Bicycle Diaries II - Sunny Hilly

It was a hot weekend and I end up having some “nice” tan lines!

With less than a month of training until ALC 6, I’ve to say trainings are getting harder and harder, not just longer distance, but also steeper hills. On Saturday day, I joined the Different Spokes group on a training ride from Duarte to Mt. Baldy. I’ve heard so much about this ride and was looking forward to conquer the hills, about 20 miles of climbing!

We planned to have brunch at the Village on Mt. Baldy. After nearly 5 miles of climbing, we learn that we had to change our plan because the road was closed for construction. The workers did not allow us to pass by. All we could do was to enjoy the gorgeous view from the top and the down hills. We end up heading to Claremont, had brunch at the Village over there. Not too bad, we did 47 miles. In the evening I went to fellow rider + TRL Pedro’s fundraising party.

On Sunday I drove to Santa Monica to do a ride they called “Full Pretzel Ride.” We headed to Palos Verdes and loop around PV Drives in all directions. It was hot, it was tough! Some of us end up skipping the last hill, a 2.5 miles climb up Hawthorne Blvd. from the ocean. Instead of the 75 full miles, we did 67 miles, which was not bad at all, because the weather was hot, in the upper 80s.

I had wonderful memories about riding on PV Drives, last year I did many training rides on these roads and had so much fun with the group. For those of you who are familiar with the area, you know those rolling hills do kiss ass!

Total mileage of the week: 130 miles.

This coming Sunday is Mothers’ Day, I will be leading a ride from the Rose Bowl to Claremont, 75 miles. Wishing all the mothers Happy Mothers’ Day!





Glendora Mt. Rd. is closed for traffic, so we had to lift over the gate












Yup, there's the road we climbed













Want a closer look?



















Stopping for photos and catching my breath












Dragon rest by the curb














Here comes Brian

















The tree got burned?














The gang... what were they doing?












Stucked there because road was closed for construction, NO BIKES!












Alright, just enjoy the views and down hill then













Sunny Sunday, over look at the south bay from top of PV Drive














Suzann climbing up the challenging hill

















View of the south bay from different side of the PV Drive












Flying down the hill, chased by the motorcycle














This is better (TRL Brian)

How cute is that helmet decor!