GMR New Years Eve 12/31/11

Last day of the year and last ride so what better than a GMR ride with Herb and Alyce. Actually it was Alyce's idea, she's killing us with the GMR rides ha ha! Not many riders at all up there. A few but not many. Lovin' the Garmin. Now I can see why my legs burn on certain sections of the road he he!

We did the shack then a little more. Gals didn't seem too happy once we past the fork so we traveled a bit then headed back. Ran into fast Jason claiming to be out of shape, yeah sure! Spoke for a short bit hen turned to head back once Herb told me the gals headed back.

After the ride we hit the chicken and ribs place. Ended up sitting by a few loud potty mouth teen young adult types. Finally they leave but what do they do, hang around my truck. I really hate people leaning on my truck and having the bikes in the back makes me nervous. So Herb and I joke about what we'd do if they tried something. He says we can go out an rough them up a bit ha ha! Not soon after Herb says one dude keeps looking into my truck, WHAT THE HEY!!!!

I keep my eyes on the guy and sure enough he reaches into the back of my truck and pull something out. Before Gina even knows what is going on I'm out the door and heading towards the 5 or 6 guys. I approach the guys and ask WTF are you guys doing reaching into my truck. They say they aren't but I said I saw this dude here pull something out then one guy say she was puling his drink out of the back of my truck. OK, now WTF! Why are you putting your drink in my truck?

I'm thinking they're going to get smart but they just kind of hang there heads and smile in embarrassment. Cool, save me some trouble but as I look back, Herb is right behind me ready to throw down with the young guys. I thought Herb was kidding about roughing them up but he was more than willing ha ha! Gina says as soon as I ran out, Herb was right behind me. Dude's got my back and honestly, I think we could have taken all 6. If I could have taken out 2, I think Herb could have taken out the other 4 ha ha! Either way, I told the dude, "Look, I wouldn't mess with your SH!T, so don't mess with mine!". So they moved a few paces from my truck and believe me, my eyeball was on them. Don't make me send Herb out after you again!

GMR 12/29/11

Been sick but figured I'd give GMR a try to play with the Garmin on a climb. Legs not bad, breathing ok once I warmed up but neck and head were hurting, darn illness. Well it did give Hillbasher a chance to launch the Bianchi he built up from scratch. A collection of parts he gathered but looking real nice!

No meaning in the song, just a tune I like.

She Got........

OK, so like I am behind on posting Monday's ride video but we were out shopping. Heck, I got a Garmin but Gina got the whole darn support vehicle haha! 2012 Mazda CX-7

SART 12/26/11

Herb, Alyce, Steve and Sue on SART. Just a nice 42 mile ride trying to work off the tamales ha ha! First 5 miles or so were tamale tough but after loosening up, wasn't so bad.

Well I Got My Garmin

Finally, gave in after some Gina encouragement to go Garmin. Of course working OT at work hasn't left me much time to ride but YES!! A week off will do the trick! With all the OT, I was able to buy my own Christmas present, a Garmin Edge 500. Now I'm cool like the rest of the cool cats sportin' Garmins he he he!

I'm just so happy that I still have room for my Incredi-I-Bell.

SART 12/11/11

42 miler on the trail with Gina and El Monarcha. Not sure who the other guys are but every time we ride, seems some dude will force one of our buds out of place. Hmmm! Either way, it was a cool ride. Lots of headwinds. Thought we'd have a tailwind on the return but the return was tougher than heading to the coast which is unusual.

At the coast we ran into MTBLrker, no interviews. A short rest and visit at the coast having to head home for another birthday party. MTBLrkr somewhat rode back with us. Ahead of us, then behind, ,ahead then behind, guy was making me dizzy. El Monarcha was pretty happy. I had given him the rear wheel on his bike some time back. But since the Lemond is gone, I have no need for the front gold rim so I handed it over so he'd have a matching set on his bike. He was pretty happy as this one is much smoother than the wheel he was riding and he was happy to pose for a pic ha ha!

Our Buddy BoyLd (Boyd)

If you believe in God, please say a prayer for our Buddy Boyd. If not, send some BIG wishes for better health. Just found out a few days ago that he is in a serious battle with cancer. We've known Boyd since the beginning of our SART rides back in 96. Always been a fun loving guy. A total class act of a man! The kind of guy that could talk to anyone while making them feel like a friend.

Really don't know what to say when misfortune shines it's ugly face on a good friend like BoyLd. He's had some serious health battles in his life, heart issues and maybe one or two here and there but has always come out on top. All we can hope for is that he wins again and will one day join us again on SART.

Here's to your good health Boyd!

The heart breaking news from Mrs. Boyd:

Dear Friends & Family,

The time has come for me to share some unpleasant news regarding the health of my dear husband, Boyd. For several months over the summer, he was experiencing difficulty with swallowing & digestion. On October 25th, it was discovered during an endoscopy (scope down the throat) that he has a tumor at the base of his esophagus, right at the junction with the stomach. Biopsies confirmed cancer. After several CT and PET scans, it was discovered that some of his lymph nodes and his liver are also involved, thus ruling out surgery, at least for now. The current plan is to do chemotherapy, once every three weeks, commencing tomorrow. Also, he will undergo radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks, beginning soon. If these treatments are successful, then perhaps he will be a candidate for surgery. He is increasingly uncomfortable, has lost a lot of weight and finds eating a chore, so he is anxious to begin the treatments. We would appreciate your good thoughts and ongoing prayers as we face this challenge over the next days and months.



Sincerely,

Carol

SART 12/4/11

Another 42 miles on SART with Gina and Jose(El Monarcha). Had planned a GMR ride for this day but after several riders started to back out on the forums, I figured what the heck, working OT and the wind messing with my sinuses, I sure didn't feel like dealing with the wind or cold temps. The one big reason I didn't want to post the ride as the organizer, no obligation to show if things weren't working out with my schedule.

So we hit up SART instead and a late start. Trail seemed fairly empty. Wind forecasts tend to do that ha ha! Usual strong headwinds but nothing like the wind we had in Upland a couple days ago. Ran into Mark and Gail at the coast and a ride return together. We pretty much let the gals take the lead on the way back. Nice pace, I fell back a time or two having to work to catch back on.

Also met Brian and his new sweetheart Evelyn at the coast. Looks like a pretty happy guy! But poor Homeless Steve, someone stole his bike, BUMMER!

Got a little hungry after the ride so I had to stop at a Juan Pollo for some shlicken!

SART 11/27/11

After a ride up GMR, nothing better than a nice trail ride. Supposed to be a nice ride but leave it to Gina to find the one and only staple on the entire trail haha! Not even a new tires stands up to a staple.

As we're on the side of the road, just short of Edna Park, I hear shouting down the trail. Yup, it's Louie and friends! We chat a bit then they get on with the plug. Sikad ng Bayan Bike ride, lots of food and fun coming in April.

Crazy Louie, claims that his computer monitors heart rate, blood sugar and a little alarm when it's time for the viagara haha! Ben, Louie, and Rob head off then we head to the coast where we meet Jeff and Angie. Thinking we'd get done early, PSSSHT! Flat tires, another late ride.


BTW, fee includes a ton of food and a jersey!



Louie and Ben Sikad ng Bayan Bike Ride Plug

GMR 11/26/11

A super nice day on GMR. Perfect weather for the climb. Gina climbed to the shack while Hillbasher and I hit Peacock Saddle. Had to work off some of the turkey and desserts ha ha! Right away we ran into JMX of the SoCal forums. Dude is crazy! Training for a double he was riding for time. I forget the target number of hours but it was crazy too. He had already gone to the village once and was heading back a second time, WOW! Later I ended up driving up GMR and saw the guy going up a third time, what an animal. I believe he said about 10,000 ft of climbing by the end of his ride.

Also ran across Glendora Mountain Road blogger and Bill. GMR headed back up with us for a bit, another climb repeater ha ha! She rode with us for a bit then headed back down. So the three of us continued on up with Gina doing very well. Heck, she was complaining cause we stopped too much ha ha!

Once HB and I returned from the saddle, we took a picture break at the landing above the shack (Monroe). Along comes Bing and his buddies Jose and I don't remember the other guy's name, sorry. More crazy guys, did GMR, then Crystal lake, back up to GMR then to Bonelli their start point. 82 miles, nearly 10,000 ft of climbing.

Well we started down a couple minutes after Bong, Jose, and buddy. Just after Newman's, we approach a turn and bad news, Jose is laid out in the middle of the road. He's very still and the guys are over him offering assistance. Jose is pretty beat up so we stop approaching traffic and riders. Wouldn't you know, a quiet day but when something happens, every body and their grandmothers show up on motorcycles, hot rods, and bicycles.

The guys startd from Bonelli so their vehicles are not within reach. The guys manage to get Jose up and to the side of the road. Pretty nice of the Harley riders to offer help and cell phones, thanks people! So the guys ask if I can get my truck to give Jose and his bike a ride back to Bonelli to meet them. Sure! We head down, Gina waits at the equestrian center while I drive back up, then deliver Jose to Bonelli park to wait for his friends.

Driving back, Jose didn't look too good. Plenty of scrapes on his arms and hands and can't move his shoulder. Didn't seem to be a clavicle, maybe a separated shoulder? We talked on the return and he seemed to be in his right mind so that was a good sign. The guys were training for the Tour De Francis next weekend. I don't think Jose will be on the ride.

But other than that, a beautiful day. From the mountain, you could see the sun's reflection on the ocean. The picture doesn't do the sight justice!

SART 11/13/11

Started out as nice quiet ride with Gina, Aimee and Jose. But at the coast we ran into Mark & Gail, Bad Bob in Blue, EricAnderson along with Varone and his buddies. A few stories about the sweet Dogma then they were off. Jeff and Angie soon rolled up so we knew we were in for a fast return. We only did one ride last week so I was surprised that Gina was kicking some butt today. At one point I dropped back to get some footage just when Jeff and Angie dropped the hammer......AGAIN! I just watched as Gina rode their wheel away from me. I had to really work hard to get back up to them. I did catch PinoyBenter and a few of the RiverVelo boyz ride by.

Again, saw Alex2 but he didn't catch us on the return, once again. Wow, trying to keep up with Jeff & Angie on the tandem really lifts our pace. Alex usually catches us but the last two times has fallen short. Fast women, fast bikes making it tough ha ha! We did see EricAnderson as well. I thought he might catch us too but again, those darn fast women! ;-)

One dude in the Simple Green outfit (picture) rode by when I was taking a pic of Gina at the end of our ride. He doubled back and asked if he should take a pic of the two of us. I thanked him even though we didn't but I did grab a pic of the guy. That was nice of him!