joesch

Was nice to get out today after yesterdays rainout.
Cool clean air and frosted mountains provided awesome views.
Road 40 miles around Temecula valley hitting the Pechanga Casino, wine country and Murietta Hot Springs.

joesch

Yesterday road lots of the dirt and gravel roads in Wine Valley on my Surly gravel bike. Lots of people visiting for the tasting and grubs and resorts R&R. ooga-booga was right on re: all the good riding dirt in this area

2seven0

3 nice rides in the crisp & clear weather all over OC this weekend. Friday ventured into the Whittier hills rode up Mar Vista till the end then was rewarded by exceeding the speed limit coasting back down. Some really nice neighborhoods up there & hardly any traffic when I rode through mid-morning.
West

CAT7RDR

I was in the Whittier Hills today as well. Dozens of possible routes in the Puente Hills-Whittier Hills without having to deal with MUPS or traffic.
48 miles and 5500 feet of climb.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38210032

SoSmellyAir

Colima Road is a pretty busy street. No traffic?

diphthong

an occasional, necessary evil...

diphthong

nice shots of the freshly frosted san jacintos and san berdoos.

there is dirt in every direction if heading out from the temecula area. roadies may be tempted to get dusty.
mtb'ers/gravel warriors may be tempted to navigate roadie territory enroute to connecting to another dirt
wonderland.

joesch

Got my coastal roll fix in yesterday.
Was beautiful with glassy conditions, clear, cool, and great beach scenery.
Stopped at Pizza Port on way from OS to Del Mar and back, close to 60m.
The setting sun was awesome on way back north to OS.
Not that many cyclists out and a mix of the roadies, cruisers, and ebikers.

jonathanf2

Sunday I did 30 miles with my bike buddies and as usual, we climbed to the Griffith Observatory and then descended down the fire road taking the loop around the LA Zoo. Something to note, amongst the 4 of us who were riding, I'm the smallest/lightest and happen to climb the fastest as well. Yet when we hit the flats, our buddy who happens to be the biggest physically (and slowest on the hill climb) just dusted us on the straight aways. We're all running a variation of Shimano 105, but his bike is the only one with a 52/36 front crankset, while we're all running 50/34 cranks. When he pulls away I have to go OOS in a sprint position just to catch up with him while he's still seated. I'm wondering if those 2 extra crank teeth would make that big a difference in speed or is it some other factor?

CAT7RDR

Watts, Watts, Watts!
Watts/KG Power to Weight Ratio.
He is not being penalized by gravity on the flats.
https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/pow...to-improve-it/

Eric F 

I'm still not getting much time on the road due to family schedule challenges, but I was able to get out for a bit on Sunday morning. I was invited by a good friend to join a group ride that starts at the Rose Bowl, follows the Arroyo Seco and LA River bike trails, then heads out through Burbank to climb La Tuna Canyon before heading back to the Rose Bowl. The group was about 15 riders (mostly people I know, who are very strong high-quality riders), and the pace was a brisk - but not brutal - tempo. Unfortunately, a few folks decided that a coffee stop was necessary along the LA River section, and it squeezed my available time window. Once we got going again, I realized that I( wasn't going to have time for the full loop. In Burbank, the group turned west towards La Tuna Canyon. I turned east and headed through Glendale on my way back home. I felt better than I expected, but the lack of time and miles was evident. Overall, it was a good effort, and nice to be back outside. 34 miles, 1500'.

Saturday morning, I had intended to join a MTB group ride from JPL to Brown Saddle with the local club I used to ride with in the '90s, but starting temps in the low 40s talked me out of it, and I went back to sleep on the couch with my dogs. I felt crappy about myself all day. I should have ridden my bike.

joesch

There is another group of guys riding from the Rose Bowl with classic road bikes.
I always thought it would be fun to join with one of my classics like my Colnago Super.

Eric F 

Yes. First Sunday of every month, 11am start. I have thoughts of joining that ride with my 77 Nishiki, but haven't done it yet.

SoSmellyAir

joesch Pizza Port is yum! My office is in DMH (but on the wrong side of I-5) and I have been there many times pre-pandemic.

jonathanf2 and CAT7RDR I agree that faster on flat ground is just due to watts rather than a 52/36 crankset. (I assume that jonathanf2 is not sprinting at his highest 50:11 gear ratio?) I routinely pass others in the flats only to fall behind on longer climbs.

jonathanf2

I'm actually not a fan of the flats, since I focus mainly on hill climbing. When road climbing with my buddies, I can put a good 5 plus minutes distance between us and I'll stay OOS the whole time. It's one area where I feel my strength training and lower weight-to-power ratio really kick in. Plus I think I've customized my bike fit to be optimized on the hills (short wheelbase, long stem, wider bars). Also on the downhills I can tuck and hit the corners low and fast, practically scraping my pedals, which I find to be the greatest reward for climbing!

My buddy who's a beast on the flats literally has 50 lbs. more weight on me and a few more inches in height. Though I've also seen a small female flat sprinter (Under 5'3" probably not more than 110 lbs.) just blast through the peloton of weekend riders, so my whole notion of size just goes out the door. Some people are just better in certain areas of cycling!

2seven0

Reminds me of the time Taylor Phinney got the Mountains Jersey on Stage 1 of the TdF. When asked if he thought he could hold it he said he didn't think so because he's "not one of those little climber dudes".
Classic!
West (little sorta average climber dude)

diphthong

i can taste the beer...er...oregano heavy pizza at that solana beach pp location! jelly!

diphthong

off work maybe 2-3 sundays (pre-pandemic) a year but off this coming january 2nd, 2022. been wanting to do this rose bowl classic bikes ride for a few years even
tho i'm coming from san diego and it's a 4 hour drivefest rt. driven longer for less riding and could/probably will extend the ride or bounce over to la habra hills or palos verdes for
extra credit. it's on the calendar and gonna try to make it on the '85 steel pinarello treviso, '88 steel nishiki olympic or (most likely) '95 carbon fiber look kg131.
hoping the group will overlook the lack of toe straps and the inclusion of brifters...the can't be bothered to swap out/non-matching handlebar wrap could obfuscate those sins.
seat tilt/stem rise (or lack thereof) might also add to the attempted and various vintage transgressions/shenanigans. and those blinkers and saddlebag!

cruising through the weather forecast for the next two weeks leaves me optimistic but not confident. socal has a lot of rain headed our way during that time period.
hoping there's a sweet window of safe riding that day.


https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...sadena-ca.html

Eric F 

From what I've seen, they encourage classic bikes, but it's not a rule to participate.

joesch

I think the group would love to have you join in and I dont think its like Eroica where there are some that want all period correctness. I also hate using straps but am fine with all the other vintage components including dt shifters

SoSmellyAir

My most recent ride was a 25 mile loop in my neighborhood including the Orchard Hills climb and Portola Parkway climb up to Portola Springs on 12/19/2021.

Yesterday was the last sunny day in a while but instead of cycling I hiked Peter Canyon trail with my son. On my drive there I reconned the climb up Jamboree to Santiago Canyon road; I think I can make it.

This Sunday (12/26/2021) looks like the next clear window, so hope to give that a try.

diphthong

you got that...lake irvine and the turnoff to silverado canyon rd is only a little farther down scr.

pbass

Got out between the raindrops over in La Canada.....

Nachoman

Trainer ride in the garage watching the pouring rain.

2seven0

Headed out early & got in 60 miles before the skies turned blustery & wet. Several dozen turkey vultures were circling the empty airfield surrounding the Tustin blimp hangars and the walk railings along the top of them were lined with many more. Gave the crisp winter sky a slightly Hitchcockian aire whilst riding by.
Made it home dry with plenty time to spare!
West.
P.S. a belated Merry Christmas to all.