Riding in the San Gabriels

 On Saturday, August 21, I rode my Ventura Double Century route. I woke up at 3:30 am and rolled at 4:37 am. I returned home at 6:00 pm, and had less than 45 minutes stopped time. I stopped twice to refill.  The weather was excellent. Air temps from 60 to 75, and some mist in Simi Valley and Santa Paula. It was cloudy all day until I descended Westlake-- I only saw the sun for the last 50 miles of the ride. I didn't eat much, but drank 4 bottles os Gatorade Endurance, Spiz and Tailwind. I also drank a gatorade at the first stop and a large coke at the second stop.  My legs felt great. I had no issues with cramping or bonking. I never felt dehydrated. I felt strong at the end. I added 10 miles in Ojai, climbing Hwy 33 (intentionally) and a couple miles thinking there was a 7-11 on Lindero Canyon (unintentionally), and I ended up with 216 miles and 11k elevation gain.

I am planning to ride a Double Century tomorrow from Pasadena to Ojai, returning up Encinal Canyon and Agoura Road. I typically ride easy the week before a Double Century. This allows me mentally and physically to feel sharp and able to complete a ride that's 12 hours in the saddle without feeling too fatigued.  The weather this week has been conducive to cycling, especially for August. Overcast mornings extending until 10:00 or 11:00 am, with temperatures under 80. Tomorrow is supposed to be even a little cooler. I will get up at 3:45 am and roll by 4:50 am. I plan to return home about 6:30 pm. I plan to ride tempo with some hard efforts, and reduce my stopped time to about one hour. I will run front and rear lights and bring gel and powder, and stop four or five times to refill.

After a rest day I like to "warm up" my legs by doing an easy local ride on the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo Bike Paths. These are not exciting. There's no climbing. There's usually debris and homeless encampments. There are usually other cyclist out on these paths in the mornings. However, it's easy to control my output, there are no stoplights, they are spirited paths, so I don't have to worry about motor vehicle traffic.  They are mindless to the point that I kind of hate them. What's the point? I'm not hammering. I'm not chatting with anybody. I'm just "warming up the legs". In the end, they are safe and uneventful. 

In addition to riding in the mountains, I also like riding up my local steep climbs. A few I really enjoy are: St. Katherine Chevy Chase Hampstead Greenbriar Haven Wildwood Canyon Stough Canyon Alta Canada Hampstead Sugarloaf These are all steep short climbs that I combine into a 20 to 60 mile ride with lots of elevation gain. In general, I prefer loops to out and back routes, so I will branch up from my loop to climb, and end up with a ride elevation profile like this (total of 6,319 feet of elevation gain in 55 miles):  I rolled from home at 6:30 am this morning, and air temps were in around 61 degrees. This is a little warm for climbing weather, but compared to the weeks of 90 degree afternoons we've been having, it felt great to do some close steep climbs that mix it up a bit from the long steady climbs in the local mountains. Additional benefits of rolling early is that there's shade and little motor vehicle traffic on the roads I traveled. There were dog walkers and a few...

Anytime I hear about a group ride going up Highway 39 or Glendora Mountain Road, two of the best local climbs, I get excited, because group climbing rides attract younger riders who climb faster than me, and sometimes include a support vehicle carrying water and ice. In the more desolate areas like upper 39, it's safer to ride in a group. There's a chance I'll know someone else in the group, and if I don't, they might be new to these roads, and since I know them quite well, I can serve as a guide. Loren texted me last week me about a group ride doing the Circle of Dawson on 7/31/21.  On Saturday morning I woke up at 3:55 am and rolled from my house at 4:45 am to the starting point of the group ride, Encanto Park. I arrived and saw a couple of Adobo Velo members getting ready to ride the bike path to Seal Beach, and I rode through the parking lot and saw Marco, who had just completed an Iron Man followed by a mountain bike race. We chatted, I texted Loren "are u her...