We did a new thing this year with the troop and heading up to Irwindale for the Big Ride! The Big Ride is a cycling event put on by some folks out of Antelope Valley. Participants have choices of 25K, 50 mile and 100 mile routes. We had a small contingent but riders in all 3 segments.
We fought traffic driving up Friday night. We setup camp on the nice grass near the lake. After the riders meeting we all hit the sack.
The 100 milers woke up really early to get going. Me and another scout were doing the 50 mile route and were up and about by 7:00. The first part of the route had us going north up the San Gabriel River into Asuza canyon. It was uphill but a nice ride in the morning. We turned around at the trail end and headed downhill, first to the dam and then to the first rest stop and Legg Lake at Whittier Narrows. The next segment continued south down the river to El Dorado Park in Long Beach were lunch awaited. After some rest, we headed back up the river trail. The sun finally came out and made things a bit hot. We stopped again at the Legg Lake rest area for water then make the final stretch back to camp. It was pretty grueling for me since I don't ride much but all the scouts did great. We met the 100 mile guys on the dam.
Once back at camp, we pile in the cars and fought traffic on the way home. It was a cool event and something to consider again in the future.
