Angeles Crest Ride

I learned several things on my road ride today. In no particular order:

• It is only about 14 miles and 2000ft of gain from my house to the Angeles Crest Highway (ACH).
• After being closed at its midpoint due to slides for several years, the ACH is open in its entirety again, meaning we have access to the inner San Gabriels without driving all the way out to the Mojave!
• I'm in better shape than I realize. The constant 5% grade on the ACH felt like a false flat to me; I rode comfortably up it at 12-13mph.
• Yuccas are blooming! This is a rare event and I've never managed to catch it before:

Happy yuccas! It doesn't seem so great until you realize that thing is 15ft tall.