"It's Not That Kinda Ride," Glendora Mountain Road - Fixed

"It's not that kinda ride," is what I kept telling myself today while riding up GMR to the maintenance shed.  Fixed gear @ 49 x 16 and over 100 degree temps make for a potentially miserable ride.

 "It's not that kinda ride, slow it down..."

I have a tendency to ride harder than I should more often than not and today was not the day to do that.  So as I made my way up GMR I kept reminding myself to take it slow, enjoy the scenery and drink often. 

It took me about 1:04 minutes to get to the shed from GMR/Sierra Madre, not too bad but definitely not a PR.  I wanted to push on harder, but this was the first time up GMR on my fixed gear bike since a number of weeks and it was hot.

On the way down, I met up with Matt.  I headed back up with him for a few, mostly to talk and catch up from our last conversation. 

I was hoping to cross paths with Annette from GlendoraMTNRoad.com but I never saw her.  Next time, Annette.

Scene from the top of Monroe.  When I say Maintenance Shed, I really mean Monroe.

Matt @ over fifty years of age still kills it up the mountain weekly!

The Spokesman

The Spokesman from dean saffron on Vimeo.
I simply had to make this video after meeting "James" a very enigmatic man who has taken it upon himself to collect one bicycle from each developmental epoch for future generations to enjoy , a kind of time capsule if you will !

John P - Music Request

If you ride up and down GMR on a regular basis you probably know John P.  He's the guy on a black fixed gear bike who blasts great tunes while heading up the mountain. 

I met up with him on Saturday and requested he add Rainbow, "Man on the Silver Mountain," to his play list. 

Here it is John. Good tunes to keep the pace up.

Songwriters: RICHARD RITCHIE BLACKMORE, RONALD RONNIE JAMES DIO

 

Im a wheel, Im a wheel
I can roll, I can feel
And you can't stop me turning
Cause Im the sun, Im the sun
I can move, I can run
But you'll never stop me burning

* come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Someones screaming my name
Come and make me holy again
Im the man on the silver mountain
Im the man on the silver mountain

Im the day, Im the day
I can show you the way
And look Im right beside you
Im the night, Im the night
Im the dark and the light
With eyes that see inside you

* x 2

Just look at me and listen
Im the man, the man, give you my hand
Come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Im the man on the silver mountain
Im the man on the silver mountain
Im the night the light
The black and the white
The man on the silver mountain

BETH, I hear you calling, but I can't come home right now ...

BETH from anonymous content on Vimeo.
You know a song is a classic when it gets parodied. The legendary KISS ballad, “Beth” is no exception. This short film, directed by Brian Billow, chronicles the completely fictitious story of the song’s inspiration. The Peter Criss character's dialogue stays true to the song's lyrics

http://www.anonymouscontent.com

Early Ride to Mt Baldy - Geared

It was an early ride to Mt Baldy today.  Adam's game was at 9 am so I was out of the house and heading to the base of Glendora Mountain Road and Sierra Madre by 5:40 am. I planned to leave by 5:30 am. I was running late.

I love this time of year.  I can leave the house early and not have to overdress.  The days are longer and the weather is warm.

I was making great time, and just after Big Dalton Canyon Road, I spotted John's car. At every turn, I expected to see him.  Mentally I was chasing him down, and this helped to keep the pace up.  With every turn, I would look across the road expecting to see John.

MM 10.49, no John.  By the first saddle, still no sight of him.  John must be moving.  MM 8.44, nothing.  Ah, but at last I turn the bend just past MM 8.23 (I think that's it) and I see a little speck across the ridge and up the road.  That's gotta be him.

I pick up my pace with hopes of catching him by MM 7.26, just before the decent preceding the Maintenance Shed.  I turn another corner and I see two riders.  One of them is John for sure but they make the decent before me. 

I finally catch John on the climb just after the second saddle.  I knew I would, he rides fixed and I am on my geared Specialized.  I ride up to him and say hello and together we catch up to the other rider (Who also happens to be named John).

So I ride with John "P" and John "From Glendora" to the shed.  John from Glendora continues on and I stop with John P to rest and talk.  I hustled up GMR to catch them so a 5 minute break was much needed.  John P and I talked a bit before he headed back down and I to Mt Baldy.

The ride to Mt Baldy was a quiet, lonely ride.  John from Glendora had a good pace going and I didn't expect to connect with him.  I kept looking off into the distance to see if I could see John but nothing.  He was gone.

Or so I thought.

At about Fork + 7 something, I spotted John and caught up with him soon after.  We rode together into Mt Baldy.  At Baldy he headed back the way he came and I headed down back home.

It was a great ride, I got to see both Johns and made it back in time to watch Adam's game.  Good times and I look forward to my next adventure.

Title: In 1897, a Bicycle Superhighway Was the Future of California Transit
By: Brian Merchant
Date:
Link: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/in-1897-a-bicycle-superhighway-was-the-future-of-california-transit#ixzz2SGDw0WF2

"In 1897, a wealthy American businessman named Horace Dobbins began construction on a private, for-profit bicycle superhighway that would stretch from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles. It may seem like a preposterous notion now—everyone knows Angelenos don't get out of their cars—but at the time, amidst the height of a pre-automobile worldwide cycling boom, the idea attracted the attention of some hugely powerful players."

National Bike Month

Circus Slug

Escape From Tomorrow

Escape From Tomorrow (A Day In the Life With Nigel Sylvester) from 13thWitness™ on Vimeo.
We took it to the streets this time. This is Real life. And this was made for the love of the Game!

But in the End, It's Just another Day (In The Life).

***Update***

Many people have been asking about the track(s) used in this film. Check below for info.

Opening Track -
DJ Krush - {Intro} - {Strictly Turntablized}
****
Ending Track -
Lalo Schifrin - {Escape From Tomorrow} - {Planet Of The Apes}



www.twitter.com/13thwitness
www.twitter.com/nigelsylvester

Bread, Bread, Bread

The Carrot

BMX, Girl on a Bike

Keirin Speed Racer

Glendora Moutain Road to Mt Baldy - Geared

Today Michael, Randy and I rode to Mt Baldy by way of GMR.  It was a good fast ride.  We met up with John @ the Shed.

Baldy Village was pretty smokey due to the current fires in Banning and Ventura. 

Since we finished up with Baldy early we decided on a lap around Ganesha and Bonelli before heading home.

Campagnolo Srl

BEHIND THE SCENES 80th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION from Campagnolo Srl on Vimeo.
Unique view behind the scenes for the 80th anniversary collection bike build.

Il dietro le quinte del progetto Campagnolo 80 Anniversary - montaggio della bicicletta per lo shooting

Hand built steel frames - Waterford, WI

Hand built steel frames - Waterford, WI from Shinola on Vimeo.

Bike Story

Have a great time riding your bike this weekend.

Bike Story from Bike Addict on Vimeo.
I shot this using my Nikon D800 and edited it using iMovie. I love guitars and bikes and wanted to combine the both of them. We shot this in about 3 hours at the Mount Dora track. The model's name is Andrea Jordan.

Obituaries - Milton P. Hirshnickle, 24

Bike Parts

Sent in from Richard.

Giro d'Italia 2013 is coming!