Wheels and News: Bicycle Diaries II

Happy Easter! Got Eggs?
(Cycle Buddy James Ray pose as Sexy Bunny)

While everyone was enjoying their cloudy Easter weekend, I continued my training. On Saturday, I co-lead a ride with Brian, we traveled south along the San Gabriel River Bike Path, from Irwindale to Seal Beach for brunch and back.

There were 27 of us in this ride. Most importantly, my buddy Suzann came all the way from Torrance to join us, to celebrate our “anniversary ride.” I met Suzann at last year’s Easter Day ride in Culver City. We’ve been cycle buddies since. It’s very important to find someone who rides the same pace you and I’m glad I met Suzann. Of course there were Kenny, Jennifer and Khoa too, we called ourselves “Team Misfit.” However Kenny & Jennifer will not be riding this year and Khoa lives in Orange County.

It was a 70-mile ride, going down the bike path is a little easier, as we don’t have to stop for lights or stop signs and most importantly there’s no traffic! I was leading the group for the first 20 miles, and Brian said “there’s no Car Back today (we call out when a car is approaching from the back so the riders in front are aware of it and will try to stay away from the traffic) because Kar is in front.”

The closer we get to the beach, the stronger the headwind. It was hard to peddle for the last 5 miles. We had brunch at the River End Café. Coming back was easier as we got the tailwind. After finishing the ride, I drove to Claremont to map out the route for next week ride.

On Easter Sunday, I joined a group ride from Griffith Park. Because of the holiday, there were only 12 riders in this ride, however we still had lots of fun riding up Chevy Chase and La Tuna Canyon Road. By the time we got back to the parking lot, Griffith Park was filled with people picnicking and celebrating Easter.

Both days we came across some sprinkles. That did not stop us from peddling, just made us peddle faster so we don’t get soaking wet. I did 2 spinning classes this past week and my first pilates class on Thursday, I was SO sore but loved it!

Total mileage for the week: 120.4 miles. I hit my 4000-mile on the way down to Seal Beach and now my odometer read 4085miles! 7 more weekends till ALC 6.

Next week I will be leading 2 rides, both start at the Rose Bowl. On Saturday (4/14) we will go up Lida and La Tuna, a 45-mile ride with good hill training. On Sunday (4/15) we will travel across the SGV, from Pasadena to Claremont, a 75-mile ride. If you’re interested, please email me.