Riding in the San Gabriels

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...

  On Saturday, I again rode the 120-mile Circle of Doom route, plus Dawson Saddle and Mount Wilson, that I call "Circle of DaWilson." I woke up at 4:00 am and left home at 4:45 am, with lights, to beat the heat, which I did. I made it up to the Crystal Lake cafe at 8:00 am, and Dawson Saddle just after 9:30 am. I put in some hard efforts on the climbs after Crystal Lake, including the Islip Saddle to Dawson Saddle segment, on which I set a personal record by over two minutes. I did end up overheating and almost bonking hallway up the final climb to Mount Wilson. I slowed down, drank some gatorade and ate some gel, and that seemed to help. Still, when I arrived at the Cosmic Cafe at the summit, I sat and rested my head on the picnic table, sweating, with my eyes closed. I got back home early, took a long bath, and watched the film, "Sound of Metal," which I enjoyed. It's stayed with me. The acting is great, the tone is very uncomfortable, and it comes across almo...

On Saturday I rode the "Circle of Dawson" route and added the Mt. Wilson climb at mile 90. I rolled at 5:30 am to beat the heat, and arrived back home at 2:00 pm. The highlight was running into a riding buddy along Foothill before 6:00 am, and chatting with him for about 30 minutes. He rode the same route (minus Mt. Wilson) but is a much faster climber than me.  He commented that I was sweating a lot as we chatted. I responded that I know. I tend to over hydrate the day before a long, hot ride, and I sweat a lot when it’s humid, even if I’m not excerpting a lot of effort. I was able to climb to the high point of the route, Dawson Saddle, by 10:00 am, where the air temps were under 80 until I started descending. The climbs to Red Box and Mt. Wilson were both above 90, and I had packed sufficient Gatorade and Cliff powder to both refill and drink a full, 24-ounce bottle at each water stop. I didn’t see any other cyclists until I refilled at Red Box, and the few I saw there look...