Biking to 50

I rode out to Corona to see my folks, it was harder then I expected. I had been working out at the gym, but I guess it's just not the same as actually getting on the bike. I was worn out, but it was a good 57 mile ride.

So I was going to take my bike to Las Vegas when we went for Terri's convention. The thought of getting to ride through the Red Rocks and out to Hoover Dam was exciting for me. But after we got out in the heat of Nevada, I realized that it was a good thing I did not bring the bike, it was stifling hot and very windy in the afternoons, more windy then Huntington Beach. So today was very difficult for me to force myself out on the road. I thought about going back down to San Jaun Capistrano since that was such a nice ride, but by the time I got past all my excuses for not going and finally got my biking clothes on I knew it would be the usual 20 to Bolsa Chica . The one thing that motivated me above all else to get back on was that I had invested in new Bontrager Race X Lite tires front and back with new tubes. My old Continental 4000's finally had a rip in the sidewall and I knew it was going to eventually blow out. Plus I had never really like that tire even compare...

What an awesome ride today, 45 miles and I felt like I was flying. I started from the train station in San Jaun Capistrano taking the coast through Doheney Beach, San Clemente and the myriad of beaches. Passing the San Onofre nuclear power plant and into the campground where there were many people enjoying the Labor Day weekend. I turned around at Los Polgus road which goes into Camp Pendleton . The trip back was just as rewarding as I passed slow moving cars through the campground and caught slower bikers over the San Clemente hills. By the time I got back to Doheney , so many vacationers had arrived to enjoy the beach. Great ride.

I wanted to get to 30 miles, then I said 25 will do, I ended this ride at a little over 23 miles. It was a hot windy day and I needed to get home for some great pizza with the family. Heading back was pretty swift but going against the wind on the way out was a struggle. Was a good ride, but hope to do a longer ride soon to make up for my short rides earlier this week.

I had to get home for dinner so I could only be out for less then an hour. So to the beach it is, and a lot of southern wind, but I did it fast and now it's time for dinner.

It was only about 12 miles on Monday, but it was so much fun to take this ride with Tod. We tried to make it a nice easy ride and it was for the most part. But then boys will be competitive and on the way back we dug in and worked it through a section of the bike trail before Adams. We hit over 30 MPG on that little stretch which is ridiculously fast on a level piece of ground.

So I do ride to the beach and north to Golden West pretty often, but there is something about going along the beach first thing in the morning when everyone is just waking up to get down for the good spots. The waves today were inclredible and the number of surfers were evidence of that. So many families, husbands & wives, girlfriend & boyfriends riding, walking or just watching the waves together. Taking it all in was just heart warming. Now sitting here writing my blog/journal and listening to the Beach Boys on Pandora, on the perfect day, love it. 20 miles, 16.5 mph, not bad for slowing down to watch all the "California Girls" along the beach, lol, yeah right.

On Saturday, from my house, it's about a 45 miles to my folks house, that's about 3 hours sitting on a bike seat, ouch. I should have left at 7am, because it got real hot out in Corona, but I ended up leaving after 8am which made it even hotter in the late morning. The ride was so much fun, at least the first half, where I felt like I was flying up the Santa Ana River trail. At times I was going over 20 mph, and ended up going an average of 17.7 mpg for the first half to Green river off the 91 Frwy. My average went downhill to 15.1 mph from there, since I was heading uphill for most of the rest of the ride into Corona to the folks house. I gained 2434 ft for this trip, most of that was at the end of the ride through the hills of Corona. It was wonderful to see my folks and be able to spend some time with them. Mom made a great lunch which I really needed after this ride, but when I got there and sat out on the back patio, I was sweating more than I think I ever have in my...

So I headed for my usual ride to the beach, but this time, north on PCH , 20 miles round trip. I thought it would be bad riding on the main highway of Pacific Coast Highway with all the cars compared to the bike trail along the beach, boy was I wrong. There was a very strong head wind going north, but thank you to the guy on the orange Trek and the massive legs for the pull from Magnolia to Beach, you increased my speed and kept me from being blown backwards. No other bikes either way, but on the way back south, I was flying. The light at Magnolia on the way back was turning yellow so I cranked it up to 28 mph, I was really moving. Compared to the pedestrians, pets, children and tourists, the cars on PCH were a piece of cake.

I like to challenge myself on hills and today was just such an opportunity. I left from Huntington Beach at Brookhurst for what turned out to be a 22 mile trip going south on Pacific Coast Highway. Bicycling through Newport is always a scary place since there are cars parked along the road and very little room between the "car door zone" and the cars coming from behind. I turned off PCH at Bayside Drive and thought about my son Tod getting hit by a truck on his bike on this road, he turned out just fine, just scratched up. I headed up past Balboa Island to Fernleaf , the road that has a 12% climb up to upper Corona Del Mar. Around the corner on to Ocean Blvd which overlooks the channel out to the ocean between Balboa and Corona Del Mar, and happens to be where I proposed to my wife on a beautiful summer evening as the sun was setting. My goal is to make it to Newport Coast road which has a 6-8% grade for nearly 3 miles, but I'm running out of water so I needed to stop ...

Okay, so it's the same old ride again to the beach, then to the pier and beyond to make it a 20 mile round trip ride. But it's always a different experience, whether it's the sunset, or the people you pass or the activities at the beach. Today, I left much later then I expected due to a team meeting conference call I had to be on for work, so as I was getting home around 7pm, the sun was just getting low on the horizon and had that orange, redish glow that I would not normally see in the early afternoon. The wind is usually a little more sustained and the tides are a lot higher at this time of day. Today is Tuesday and the street fair on Main street in Huntington was just kicking up with lots of people arriving to check out the activities for the night. There may have been a few less people visiting the beach tonight since it was a bit more windy and a little cooler then last night. One thing I thought about tonight was how focused I have to be with all the other people aro...

My ride yesterday was 21 miles, and I took the river trail to the beach and along the water to the pier and beyond to dog beach. I realized that taking the trail along the water is more dangerous then just getting out on Pacific Coast Highway with all the cars whizzing by me. On the trail at the beach, there are kids and adults that just don't look before walking across the bike path and there were many close calls where I have to hit the brakes. I also, almost hit a squirrel. She...Mrs squirrel was attempting a mad dash across the bike lane, somewhere near dog beach, I saw her getting ready and taking off when I hit my brakes, the squirrel did the same, you could hear my tires sliding on the asphalt but I could also hear the squirrel's claws as she made her attempt to stop before getting crushed by my front tire. We did it, we both stopped at the same time and for a moment our eyes met in thankful recognition that it could have been a horrible outcome for us both. After...

Nearly 30 miles today, a beautiful day on the coast of Southern California. I was worried because I had not gone out for two weeks, when I did a 40 mile round trip ride up the Santa Ana Bike trail. It seems to be my standard ride since I live so close to the river trail. I either go up the trail for 20 to 50 miles or toward the beach for anywhere from a 6 mile ride to the beach, 8.5 to the Huntington Beach pier, or past the pier to make a 20 mile round trip ride. I know I need to venture out more and today I made it to Corona Del Mar which was beautiful on a bright sunny August morning. I'm looking forward to my next ride and my next blog. Later