Saturday, August 22, 2026. With another hot day in the forecast, a few of our crew gathered early for a ride to the Santa Fe Dam, returning through Covina, San Dimas and La Verne before a stop in Claremont for a quick breakfast. Then to grandaughter/grandson's lemonade stand in Ontario for an ice cold lemonade and a cookie. Ride On!
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| At the San Gabriel River trailhead - L to R: Ryan, John, Mike, Jim, Kent |
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| Ice cold lemonade at Molly & River's lemonade stand! |
June 30, 2026. Later this year, cities along the 2,400 mile Route 66 "Mother Road" will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of this historic route spanning eight states and connecting Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California. U.S. Route 66 is historically significant as a major route for westward migration, especially during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, and contributed to the economic development of communities located along its path. It later faced decline as traffic was diverted to the Interstate Highway System in the mid-20th century.
We here in Windbreaker Country are fortunate that Route 66, known locally as Foothill Boulevard, passes directly through our home cities of Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and Claremont. Though often quite busy with cars, trucks, and buses, much of the route includes improved and dedicated bike lanes, passing historic landmark buildings and sites. Ride On!
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| Historic Cucamonga Service Station, originally constructed in 1915 |
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| Thomas Winery Plaza, built on the site of California's oldest winery, which was originally established in 1839 |
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| Madonna of the Trail monument, Upland, CA, one of 12 identical monuments located nationwide, along the National Old Trails Road from Maryland to California, and honoring pioneer women. The monument is located at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Foothill Boulevard (Route 66). |
May 29, 2026. As the month of May comes to a close, we here at Windbreaker Central join other cyclists far and wide celebrating the joy that comes while riding our bikes. Our merry band was able to gather for some great rides rides in Windbreaker country during the month, venturing one Saturday to Nealy's Corner in North Fontana and to Santa Fe Dam and the San Gabriel River Trail in Azusa on another. And this week Hammer and yours truly did a midweek recon mission for a future group ride to Redlands and Yucaipa. Ride On!
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| These cold beverages tasted awful good when we arrived at Hops & Spokes brewery in Yucaipa after completing the ride leg from Redlands. |
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| Cheers from Hangar 24 in Redlands! |
April 30, 2026. Many times on our weekend riding adventures we will "head west" toward the Santa Fe Dam and the cycling routes near there. One of our favorites is the San Gabriel River trail, which is part of the "Emerald Necklace", a 17-mile loop of multi-benefit parks and greenways connecting 10 cities and accessible to nearly 500,000 residents along the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo river watershed areas in East LA County. Great riding and beautiful views! Ride On!
Heading south along the San Gabriel River Trail
toward Whittier Narrows.
March 28, 2026. Six hearty souls gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning for a ride in Orange County, along some of our favorite routes. Following our Windbreaker Country meet-up, we drove to the Anaheim Canyon Metrolink station for pre-ride meeting and wheels down. Soon enough we were on the Santa Ana River trail headed south toward the coast. Then headed south on Pacific Coast Hwy through Newport Beach, Laguna, and Dana Point to our destination at Los Molinos Beer in San Clemente for lunch and beverages. Following lunch we boarded the Metrolink train back to Anaheim to finish the day. 50 miles of good times and Ride On!
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| Ready to board the train at San Clemente - L to R: John, Joe, Mike, Jim, Craig, and Tom. |
February 28, 2026. Warmer temperatures greeted the lads as we gathered for a beautiful Saturday morning ride in Windbreaker Country. And to top it off, we had a surprise guest visit from our very own Rick the "Rabbit", one of the five founders of the club, who moved to North Carolina a few years ago. As always, it is great to see Rick, catch up on life, and share the many stories we have from past rides together. Ride On, my friend.
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| L to R: John, Rick, Mike, Jim and Tom. |
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| Off we go into 2026! Our 22nd year together... Looking forward to many more bicycling adventures to come! Ride On. |
December 24, 2025. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from Windbreaker Country. Ride On!
November 30, 2025. The 250-acre Puddingstone Reservoir is a popular destination for our weekend bicycling. Formed by the Puddingstone Dam, which was completed in 1928, the area is part of the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, a popular recreation amenity in the east San Gabriel Valley. The name "Puddingstone" comes from the rock formations found in the area, which were named by early visitors who thought they resembled a pudding with raisins.
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| View of Puddingstone Reservoir looking east toward La Verne |
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| Riding north on Raging Waters Drive |
November 1, 2025. Our semi-annual Tour de Craft Breweries cycling adventures hold a special place among our many favorite Windbreaker traditions. Past tours have taken us to Orange County, Downtown LA, the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley. Under sunny skies, five of our merry band of cycling brothers gathered on the first Saturday morning in November for a spirited tour along the San Gabriel Mountain foothills, before turning southwest through Alhambra, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights, finishing in the Arts District of Downtown LA. After stops and Benny Boy Brewing and a return visit to one of our favorites, Angel City Brewing, we boarded the afternoon Metrolink train for the 1-hour return to Windbreaker Country. Good times all around! Ride On!
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| Our route for the day; west toward Pasadena then southwest to DTLA. A mostly gentle descent with a few decent bumps for fun! Approx. 45 miles. |
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| Stop #1; Benny Boy in Lincoln Heights. L to R: John, Jim, Joe, Tom, Mike. And Happy Birthday to Tom!!! |
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| Over the LA River at the 1st St. Bridge |
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| Ready to board the train at LA Union Station |
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| Bikes parked at Angel City Brewing |
September 3-17, 2025. Windbreaker wife Therese and I recently returned from a wonderful trip exploring the coastlines and beautiful cities and villages of western Nova Scotia and then historic Quebec City, QC, Canada. Along the way, we booked three separate half-day e-bike cycling adventures; first departing Wolfville, through Starrs Point along the Minas Basin waterway, next out of Halifax, NS along the Shearwater Flyer Trail, then finally an absolutely beautiful day near Quebec City on Ille-d'Orleans along the Chenal des Grands Voiliers and the St. Lawrence River. Ride On!
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| Overlooking the Cornwallis River and the Minas Basin, near Wolfville and Starrs Point, NS. |
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| Lunch stop along the Shearwater Trail near Halifax, NS |
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| Ready for fall touring Ille-d'Orleans. Stops along the way for strawberries, chocolate, and wine! |
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| Cycling through the village of Ste-Petronille, Ille-d'Orleans. Skyline of Quebec CIty in the background. |
August 9, 2025. Under warm morning skies in Windbreaker Country, the Windbreakers set out on a "Special Edition" ride to re-visit area foothill communities, then south through the San Gabriel Valley to the Whittier Narrows. The Whittier Narrows is a narrows or water gap between the Puente Hills and Montebello Hills through which the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River flow to enter the Los Angeles Basin. The area is further distinguished in local area history as one of the earliest human settlements, occupied by the Tongva and later traversed by Spanish explorers on journeys through the area. Historic Mission Vieja was built there in 1771, but due to flooding was forced to relocate to Mission San Gabriel Archangel in San Gabriel. The area is now occupied by a large regional park and the historic Bosque del Rio Hondo ("Forest of the Deep River").
Our 50-mile cycling route took us west along the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, through La Verne, Azusa, Monrovia, Arcadia and Sierra Madre. Then south through East Pasadena and Temple City, joining the Rio Hondo River Trail at its intersection with Santa Anita Ave. We entered the Whittier Narrows area on this trail, then joining the San Gabriel River Trail north to Baldwin Park, and the nearby Metrolink train station for the return train trip home to beat the day's rising temperature. We capped the day with lunch and cold beverages at King's Brewing Company/Crazy Gringo BBQ in Downtown Upland. All in all, a great day and ride. Ride On!
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| West on Baseline Ave through La Verne (photo: Hammer) |
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| Joining the San Gabriel River Trail in Azusa Canyon: L to R: Windbreaker buddy Tom, Doc, John, Jim, Joe, Mike, Craig and our OC Bureau Chief Chris. |
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| Here gathered at the Baldwin Park Metrolink train station. We had enough time to cool off with a cold beverage, courtesy of Jim and his visit to a nearby mini-mart! |
July 1, 2025. This past Saturday, June 28, 2025, we were very fortunate to be joined by longtime club member and Arizona Bureau Chief Steve ("Coach"), who moved to Arizona a few years ago following many years as a resident of Windbreaker country. Since moving to Arizona, we have joined him on a few rides there, including the El Tour de Tucson and Tour de Scottsdale. But this time he came west out our way for a vacation with family, and we were happy to re-unite and have him along for the regular Saturday morning ride. Ride On!
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| Gathered for a quick stop at Bonelli Park overlooking Puddingstone Reservoir. L to R: John, Joe, Jim, Steve, and Mike. |
June 7, 2025. A few of the Windbreakers gathered on a recent Saturday morning for our latest "Special Edition" ride, a spin through Villa Park, Orange Heights, Anaheim Hills, and the Santa Ana River Canyon. We finished along the Santa Ana River Trail with stops at Stereo Brewing in Placentia , and Green Cheek Beer Co. in Orange. Then to the finish where we began the day at the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). Ride On!
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| First stop at Stereo Brewing: Lunch, cold beverages, and a meet-up with our Orange County Bureau Chief Chris C. |
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| The pulled pork sandwiches hit the spot! |
Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018, World Bicycle Day, June 3, recognizes the "uniqueness, longevity, and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit and sustainable means of transport". Ride On!
May 25, 2025. Throughout Windbreaker Country, we are lucky to have many street segments that are part of historic neighborhood and commercial districts and have interesting stories to tell. One such street is Mills Avenue, along the eastern edge of Claremont. A portion of Mills Avenue runs through the Russian Village District of Claremont, which is comprised of 15 folk architecture style houses and was built by Konstanty ("Steve") Stys, a Polish (not Russian) immigrant, and others during the Great Depression.
The District is located at the intersection of South Mills Avenue and East Cucamonga Avenue The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Local residents nicknamed the houses built by Stys the "Russian Village", mistakenly assuming that Stys came from Russia. The homes are constructed of local field stones from the alluvial plains around Claremont, as well as salvaged and recycled materials from railroad cars and debris remaining after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. (Source: Wikipedia).
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| Looking south on Mills Avenue in the Russian Village Historic District. Ride On! |
May 10, 2025. The stars lined up this past weekend and most of the local lads were in town and able to get out for an early Saturday morning ride. With temps forecasted for the mid-90s, we rolled out early to try and beat the heat. Our route took us east through Rancho Cucamonga, then north into Fontana and to Nealy's Corner. We cycled back along the foothills with a well-earned finish at Butter Cafe & Bakery for coffee and a late breakfast. Ride On!
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| All together at Butter Cafe and our host with the most, Angel! Thanks Angel! |
April 12, 2025. Several of our Southern California-based clubmates gathered in Scottsdale, Arizona this past weekend to participate in the annual Tour de Scottsdale Metric Century bicycle ride. We joined our longtime club member Steve, who now lives in the Phoenix area with the title of our Windbreaker "Arizona Bureau Chief".
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| On the 1st tee at McDowell Mountain G.C.: L to R: Craig, Ryan, Tom, Steve, John |
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| At the starting line: L to R: Ryan, Joe, Tom, Craig, John (Steve joined later). |
January 1, 2025. To welcome in 2025, I was invited to join Windbreaker nextgen/son Greg for an early morning ride to Pasadena to partake in the 136th Rose Parade fun. Meetup was bright & early (6:30 a.m. at Philz Coffee in Claremont), then wheels down heading west to the APU/Citrus A-Line rail station in Azusa. Following a short train ride to Downtown Pasadena, we debarked the train at Raymond Ave., riding north to our planned coffee stop at Copa Vida in Old Pasadena. We then rode east along Green Street, one block south of the Colorado Blvd. parade route and the throngs of people along both street frontages. At Wilson Ave., we were able to squeeze ourselves in to view some of the floats and bands participating in the parade. With another train to catch at the El Monte Metrolink station, we rode south through East Pasadena, Arcadia and Temple City, through old neighborhoods of our youth. The 11:00 a..m. Metrolink returned us to Upland, arriving at 12 noon. A great ride and day...Happy New Year 2025!
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| A warm cup at Copa Vida in Old Pasadena |
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| Catching some parade action at the intersection of Colorado Blvd. & Wilson Ave. |
Saturday, December 28, 2024. A cold, crisp morning greeted the lads as we gathered at Benson/Baseline for a last Saturday morning ride of 2024. We followed a familiar route through Windbreaker country; Baseline, Bonita, then Via Verde through the Covina Hills, then returning on Badillo through San Dimas, then for a coffee stop in Downtown Claremont. We closed out our 20th year together as a merry band of cycling brothers, with anticipation and looking forward to more adventures ahead.
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| Gathered at our favorite viewpoint (affectionately known as "Puddingstone Pass"), along Via Verde at Bonelli Regional Park. Ride On! |
