Los Angeles Gravel: GrizzlyFlats & Josephine Peak with Gravelstoke

[@efraer]

Excellent video, as always! I think it's time for me to hit Josephine again. My last time up there (over 20 years ago), I crashed on one of the switchbacks and broke my collarbone. I need a happier memory.

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

Yikes. I did crash in my gravel guide video from four years ago...but not as bad..

[@efraer]

I was young and bulletproof, and determined to show off my downhill speed on a group ride. I can’t say that I learned my lesson that day…or any day since. 😂

[@djmalwitz]

Great views and awesome dirt. Thanks for reminding me how much this place sucks.

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

It only gets better. Or worse. I don't know which way is up or down anymore...

[@gravelpack8536]

Looks awesome looks like some bikepacking opportunities

[@user-ui8zl2ng2z]

I have recently been watching your videos and the places you share are exactly the locations I want to visit. Thank you very much! Can you also please include information on where we can park the cars? Subscribed and Liked!

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

Good idea. We just parked before we got into the forest where you'll need a day pass. You can find that spot on the map, but I'll add it.

[@henrypretz]

Very nice! Bummer indeed not being able to get to the summit 😕 Were you tempted to resort to the "do you know who I am?" line? 😊 On a related note, tell us a little about Dave's sweet bike

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

There was a guy parked there who's job it was to keep their engine running apparently... As for the bike, @djmalwitz have you done a review?

[@djmalwitz]

That's a Revel R+ titanium with 50mm Soma Cazadero tires. I'm currently running the XPLR 10-44 cassette and 42t chainring which was not ideal for me on Josephine. Switching over to T-Type soon!

[@rotciv319]

That was a super fun ride!!!

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

A lot of bang for the buck

[@akatgif]

One winter afternoon I made the mistake of climbing Mount lukens too late in the afternoon. I got to the top and it was getting dark quick. I was on the tujunga side and there's quite a bit of snow. Much of the first part of the climb was destroyed from winter storm rain. Ended up deciding to ride the road down to highway to and then into La crescenta. Only problem was, I didn't have a light, I was on a road bike with 700 25 c tires, and Shimano look petals. Riding in the pitch black, on a road bike, clipped in was a fucking nightmare. I ended up puncturing front and rear tubes. I ended up writing down highway 2 on rims only. Ended up taking a taxi home. Sort of fun thinking about it now, but I didn't get back home to the valley until about 1:00 a.m..

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

Wow. How many times did you say "things can't get any worse..."

[@gravelpack8536]

🎉 excited

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

@@gravelpack8536 woohoo

[@scottcampbell2003]

Are you rolling on WTB Resolute 50s on your Lauf? How do you like them? I’m rolling on Conti Race Kings and it’s really opened up the fun door for my Lauf around the So Cal mountains.

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

Right now I have on the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge 55s endurance which does roll similarly to my Resolute 42s

[@pauls2972]

What bikes and gearing are they riding in the video?

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

I was riding a Lauf Seigla with a 40T & 45 in the back. The other two had 50s in the back with a Canyon Grizl & Revel R+ titanium.

[@clausherther]

I don't know what gearing or legs you had for this, but I tried Josephine coming up from Big Tujunga with my 42T yesterday and that was unpleasantly steep for the first half....

[@clausherther]

Lukens to Grizzly Flats much more doable on the same bike

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

@@clausherther I can't believe that I used to ride those on a 1:1 gear ratio.

[@clausherther]

@@GravelBikeCalifornia yikes, yeah! My Grizl barely comes in 0.95...time to pull out the MTB maybe.

[@thisishowiedewitt76]

Aren’t all these fire roads shared with cars? By cars I mean the hordes of Jeeps and Tacomas that routinely jam up every other fire road in So Cal.

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

@@thisishowiedewitt76 no. Most of the fire roads in the Angeles National Forest are closed to outside traffic and even the open ones for a limited time. You'll see the exceptions in the video...

[@shirtlessGraveler305]

Thanks for sharing ever make it back out to LA or San Diego I’d like to ride something like this , nice and dry and relatively smooth. But the altitude in the climbing, that’s something else I’d have to deal with since I live in flat Florida.

[@GravelBikeCalifornia]

@shirtlessGraveler305 One thing LA needs is gravel without all this climbing