Day 15 Middle Chainring Climbfest #30daysofbiking

I had to get back early to do some errands in the afternoon, so I wanted to get some quick hard workout. I was going to park at the Rose Bowl, to climb up Angeles Crest Highway, possibly up to Clear Creek Junction. However, I got stalled at the Rose Bowl. Apparently, they had some event going on, and parking in the area was snarled. It took me some time to find a different location to park (probably an extra 30-45 minutes).

When I finally got my parking situation all resolved, I started out on Patrician Way (basically getting to Linda Vista the hard way ... up).  Since I had to make it a short ride, I figured I should make this a hard workout, so I deliberately kept it in the middle chain ring.  No granny gear for this ride.  We'll see how long that lasts.

I knew the street was a little torn up on Highland, so I figured I would go up Inverness, and head down to Chevy Chase.  But when I got to the top of Inverness, I found the road chewed up there too.  There is no way I'm descending the road like this.  Since I know the road isn't chewed up on St. Katherine, looks like I'm going up there again today.

With all these delays, I decided to pass on the Angeles Crest Hwy route, and do Emerald Isle again.  Emerald Isle is steep, which gets up to 23% in spots, and yes, I'm still in my middle chain ring.  At the summit, you get a nice view overlooking Hwy 2, or as the locals call it, the Glendale Freeway.

From there, it was a long fast and steep descent, before a few jogs, then heading back on Chevy Chase then another climb on Linda Vista over to Lida.

I was able to accomplish my goal ... climb these steep climbs with just my middle chain ring.  Don't get any illusions ... I am not ditching my triple for a compact double ... just wanting to see if I can do it.