Mt. Wilson New Years Day Ride

Get the year started with the annual New Year's ride all the way to Mt Wilson. More than 100 plus riders are expected to begin their attempt to climb to the 5700' summit nearly 40 miles away.

Typically less than half the riders who start actually make it all the way to the top. But just being sober enough to make it to the start of the ride is an accomplishment in itself.

The first 15 miles rolls through the Valley on relatively flat streets, and looks more like the beginning of the New Year's Parade than a serious training ride. The riders then reassemble at Foothill Blvd. and Oro Vista in Tujunga at approximately 10:30 am and prepare for the formal assault on the mountain. (Many riders who were still trying to recover from their New Year's eve celebration join the ride here).

The ride then proceeds 15 miles up Big Tujunga Cyn to Angeles Forest Hwy, then right to Angeles Crest Hwy to a rest stop called Clear Creek Station. Here is the turning point, do you continue the ascent more than 10 miles up to the summit at Mt Wilson, or save yourself for the 30 mile ride back to Van Nuys?

At approximately 1pm the riders who made it to the top begin the 15 mile down hill trip to the bottom of Angeles Crest Hwy then proceed right on Foothill approximately two miles to a Mini-market where the majority of the riders regroup, thaw out, and do some electrolyte replacement therapy. Then they ride the remaining 20 miles at a leisurely pace back to Van Nuys, for a grand total of 80, 60, 50, or 30 miles depending on where you start and how far you ride.

The ride has never been rained out, but at times the last five miles of the ride has been impassable due to snow. In past years they only let cars with chains drive up, and some of the riders went all the way because they said their bikes all had "chains". In any case it is always advisable to bring plenty of cold weather gear IE; finger gloves, vest/windbreaker, tights, etc.

The ride will formally begin at 9am in Van Nuys at the home of Steve and Tara Nix 7122 Shoshone Av. (one block south of Sherman Way, and 2 blocks east of Whiteoak).