Burbank and Cobol Canyon

Today I did something a little different. For starters, I actually drove to the trail head. Whenever I ride the local trails, I always ride there from my house. Today I wasn't feeling it, so I decided to drive to Burbank (A Trail), located at the end of Mills Road.

By 8:00 am the park and ride was packed, and I was forced to park on the side of the road. I waited a few minutes before heading off to see if anyone else would show up. No one showed up so I would have to ride the mountain alone today.

It was cloudy and cold this morning and since it was only me, I toyed with the idea of driving home, switching the mountain bike for the road bike and trying to meet up with Annette and Matt for a Glendora Mountain Road Ride. I decided to fore go the hassle of a bike swap and headed up the mountain.

I hammered up Burbank in good time and decided to drop down to Marshal Canyon. From that point, I headed back up Marshal Canyon to Yellow Gate and then down Cobol Canyon. Where Cobol Canyon and the road to Potato intersect, I thought for a second about heading up to Potato Peak. This was the original plan today, well kind of. I wanted to take my Bicycle Friends to Potato today. Since it was only me, I kept riding past the intersection and continued down Cobol Canyon.

I was feeling really good today, so when I came to the intersection of Burbank and Cobol, I decided to do another lap. This time, instead of heading down Marshal Canyon, I would stick on Johnston's Pasture and head down Cobol. The second time up Burbank, I met a guy named Robert from Sierra Madre. We talked about the trails we've been on and about his Trek 69er. The Trek 69er has a 26" wheel in the rear and a 29" wheel in the front. I gave him my website name, told him to send me an email and mentioned we should hook up for another ride.

It was a quick ride today. Ride time was about 1 hour 44 minutes. I'd like to try this ride again with my single speed.

I took these two pictures from the top of Jump Trail. To the west it was cloudy. To the east, it was clearing up and sunny. By the time I dropped down into Marshal Canyon, it was really cold. Heading up I was able to generate some heat.

Cannondale Delta V700

While working the SOC, I spotted a guy who had my first mountain bike, the Cannondale Delta V700. It was the exact size, color and model as the one I owned in 1992/1993. The V700 was my first real MT Bike and I rode it everywhere. I raced the V700 in XC and Downhill races. I rode the V700 up GMR to Mt Baldy, down the Kamikaze in Mammoth Mountain and around the many trails in Big Bear. I rode the V700 to the beach! Seeing it made me wish I still owned it.

Sea Otter - Part Five, "Calfee Bamboo Bikes"

Calfee was exhibiting at the SOC. Their draw from the crowds was their Bamboo bikes. According to Calfee, bamboo made bikes are simple, and use resources that are readily available. They had a few hand made bikes. The first one pictured was a work of art. The bamboo was fitted and bonded together perfectly and the finish was a nice deep brown. The others were crude and rough around the edges but still amazing. Calfee sells these bamboo bikes for around $2,000.00.

Sea Otter - Part Four, " A Custom Tri Bike"

This guy and girl came to our booth and I couldn't stop drooling over her bike. It was non-branded bike and it looked sharp. The component group was Dura Ace and those wheels were carbon Zipps. I asked about the bike and it turns out this guy built it. He was an Engineering Major at UC Davis and picked up bike building as a hobby. This bike weighed in at about 17 pounds. He was at the Sea Otter to support his girlfriend and to network with the various bike companies. Good luck!

My Glendora Mountain Road - A hurried ride to beat the sunset

Today when I got to work I proclaimed, I am leaving at 4:30 pm. You see, if I leave at 4:30 pm, then I can make it to GMR, given little traffic, in about 40 minutes. This puts me on GMR at 5:15 pm and suited and riding at about 5:20 pm. At 5:20 pm I have more than enough time to make it to the maintenance shed.

For the record, I never leave work at our official closing time of 4:30 pm. Today, I would be in charge of closing up shop so I wanted to make sure everyone was done with their days work, so I could leave right at closing.

Today was extremely busy! The harder I worked, the more work was thrown my way today. I thought I'd never get done but I had a purpose and a major hankering to ride. Well at about 4:15 pm, I went into our work yard to pull in some pallets and park the forklift. Well the forklift wouldn't start and I had four heavy pallets to move! Long story short, I didn't leave the office until 5:00 pm. I raced to GMR and was riding at about 5:45 pm.

The ride was just what I needed and I was hoping to run into either Annette or Matt, GMR regulars. It was a quiet ride today with very little traffic (Except for a speeding Evo Lancer that scared the Sh$T out of me as it skidded and revved down the mountain).

I pushed a little harder than usual today and made it to the first saddle before resting. It was a nice ride, and at the saddle I was torn. Do I head to the maintenance shed or turn around? It was getting a little cold so I snapped this picture and headed back down.

Sea Otter Classic - Part Three

There were many great places to eat off Cannery Row. The first night, I at at a fish restaurant and had the best seared ahi tuna and baked scallops.

The SS Francesca! Nice, I thought my wife and daughter would get a kick out for this.


I took this picture off the pier while on an evening stroll.

Sea Otter Classic - Part Two (Tinker Juarez!)

One of the highlights of the Sea Otter ironically was on my way home. Heading home, I stopped off at a McDonald's and in the AM/PM next to MD's was Tinker Juarez! My friend James stopped him and we scored an autograph and picture!

At the Sea Otter I picked up some of Tinker's Kenda Dread Head Tires, 1.85" for my single speed project.

Sea Otter Classic - Part One

The Sea Otter Classic was held at Laguna Seca Raceway from April 16 thru 19. It was truly an international event. I met people from Canada to Great Britain.

I drove up with a co-worker on the 16th. When we arrived it was windy and very cold. From Friday to Sunday, the weather was hot with little clouds in sight.

There were many vendors exhibiting at the Sea Otter. I don't remember this company's name but they had an unusual looking bike. It was constructed from a single strand of carbon fiber reinforced with some epoxy tubing. It looked a little scary. I didn't have the chance to pick it up, but I'm sure it was very light.

Ellsworth's Dare is their flagship downhill bike. Even in pink it still looked race worthy. The bike just oozed cool with its duel crown forks and meaty tires. They also had a nice "Rain Forest" Green Moment.


There was some guy riding around with a Klunker old school mountain bike. As it turns out the filmed a documentary called, "Klunkerz. A film about Mountain Bikes." Its about the very early days of Mountain Biking when guys like Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze and Steve Potts were tinkering with old cruiser bikes and rigging them up to ride on the mountain. I didn't get the guys name but he did get me a copy of his film.

Warning - These are NOT Bicycle Friends!

Easter Breakfast, Church, Easter Lunch, Deserts then a 4.12 mile run

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday. Today I did not ride but had a wonderful day with the family. We woke up early, had breakfast with the in laws. Jamie prepared biscuits and country gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, avocados, coffee and orange juice.

Then it was off to church for Easter Sunday Service, and after we headed to my parents. Of course I ate too much and the deserts were decadent!


At about 5:30 pm we headed home. At home I put on my running shoes and went on a 4.12 mile run.

Goodnight and Happy Easter.

Mark and Meme - Their Glendora Mountain Road Experience

It looks like Mark and Meme made it to the the point where Matt and the Motorcyclist crashed. The following picture is both Mark and Meme saying goodbye to GMR. This is where they turned around. (Hey nice jerseys!)



The next picture is of Annette, Matt and me from where Mark and Meme stopped. From the looks of it this is either the finish line of the SDSR Time Trail or the first saddle? (If you look hard enough, you can see me in my yellow wind breaker and to the left is Matt and Annette)


Memo said GMR turned his legs into wobbly noodles. He said his chest was hurting, his arms were sore and his thighs were on fire. GMR can do this to you the first couple times up.

Notes: Linked to http://glendoramtnroad.blogspot.com/2009/02/collision.html "Matt's Collision"

Cold, Foggy, Wet - Glendora Mountain Road to the Maintenance Shed

It was cold. It was foggy. My hands and feet were numb. My glasses were fogged up, I was soaking from the heavy moisture in the air. Overall I'd stay it was a great ride!

Today, I hooked up with Annette from www.glendoramtnroad.com, Matt, Mark, Meme, Bryan, and Carl for a challenging ride up Glendora Mountain Road. The weather forecast called for partly cloudy, but there was nothing "partly" about the weather. It was cold, cloudy, foggy and wet. No rain fell but there was so much moisture in the air it might as well have been raining.

Kevin showed up on his mountain bike to give us a good send off. He had to sit this ride out due to a blood clot in his leg. Hopefully he'll be fine but, on doctors orders, he has to take it easy.

Carl, Meme, Mark and Bryan headed up the mountain early and I sat back with Kevin to wait for Matt and Annette. Around 9:00 am, Annette arrived and after a few hellos we started our voyage up GMR. Someday, I'll get to Mt. Baldy, but today my goal was the Maintenance Shed. Annette and I road up GMR about three fourths of a mile to wait for Matt.




The first mile or two up GMR is pretty steep. Somewhat unwelcoming is the climb, it can easily discourage novice riders and force a turn around. This is exactly what happened to Meme on his first attempt up GMR. Today was Meme's second attempt with about three to four months of consistent riding under his belt. Unhappy with his first failed attempt, Meme (and Mark) made it about 2.5 to 3 miles up GMR before turning around. Not to bad given this is Meme's second attempt and Mark's first.

Carl and Bryan were real troopers today. Last weekend, Bryan had a bad crash that sent him to the ER. Preliminary x-rays showed a break in his shoulder but after a CAT Scan there was no breaks but rather heavy bruised muscles. With that said he showed up for a ride and made it to the Maintenance Shed! He's hoping to keep consistent with his rides. Carl, you'll have to take Bryan to 605 trail next weekend.


Carl did really well today. Last time we rode GMR, Carl made it to Jacob's Turnout (Its about 7 miles up and I think that's what its called). Today he made it to the Maintenance Shed with Byran. Annette, Matt and I cheered them on as they made that final 30 feet.


Along the way up we met two guys from Claremont determined to get to Mt. Baldy. I'm sure they made it but it must have been really cold up there! At the Maintenance Shed we met Kim from Pasadena. We also saw a nice AC Cobra!


Because the roads were wet on GMR, there wasn't a lot of vehicle traffic today. This was truly a treat. The few motorcyclist up GMR were cautious and obeying all traffic laws. Who'd of thought! (Note to self, cold wet days are great for riding GMR)

Other Photos of Riders on GMR

Bonelli Park Wednesday Road Ride

The day was partly cloudy and cold. Carl and I started our ride around 5:30 pm. Heading out from the Park and Ride, droplets of rain lightly fell. There were about 50 riders out this evening.

The pack was fast, but I think I hung with them pretty well. Carl and I completed 3 laps around the park.

I feel good.

Marshal Canyon Bicycle Friends Video

Look out!

Marshal Canyon with Bicycle Friends on 4/04/09

Lots of Bicycle Friends came out today. The morning started out a little chilly but eventually heated up. Ride conditions were great. A little before Marshal Canyon Equestrian Center, Allen broke his chain. A quick fix with Carl's chain tool and we were off.

This ride was in honor of Mark's new Cannondale Prophet. He did great but needs to take his bike in to get "Dialed In" to his weight and riding style.

Meme crashed early on. Where we drop into lower Marshal Canyon, its pretty steep and rutty. This part proves difficult for Meme. He fell twice (Maybe three times) at this very place.

Bryan and Bobby showed up for the ride. Bobby made it down the face and almost collided with Bryan. Bryan slammed on the breaks to avoid the crash and ended up pitching his bike in the loose dirt. He hit the ground pretty hard and ended up in the emergency room. Hopefully he is okay.

Grace came along with us and is a real trooper! At upper Marshal Canyon, I dropped back for awhile to ride with Bobby. Right before the "Log Run" I sped up to catch up with the head of the group. Typically at the end of the Log Run we break but Grace kept going! I reluctantly followed and was sure she would stop at the water tower. She kept going! She didn't stop until we got to Yellow Gate!

At Yellow Gate, Grace and I waited for our group. While waiting Richard and Antonio showed up. Both Richard and Antonio are Marshal Canyon fixtures. Richard and his Ellsworth are here every Saturday. He's a real low key down to earth kinda guy.

Antonio will ride up from the Claremont side and always rides the Big Loop! I started seeing him and his son about three years ago. Antonio really epitomizes what riding is all about. When I first started seeing him on the trail he was riding a beat up old bike. At one point, I could have sworn he was riding a girls bike but I could tell, for him, it was all about the ride and the mountain. It didn't matter what he rode. By the way, he climbs like a mountain goat!

Our group finally made it to Yellow Gate. We talked and rested for another few minutes before heading to Jump Trail.

At Yellow Gate we met a nice family who moved to California from New Hampshire. I gave them my website and told them to send me an email. I can be reached at bicyclefriends@gmail.com.

34 X 19 Impressions

Better than 34 X 18 but worse than 34 X 20. I think I'll end up switching back to 34 X 20, its much more forgiving.

Sea Otter Classic - April 16 - 19, 2009

Looks like I'm going to the Sea Otter Classic this year. It will be for work, we are venturing into different markets to grow our name.

We had a booth at six of the eight stages of the ATofC. It went over so well we are going to the Sea Otter.

I will be sampling most of the four days, but I hope to see a few new bike models and components.

SWEET! Levi Leipheimer Signed T-Shirt

At the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, I met a very nice lady by the name of Gisela. She works with a dog rescue, Odessa, Levi's wife, is apart of (A Leg Up Rescue). We got to talking about pets, rescues and of course Levi and she promised to get me a signed T-Shirt. A few weeks later, viola!