52.35 miles, 4:20 moving time, 4,226 ft ascent

Lynda, Bill, Joe, Gregg M., Gregg D., Steve, John, Julian, Sue, Mike O., Burt, Eric, Gregg S., Paul G.

Mile 0: Start at Starbuck in Sierra Madre. Weather was iffy again but ended up a nice day for a ride. Dressing in layers is the key to iffy weather. I wore my new Assos Jersey; merry black friday shopping to me. Arm warmers, knee warmers, wind breaker. There was a little league parade in Sierra Madre, so parking was full up in the usual lot.

Mile 8: Usual pick at Encanto Park in Duarte. I peel off the windbreaker cuz I was heating up. However, the headwinds were picking up along Azusa Canyon along the San Gabriel River Trail. Tons of Toyota sports cars meeting up on the mountains. They were unseasonably well behaved.

Mile 14: American Bald Eagle. I saw birdwatcher photographers on the side of the road, so I knew there were some Eagles out. I caught a pic one. The birdwatcher said it was the male, of the pair that has a nest by the dam. The Eagle was hunting, looking for some squirrel.

Mile 18: East Fork. Kept straight. The San Gabriel River Dams were all pretty full and discharging water. Lots of water all up and down the canyon. Nice babbling brook sounds

Mile 21: West Fork. Cogswell Dam. Kept straight. We saw Philip on a long run coming down the hill. Hahaha. You never know when or where you’ll see your club mates.

Mile 27: 2nd Gate. I saw the crew at the second gate from afar, and they started to go up the mountain, which was not in the menu. I caught up to them at the next bend at ColdBrook. They were only going to refill water at the campground; they weren’t going to the top of the mountain to Crystal Lake. Whew. Dodged a bullet there. Flipped it and road back the way we came.

Beautiful Ride. The sun started breaking through the clouds.

At Encanto we met a guy who’s the team leader for a Race Across America. He’s got a 60+ team of 4 riders, trying to break a time record. They are trying to go from Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ in 6 days! G’luck buddy. Hats off to you.