ALC 5 Training Progress 2/26

Everyday is a milestone, and I’m SOO proud of myself, those are what I learned this past week.

It has been almost a month now since I bought my bike, and so far I’ve put on 263 miles on it. On Monday (2/20) I joined an ALC group ride called “Pasadena Home Envy Tour” leaded by Tommy & Pedro. On this 13 miles ride, we started from the Rose Bowl and went through the Linda Vista area. It was a nice and easy ride; the best thing was I don’t have to drive long to get to the meeting point. Not forget to thank both ride leaders, who were very nice and helpful.

I did spinning class on Wednesday (2/22) and Friday (2/24). Oh yeah, also did the Rose Bowl loops on Thursday (2/23) afternoon, about 19 miles. There were a lot of people that day, I supposed everyone enjoyed the sunny day after a raining weekend.

OK, now come the FUN part. For those of you who know La Tuna Canyon and Lida Street in Pasadena, yes, I climbed up both of them in one day. For those who don’t know where they are, let me tell you, La Tuna Canyon is a 4.5 miles steady climb, the top is just after the 210 underpass. Lida Street starts from Linda Vista and it is a more than 2 miles climb. This ride started from the beautiful Griffith Park, and the whole trip was 45.3 miles. It was the longest distance single ride I ever did. Of course, the record won’t be held for long, I’ve to do a lot more than just 45 miles.

There were around 50 riders turn out for this ride, so you can imagine how popular it is and how they loved the hills! The ride went through several cities, including some I’ve never been to, and in some cases, I didn’t even know where I was. The areas were nice.

I was very tired and sore after the ride. Didn’t get home till 3pm, after finish doing some writing, I went for a nap. Later on, called one of the rider friends, Dionne, she wants to does the Sunday’s “Tom’s Star Map Tour” and see if I would like to go too. I wasn’t sure at the beginning, but then I think I have to do it, I need the training.

Sunday (2/26) turned out to be a wonderful day. On this 33 miles ride, we started from the West Hollywood Park, went through Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Bel Air etc. It certainly was an easier ride compare to what I did the day before, however, it was not easy at all, especially climbing up Bundy Drive. I used the experience and strength I gained from the previous ride and it helps a lot. What I like about this ride is not only the nice communities, but also wonderful ride leaders and gets to know some other ALC 5 riders, including Kenny whom I first met from chatroom, Juan who is a second time rider.