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My 1998 Bontrager classic retro steel mountain bike was begging for a ride today, a real ride up into the local Santa Ana mountains. It was cool and overcast, so seemed like a good day for some uphill pedaling.
Drove over to Modjeska Canyon, a little settlement outside the megalopolis not far from home. Parked at the trail head for the Harding Truck Trail (no longer used by vehicles), and got on the bike for some pedaling, uphill pedaling. Start elevation was 1380 according to Google Earth. In the first five miles there are 2000 feet of vertical elevation gain, and no significant flat or downhill sections of road. By mile 7.5 there is an additional 1000 feet elevation gain. Mile 7.5 to mile 9 is a mix of flat and slight downhill, followed by more uphill to reach the ridge top which is at elevation 4700. When I got to the ridge top I was feeling pretty good, not too tired cause it wasn't hot. Right then the wind came up and suddenly the temperature dropped 10 or 15 degrees. I gobbled down a banana and headed downhill, via a different route that would give me a 12 mile all downhill ride, and then about 6 miles of flat to rolling on pavement riding back to my car. My downhill route was not as steep as the route up, but I still had to hold onto the brakes most of the way down. My hands were getting tired. I was starting to get cold too, forgot to bring along a windbreaker and a fleece vest. I didn't think I would need that stuff in mid April till it started to hail on me. It was bouncing off my helmet like bullets, and as I got lower in elevation it turned to light rain. The temperature felt like it was in the mid 40s, and I was freezing cause my average speed was maybe 20 mph downhill, and my three thin shirt layers were not dry. I shivered my way downhill till finally dropping into Silverado Canyon, where the air started to warm up and the rain stopped. As I hit the canyon bottom paved road about 6 miles from my car, I finally stopped shivering and started to warm up again while cruising back to the car. Total ride time was just under 3 hours to cover about 27 miles. What a great day!
Did mine for the day, good to see you back rdbeard5!
Thanks fuzzy! Unfortunately, I was AWOL due to my mothers passing last Tuesday.
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