The La Tuna Canyon Ride: An Overdue Continuation
When I wrote a post called Ride History III: La Tuna Ride, way back at the end of September 2010, and a blog away from the present, at Claremont Cyclist, it was rather short on daily details and incidents along the way, and mostly filled by route description. In that sense, it was very similar to the other three rides - the Rose Bowl Ride, the Wednesday evening Griffith Park Ride and the Bicycle Doctor Ride (after all these years, I still am only contemplating a fifth in the series - the Montrose Ride.) Anyway, consider this a continuation of that 29 September 2010 post. Looking back on the journal entries from the rides during those times, I regret that I didn't use enough space to more thoroughly recount the each day's events, including how the other riders around me were doing. Well too late for that now, but hey, if you after reading this, remember anything about those rides, feel free to share in the comments, help round out the picture.
November 1994 was the start of a new ride or, I suppose, the realignment of an old ride, depending on how you look at it. This is only an accounting of the ride as it existed during the few years I rode it. La Tuna Canyon has been a popular cycling route for far longer for which, I am quite sure, there have been / still are, many variations on the theme. The Tuna Ride, starting and ending at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, featured in a Ride History post from September 2010 (back when this blog was called the Claremont Cyclist). As a continuation, this post will add a little meat to the bones of that original post. Keep in mind (and this may not have been made clear in that original post), this Tuna ride was not entirely new as variations of the route had been taking place for an unknown number of years previous to 1994.
Being a seasonal ride (beginning after the Fall time change) 1994's first loop may have taken place on Sunday the 6th of November, but since I was over the mountains riding the La Grange Ride, the start for me (and many of the others I knew) came a week later, on the 13th. Tom, Dave, Richard, Roberto, Mason and Tony all rounded out the group for that first ride; the pace was the typical comfortable parade until reaching the bottom of La Tuna Canyon. At that point, and as it often did, the pace went from comfortable to "pretty good for the time of year," (aka, fast). Reaching the bottom of La Tuna was also my signal to make sure I was toward the front end of the bunch in preparation for the attacks to come; the 13th was a satisfying day, as I was able to finish 6th at the top of Tuna and then, a few more miles later, 4th at Hospital Hill.
Sunday the 20th of November was my second day with the new GT Edge, a superb day with the group at full seasonal strength. Turning into La Tuna Canyon a small group had opened a gap on the bunch. Though small in size, the break was massive in talent - Olin, Mitch, Darren, Dave, Alberto and a second Dave (aka Abdoujaparov) - sorry I can't picture who this second Dave was (maybe Dave Hall), though since I had nicknamed him Abdu', I must have known of him and his sprinting ability (or crashing, perhaps) - "I was in damn good company!" Anyway, my placing at the top of the climb improved a spot over the previous week, coming in behind Olin, Mitch, Darren and an unidentified Azteca team rider. Back at the park, I foolishly [?] agreed to continue riding with Olin and Mitch out Ventura Boulevard to Tarzana or so, stopping there for donuts, and then chugging up Sepulveda to the Pass, and back along Mulholland Drive. At either Coldwater or Laurel they picked up the pace and rode away. "Come on, Mike, easy pace," they said. Ha, ha; I can only imagine how many people have been deceived by that statement over the years and all around the world.
Rain fell on the 26th, but by Sunday the 27th the ride was on. Back then, I firmly believed that taking a day off from riding was a sure way to mess up your rhythm, so I probably blamed not riding the day before for a poor showing on Sunday. Yeah, 12th to the top of La Tuna would have been unacceptable; to make up I led out the shorter Hospital Hill, holding on for 3rd.
A front flat afflicted my climb on Sunday December 4th. It happened about half way up the canyon. Being overly competitive, and unwilling to cede any places to riders still behind me, I pushed on, flat and all, and still managed to reach the top 6th. That was followed by a 4th at the hospital.
The ride on the Sunday a week later took place on a "very fine day," both from a weather perspective and, more importantly, from a riding one. As usual, the group of climbers, either singly or one following the wheel of another, began to move to the front as soon as the group turned onto La Tuna Canyon road. A group of five of us opened a gap - Dave, another Dave, Anthony (Tony) and another rider I didn't know who, anyway, was shed soon enough. I pulled the remaining three up to the wide shoulder, too long as it would turn out, and I then fell off the back. From that point, the goal became keeping ahead of any and all chasers, which I managed to do, topping out above the I-210 in 4th. I had it on good rumor, that Anthony did no work and took 1st at the summit. Speeding down along Honolulu and then Verdugo, we got to the bottom of Hospital Hill where... no one seriously challenged my attack - a win is a win, but it lacked a little significance without the competition. Not yet finished, I led out the Linda Vista sprint but, it being a sprint and all, could only manage 7th or 8th. It was another one of those "one ride is not enough" kind of days so, once back at Griffith Park, Richard and I did a quick 20 mph ride out to Encino Velodrome for the swap meet. In other news, I apparently was having trouble finding a #7 Allen wrench, that I needed to put on a new longer pair of Campy Record cranks which, I believe, I still have on the C'dale. Anyway, Dennis, who had given (sold) me the cranks "had no helpful words," meaning I was still riding the 170s and, not yet, the 172.5s.
On Sunday the 18th of December, another group of five of us went away on La Tuna - Mitch, Darren, Dave, Anthony and myself. I again took a long pull, to about half way up, and then fell away as Mitch and Anthony began their own surge. I was hoping to hold on for another 4th, but Alberto got past and away, at the parking lot. there was some satisfaction in holding out to beat Andrzej which, for some reason I can't recall, I considered "redemptive." The pace to the Hospital was "pretty fast" and, this time, not attacking from the front, I may have finished in the top ten. The pace continued to burn to the Berkshire sprint "which I set up pretty well" [for someone?] and got a 6th. Dave flatted soon after that, and Darren and I both stopped to render aid. Back on the road, our chase was moving well, but even so we were "just hoping to finish inside the time limit." The pursuit continued through Glendale, even after Darren branched off for home, and eventually Dave and I were able to latch onto the back markers before reaching the finish at the park.
It rained the night of Saturday 14 January 1995 and, in the morning, I laid in bed debating whether to ride or not. With no time to spare, I flipped a coin and the tails told me to go and, without benefit of breakfast, I hurried over to meet the twenty or so riders who debated the same and reached the same conclusion. The ride was only fair for myself, as I could only manage an 8th at the top of La Tuna, behind Mitch, Tony, Darren, Dave Hall, Alberto and "two others I only know by face." Bill had an unusually good day - no, not because it was unusual for him to have a good day, but because he did unusually well, especially when considering he did the ride in hiking boots, having forgotten his cycling shoes.
The 22nd was a disappointing climbing day on the ride, but the finish was surprisingly good. We were all still together as a group at a point just where La Tuna began to turn upward, when a crash took place up at the front. In all the slowing and swerving, I got pinched against the curb and toppled over; people turned around and gave me the old "what the heck, dude" look but, other than giving the GT its first crash-induced scratch, the only lasting harm was to my reputation. Bill flatted just before Hospital Hill, and I and the other Xtremists stopped to help, taking us all out of that hilltop sprint. Nothing of interest happened then, until getting back to the park, where Alberto attacked and latched onto the wheels of a truck driven by Dave Hall. Whether this had been planned, or was a spur-of-the-moment opportunity, I never did find out. Anyway, the two of them stayed away. I, momentarily tried to chase, but saw it was futile and fell back into the chase group. I signaled Dave Ward to get onto my wheel as we turned around the Zoo lot and then attacked. I don't know what happened after that, but I was able to open a gap and hold it all the way to the line. The day also marked the return of Ed, his first time back in the bunch since breaking a leg in a crash up on the Crest.
A bunch of us only rode as far as the summit of La Tuna on January 29th, where Mitch, Dave, Tom, Ed, Pepe, Darren, Ernie, I and "someone else" headed off to Big T; in the lower portion of that canyon were were audience to a free concert performance "a cappella" by Ed and Darren who gave us their best [?] try at Hotel California. Missed most of the competition, but it was a fair trade-off for a day spent in the mountains with friends. With the racing season starting, this would be the final Park / La Tuna Ride until November.
The winter 1995/96 season of the ride arrived on the 5th of November, but it wasn't until a week later (the 12th) that I, with tired arms for some reason, made it out following a long season of racing. The rhythm of the ride - hmm, I like that, the rhythm of the ride. Note to self, use it again sometime - picked up right where it left off: a mostly sedate procession from the park, through Burbank and Sun Valley, right up to the turn into La Tuna Canyon where the bunch gradually gained steam before becoming an absolute runaway train up canyon, down through the Crescenta, along the lip of the Arroyo, and out the other side, finally relaxing when Colorado Boulevard was reached. A three-rider break got away on the lower part of the Tuna climb, and the chase began. Once. rounded up, a second group went away, and this one I was in. I was outclassed well before the top though, and could only watch "such noted goats as Mark Rich and Anthony" ride away.
The ride of November 19th was very similar although, this time, I made the initial attack, right where the canyon road turns up for good. I didn't expect to succeed (and didn't), but knew that making efforts like that would pay off in the long run. Coming up from way back, I managed to snag a 4th at Hospital Hill. It was good to see both Nelson and Marco out today, making time to maintain some off-season fitness.
November 26th was disappointing for my not being able to compete against the other guns. As soon as we had turned onto La Tuna, Nelson double flatted. All the team members who were out that day - Bill, Marco and myself stopped and, by the time we got rolling again, there was no hope of catching back on, and the rest of the ride was just the four of us. It was satisfying to reach the top of Tuna two minutes up on the others, but could only wonder how that would have stacked up against the rides' big guns.
A team ride substituted for the Tuna ride on the 3rd of December, and on the 10th "legs of lead" just could not turn the cranks fast enough to compete. I started out the ride up canyon with the leaders, but could not hold the pace and fell back. At the top Nelson and I waited for George and Julius to reach the summit, while the rest of the bunch took off on the descent. After a few minutes, and still no sign of the two long-lost teammates coming up the road, we decided to continue on ourselves. Assuming the peloton was long gone by then, we never the less caught sight of the bunch up the road. Nelson did some fine pulling, while the theme from Jaws played somewhere in the background, and we closed the gap. Just as we were about to catch, a red light brought the chase to a screeching halt, and the group, again, rode away. While Nelson got caught at another light, I tried a big push up Hospital Hill and then, bound and determined by the game of chase, continued speeding solo down past Descanso, and along Berkshire, only realizing the jig was up when I got back into Glendale. A lot of enthusiasm, but not so much the results.
Another team ride substitution on the 17th, so the next La Tuna ride for me came on Christmas Eve day, the 24th December. Pretty standard, uneventful fare, until we got all the way back to Colorado Boulevard, where I dropped my chain. As I stopped to put it back on, and the group sped away, Dave circled back and, soon enough, the two of us gave chase. Down Colorado we went, though Eagle Rock. Just past Eagle Rock Boulevard, the bunch came into view, and by Verdugo they were caught. Rumor was, our teamwork during the chase made a good impression.
Things were coming along nicely by the next ride (December 31st), the work during the previous weeks beginning to pay off. Reached the top of Tuna in the top 10, though well off the monster pace being set by Devon, et al. A big push up Hospital Hill got me a 2nd, behind Alberto. The grand finale, back at the Park, turned into a friendly little competition between Xtreme and Folgore. Out numbered 2:1, we couldn't cover all the attacks, and when Tom launched the final assault to lead out Enrique, the game was over, we had no match for that speed.
I didn't make it out to the Park ride again until January 21st. The ride on this day was different in respect to that it started out fast, not Montrose fast, perhaps, but still far quicker than normal. La Tuna was not kind, and at least twenty riders reached to top before me this day. Down the other side, at least half the bunch split off to go ride Big T. At Hospital Hill, some powering up got me a 2nd, behind Dave, and a second fragmentation of the bunch took place. I followed up that 2nd with a 3rd at Berkshire, but then sat out the competition at the Colorado sprint. By the time we reached the Park there were less than ten of us left, so it wasn't much of a struggle to take 3rd behind Dave and Roberto.
The ride of February 4th was a disappointing one in that I came to admit that my climbing was just not where it should have been by that point of the year. Not only did the leaders keep pulling away up La Tuna, but others kept passing me as well. The only consolation was that I finished up in the company of Mark Rich. About half the group, again, broke off for Big T so, when we got to the Hospital, the competition was markedly diminished and I was able to get another 2nd for the second consecutive ride. Some team rides and then the start of the race season meant this was the last of the La Tuna rides for me, until November.
The first Park / La Tuna Ride of the winter 1996/97 season took place on the 3rd of November, with the by now usual slow roll procession, ahead of the ramping up of the pace at La Tuna Canyon. I had to bridge some gaps in the lower canyon reaches to make it up to the main group - a lot of other riders just not yet ready to move faster - but then got dropped and counted myself "lucky" to reach the summit in the top thirty. The rest of the ride was better, but overall, still disappointing.
The ride of November 10th was much better, and I was able to finish up the Tuna in about 15th or so. I made more effort to keep to the front of the bunch down the other side, and when we reached Hospital Hill, was able to improve more. I was beginning to wonder why, and when, I had become stronger on the shorter sprinters' hills, over the long grinding climbs.
I finished outside the top twenty up La Tuna on the ride of the 17th November, but I could blame that on Dave who, having lost an election bet with me, payed out - with a roll of quarters, just before we reached the climb. Bastard! I bet he had that planned all along - Ha! the rest of the ride went well, a lot of bridging and chasing, with some good finishes, then attacking at the finale in the Park, just being caught at the last turn.
The ride of 24 November was abbreviated since the woman who would become the mrs in another couple years came out. At the top of La Tuna, I said farewell to the boyos as they continued on, and I set to waiting, never to see the bunch again on this day. When I did make it back to the Park, I found a sweaty headband waving from the trucks' antenna, a gift from Dave "Armstrong" Ward. Ever the joker.
On December 1st, "everything was going pretty much as it usually does until my crank started to work itself loose - again! I learned my lesson from the day before, and brought a hex wrench to tighten it, climbed fairly well the rest of the way up and also did well on Hospital Hill. Was unfortunate enough to get caught in a small group behind some idiot in his sports car who split the grouppo at the turn to Highland. It was a chase from there, but finally at the Colorado - Figueroa intersection we caught back on. My legs were pretty much wasted for the rest of the ride."
For whatever the reason, I started the climb up La Tuna last, on December 14th (low expectation maybe, thinking that if I passed anyone I could call it a success?), but moved up nicely, pacing along with Nick and Kelly. The bunch split up while racing down the other side, and I had to do some chasing and bridging between the many fragments to get to the bottom of Hospital Hill in a good position. Sprinting up that, though, my chain snapped, and would have faced a long walk home if not for one rider carrying a chain tool who stopped to help. Bill too, came up, OTB, and the three of us rode back to the Park. An up and down sort of day, and I didn't know "quite what to make of it."
For my, the next Park / La Tuna ride didn't take place until well into the new year - on the 2nd of February 1997, to be exact, the final one of the season before the start of racing. Because of that, the group was quite a bit smaller than usual. Still, there were enough riders to keep things interesting. Did some pushing up La Tuna, keeping fairly close to Anthony until the final stretch, and reached the top in 6th. "From there I went on to bigger and better things, winning both Hospital Hill and the Park sprint."
Most of a year passed under our wheels before next the Park Ride gathered together again. November 2nd was the first of the seasons' Sunday howdy's. "Most of the old familiar faces came out," I took a "little jibing from Anthony," we had record high temperature, and "I was ready." But first... I only got as far as Woodbury University when I silently flatted. A quick change later and I was back on the road, ensconced in the long chase. "Caught a couple of old guys at the top of La Tuna and raced on by. When I got to Honolulu, I saw the bunch way up ahead., A bit later, I caught Doc who, didn't hold out much hope of me catching back up - but I proved him wrong at Hospital Hill. I was so pumped to get back on, that the rest of the ride went surprisingly well."
The ride of November 9th didn't have quite the same dramatics, but even so, it was a good ride. La Tuna came up and a small group got away; I went to the front of the chase, and kept the pressure on the whole way up to finish maybe in the top 15. Got a 3rd at the Hospital, and made it back to Griffith Park, wending through a maze of cars and Harley's (I think it was the annual Toy Ride). "Racing along the golf course, Sergio attacked and I was in a position to immediately get his wheel; but we did not get a foot on the chasers and I was done for after taking my pull."
Improvement continued a week later (16 November), a "big day," reaffirming some faith in my racing. "The usual leisurely start allowed us ample time for talk and catching up on all the latest happenings." La Tuna came "and I got myself into position easily enough and managed to finish a few places better" than the previous week and, perhaps, a little closer to the front runners. I kept myself near the front all the way down into Montrose, and then attacked at the base of Hospital Hill, managing to hold off all but one chaser. To those two finishes I added respectable sprints, without much effort, at the next two spots (Berkshire, and Colorado).
On November 23rd, I took a considerably longer pull along the easy part of La Tuna Canyon, an error of judgement that cost me a couple spots by the top. Still, I could say I finished strong. Three riders got the jump on me at the Hospital, but I was on their heels, this time (and unusually) using the small ring. The next sprint - Berkshire - was very fast - 42 mph, after which the ride settled to a more normal pace back to the Park, where I attacked on the final little roller to solo in a minute ahead of a bunch that could not have cared any less.
There was at least one rain day before I made it out to the next ride - on December 14th. When the climb of La Tuna started in earnest, I quickly got onto Anthony's wheel. Dave, assuming this meant I was back in top form, cut me no slack, and the two of them, with others in tow, pulled away. I may have made the top 20 list, before deciding to settle for sitting in the rest of the ride. That is until we reached Colorado where I flatted. Dave, Enrique, Richard, and Nelson waited, and the bunch of us paced well, catching back on by the Los Feliz / Brand intersection. For some reason, the bunch decided to "bike path it" back through the Park, so there was no sprint finale on this day.
As it would turn out, this would be the final time I would do the Park / La Tuna Ride. Kind of sad, really, I always had a good time on it, and have often wondered how, and if, it is still going these days.
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