Garmin Connect now is capable of making ride maps ..... easily transferrable to a device. So I did just that ...... I had only time for a 2 hour ride, for my first effort, so I made one up based on Farmer Tony's & my experiences in June 2011.
I drove to the carpark at Mulholland, 5 km further on from Encinal & did a very nice loop. Obama's money was being put to good use ..... the new seal was a delight.
Encinal is a 5-6%, 12 km climb, just East of Decker. No really steep bits. I did 820m climbing, a shade under 2 hours, ride time.
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| Hmmm ..... on PCH, what do you do now, ride in the left lane with the cars ? |
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| Encinal Canyon Rd - Mulholland Hwy Loop |
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| Obama's wonderful new seal |
The Marine Layer (fog, or is that smog?) lifted, exposing the sun & it got hot .... then I came on the road works.
About 1/2 way back down Mulholland they were putting a very thick layer of Hot Seal over the cracked surface. Luckily a road worker stopped me from running onto the HOT road ..... he said I would leave a deep track.
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| BUMP ..... I sure did ! |
Well it was so sticky that as soon as I pulled up, my tyres were caked thickly with bitumen and small stones .... so thick that it even rubbed up under the top of the fork.
He told me I had to go down the LH side of the road, but that was so full of loose, sticky bitumen that I got off the road completely & rode in the dirt.
That was OK for 100m,..... until I hit a soft patch & plonked myself down side ways onto the road surface. I was only doing walking pace, but I didn't get my cleat out in time .....
No serious damage, just a bit of bar tape off & a bitumen mark on my jersey ..... well that's what I thought, so I rode the last part down quite OK, about another 10km or so .......
But it was clear ...... I needed was a new set of tyres !
Even when I got back to my car, the bitumen was still a thick coating on the tires, with stoney lumps !
So I went shopping at Helen's, Santa Monica. A pair of 4000S, a Connex link, pedal washers and some Clif Bars (new apricot is a winner), and I was ready for my next ride tomorrow.
Well .... what a dill I turned out to be .......
When I changed the tyres (oops, tires) back at Villa Brasil Motel, I discovered that I couldn't get up into the last 4 rear cogs !
Bummer .... the rear derailleur hanger was bent ..... working fine in the higher gears that I descended with after the spill, but climbing gears, NO GO.
Needing a mechanic I called Helen's ..... 7.30pm .... the mechanics have gone home, come in the morning !
Damn .... they open at 9.30-10.00am
There goes my planned early ride ....
I have to be at CTD, the saw manufacturer, at 1.00pm ..... looks like it will have to be a short one, so I might try Griffith Park on the way over to CTD.
Oh well, suppose that is what I am actually here for ......
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