California Roll 2010

December 31, 2010. The Windbreakers final ride for 2010 started with a cold 7 am start from Encanto Park in Duarte then down the San Gabriel River bike trail to Seal Beach. Beautiful, clear day, lots of water in the river from record December rains. Ride On and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas 2010

December 24, 2010. A cool, crisp Christmas Eve morning ride through the Covina Hills and Claremont Village. Merry Christmas to all from the Windbreakers! Ride On!

Quote

No bike rides this weekend…lots of rain in Windbreaker Country. Bummer. This quote from the prolific writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle says it best: "When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking". RIde On!

Turkey Day Ride 2010

7 am meet up at Benson & Baseline. Crisp & Cool ride up Glendora Mountain Road. Happy Thanksgiving!

Lets Climb Some Hills

Perfect set-up for your next climb up Mt. Baldy Road

Historic Routes

The land now known as the City of Upland was part of a much larger area originally inhabited by the Native American Tongva tribe. Following the secularization of California's land holdings in the early 1800's, the area would later become an irrigation colony founded by brothers George and William Chaffey, who hailed from Canada and developed large portions of what are now the neighboring communities of Ontario and Etiwanda.

Upland is located at the historic crossroads of the National Old Trails Road (which later became Foothill Blvd./U.S. Route 66) and Euclid Ave (CA State Route 83). In 1826 the well-known trailblazer Jedediah Smith passed through what is now Upland on the first overland journey to the west coast of North America via the route which would be designated the National Old Trails Road in 1912. Later, Route 66 was a major path for migrants who came west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Euclid Avenue, with its distinctive wide lanes and landscaped median and referred to as "a thing of beauty forever" by George Chaffey, was constructed as the main thoroughfare from Downtown Ontario to Upland and extending north into the mountains.

Located at this historic intersection is one of twelve Madonna of the Trail statues (pictured), which were commissioned by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. These statues are placed in communities along the former National Old Trails Road to commemorate the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. These regular Windbreaker cycling routes take us on these historic roadways as well as into neighboring communities in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, and Orange County. Ride On!

News from Windbreaker Country

Our very own Rabbit on Glendora Ridge Road, with Mt. Baldy in the background
Big news with last week's announcement by the organizers of the Amgen Tour of California that next year's Stage 7 will begin in Claremont with a true mountaintop finish at Mt Baldy. This is literally in the Windbreakers back yard. The detailed route, to be announced later, is sure to cover very familiar roads in the Windbreaker Nation, including Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road. Ride On!

Quote

The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time. Winner of the Tour de France five times, all the classics except Paris-Tours, the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a España. This quote from Eddy “the Cannibal” Merckx: “Ride lots”. That says it all!

Cool Breeze 2010

August 21.2010. Rabbit and Map Boy were joined by friends Patrick and Jay for the 2010 edition of the Cool Breeze Century. Starting in Downtown Ventura, the route headed up the coast then through Carpinteria, Montecito, Santa Barbara and Goleta before returning down the coast. Great weather and a great ride, topped off by a popsicle at the last rest stop at Rincon...Ride On!

Wrigleyville

July 23, 2010. Corner of Clark and Addison following a Cubs win over the Cardinals. Ride On!!

Fourth of July-2010

July 4, 2010. Spent the 4th of July holiday weekend at friends house in Coronado . Crusin on the bike and watching fireworks over San Diego Bay. Ride On!

Zen and Bicycles

A story I found the other day:

"A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the first student, "You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do."The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!" The teacher commended the second student, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world."The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings." The teacher was pleased, and said to the fourth student, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "Ahh.... I am your student!"

Stage 6-Amgen Tour of California

Andy Schleck with another Team Saxo Bank rider cresting Lakeview Point

May 21, 2010. It was a great day to be on a bike for Stage 6 of the Amgen Tour of California. The day started at 6:00 am meeting up with Rick and his son Richard, and friend Rich. We drove and parked at Lakeview Point (el. 7,112') on SR 18 at 7:15 am, set up "Windbreaker Base" and headed out for a ride along the "arctic circle" portion of SR 18, then along North Shore Dr., up SR 38 to Onyx Summit (el. 8,443'), then back down to Big Bear to check out the finish line set-up at Snow Summit ski area, then finishing up the ride back out to Lakeview Pt. to watch the race.

Lakeview Pt was the last big climb on a very tough day for the tour riders. This stage alone was 135 miles and 12,000' of climbing, billed as the Queen Stage for this year's tour. The riders were broken into several groups by this point in the day's ride. It was great to be a part of it. Ride On!

Cruisin the Conejo 2010

May 8 2010. A great day for cycling in the Conejo Valley west of Los Angeles. Beautiful roads through Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Santa Monica Mountains, Newbury Park, Camarillo, Moorpark and Simi Valley. Ride On!

A Great Day

View from Glendora Mountain Road overlooking the San Gabriel Valley

May 1, 2010. Clear blue skies, perfect temperatures and great roads made for a perfect day on Glendora Mountain Rd. and Glendora Ridge Rd. Like John F. Kennedy said: "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride". Ride On!

2010 Mulholland Challenge

Peter Strauss Ranch Checkpoint

Mulholland Hwy-Top of Rock Store Climb

April 10, 2010. Always eager for a journey to territory not yet explored by bike, Map Boy joined former co-workers for the 2010 edition of the Mulholland Challenge, Stage 1 of the "King of the Mountain" century series organized by Planet Ultra. The route is an adventure set in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains, and is billed as a "ride up, over and along mountain peaks and ridges, and through a multitude of canyons and country sides. Basically, this event is for the rider who loves to climb and to see alot of diverse terrain in the process. Bring gears! Some of the roads have steep sustained climbs of 12-14% with pitches up to 18%".

The ride started in Agoura Hills with rolling roads to the coast on Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon to Pacific Coast Highway, then south on PCH toward Topanga. Then the "real" climbing began!! First, Topanga Canyon and Old Topanga Canyon Rd. From there, lots of up and down roads through the mountains on Mulholland Hwy. (including the well-known Rock Store climb), Little Sycamore and Cotharin Rd., before entering Ventura County and back down to the coast via a steep and rough technical descent on Deer Creek. After a flat cruise back south on PCH, a monster climb back up Decker Canyon and Lechusa greeted the riders at about mile 75. Climbing continued back to Mulholland on Encinal Canyon. Once back on Mulholland, we rode all the way back to Stunt Road. The serious pain was to begin here, at mile 91, up Stunt Road.

Four miles later at the top of Stunt, after a cold V8, the ride finished with a steep descent down Piuma Road, a short steep climb up Cold Canyon, then back to the finish in Agoura Hills. 116 miles with over 12,000 feet of climbing...definitely a big challenge!

Quote

The Windbreakers are always on the lookout for great quotes about bicycling. Ernest Hemingway was a great American writer and journalist, and winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature. Here is one of our favorites from Hemingway, whose works are considered classics of American literature: "It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of the country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle". Ride On!!

Glendora Mountain Road

After a week of rain, the Windbreakers were finally able to get out for a ride. A cold, crisp climb up Glendora Mountain Road, with snow-covered Mt. Baldy in the background. A fantastic ride...Ride On!

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2010. Windbreakers, family and friends trek to Pasadena, California to view the annual Tournament of Roses parade. Ride On!