Greeting from the Potomac River! Cheering for the National Cherry Blossom Festival!
The weekend with no training rides. Not that I was lazy, I’m out of town attending the Association of Healthcare Journalists national conference in DC. I’ll extend my trip till Wednesday so I can do some sightseeing in the capital.
The conference ended on Sunday afternoon, so I’ve to check out the hotel and moved to a hostel (Hostelling International, pretty good). I usually choose a hostel when I travel alone, not just save cost (about $25-$35 a night, 4-8 people per room) but also get to know travelers from around the world.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C. commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift to the city of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo. Mayor Ozaki donated the trees in an effort to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two peoples.
The first festival was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nation's capital. Suspended during World War II because of hostilities between the United States and the Empire of Japan, the festival resumed in 1947 with the support of the Washington, DC Board of Trade and the DC Commissioners. In 1948, the cherry blossom princess and U.S. Cherry Blossom Queen program were started by the National Conference of State Societies.
This year the festival begins on the 29th with an opening ceremony at the National Buildings Museum. According to the organizer, about 8000 people went to the family fun day and ceremony.
After checking in at the hostel, I walked to the National Mall, which is about six blocks south, then headed west to the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. I walked for about four hours under the chilly spring weather in DC (luck you in the sunny southern California).
Pictures taken from today’s visit can be viewed at CLICK HERE. Hope you enjoy seeing them and don’t forget to sponsor me, have your friends and family sponsor me. The ride is just two months away!!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - Century Easter Weekend, the Reservoirs and the State Prison
It was hot, it was long, lots of climbing, lots of fun. It was another milestone for the season, 114 miles for this weekend.
On Friday, the TRLs from the Rose Bowl group, Pedro, Eric, Fiona and I met at Stan’s Bike shop in Monrovia. We would like to try out something different, something more challenging, and something with spectacular view. So Fiona suggested we go up San Gabriel Canyon Road and come down Glendora Mountain Road, and we did.
These are roads that go into Angeles National Forest, you cannot imagine how nice the view is without actually seeing it yourself (well you’re lucky; I took some pictures to share with you). However, in order to enjoy the spectacular view, we had to do A LOT of climbing, the highest point happens to be 3406 feet above sea level.
We passed by the Morris and San Gabriel reservoirs on the way up. I’ve never seen such a nice view before. Maybe things do look better when you’re paying extra hard work, just like food tastes a lot better when you’re hungry. It was so peaceful, it was so nice to be closed to the natural, and it was so good to stay away from the busy life with cars and works. Believe it or not, there’s a state prison in the forest! We ran into some inmates, I supposed they’re not the hardcore criminals.
We stopped at Camp Williams Café for breakfast after about 20 miles of riding. This was the only spot to fill up our water bottles. In fact, a lot of cyclists stopped there for the same reason. The food was ok but we don’t have many choices. At this point, the café is only opened Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but will open daily after Memorial Day weekend.
The hardest part of the ride was the last 6 plus miles up to the top of East Fork Road before it gets to Glendora Mt. Road. It reminded me of the Mulholland Challenge that I did 2 years ago, a steady 7 miles climb at mile 80. After reaching the top, we stopped for few minutes to catch our breath and then enjoy the 10-mile downhill. We got back to Stan’s about 1.30pm.
Saturday was our regular training ride from the Rose Bowl. We had 20 people showed up for this flat to hilly ride. We did it last month, the day my car tire gets flat. The challenge of this ride came in the second part when we had to climb up New York Drive, Altadena Drive and the final one mile, the killer, Lake Avenue.
Due to the speed of different riders, everyone was kind of spread out after the first stop at Goldstein’s. While Pedro and Eric stayed in the front with the fast riders, Fiona and I were at the back. We also had Doreen, a 14th time riders plus TRL to join us. She’s great and helped the new riders a lot. I thought I was good at sweeping but she’s 10 times better.
When the heat kicked in, some riders decided to go to the short cut and finished the ride. Doreen and I end up being the last 2 riders at the back. We rode the last 10 miles together.
Since I will be out of town this coming week and miss the weekend training, so I decided to ride by myself on Sunday morning, to get over the century mark, and I did. I rode from home to the Rose Bowl plus a loop at the Linda Vista neighborhood, total about 21 miles.
As for the fundraising part, it’s going pretty slow. Is it because of the economy? Or just because I didn’t train hard enough to get your support? C’mon, every dollar counts, regardless it’s $10 or $100, it will help someone. So while you’re enjoying the pictures I took from the training rides, I hope you would consider sponsoring me as well. Also please spread the words and get more people to support this great cause.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
On Friday, the TRLs from the Rose Bowl group, Pedro, Eric, Fiona and I met at Stan’s Bike shop in Monrovia. We would like to try out something different, something more challenging, and something with spectacular view. So Fiona suggested we go up San Gabriel Canyon Road and come down Glendora Mountain Road, and we did.
These are roads that go into Angeles National Forest, you cannot imagine how nice the view is without actually seeing it yourself (well you’re lucky; I took some pictures to share with you). However, in order to enjoy the spectacular view, we had to do A LOT of climbing, the highest point happens to be 3406 feet above sea level.
We passed by the Morris and San Gabriel reservoirs on the way up. I’ve never seen such a nice view before. Maybe things do look better when you’re paying extra hard work, just like food tastes a lot better when you’re hungry. It was so peaceful, it was so nice to be closed to the natural, and it was so good to stay away from the busy life with cars and works. Believe it or not, there’s a state prison in the forest! We ran into some inmates, I supposed they’re not the hardcore criminals.
We stopped at Camp Williams Café for breakfast after about 20 miles of riding. This was the only spot to fill up our water bottles. In fact, a lot of cyclists stopped there for the same reason. The food was ok but we don’t have many choices. At this point, the café is only opened Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but will open daily after Memorial Day weekend.
The hardest part of the ride was the last 6 plus miles up to the top of East Fork Road before it gets to Glendora Mt. Road. It reminded me of the Mulholland Challenge that I did 2 years ago, a steady 7 miles climb at mile 80. After reaching the top, we stopped for few minutes to catch our breath and then enjoy the 10-mile downhill. We got back to Stan’s about 1.30pm.
Saturday was our regular training ride from the Rose Bowl. We had 20 people showed up for this flat to hilly ride. We did it last month, the day my car tire gets flat. The challenge of this ride came in the second part when we had to climb up New York Drive, Altadena Drive and the final one mile, the killer, Lake Avenue.
Due to the speed of different riders, everyone was kind of spread out after the first stop at Goldstein’s. While Pedro and Eric stayed in the front with the fast riders, Fiona and I were at the back. We also had Doreen, a 14th time riders plus TRL to join us. She’s great and helped the new riders a lot. I thought I was good at sweeping but she’s 10 times better.
When the heat kicked in, some riders decided to go to the short cut and finished the ride. Doreen and I end up being the last 2 riders at the back. We rode the last 10 miles together.
Since I will be out of town this coming week and miss the weekend training, so I decided to ride by myself on Sunday morning, to get over the century mark, and I did. I rode from home to the Rose Bowl plus a loop at the Linda Vista neighborhood, total about 21 miles.
As for the fundraising part, it’s going pretty slow. Is it because of the economy? Or just because I didn’t train hard enough to get your support? C’mon, every dollar counts, regardless it’s $10 or $100, it will help someone. So while you’re enjoying the pictures I took from the training rides, I hope you would consider sponsoring me as well. Also please spread the words and get more people to support this great cause.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - Bike to Train, Sunshire to Rain
Another record for this season, 75 miles ride from Irvine to Solana Beach.
The sky was dark and the alarm went off at the most undesired time. At 5 a.m. to be exact. While most people were still in bed enjoying their beauty sleep, or maybe having wonderful dreams, I had to get up and get ready for a training ride.
The Saturday morning fun ride was organized by Team OC. In fact I first did this ride back in 2006 when I was training for ALC 5. They organize this ride twice a year. I forgot why I didn’t join them last year.
I arrived at the Irvine train station shortly after seven. Some early birds already left to catch their fun. I met with Suzann, Khoa and George, picked up the route slips, pre-ordered our pizzas, did some stretching and hit the road around 7.30 a.m.
It was a little cold but not too cold. That was when I realized I forgot to bring my gloves. Great! They were still in my laundry bag. We didn’t wear gloves just because they looked great, they helped protect the nerves on the palms. Of course it won’t kill if you didn’t wear them, but you’ll get those sexy tan lines like I do.
We made a few stops along the coast, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, and at the beach near Oceanside. We had to detour and bike a few miles on the 5 freeway last time and we were lucky not to have to repeat that. Instead we went through Camp Pendleton Marine Co Base.
I felt great for the first 40 miles because we got tailwind for most part of it. However I started feeling tired and the legs just quit working with my mind. I started to fall apart from our group. It was ok, I always follow the “ride on your own pace” rule. I tried to concentrate, or should I say I tried not to pay too much attention on each stroke that I made, tried to forget the pain on my legs and hip. I keep telling myself, one mile at a time. That’s what helped me get through the last 10 miles.
We got to the pizza place across the street from the Solana Beach train station around 2p.m. It was crowded as usual. The pizza that we pre-ordered were ready, we just need to wait in line for 10-15minutes to pay! I am not a big pizza fan, yet the BBQ chicken pizza was so delicious.
Team OC rented a truck to ship our bikes back to Irvine, there’s only limited space on the train for bikes, and it definitely won’t fit all 53 bikes at once. After pizza and beers (for most of the riders, not me) we took the 3.33pm train heading to Irvine. The five tiring-hard working-sweating hours on the bike only takes an hour on the train. However, I have to admit those five hours were worth it.
I drove to my friend Catherine’s house in San Dimas after the ride. The clear sky turned into dark while I traveled north on the freeways. It rained by the time I got there. It was so refreshing. There were delicious food and snacks, plus wines and cheesecake. Of course everyone loves karaoke! It was nice to have a friends gathering after a day-long ride.
I got home before midnight and fell asleep in less than 30 minutes. I need more trainings so I will no be suffering during the June’s event.
The sky was dark and the alarm went off at the most undesired time. At 5 a.m. to be exact. While most people were still in bed enjoying their beauty sleep, or maybe having wonderful dreams, I had to get up and get ready for a training ride.
The Saturday morning fun ride was organized by Team OC. In fact I first did this ride back in 2006 when I was training for ALC 5. They organize this ride twice a year. I forgot why I didn’t join them last year.
I arrived at the Irvine train station shortly after seven. Some early birds already left to catch their fun. I met with Suzann, Khoa and George, picked up the route slips, pre-ordered our pizzas, did some stretching and hit the road around 7.30 a.m.
It was a little cold but not too cold. That was when I realized I forgot to bring my gloves. Great! They were still in my laundry bag. We didn’t wear gloves just because they looked great, they helped protect the nerves on the palms. Of course it won’t kill if you didn’t wear them, but you’ll get those sexy tan lines like I do.
We made a few stops along the coast, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, and at the beach near Oceanside. We had to detour and bike a few miles on the 5 freeway last time and we were lucky not to have to repeat that. Instead we went through Camp Pendleton Marine Co Base.
I felt great for the first 40 miles because we got tailwind for most part of it. However I started feeling tired and the legs just quit working with my mind. I started to fall apart from our group. It was ok, I always follow the “ride on your own pace” rule. I tried to concentrate, or should I say I tried not to pay too much attention on each stroke that I made, tried to forget the pain on my legs and hip. I keep telling myself, one mile at a time. That’s what helped me get through the last 10 miles.
We got to the pizza place across the street from the Solana Beach train station around 2p.m. It was crowded as usual. The pizza that we pre-ordered were ready, we just need to wait in line for 10-15minutes to pay! I am not a big pizza fan, yet the BBQ chicken pizza was so delicious.
Team OC rented a truck to ship our bikes back to Irvine, there’s only limited space on the train for bikes, and it definitely won’t fit all 53 bikes at once. After pizza and beers (for most of the riders, not me) we took the 3.33pm train heading to Irvine. The five tiring-hard working-sweating hours on the bike only takes an hour on the train. However, I have to admit those five hours were worth it.
I drove to my friend Catherine’s house in San Dimas after the ride. The clear sky turned into dark while I traveled north on the freeways. It rained by the time I got there. It was so refreshing. There were delicious food and snacks, plus wines and cheesecake. Of course everyone loves karaoke! It was nice to have a friends gathering after a day-long ride.
I got home before midnight and fell asleep in less than 30 minutes. I need more trainings so I will no be suffering during the June’s event.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - 12 more weeks!
62 miles from Long Beach to Hacienda Heights!
Due to several reasons, my training didn’t go as well as last season, so far I have spent less miles on the wheels compare with the same period last time. The 62 miles ride I did on Saturday with my buddies Suzann and Khoa was the longest this year.
We met at the Marina in Long Beach, took the San Gabriel River bike path up to Whittier, then switched to the road and passed through some neighborhoods which I had no idea where we were.
The “fun” part of the day was climbing up Turnbull Canyon Road. It was about 2-3miles up hill, not the toughest but certainly made me realized I wasn’t in my top fitness level. The view from the top was nice despite covered by smog or air pollutant.
We didn’t get a map for this route, as a result we end up getting lost in Whittier. Thanks to the friendly people in the neighborhood, we were able to get back to the bike path after crossing a busy road with freeway entrances.
The last 10 miles of the ride was very hard for me, because we were heading towards the ocean, which mean headwind. My legs couldn’t go faster as I wished them would. I was very tired at the end of the ride and starving too, so we went to a restaurant on 2nd Street in Long Beach. I ordered a jambalaya crepes but it wasn’t as good as I thought.
Thank to day light saving time, I lost an hour sleep and Sunday’s training. Well, I guess I’ll train harder in the coming week. I did a spinning class and a yoga class too.
Due to several reasons, my training didn’t go as well as last season, so far I have spent less miles on the wheels compare with the same period last time. The 62 miles ride I did on Saturday with my buddies Suzann and Khoa was the longest this year.
We met at the Marina in Long Beach, took the San Gabriel River bike path up to Whittier, then switched to the road and passed through some neighborhoods which I had no idea where we were.
The “fun” part of the day was climbing up Turnbull Canyon Road. It was about 2-3miles up hill, not the toughest but certainly made me realized I wasn’t in my top fitness level. The view from the top was nice despite covered by smog or air pollutant.
We didn’t get a map for this route, as a result we end up getting lost in Whittier. Thanks to the friendly people in the neighborhood, we were able to get back to the bike path after crossing a busy road with freeway entrances.
The last 10 miles of the ride was very hard for me, because we were heading towards the ocean, which mean headwind. My legs couldn’t go faster as I wished them would. I was very tired at the end of the ride and starving too, so we went to a restaurant on 2nd Street in Long Beach. I ordered a jambalaya crepes but it wasn’t as good as I thought.
Thank to day light saving time, I lost an hour sleep and Sunday’s training. Well, I guess I’ll train harder in the coming week. I did a spinning class and a yoga class too.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Bicycle Diaries the 3rd - 2 hills Go-Go Ride
“Are we expecting the rain?”
“Err… I guess no!”
“It’s not raining, just drizzling, just different kind of training, you need to train under different weather conditions.”
That’s our training ride on Saturday. Around 55’F, more than 20 riders, almost 50 miles ride, 2 major hill climbs. We stopped at two Goldstein’s Bagels, the first one in La Canada and the second one in Arcadia, maybe we should name this the Go-Go ride?
Lida and Chevy Chase are the 2 hills that I trained on most of the time for ALC 5 & 6. I’ve not climbed both since last year, so I was a little worried before we get up to the first hill and GU upped in advance, hopefully I’ll be fined. I managed to finish these back-to-back hills without any major incidents, I guess I’m ready huh.
The weather was not as nice as the previous week. However, riding in wet condition is just as fun, just need to be extra careful on the down hill. I finished this 48-mile ride just before 2pm.
My legs were sore and I was so tired, end up taking a 3-hour POWER nap!
“Err… I guess no!”
“It’s not raining, just drizzling, just different kind of training, you need to train under different weather conditions.”
That’s our training ride on Saturday. Around 55’F, more than 20 riders, almost 50 miles ride, 2 major hill climbs. We stopped at two Goldstein’s Bagels, the first one in La Canada and the second one in Arcadia, maybe we should name this the Go-Go ride?
Lida and Chevy Chase are the 2 hills that I trained on most of the time for ALC 5 & 6. I’ve not climbed both since last year, so I was a little worried before we get up to the first hill and GU upped in advance, hopefully I’ll be fined. I managed to finish these back-to-back hills without any major incidents, I guess I’m ready huh.
The weather was not as nice as the previous week. However, riding in wet condition is just as fun, just need to be extra careful on the down hill. I finished this 48-mile ride just before 2pm.
My legs were sore and I was so tired, end up taking a 3-hour POWER nap!
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