We may not clock the longest miles at the end of the day, but as for vertical gain... the Inland crew is simply King/ Queen of the Hill. Not only have we taken on the Malibu Mountains (peaked out at 2000ft from sea level) and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mts. (school visit is at 1400ft) in a short span of 60 hours, but we slept in the Valley the nights in between. Dubbed "Team Biker Chicks" by a server in Burbank (all long-hairs except for Morgan); Julie, Alexis, Jacob, Danny, Morgan & Becky have really been teaching LA a lesson these last few days. We left Leo Carillo early Sunday morning with a task ahead of us, we like to call that task "Encinal Canyon Road." There was a thick layer of fog to chill the riders as we approached the passage. A biker that had just come down the hill let us know that the weather was deceiving on the coast, and it was hot as heck up there. Before we turned the first switch back we were all in our lowest gears. We pounded down for over an hour before we hit the top of Encinal Canyon. The fog was long gone at that height, and we were in a full on sweat. It was Sunday in Malibu, so the windy roads were peppered with joyriders of all types. Fancy cars, motorcycle clubs, and even a couple of cycling groups. Thanks to those that chatted us up along the way! Advice from one rider had us depart our scheduled route to take Mulholland Highway down into Calabasas... which we did with no regret. Jacob always says you have to "earn the turns" meaning all that cranking up hill pays off for a screaming downhill, and boy does this one pack a punch. Downhills in Big Sur you can lay off the breaks and let your bike do the work, not so here. Tight curves and strange banks can send you right off the cliff, so you hold on tight with your breaks and go for the ride of your life. A biker (as in motorcycle and bicycle) restaurant was packed with all kinds of rides and signaled the end of the downhill. Turns out Mulholland Hwy goes on for quite a long time, lots of sustained up and downhills... for miles. Our heroes Adam and Ashley showed up in a red Vannagon with water to fill our bottles and cheers to fill our hearts. They dropped off lunch food at the Vons in Calabasas, which we promptly devoured (some of us even took naps).
Climbs were over but we still had some considerable mileage ahead of us. An established bike path following the Orange Metro line took us most of the way, with a stop at Encino to drool over the local Velodrome. We highly suggest this route to any LA biker, just remember that "Busway" where the Metro runs is not a bike lane, otherwise you might have a local 5-O remind you (whoop whoop). We spent the night at our amazing friends Nate and Sue's place in Burbank. We went out for some Italian eats and mangia-ed until our bellies were bursting - and then had a taste of gellato as well. Grazie to our hosts - Nate has had us at his place for three years running, and we still laugh about the time 20 of us showed up after a week of limited showering, we always have a good time.
Early wake up time because we had a lot on our plate Monday morning. A stop to the southwest in Studio City, then back east to Glendale, then finally up north to Altadena for the night. We rolled into our Studio City school and - boy what a spread - they fed us breakfast! Bagles, juice & and hard boiled eggs, etc. a biker's delight. We checked in with our friends that had come out to Catalina from so many grades, and some that haven't made it out yet as well. We had lots of questions, critical thinking, and outside the box thinking going on today, thanks to our hosts - students & chaperones for the great visit.
It was back on our bikes for some serious city riding. We made it about 100 ft from the school will fate twisted us in another direction. Danny was momentarily distracted by the city traffic and dropped into a nasty rut. The poor road condition was not to have the best of this rider though, as he was able to hold on and come out without taking a spill. The bike casualties were steep, and two visibly bent rims meant some SagWagon time for Danny. Travis and D-bo took off for a bike shop, and the rest of the crew soldiered on through Griffith Park to Glendale. We had a solid idea of a route, opting for some city riding vs bike lanes to save us some time... then quickly got lost. It was probably when we were challenged to a race by a homeless man at one of the stoplights. Luckily a local rider was heading in a similar direction and lead us through the park to near our destination. When he first approached us he said "Looks like you're picking up a straggler" meaning himself. But even though he was on a hybrid he smoked us, that's some serious city riding.
Glass ridden routes lead us to our second school, and we beat Travis in the bus (once again) due to heavy traffic. While we mowed down some lunch on the lawn, Danny was in for an appointment with the mechanics at the Bicycle Doctor off of York Blvd. Treatment for the incident called for two new rims, a new tire, and new tubes. A little bit of fork damage as well, but nothing that couldn't be worked out. Danny was back at the school within the hour, in plenty of time to prepare for the presentation. Thank you so much to the folks at Bicycle Doctor that got Danny back on the road so quick. When D-Bo got on the bus in Studio City we could tell he was bummed, but he was all smiles once we saw him again. He let our students at the Glendale school know that this bike shop comes "highly recommended" by him, you can check them out too at http://www.cycleworxla.com/.
The school visit in Glendale was a riot. So many familiar faces from years past, as well as an AMAZING face lift in the garden. That beautiful space looks like it is getting the attention it deserves, and kudos to those taking care of it for the school to enjoy! Skits, games, and surveys filled the afternoon, and before we knew it, it was 3:15 and school was out! Exhausted we filled up on snacks (from Mr Cline - thank you thank you thank you!) and pulled ourselves together. Although google maps doesn't show any elevation in Altadena, we knew it'd be uphill. A cruise down Colorado Blvd and the stands for the Rose Bowl Parade let us know we were in Pasadena, a little bit farther and we'd made our destination for the night; the CIC office. Thanks to the Horners, CIC & TSC staff (especially Tom & Nick who came to visit & Rasheed who waited for us!) for the roof over our heads for the night. Alexis' dad & family made an incredible meal for us -we got to taste wonders of Persian cuisine with the apex being the Rosewater ice cream - thank you thank you thank you, we're still raving about it.
After checking in with other crews via the blog, and some work on the Google Map - be sure to zoom in or click "view larger map" to check out all the different routes that we're taking through the LA/OC area - we hunkered down with the satellite radio for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow we conquer the hills of La Canada, and Alexis gets to visit her Alma mater.
Until then; just keep pedaling
The Inland Crew
TEAM BIKER CHICKS
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