Finds from the Grind - Marking Elevation

I paid attention to my elevation on my last big ride to Mount Wilson of the year on 10/14/2017.

One thing I always meant to do in one of my videos was to record the locations where I crossed the big 1000 feet marks. This became a plan when I realized that I only ever saw signs for 2000 and 3000 feet, but never for 4 and 5 thousand. I finally had the patience to match an elevation map with my video footage.

Some fun things to note on this day - cyclists have some dark self-deprecating humor. This makes sense once you realize we are in constant pain as we pedal up mountains. I pulled into Red Box and nodded to some friendly cyclists, as is the custom, and one asked if I was ready to start climbing. I said, "Almost!" The humor comes from having either climbed 14 miles or 20 miles to get to this location. So funny! Haha whee... wheeze.

Oh, one fun thing to note about the 5000 foot mark - it's almost the second time you reach that height. On the Mount Wilson Red Box road, there's a fun little descent into the trail head for the Mt. Lowe Motorway (there haven't been motorized vehicles allowed on it for decades...), and just before the descent starts, the elevation kisses 4975 feet. So close! But no, you have to descend 300 or so feet and climb it again.

On my way back, I almost ran into some horses on Los Robles. I've encountered horses many times before on my bike, but not in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Well, National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, and the 14th was the day Pasadena decided to have a parade. Thankfully, the barriers and what-not were being set up for much later in the afternoon.

This day was also my last ride for the year. I usually take the last two or so months off for recovery, detraining, and to get fat and sassy. Fat for me means trying to keep the weight gain under 10 pounds. Overall, it was a good year on the bike. I gained two pounds of muscle. I learned how to ride in an aero tuck without holding onto the handlebars. And I got new shoes which ended my nerve pinched big toe. I'm already looking forward to next year. After I lose the fat (I always keep the sassy), I'll have to figure out a new goal for 2018.