I don’t know what has gotten into me lately. After a few years of semi-serious road bike riding, I have become somewhat addicted to hills (it can’t be the coffee, however, I am not sure about the water). What this has led to is a semi-serious love affair with Glendora Mountain Road (GMR). Take a recent “Encounter,” for example.
I actually arose pretty early (by my standards), and moseyed
on-over to the intersection of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Glendora Mountain
Road (GMR), focused on a solo day’s ride up the ribbon of switchbacks. Though riding solo, no worries, as I knew
where the road went (a quick note on rising early that morning; Since I could
not sleep the previous night, for some reason, I was truly not feeling my best
as I began to assault the hill. However,
grinding out a sustained climb has a way of activating the body’s natural
rhythm, and I just kept pedaling and forgot how icky I had felt when I stated
the climb). There were actually quite a few
cyclists on the hill, and thankfully, not too much vehicle traffic. In addition to all of the roadies, there was
some kind of shuttle taking fat tire riders (mountain bikes) up the hill, where
they were let off just passed the road maintenance shack. It looked like they were taking the fire
trails back down the hill. I also saw a
few downhill skateboarders and one street luger (and I thought I was crazy when
I raced motorcycles back in the day).
Up, up that ribbon of highway…
As I was grinding out yet another switchback, I came upon two
people I recognized at a turnout. From
there, the three of us dragged each other up the hill, sharing stories and
jokes along the way. I was also quite
impressed with one of the riders, named Manfred. For a newer rider, he simply does not quit. He just kept going and going up that hill. After our stroll to the top, and a quick pause
for drinks and photos, the really fun part began – The decent. Nothing will put a smile on your face like
bombing a really good stretch of downhill.
I made full use of it. Once at
the bottom, we parted ways, and I made for the sanctity of my own kitchen for a
well-deserved post ride meal.
In all, three things got me up the hill that day. The Good Lord Himself, remembering Trek
Factory Racing’s rider Jens Voigt’s famous words of “Shut up legs,” and a
friend sharing his advice of counting to 100 repeatedly until the top of the
hill is reached, so as to distract the mind while climbing. It works out pretty good, too. When the road heads upward, start counting
until you get to 100 or the top of the hill, whichever comes first. If you are not there yet, start counting over
again until you get to the top. I must
have counted to 10,000 in total, that particular day.
To sum it all up, it was a good day to ride, a good day to
climb, and the surprise company made for a very good time, indeed.
Editor’s Note:
Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) is a two-lane, well paved, multi-switchback road in the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. It is about 8.5-miles to the top, with a published grade of 4 to 7%, with approximately 2200-feet of climbing. It is a hotbed of activity for motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists, skateboarders and street lugers. It has even been used in the Amgen Tour of California a few times.
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