49.56 miles, 4:37 moving time, 5,515 ft ascent

Julie, Ryan, Hank, Kirk, Mike W., Gregg D., Gary, Rob, John, Joe, Gregg M., Paul G.

Mile 0: Start at Encanto Park in Duarte. Weather was a little overcast, but we knew that was going to burn off and warm up. Rolled across the bridge and rode up the San Gabriel River Trail.

Mile 6: Cross over to Hwy 39 Azusa Canyon. And we rode this all the way to the top of the mountain. We passed the San Gabriel Dams. Some had lots of water; some were drained out for cleaning or repairs. Sun was out and shining bright. Lots of cars.

Mile 12: Passed East Fork Bridge. Passed West Fork. Most of the cars were done. I stopped at Eagle Tree, but no eagles were home today. Paul Green caught up with us there.

Mile 14: First Gate. It was all steep from here on out. 8-10% grade for most of the remaining 11 miles.

Mile 18: Switchbacks and climbing. Stopped briefly for a snack. Gregg M caught up with us there.

Mile 21: Took some pics of the vistas. Lots of water was flowing down. Usual dribble from the rock wall was pretty good flow.

Mile 24: Turn off from the main road. This is where I usually flip it. But the fast group didn’t come down yet from the Cafe. So, I kept climbing a little more. Then, I saw Hank, Ryan, Gregg, and John.

Mile 25: I saw one more group of riders and flipped it with them.

Mile 25: The Descent was crazy fast. They’re a steep straight part that I planned on hitting a high land speed record. But, there was some head winds and cars coming up the road. I hit 39 mph and pulled out of aero and saved it for another day.

Mile 36: Hills on the way out of the Back country really wore me out. Head winds added to the push downhill. On the steeper descents, i was getting blown around.

Overall, Great Ride. Not too hot for the middle summer. I warmed up a lot. I was glad we started in Encanto and ended there.