58.96 miles, 4:08 moving time 2,462 ft elevation gain

The Club met at the Glendale Park and Ride the annual Ride to Santa Monica. In truth the main reason is that the traffic is very light on the Sepulveda Pass on major American Holidays. We even met a bit early to get everyone home for their 4th of July festivities, although it was likely to be a low key night for everyone. We also started early to skip a bit of the heat, more on that later.

Sue, Lynda, Bill, Bob, Michel, Dave, Paul, Ryan, Kali, Phillip, David, Joe, Nathan, James, Ana, John.

We rolled west through Glendale along Mountain Ave, then turned south on Sonora to Riverside Drive. We rolled fast and flat on Riverside through Burbank, Studio City, and Sherman Oaks, while passing LA Equestrian Center, Disney Studios, Warner Brother Studios, and old Bob’s Big Boy. We turned south on Van Nuys to Valley View. There were a few rollers and we got to Sepulveda Blvd. The one big climb for the day (both ways). The tunnel is the apex of the climb with Mulholland Drive somewhere above us. It was warming up for sure on the climb. The descent was awesome. First steep section was screaming fast. Hit top speed 41.6 mph. Straight, wide open, no traffic, smooth road. We cut through the VA Hospital from Sepulveda, at Constitution to San Vicente. No problems with access, more on that later. We rolled smoothly through Brentwood and Santa Monica, except for Dave’s 2 flats. Bob was ready to slap him, the second time, (hehe see pic). We got to Ocean Blvd. and took a break. It was a sunny sparkling day at the beach. We were high on a bluff and could see the breakers. Snapped a few pics and flipped it back the way we came. It was definitely hot on the way back. We stopped at Moraga / Sepulveda for a water stop at the 76 gas station. I filled both my bottles full with ice, with some water and Skratch powder. I also downed a Vitamin Water. I was just dripping on the climb up Sepulveda. Whew. Sue had a mechanical, but was all fixed up by the time I saw here at the Top, by Skirball. The descent was lovely, and we made our way back, same as we came. Great ride. Happy Independence Day!