Glendora Mountain Road – March 8th 2015
After being postponed a week due to weather, five BCI cyclists joined 4 other riders from www.bikerforums.net for a climb to Mt. Baldy Village via Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road. Representing BCI were Bruce Campbell, Dov Lazarus, Jim Norman, Abel Tirre and Vince Wilhelm.
With the change to daylight savings time, 9 bleary-eyed riders met up in Glendora and hit the road at 8:30 am. The climbing started immediately (Warm up? Who needs to warm up?). The first part of the ascent had some short 8% to 10% sections, then settled in for a mostly 5% - 6% climb for 8 miles to the maintenance shack where we regrouped and posed for picture. After the shack we headed along GRR toward snow-capped Mt. Baldy, which at times seemed so close yet so far. There are some downhill sections along the ridge to break up the relentless climbing. After another brief photo opp stop, we pressed on for the last long climb to the summit at about 4,500 feet, and then a quick descent into the village.
Sean, Vic and BCI members Vince Wilhelm, Jim Norman and Bruce Campbell taking a break in front of Mt. Baldy.
We had a nice break at Mt. Baldy Lodge where it was just warm enough to sit out on the patio. They still had some of their famous cinnamon rolls left and Bruce introduced Dov to blueberry pancakes, but eventually we had to hit the road for the trip back. We rode the reverse of our route to return to Glendora. The leg muscles were stiff as we faced the one-mile 8% climb out of the village back up to the ridge route, and from there we had a spirited and scenic ride along the ridge and down the mountain. The entire LA basis was visible with downtown LA framed by the mountains.
We partially regrouped at the shack (one of the other riders was delayed a bit while he fixed his broken chain), then started out on the last leg. After one short climb we were looking forward to 8 miles of continuous downhill – it was delightful and all too soon we were back at the cars. The total ride was about 43 miles and 5,500 feet of climbing. The first 8 miles to the shack was the toughest climb, ascending 2,300 feet, but the views along the way made it well worth the effort.
It was a beautiful day, clear with temperatures starting in the mid 50s, warming up to maybe 70 on the mountain and around 80 in Glendora, pretty much ideal for riding. We’ll have to do it again sometime! - Jim Norman
