anyone done GMR to Mountain via GRR?

I actually prefer the baseball cards in the spokes technique, but I do understand the appeal of the motorboat sounds.

 

Weekday is the way to do this ride... unless you go super early on the weekends.

 

you beat me to the punch dang it.

 

Probably the best training ride I had for climbing. I like starting from Glendora Mountain Rd before the gate. Or starting in Fontana and riding from here to GMR then to GRR over to Cow Saddle then descend Baldy Rd. Traffic isn't to bad most times and going down Baldy we mostly keep up with the cars.

Pickett is exceptionally fast so give yourself some extra time to his time. When I was going for the King of the Mountain jersey I'd climb GMR at least two times a month. It got to the point where I seriously considered it a little to easy. Starting in Fontana I'd get just over 6K of climbing. If you start at Baseline you can get 5K. The grade is not to bad but you really get to climb for 22 miles or more. For an extra kick in the butt go all the way up to the lifts, this is the hardest climbing on the whole route and you get to add another 3K of climbing.

For some reason my legs just started hurting.....

 

I have to agree with whoever said that the CCW loop is more fun than CW. But if your goal is to avoid traffic, 39 can be ridden out-and-back. Something like 6k of climbing and half the ride is closed to cars!

Any way you slice it, those mountains are worth the effort. There's wildlife, clean air, views, challenging climbs. And then you go back to those pansy @ss beach-trail centuries, and you're suddenly fast!

Let me know when you're going and I may join you.

 

I think I'm headed up the 39 to GMR tomorrow at 7am if anyone wants to join. Hoping to start at the bottom of the 39 if there's any parking over there.

 

David you need to get a job! Hang up the bike for now you're to damn fast anyways.

 

Im on a tight time schedule tomorrow or id join ya. Need to be back around the house by 11:00. Not sure id make it. Enjoy

 

no prob, i'm hoping to be off the bike by then but no need to risk it. Per PM Brian aka BoingBoing is joining me tomorrow once we figure out where to park. :-k

 

Not alot of parking at the base of the 39 but you can park at Encanto park,take the foot bridge over the riverbed and follow a mile or so up into the Canyon.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.143617,-117.936172&spn=0.018043,0.038581&z=15

 

I wish I could climb I'd join you guys.

 

dave... lets do gmr after i get off work this week.

 

works for me :bang:

 

up CA-39, up GMR, down GMR and the street back is an awesome ride. The climb up the backside of GMR sucks but it was shorter than I had imagined. Climbing the 39 was sweeeeeeet. Bombing down GMR into Glendora was awesome! :bang: Tons of motorcycles though. And quite a few roadies up the 39, which of course we had to catch and pass!

Rolled by 7:15, back to the car at 10am with a couple breaks in between.

 

Back in my racing days I used to do those climbs quite often. GMR was closed to cars and motorcycles, so it was an awesome descent. We used to ride to the Baldy Post Office, filled up our bottles and continued up. The last 5 miles up to the Baldy Ski lift are tough!
Another great ride is to go up GMR, descent to East Fork (I believe that is the name), and up to Crystal Lake, and then retrace back down to the bottom of GMR. I think it was in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours. The road to Crystal Lake was also closed to vehicular traffic back then. Is it open now?
I wish I could get my fitness back to enjoy those type of rides again...

 

I didn't know you quit racing??? I'm with you amigo, I got to get some fitness back into these ol tired legs.:wave:

 

39 is still closed from 2.5 miles passed East Fork all the way to Angeles Crest. But they do plan to open it, so ride it now while you can (w/o cars).

You must be a monster, Pilas. I have tacked the East Fork option onto the end of a Crystal Lake ride, but not the beginning and end. Course you'd need a pretty early start or wait till summer's over. I tend to overheat going up 39. In fact, there is one little water fall in the switchbacks that I call 'Spongebath Falls.'

 

You have no idea!:lol:

 

Yeah, Mike. My last race was Donieville a couple of years ago. I have been pretty much off the bike since then. Job commitments, family responsibilities, and a little burnout all have played a part. In fact, I have been almost completely off the bike in the last year or so.
I have done a couple of rides in the last two weeks and I think I'm slowly getting my appetite for riding again. I miss those long days in the saddle...

 

careful on the weekends with GMR...been some deaths this year. If you can clean it before 8am you are much better off or stick to weekdays.