jonathanf2

I actually don't mind E-bikes, but I do find the E-MTB crowd a bit more oblivious to trail etiquette. The E-road bike crowd from my experience are mostly former roadies looking for a bit more assistance.

There are some really steep hills at Chino Hills State Park, but it's definitely a fun place to ride. Also I use to ride my BMX bike everywhere as a kid. Gravel bikes have that same kind of freedom of riding anywhere. Even my out of saddle riding is based on how I use to ride my BMX!

Eric F 

I've experienced the same thing.

I'm very much not a fan of the number of e-bike riders who blast music while their out on the trails (it always e-bikers, IME). If you want music when you ride, wear headphones. Not everyone else wants to hear it. Also...get off my lawn!

The other issue I have is that e-bikes sometimes give novice riders the capacity to get deeper into areas where they get over their head due to a lack of skills. Folks with the fitness to get to those places on human-powered bikes tend to be more experienced/skilled riders.

Eric F 

Saturday - Montrose Ride (8:00, short - 45mi). Chilly temps lead to a fairly moderate pace on Huntington and Arrow, and I didn't need to put in a lot of effort at any point before the long/short split. On the Winston kicker, I dug deep and was one of the first few over the top, and was able to recover fairly quickly to take a pull through the corkscrew before hitting Foothill. On the climb into Sierra Madre, I lead the group into the base of the hill, and kept the pressure on, again digging deep into my current fitness. I hit max HR, and ran out of gas just short of the stop sign at Mountain Trail, with just one rider (a talented young kid) left on my wheel. I'm pleased with how my body responded to that level of intensity, and my power output.

Sunday - Dirty fun in Cherry Canyon (16mi). I met up with a group of friends for the roll through La Canada and up the climb to the top of Cherry Canyon, but they continued on to Glendale Sports Complex and a loop in the Verdugos. I stayed at Cherry to play around on the singletrack, hitting almost every section in that network before heading back towards home via the Flint Canyon Trail. Very fun ride, with no training goals. Just enjoying dirt and sunshine.

jsigone

Lake Hodges on the Diverge, mounted some new speshy pathfinder pro in 47c. So nice and fast too! 35psi front, 40 rear for the first test. I can go lower but would be good paved mixed pressure. Did raptor ridge climb and DH in the dark with headlights.

cweb99

20 miles today up and around Sierra Madre. Headed to Mary’s Market Cafe and took a wrong turn. Had to take a 14% climb 🤦‍♂️ But my New Roubaix ate it up. Had a cup of coffee and enjoyed the down hill home.

SoSmellyAir

About a mile up the road, all the while wondering: why is my bike handling so lively this morning? Then I looked down and saw that I had forgotten my bottles. Turned around, went home, checked the Weather app, saw rain coming, and decided to stay home. Got to top up the tubeless tires for my gravel bike so I can ride in the rain tomorrow. At least I got to test the Tutto Nano bibs, nice and warm.

2seven0

Didn't forget my bottles yesterday morning and was rewarded with a good soaking for the last 15 miles of the 45 ridden. Thought I could beat the rain if I started early enough but alas such were the best laid plans... Fortunately mostly tailwind on that leg, & I had enough layering on so I wasn't chilled. Hot shower post-ride felt really good. Bike got a field strip & good cleaning too.
West

CAT7RDR

Well done!
I would not mind riding in the rain if visibility was better, drivers slowed down and the cleanup afterwards did not take so long.

2seven0

I've got it pretty dialed in as to which roads along my chosen routes are less traveled and as it was there wasn't much traffic out especially early on.
That said riding in the rain is not enjoyable however highly motivating to keep the pace up to get home ASAP.
West

cweb99

Did Encanto to East Fork on Thursday. Great ride with my new Roubaix.

Eric F 

I'm late to report in...

Saturday - Gravel bike ride (25mi, 3500'), including Cherry Canyon, Glendale Sports Complex, and Brown Saddle. Legs felt a bit sluggish, but power felt steady and didn't fade, despite a pretty good amount of climbing. Overall, it was a really enjoyable ride with great dirt conditions and just a few sprinkles. Got home before the steady rain started.


Sunday - Mid-afternoon road ride that started out intending to be 2+hrs/40+ish miles, through So. Pasadena, out to Santa Fe Dam, and back through Sierra Madre. By the time I got to the Rose Bowl area (just a few miles into my ride), my motivation was gone. I did a few laps on the Rose Bowl loop, another loop through the Flintridge area, and went home. My body felt fine, but my mental state did not. I should have ridden my MTB for some dirt therapy. I ended up with just 23 miles, and a bad attitude.

Parsival

I did a 30 miler this weekend in HB and Newport.

Sirrus 6.0 OC riding

jonathanf2

I did 30 miles on Wednesday. Mostly doing Rose Bowl laps. I have a bad habit trying to catch up to whoever is ahead of me on the loop, but then realize it's a pain to drop them since I have to sprint to put some distance! Anyways, I was trying out a new integrated drop bar. Not sure if it was my GP5000 or my bike was more aero because of the new drops, but my average speed was faster than usual. On my way home I got a flat tire around Arroyo Seco. I patched it up and then stopped by the local bar for a beer. I skipped eating tacos because my wife had cooked dinner!

jonathanf2

I did 21 miles on the gravel bike riding around DTLA, Elysian Park and the LA River. Weather was definitely nice this Friday! Also I ended up swapping my integrated bars from my road bike to the gravel bike. I was slightly stretched on the road bike, but on the gravel bike they fit much better and definitely clean up the cockpit!

Parsival

Did a 30 miler through Newport Back Bay and Irvine. The weather was amazing today.

cweb99

Weather was amazing today. Only did a 20 mile up around Sierra Madre. Planning on a 50 tomorrow

TakingMyTime

Beautiful Day

28 miles from El Dorado Park to HB Pier. The views today were incredible.

CAT7RDR

First ride of any consequence since COVID over Christmas.
The loss of conditioning, flexibility, core strength and comfort on a proper road bike was quite evident, but as long as I keep the rubber side down, it is a good day for riding.

Did some repeats in Turnbull Canyon to pay my penance until I can get in better shape.
27 miles and 3.4K of ascent for my efforts.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/144052274

SoSmellyAir

Same here, earlier today. Conditions at the Back Bay loop were great, sunny, only one small puddle, and not too sandy. Would have been a 38 miler but I had a flat on Peters Canyon trail past I-405.

jsigone

finally got to enjoy some sun and not have to wear layers. My buddy got a new gold crux expert, he added the quarq PM, swapped the 38C tires to 45c maxxis and s-work 3d saddle. He didn't crash on his first gravel ride so it was a good day.

Eric F 

Saturday - 32mi/3800' gravel ride. Over Cherry Canyon, down Glendale Sports Complex (short route), up La Tuna Canyon dirt, down Beaudry North. Steady sub-threshold tempo, simulating the effort I would use for a race/event. Right quad started cramping at mile 30, but I was able to ride though it. Good effort in prep for Rock Cobbler in 2 weeks.


Sunday - Regular coffee ride (39mi) - So Pasadena, Duarte, Monrovia, Sierra Madre. Easy cruising with some good spicy sections. Dug into my limits a few times, and was able to recover fairly quickly. Pleased at how well my legs responded after Saturday's efforts.

cweb99

interesting frame. What type of bike is that? Do you feel any difference with that seat stay style?

jonathanf2

On Monday I did 25 miles doing Rose Bowl laps and on Tuesday 17 miles climbing up Griffith Observatory. Both days I've been practicing heart rate control and trying to keep my BPM at a manageable rate. I'm trying to increase my endurance over a longer period of time. I have a bad habit of going max effort all the time. I find by slowing my cadence down, but relying on my higher gearing, I can go faster without overheating the motor. I've been trying all sorts of different techniques out, such as saddle positioning for faster climbing, aero efficiency, etc. I figure the older I get, the more I should focus on technique instead of mashing the pedals all the time!

Parsival

It's a Specialized Sirrus X 5.0. The "compliance junction" is what Specialized calls the leaf spring that connects to the seat tube. It makes for a very smooth ride and it does great at muting small chatter especially when paired with the future shock and tubeless tires.

SoSmellyAir

Hey, man, what is the object mounted in between the bike computer and the front light?