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Mt Baldy, Glendora Ridge Road and some dirt!

BrinkHouse

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This Sunday, I tagged along with the Aether Apparel crew on one of their monthly rides. We left from Hollywood at 8:30 and headed for Baldy. Once on Highway 39, the roads swept at just the right angle, banking and curving for days. The weather was absolutely perfect that morning, one of those ethereal riding moments. :eek:

We connected to Glendora Ridge Road, which ascends from San Gabriel Canyon OHV Area (more on this soon) to Mt Baldy. The road was unbelievable. Narrow, winding, clean, and with stunning views of the Angeles Natl. Forest! We arrived at Baldy all feeling spectacular. Rode the chair lift to 'The Notch' and had a surprisingly solid lunch of beer and burgers.

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The Gang. A mixture of BMW's and Honda's, new and old! …Oh, and a Triumph. ;)

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"Stockton Flats Future Expansion for 1991"

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Jonah's r1200GS Triple Black. Droooool

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Gorgeous view ascending Mt Baldy

At this point, most of the group split up. Some went down Mt Baldy Rd, others back on Glendora Ridge. I had coerced my friend Justin to come along on the ride, with the intention of getting him out on dirt for the first time at the end of the ride, and that's exactly what we did. :p

We cruised down to the freeway and doubled back to HWY 39, where we rode back up to the OHV area. 10 minutes and some helpful info from a park ranger later, we were unlocking the gate to the Rincon Shortcut OHV Trail. This is a 25 mile ATV/Moto trail that traverses the side of the mountain from San Gabriel Canyon all the way up to Angeles Crest Highway 2. Right now it's closed about 10 miles in while Edison is doing power work, but the complete trail is set to reopen before Summer of '14.

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Starting off the trail we took it easy as Justin got his dirt feelers out. It didn't help he was riding his precious and mostly stock '04 Triumph Tiger 955i. With little to no crash protection, it was no surprise he was hesitant to peel off!

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Justin laughs when he's nervous, I guess. :)

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Quick pose with the NC.

After a couple miles, we decided we shouldn't risk upsetting the Tiger and so Justin made his way back to the gate while I ripped up the next couple turns, curious to see if I could find a sweet view.. And I did- WOW! It didn't hurt that the light was just perfect, what a scene.

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It was my first time riding this trail and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to come back with a GoPro showing how I was riding the NC as if it were a XR250. ;) Next time.

I rolled back down to the gate, reconnected with Justin who had spent the last five minutes contemplating if he'd ever do that again, and we rode off into the sunset. For about two minutes. Then we got stuck behind a bunch of lifted trucks creeping down the canyon at 2MPH. :mad:

'Till next time!
 
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Great write up! I've ridden GMR, GRR and Azusa lots of times, but have never ventured off of the pavement. Sounds like there as some worthwhile trails in that area, and that's not at all surprising. There are some great views overlooking the reservoirs from turnouts, and I can just imagine what you can find off the beaten path. Have you ever been to the bridge to nowhere? It's an awesome hiking destination, and it would be great if there was a way to access it via motorcycle.
 
Coming from the Pacific Northwest the first time I saw the Angeles National Forest (1970) I laughed, thinking it was a misnomer. Still do. Looks like you do have some nice trails to ride though. Great pics and commentary.
 
Such a nice and pleasant ride and I like your report also and you have a huge team on the trip, bike looking also very good and I want to know that how much CC that bikes?
 
Don't know why, but two pictures didn't pop up on my computer. Of course, one being the great panorama Strats mentioned.

The parts of the RR I could see, were good. Thanks!
 
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