe up the canyon is scheduled for summer. That should be the end of what's been a fun local trail.



Here are some pics from the ride. The trails are in great shape and everything is quite green. Rusty Car single-track:





Backbone Trail:





What happens when you don't pay attention:

2009 Tour of California Race

A few belated shots from the second-to-last stage of the Amgen Tour of California road race finishing up at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The peloton:



Mavic neutral support in action:



Frank Schleck looking over his shoulder:



Astana riders protecting Levi:

Mt. Lowe MTB Ride

After a lengthy hiatus, I have some worthy material to share.

Rode the San Gabriels on Saturday with Brett and Miles before checking out the Tour of California finishing up at the Rose Bowl. The route went up Brown Mtn, up the Millard single-track, then up Mt. Lowe road. Going down, we hit the middle Sam Merrill Trail, then the Sunset Peak Trail.

Here's a MotionBased Map:



Here's an elevation graphic:



Here are pics from the ride. Heading up the Brown Mtn fire-road.



Hitting snow at about 3,750 feet. From this point on, there was a lot of walking.





At the drop-in of the middle Sam Merrill trail.





Looking out over Echo Mtn and the Mt. Lowe road.

Worst. Website. Ever.

My vote for the weather-related website with the poorest information? AirNow.gov. Check out their air quality maps for this Saturday and Sunday...





Looks OK except for a few pockets, right? Why is it then that when I walk outside, I can smell acrid smoke and see ash? Oh yeah, the wildfires.

Here's one of the big problems, the Sylmar fire:


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Photos courtesy of the LA Times:

Halloween Night Ride

Broke out the headlight for a Halloween night ride in the Santa Monicas a few weeks ago. Participants included Mike, Miles, Nor, Andrew, Brett and Jinn. Despite a few light issues, it was awesome -- warm temps and very little trail dust.

Here are a few photos from the road and trail:







Here's a link to data on MotionBased: Sullivan Canyon; Rusty Car; Backbone Trail

A map of the ride route:


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Recent Road/Cyclocross Rides

Sunday: San Vicente; PCH; Las Flores Cyn; Stunt Rd; Mulholland Hwy; Kanan Rd; Latigo Cyn; PCH; Montana


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A few cell phone pics from the road. Las Flores Canyon Road right before it gets steep:



Rambla Pacifica with the towers in the background:



The top of Schueren and Stunt Road at 2,300 ft:



Saturday: Westridge Fire-Road; Dirt Mulholland; Mulholland Hwy; Old Topanga; Topanga Cyn; PCH; San Vicente


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Last Sunday: San Vicente; PCH; Las Flores Cyn; Rambla Pacifica; Stunt Rd; Mulholland Hwy; Old Topanga Rd; Topanga Cyn; PCH; Montana


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Last Saturday: San Vicente; PCH; Topanga Cyn; Mulholland Hwy; Kanan Rd; PCH; Montana


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Came across a small fire on PCH on the way home. Here are cell phone pics:

Weekend Road Rides

The Santa Anas this weekend made for super clear skies. It was almost a year ago that Malibu Canyon burned under similar (but more severe) wind conditions.

Here are a few cellphone camera snaps taken today from Latigo Cyn and Stunt Road:





Sunday data: San Vicente; PCH; Latigo Cyn; Kanan Rd; Mulholland Hwy; Stunt Rd; Las Flores Cyn; PCH; Montana

Elevation graph:



Map:


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Saturday data: San Vicente; PCH; Topanga Cyn; Mulholland Hwy; Las Virgenes; Malibu Cyn; PCH; Sunset

Map:


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Recent Rides

Tuesday on the Bianchi: Westridge Fire-Road; Sullivan Ridge Fire-Road


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Sunday on the Turner: Westridge; Rusty Car Single-Track; Sullivan Canyon


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Saturday on the Scott: San Vicente; PCH; Topanga Cyn; Mulholland Hwy; Las Virgenes; Malibu Cyn; PCH; Montana


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Off-Topic Video

Timely...

Weekend Rides

Sunday mtb ride: Sycamore Canyon Rd; Sage Trail; Two Foxes; Guadalasca; Overlook; Two Foxes; Sin Nombre; Sycamore Rd


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Saturday road ride: San Vicente; PCH; Topanga Cyn; Mulholland Hwy; Kanan Rd; Latigo Cyn; PCH; San Vicente

An elevation graph:




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Weekend Rides

Sunday on the Turner: Westridge Fire-Road; Rusty Car; Backbone Trail; Sunset; Amalfi; Sullivan Fire-Road; Sullivan Canyon

An elevation graph:




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Saturday on the Scott: San Vicente; PCH; Topanga Cyn; Mulholland Hwy; Las Virgenes; Malibu Cyn; PCH; Ocean Ave.; Montana


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Pre-Labor Day MTB Ride

Wrapped up work a bit early Friday and headed out for a long ride on the dirt. This is the route:


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Here's a link to data on MotionBased:

Sullivan Canyon; Rusty Car; Backbone Trail; Sunset; Amalfi; Sullivan Fire-Road; Dirt Mulholland; Westridge Single-Track

A photo from Westridge single-track:

Weekend Rides

Rode the Bianchi on Sunday up Westridge over to the Hub and down Paseo Miramar. The GPS died 4/5 of the way along so I only got partial data.


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On Saturday, went for a long one in the morning. A big thanks to the guy who's been doing trailwork solo on Backbone the last few weekends. The brush has been cut back nicely everywhere and it's no longer tick-ville.

About 37 miles in 3 hours and 50 minutes with 5,700+ ft of elevation gain. Here's the profile:



Here's a map:


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It was overcast and cool in the morning, pretty uncharacteristic for August. Here are a few pics from Backbone above the bridge:

Brentwood Grand Prix

Checked out the road races up the street in Brentwood last Sunday. Apparently, this event has always been held at West LA junior college (whatever/wherever that is). This was the first time it was staged on San Vicente which was a perfect venue.

Race flyer:




Masters 55+ riders crossing the start/finish:




Jacinda snapping photos at the start of the Cat 4/5 race:




Mike Sudo on the starting line:




The nail that ended Nor's race: