Words and photos by Epic Rider David Christenson and Stu Bone


I’ve been in Los Angeles for the past month or so and its been a good opportunity to ride with a lot of old friends and make some new ones along the way. On February 19th I rode the Rapha Gentlemen’s Ride in Santa Monica along a route called “The Gauntlet”.


The route started from a newer bike shop in Santa Monica called Bike Effect. When I arrived there I met some of my good friends from Rapha. In attendance were Slate Olson, Jeremy Dunn and Cole Maness all of whom I’ve spent a lot of time on various cycling projects over the past couple of years.








Cue sheet’s in hand, we rode out from Bike Effect along the Pacific Coast Highway then we ducked into the Santa Monica Mountains for a 45 mile jaunt with 4,700 ft of climbing.
After The first big climb we regrouped at the top of Saddle Peak to take in some of the ocean views.








After the regroup we had a chilly descent down Stunt Road and over to Piuma Road for some more climbing. We were now climbing back up to Saddle Peak from the north side. Once we reached the top we had a few miles of rollers and then we turned down Tuna Canyon which is a screaming descent back down to the PCH.


While descending Tuna Canyon one of the guys on the group ride flatted. A 60 mph descent is not where you’d ever want to flat but the rider kept it under control and the SRAM neutral service car got him back up and running quickly.





All in all the group ride was an amazing day. Although it was only 45 miles the climbs made it a pretty tough ride. My GPS data includes my commute to and from the ride so it’s not accurate but if you’re in this area with your bike I’m sure you could go into Bike Effect and ask for a cue sheet to “The Gauntlet” and they could sort you out.





Highway 39
The next day Cole Maness organized a ride up Highway 39 into the San Gabriel Mountains. This ride started from Encanto Park and from there the first few miles were on a nice rolling bike bath. Once the bike path ends you get on to Highway 39 and start climbing. In attendance were Jeremy Dunn, Cole Maness, Stu Bone and Cindy Lewellen.


As we made our way up the views became better and better. Our pace was leisurely so we could chat and take in all the San Gabriels had to offer.








The further up we rode the more snow we encountered and I quickly realized that I was underdressed for the chilly descent that would come later in the day.


We came to a point where a forest ranger was turning cars around due to black ice. We rode past him and he kindly gave us a warning to watch out for slick spots. A bit further up the road it was gated off so we climbed over the barricade and continued on.





As we made our way up the turn off for our intended destination, Crystal Lake, it was closed so we kept heading up the road. It was also really nice because once we had jumped over the barricade there were no cars so it was calm and quiet rolling along, just the sounds of oxygen deprived cyclists were to be heard.





Our ascent of Highway 39 ended rather abruptly as we turned a corner to continue along we were greeted by three snowplows barreling towards us. So we decided to stop and take in the view before heading back down.











After a few minutes to appreciate the San Gabriels one last time we headed downhill on a freezing descent, racing towards lower elevations and warmer temperatures. It was a great two days of riding with old friends and making a few new ones along the way.


I highly recommend this ride, the gradients aren’t too steep the roads are smooth and generally quiet and the climb tops out well above 5,000 ft. If you get the opportunity to ride in this area bring your camera, it’s worth it to haul the few extra grams up the hill.


Download the GPX file


www.rapha.cc
www.bikeeffect.com