# California Mountains Trip: Baldy, GMR, Horseshoe Meadows, Whitney Portal, Kennedy



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Every year in June about a dozen of guys in my club take a 3-day cycling trip through toughest climbs in California. Here's a brief report of our 2011 adventures. Day 1, appetizer, featured SoCal climbs - Mt. Baldy (also most prominently featured as the queen stage in Tour of California) and Glendora Mountain Road. Day 2, main dish, inlcuded Horseshoe Meadows and Whitney Portal in Sierras, some of the most challenging climbs that California (or even continental US) has to offer. Day 3 was a desert with Kennedy Meadows climb.

Some photos and video recap of the fun we had - highly recommended if anyone is thinking of their next cycling vacation trip:


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## Chico2000 (Jul 7, 2011)

Awesome. 
:thumbsup:


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice! Looks like my kind of ride, especially if I can ever drop this last 20 pounds. That video got me even more hyped up for my San Francisco trip tomorrow. I'm going to climb the steepest streets I can find with my new folding bike. I know at least one of them is 31.5%.


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## bane (Aug 30, 2006)

Epic sufferfest in some beautiful places.


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## redondoaveb (Jan 16, 2011)

Beautiful. And not one car in any of the pics or video :thumbsup:


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

redondoaveb said:


> Beautiful. And not one car in any of the pics or video :thumbsup:


very few - almost none - cars on those roads, most of these roads literally go nowhere.
A lot of suffering indeed - 2nd day was more than 10,000 ft of climbing, including Horseshoe Meadows, the greatest elevation gain in CA (6,234ft), ranked #2 climb in CA and #4 in US, and Whitney Portal (#5 ranked climb in CA). Mt. Baldy we did on day 1 is ranked #6 in CA, all three climbs are ranked top 10 most difficult in US. 
Top 3 are 1. Mt Washington, NH (open to bikes only during bike race) 2. Haleakala, HI and 3. Onion Valley (we did it in 2010)


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Those are great climbs.

And great photos.

You did a lot of driving.

How were the downhills?


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

freighttraininguphill said:


> Nice! Looks like my kind of ride, especially if I can ever drop this last 20 pounds. That video got me even more hyped up for my San Francisco trip tomorrow. I'm going to climb the steepest streets I can find with my new folding bike. I know at least one of them is 31.5%.


You need to do Filbert and 22nd Streets - both are at 31.5%.
31.5% Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde, San Francisco
31.5% 22nd Street between Church and Vicksburg, San Francisco
29% Jones between Union and Filbert, San Francisco

There's also Marin Ave. in Berkeley, if you can make a trip out there.

If you want to really challenge yourself, try to find Broderick Street:
38% Broderick Street between Vallejo and Broadway, San Francisco (sidewalk only, no road).


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

55x11 said:


> You need to do Filbert and 22nd Streets - both are at 31.5%.
> 31.5% Filbert Street between Leavenworth and Hyde, San Francisco
> 31.5% 22nd Street between Church and Vicksburg, San Francisco
> 29% Jones between Union and Filbert, San Francisco
> ...


Thanks! I'll put these in my phone for tomorrow. I know 22nd will be one of the first hills dealt with, as that's where I won a bet that I couldn't climb it back in 1993. The friend I'm going down there with, who is not a cyclist, bet me $10 that I couldn't climb 22nd Street. I climbed in on my old HardRock.

My GoPro and ContourHD will be taking the trip with me, so you know what that means. :wink5:


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

freighttraininguphill said:


> Thanks! I'll put these in my phone for tomorrow. I know 22nd will be one of the first hills dealt with, as that's where I won a bet that I couldn't climb it back in 1993. The friend I'm going down there with, who is not a cyclist, bet me $10 that I couldn't climb 22nd Street. I climbed in on my old HardRock.
> 
> My GoPro and ContourHD will be taking the trip with me, so you know what that means. :wink5:


here's another view of Broderick's ridiculously steep, 38% gradient.
Broderick Street, San francisco, ca - Google Maps

Good luck and have fun! let us know how it goes!!!


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Wow! What beautiful scenery. Super pics, some of the best I've seen here. Thanks for posting this.


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

55x11 said:


> here's another view of Broderick's ridiculously steep, 38% gradient.
> Broderick Street, San francisco, ca - Google Maps
> 
> Good luck and have fun! let us know how it goes!!!


I'm baaack! That was some serious fun that brought back some fond memories of the good old days riding around down there. Here's the thread I started with all the pics and the ride video.


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## timtheartist (Nov 25, 2011)

*amazing pics*

I am hoping to visit onion valley road/horseshoe meadows/whitney portal before the end of the year...
Are the roads passable the last week of December? I can find average temps online, but nothing about road closures or precipitation or road conditions. I need a break from Austin, but I don't really want to drive all that way to find out I can't do the climbs because of road conditions.
I do repeats on a 15% slope here in austin, but we have nothing here like the sierras. 

Any input would be great.

Thanks


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

timtheartist said:


> I am hoping to visit onion valley road/horseshoe meadows/whitney portal before the end of the year...
> Are the roads passable the last week of December? I can find average temps online, but nothing about road closures or precipitation or road conditions. I need a break from Austin, but I don't really want to drive all that way to find out I can't do the climbs because of road conditions.
> I do repeats on a 15% slope here in austin, but we have nothing here like the sierras.
> 
> ...


I have never done Sierra climbs outside of month of June, so I have no idea, let's start with that. Hopefully someone else can chime in. I will try to ask my club members.

But I suspect that it may be too cold and roads high up may be covered with snow in December - we see plenty of snow in June there, in fact last year we rode through half a mile of patches of snowy roads at the top of one of the peaks (some had to get off and walk their bikes through snow) - so you may only be able to get only half-way up, if that, before having to turn around.

See photos below (from Rock Creek and Sabrina Lake) - keep in mind that this is mid-June, when temperatures at the bottom, in the valley, were 105F!!!


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## Doctor Falsetti (Sep 24, 2010)

Very cool trip. Thanks for posting


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## jeff6605 (Jul 15, 2011)

Hi OP, Can I ask you, what Camera did you use to capture the video? And the stills? Video quality is great and I really like the wide angle on the camera. Cool trip!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

jeff6605 said:


> Hi OP, Can I ask you, what Camera did you use to capture the video? And the stills? Video quality is great and I really like the wide angle on the camera. Cool trip!


it's GoPro HD HERO ORIGINAL, wide angle camera. Some stills are using my cell phone (Samsung Memoir 8MP, now 3 years old), and another guy's point-and-shoot, some from video footage.
Product Comparison: HD HERO2 & HD HERO Cameras


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

55x11 said:


> it's GoPro HD HERO ORIGINAL, wide angle camera. Some stills are using my cell phone (Samsung Memoir 8MP, now 3 years old), and another guy's point-and-shoot, some from video footage.
> Product Comparison: HD HERO2 & HD HERO Cameras


I never would have guessed that those pics were taken with your cell. Cell phone picture quality sure has come a long way! :thumbsup:

My Thunderbolt has an 8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, which doubles as a video light for the 720p HD camcorder function. I've never used either one except for short test footage. I've been carrying a point-and-shoot digital for so long that it's just more convenient for me to use that, especially since it has a lanyard. I'd hate to drop my smartphone! Also, the digital camera takes better night shots.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

freighttraininguphill said:


> I never would have guessed that those pics were taken with your cell. Cell phone picture quality sure has come a long way! :thumbsup:
> 
> My Thunderbolt has an 8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, which doubles as a video light for the 720p HD camcorder function. I've never used either one except for short test footage. I've been carrying a point-and-shoot digital for so long that it's just more convenient for me to use that, especially since it has a lanyard. I'd hate to drop my smartphone! Also, the digital camera takes better night shots.


Not all but most are taken with a Samsung cell phone: #1-4, #6, #9-11, #13-16. The last two and #5 were taken with my Canon DSLR. The remaining were taken by a friend's old point-and-shoot (rather old camera, probably no better than cell phone in terms of quality). It is quite amazing.


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

55x11 said:


> Not all but most are taken with a Samsung cell phone: #1-4, #6, #9-11, #13-16. The last two and #5 were taken with my Canon DSLR. The remaining were taken by a friend's old point-and-shoot (rather old camera, probably no better than cell phone in terms of quality). It is quite amazing.


Yes it is! :thumbsup: Some of the pics that come out of my digicam look like older cell phone pics. I'll have to take a few pics with my cell next time I want to do a ride report, then take the same pic with the digicam for comparison.


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## john.p (Nov 2, 2011)

Wow, that's quite the ride! The snow on the side of the road is pretty crazy. I can't believe you guys ride in that weather. 

I've driven GMR before, and have seen some bicycle guys go 40 mph down hill! D:


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

john.p said:


> Wow, that's quite the ride! The snow on the side of the road is pretty crazy. I can't believe you guys ride in that weather.
> 
> I've driven GMR before, and have seen some bicycle guys go 40 mph down hill! D:


thanks John - the snow at the top is in June! And June is the best possible weather to go up there.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

duplicate post


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## john.p (Nov 2, 2011)

Whoa, snow in June? What was the elevation?

Do you guys usually just ride up and down again?


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## paulfeng (Jun 10, 2011)

john.p said:


> Wow, that's quite the ride! The snow on the side of the road is pretty crazy. I can't believe you guys ride in that weather.
> 
> I've driven GMR before, and have seen some bicycle guys go 40 mph down hill! D:


One of my fond college cycling memories is finishing my last fall final one particularly brutal semester, then biking up the Mt. Baldy road until above the snow line, somewhere over 5k feet. I filled one of my water bottles with snow and headed back down into the warm San Gabriel Valley.

Descending the Baldy road taught me that sometimes you need to pedal even when you don't want any more speed, just to keep your legs from shivering and shaking your bike into non-wheels down orientation.


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