Upcoming Rides

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August 18, 2024: Phil's Ride: Whale of a Century

August 11, 2024: Phil's Ride: The Orange Coast Tour

June 30, 2024: Jacques' Ride: Corner - Will Rogers to Mount Holyoke

March 20, 2022 Phil's Ride: Oak Ridge Rides

December 12, 2021: Phil's Ride - Foothill Footsie Century

November 28, 2021: Phil's Ride - Cal Poly By Golly

September 19, 2021: Phil's Ride - Wandering To Whittier 

September 12, 2021: Phil's Ride - The Grand Tour Lite  

April 18, 2021: Phil's Ride - Laguna Canyon Century

August 15, 2021: Phil's Ride - Huntington Beach Go Around 

April 11, 2021: Phil's Ride - Winding Roads of Orange County

November 12, 2020: Phil's Ride - The Triple Dippers

Every Thursday, 8:30 a.m. (unless otherwise specified). 

Start Location: Ballona Creek Bridge.  From I405 exit Culver Blvd and head West or take Rte 90 West and take Culver Blvd exit turn left. Right on Esplanade St, left on Convoy St, and right on Pacific Avenue. Park by the Lagoon on the right. The bridge is about 2 blocks North on Pacific.

For a map and directions to the start, click Start.

Riders usually goes South to Palos Verdes on the bike path and then do some riding on the Peninsula. There are optional climbs including the 3 “dips” which give the ride its name. The group usually stops for a break at the Golden Cove shopping area. Occasionally the group will decide to vary the route and explore specific sites elsewhere in the city. A typical day is 40 - 50 miles but often individual riders either cut the day short or add extra miles as desired.  Contact Lewis Singer lewissinger@nullgmail.com for details.

Check out our weekly newsletter here to get a preview of some of our past rides...Newsletter (http://www.lawheelmen.org/vp-newsletter)

We hope to see you there!

Sunday,  April 6 – 8:30 a.m.

START LOCATION:  START:  EL ROBLE JR. HIGH SCHOOL  at Harrison & Mountain in Pomona.  From San Bernardino Frwy (I-10) off & north on Towne in Pomona for 1½ miles, R - Harrison a few blocks to Mountain.

For a map and directions, click Start.

Routes:   

• Long – 59 miles – 3500 feet of elevation gain (barometric)
• Medium– 46 miles – 2700 feet of elevation gain (barometric)
• Hilly Short – 35 miles – 2000 feet of elevation gain (mapping software)
• Easy Short – 26 miles – 1100 feet of elevation gain (mapping software)
• Combined Routes

When I was in high school (in Illinois) one of our science text books was published by Harvey Mudd College and we all thought that was a funny name for a college. At the time, I don’t know if any of us knew where Harvey Mudd was located and little did I know that I would end up living most of my life just a short drive from the campus. Of course I now know that Harvey Mudd is just one of the 5 Claremont Colleges (Pomona, Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Harvey Mudd) which are clustered together in Claremont. They each have their own campus but are contiguous with each other and sometimes share facilities. Today all of our routes ride through some of the campuses at the end of the routes, but there is a lot of riding before we get there. Don’t be put off by the word “climb” in the title. A real climb in Claremont would take us up Mount Baldy, but we don’t come close to doing anything like that today. Yes, there are some hills today, but they are each only a few hundred feet in elevation and the shorter routes skip many of them. After each hill there is a nice downhill and that’s where the “cruise” part of the title comes in. The long and medium are the same to lunch. They first head up San Dimas Canyon and then come down to climb up past Puddingstone Reservoir. After cruising down again they climb over Grand Ave. After some more downhill, we climb Brea Canyon to Diamond Bar Blvd. After lunch in this area the two routes split. The long adds a loop into Pomona before heading back to Claremont while the medium heads more directly back. There are two short routes. The hilly short does much the same route as the medium but cuts off some of the climbing. The easy short cuts out most of the hills. As mentioned, all routes end with a nice ride through some of the campus area of the Claremont Colleges. I don’t know if we actually ride through Harvey Mudd, but I would like to think we do – I still think it’s a funny name. 

 

Sunday, April 13 – 8:30 a.m.

Start Location: PARK & RIDE LOT on Newhall Ave. near Sierra Hwy in Newhall.   From the I-5 north take the 14 Frwy east for 2 miles and exit at Newhall Ave.  Park & Ride lot is at bottom of ramp to the southeast. Toilets available at nearby Carl's.

For a map and directions, click Start.

Routes: 

• Long – 51 miles – 3700 feet of elevation gain (barometric)
• Medium – 35 miles – 3600 feet of elevation gain (mapping software)
• Short – 17 miles – 1500 feet of elevation gain (mapping software)
• Combined Routes

It occurs to me that today’s routes take us past the filming locations of many films and TV shows. First there is Vasquez Rocks which is the site of many films going back to early westerns. It is more famous as the site used in many Star Trek episodes. The complete list of appearances in movies and on TV is too long to list here. Later, we often stop for lunch at the Halfway House Café. According to the IMBD web site, this café has appeared 49 times in film and TV. The last time I was there, they had a TV on the wall that was continuously playing clips from some of these. Finally, on the return along Placerita Canyon, we pass a fake western town obviously used for filming. Sort of makes you wonder what Hollywood sees in this area. Well, maybe you should come out today and see for yourself. Only the long gets all the way out to Acton. That route starts by riding for miles along an almost deserted Soledad Canyon. You pass a few summer camps or resorts (which seem almost abandoned now) a movie ranch (which you can’t see but is another filming location) a large county mental health facility and, of course, Shambala. Shambala is the place where Tippi Hedron has rescued a number of lions and tigers. We usually stop to see if we can catch a glimpse of them through the fence. The medium starts with the long on Soledad Canyon but cuts over at Agua Dulce to rejoin the long on its return. Both routes have an optional stop at Vasquez Rocks, both have lunch is at the Halfway Café on Sierra Hwy and both ride Placerita Canyon to pass the western town. So both the long and medium hit the 3 filming locations mentioned above. The short stays mostly in the Newhall area but still takes in some of the same scenery and includes the trip along Placerita Canyon and the movie town. For a fairly desolate area, I think you will see why it is attractive to Hollywood as a filming site. Bring your camera (who doesn’t these days) and you may be inspired to take some photos of the area yourself.