Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Went riding with Foothill again today. This time, I did a short warmup ride beforehand, so I got in 10 miles before the real ride started. Then we did a ride out through Irwindale and down the San Gabriel River bike path. The way back went through El Monte, Arcadia, and San Marino. The snack stop was at the Coffee Bean on South Lake Avenue. When we got back to the park, I had 48 miles. So I rode just a little bit more before going home, just to get to 50. This is the first time in years that I’ve seen this:

Today’s ride was the ‘Toluca Lake Inverse’. This went through South Pasadena and Highland Park to Griffith Park. Then we rode past the L.A. Zoo, Travel Town, and Forest Lawn to our snack stop at Priscilla’s in Burbank. Then we came back through Glendale and La Canada, including riding up the infamous ‘Hospital Hill’ on Verdugo Blvd. I got a flat on the way out. I put on the spare tube, which turned out to have a slow leak, but I was able to make it the rest of the way and only had to stop to pump once. 42 miles.

After work today, I went for a little bike ride. Up to Chantry Flat and back, complete with the four-mile uphill part. This time, I saw three (count ‘em, three) cars and one other bicyclist on the road. For once, I saw the other cyclist when I was coming down and he was going up, so I got to see what the “I’m riding up a four-mile hill” face looks like on someone else. It was fun.

Went riding with Foothill again today. This time we did a kind of strange ride. Made a big loop through Arcadia, Temple City and South Pasadena to Highland Park. Then we went by the Rose Bowl and rode up and down the hills near there. That was fun, even if I did get a flat on the way back down. The snack stop was at Il Fornaio in Old Town. At the end, the ride was only 35 miles, so I rode out to Arcadia and back just to get a little more distance. 44 miles total.

Went riding with Foothill Cycle today. We rode out to Glendora, with a snack stop at the coffee shop at the Classic Car Gallery there. The ride was about 37 miles, but at the end, a couple of us took a side trip up to Chantry Flat in Santa Anita Canyon. This added 8 miles and some climbing to the trip. It was fun. 45 miles.

Took a short ride this morning. Out through Sierra Madre and then up to Chantry Flat. The climb was four miles and about 1,500 vertical feet. The road is closed to regular traffic, so I only saw one family of hikers, two runners, four people on bicycles and one Forest Service truck. It was a nice ride. 16 miles.

Today there was no official Sunday bike club ride, so the four of us who wanted to ride made our own. I made up a route that took us over to Hollywood, then up Nichols Canyon to Mulholland Drive. We took Mulholland down to Cahuenga Pass and then down into Burbank. Our snack stop was at Priscilla’s in Toluca Lake. Then straight home through Glendale and Eagle Rock. 49 miles.

Today I went for a bike ride to see the sanitarium where Curly Howard died, as well as the cemetary where he is buried. Both are relatively close to our house. The sanitarium is an old building set back off the road, and it’s kind of hard to see. The cemetary seems a bit out of place, as it’s in the middle of the East L.A. barrio. Not the place one expects to find a Jewish cemetary. Still, it was an interesting little adventure, and it’s worth pausing for a moment to salute Curly, since he can still make us laugh over 50 years later. The bike ride was pretty nice, too. I did it early in the morning, so there wasn’t too much traffic. 29 miles.

 

Rode with Foothill again today. It was Gene’s ‘Horizontal Bomp’ ride. Out to Monrovia, south to Temple City, and back through San Marino. The snack stop was at Il Fornaio. Then we went down past the Rose Bowl and up to Altadena Drive for the long downhill home. 38 miles.

Did an early-morning ride today. Out to Duarte and back. Left the house at 06:25 and was back by 08:00. 25 miles.