43.18 miles, 3:55 time, 4,774 ft elevation.

On a cold sunny morning, the Club met at La Canada Starbucks for a big climb up Big Tujunga Canyon and Angeles Forest Highway. Low 40s F at the start. Brrr. But, we were all bundled up and ready for the mountain cold. Hats, Gloves, Shoe covers, wool socks, layers.

We rode west out on Foothill through La Canada, Montrose and Sunland. Philip started at the wrong Starbucks and was able to meet up with us in Sunland. We turned up Mt. Gleason Rd and made our way to Big Tujunga Canyon Rd, a 10 mile climb. Climbs were slow and steady 5-9%. Scott had a mechanical at the start of the Big Tujunga Canyon.

The snow-capped mountains were awesome backdrop for the ride. The shady sections were cold, but the sunny spots were fine. Some of the short steep descents were frigid. But fortunately, no icy spots. There are some beautiful arched bridges over rocky canyons. There is a dark tunnel too. The winding roads are great. The air was clear and the scene was from another state. We really got away from it all. Beautiful.

We merged onto Angeles Forest Highway and continued climbing for another 4 miles to the Fire Station. I got one snow ball at the BTC / AFH intersection. We flipped it back on Angeles Forest Highway 4 miles, then crossed back on AFH to Angeles Crest Highway at Clear Creek. There was a ton of auto traffic coming off the mountain. I suspect that the Highway Patrol was closing the mountain and sending everyone home. Looking up from Clear Creek we could see that Red Box was snowy. Good thing we were headed down hill. We descended Angeles Crest Highway to La Canada.

Rick, Julien, Philip, Cali, Scott, Lynda, Bill, Dave, GreggD, PaulG, PaulM, GregM, Joe, Marisa, Erick, Alvin, Steve