Century

It has been a while since my last update, but if you recall I picked up cycling. One of my goals to complete a century ride. To work towards my goal I have been riding my bicycle at least three (3) times a week with varying routes/distances. I bought a new(ish) bicycle sooner than I had planned due to a bicycle shortage. I visited many local bike shops and eventually found something online at REI...in Northridge. I picked it on 2021-08-20 and it was forever driving there (90 minutes) and home (180 minutes). However, I was now the proud owner of a Cannondale Synapse Carbon 105. More than I would have liked to spend but it is still a solid bicycle, no regrets.

This purchase was just in time for Bike The Bay in San Diego. Proof above! Emphasis was made this event is not a race, but it was still a fun ride with many participants. I pushed myself a bit and found another rider to keep pace with for the ride. It was fortuitous I was able to ride the new bicycle on a beautiful ride. I was committed to cycling after this ride.

Stats for the ride according to my Garmin fenix 6X Pro

I finally felt confident enough to go on a ride with a friend around Palos Verdes on 2021-09-06 which has a bit of climbing. At one point during the ride my taillight bounced onto the street so I fell a bit behind, but at least my friend got the above shot! It was fun, a struggle, and fun. I did not hate it and I have other ambitious rides in the future. So cycling continues.

I also go on other rides during the week with some friends riding our fixed gear bicycles. These rides are typically around 10-20 miles around towns. Sometimes we loiter in the parking lot after to do planks, eat, jump over bicycles, or take photos as seen above 2021-09-09 (after our Idaho climb).

So Fixie Thursday, Palos Verdes Saturday, and a South Orange County ride all with various friends. Sometimes Wednesdays too but that was only until sunset was too early. My mileage slowly increased over a few months with the additional rides and increased miles per rides. All of this for exercise, seeing friends, and more food.

A friend of mine also got us into going on a couple group rides in the Los Angeles area with Bread & Butter Bicycle Club. The group rides have been great with new routes (for me) around Los Angeles with other cyclists. The only unfortunate part of participating on the ride is the traffic to get home. LA traffic is not fun with all the congestion.

My most intense week of cycling was the first weekend of October 2021. I went on an early morning Friday group ride with Sprocket Rockets Cycling Club through Turnbull Canyon with some bonus climbs: 2021-10-01 with 20 miles and ~2215ft total ascent. A Saturday ride on 2021-10-02 ride with B&B with a planned route of ~38 miles which would be my longest ride to date. The ride was 40 miles with 2172ft total ascent. I was feeling great and had a relaxing ride planned for Sunday ~30 miles...until I was reminded that I am a sucker. 56 miles 2861ft total ascent. Why did I bother setting back to back personal records?! All because I did not want to let me friend down going on a slightly longer ride that was basically uphill for most of the ride. This was my toughest ride to date, my body could not even. I found my limit and I would need to work on it.

The week continued on with the mundane routine of life. I had a lovely encounter with a cager motorist on a solo ride because I was not riding on the sidewalk. We were less than cordial with each other and I suspect this will not be my last encounter. As the week progressed the route for Sunday was shared and it was anticipated to be ~40 miles and mostly flat. The route along the coast from Dana Point to Las Pulgas and back. One of my friend's favorite rides so I was happy to accept until things escalated a few days later. I received a call on Friday asking if I would be interested in doubling the mileage. I told them I would have to think about it, but after how the previous week went not sure if it would be a great idea. I suggested a compromise of adding ~15 or so miles and that I would run it by another friend. I provided the extra credit option of an additional ~15 miles and they were up for it which meant I needed to present the 80 mile option as well. They agreed to the 80 mile ride and it was settled, the Sunday ride would be at least 80 miles even though I told some other friends I would not be participating in said ride.

Saturday morning rolled around and we did the Palos Verdes Loop counter-clockwise without the bonus Crest Climb ~22 miles 1726ft of elevation. It was a cold morning for me which was great so I could try on some new gear to keep me warm. The gear was great until it was not. I took off the arm/leg sleeves and regretted it immediately, but it did warm up eventually in the sun. I skipped the Crest Climb because I wanted to be sure I was as ready as I could be for Sunday's ride. We finished the ride, had lunch, and went our separate ways until our early started for Sunday. I made sure to eat all the things, buy more snacks, and a little bag for the bicycle to store my snacks. I went to bed early enough so I could drag myself out of bed around 0500 PT since we had a 0630 PT rollout time. The early start was to avoid many things and ensure we would be done early enough for what would be my most ambitious ride; however, just another day in the saddle for some other people.

The morning arrived and I was as miserable as I am most early mornings. I wake up this early to pursue what some people consider idiotic but so far it has been enjoyable. I loaded everything up and awaited for my friend's arrival so we could carpool to our doom destination. They were running just a few minutes behind due to a prior night of festivity. We made it to our starting point, prepped ourselves, and prepared for many hours on the saddle. We started as (3) three and rode towards our fourth rider up some hills. These hills would give us time to warm up (spoilers: we did not). Another exciting item on this ride is the new bicycle my friend acquired (Fezzari Empire) along with some challenges...muscle memory. It took my friend a few tries to safely place the bottle back in the bottle cage.

The first part of the ride a familiar route towards SOCWA Coastal Treatment Plant, but without sunlight so a bit colder than normal. A friend concerned about frostbite due to temperatures and lack of gloves. We deviated slightly on the route so onto Alicia Parkway to continue towards the coast. Eventually the sun started to rise which was a welcome sight and feeling. After a few stoplights and some rolls we made it to Baby Beach. My friend with new wheels stopped to take some photos, while the other said his feet were nailed to the pedals for the ride so they pedaled around, and we took a few photos of our friend taking photos. We were warned about the steep descent down and abrupt stop...if we missed it we would probably just end up in water. A cautious descent and at our first break for snacks and washrooms.

We continued our ride south along the scenic coast. At one point my friend dropped their water bottle again...that rolled onto the other side of a guard rail. They will eventually get the hang of it and stop holding us up! Just kidding, this was the last instance of misplaced water bottle. I listened to stories from my friends and some issues with authority. Once we made it to San Clemente it was an odd traversal of the bicycle route through neighborhoods until onto the direct trail again. At some point we witnessed what appeared to be a person defecating near a sidewalk. It was unusual seeing sights from a bicycle that I would normally expect to see from the 5 freeway such as San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. We made it to some beach parking and pedaled around/over the 15 mph speed limit; however, this still upset some vehicles as they honked going around us with a gesture. Do you really need to go faster in the parking lot with plenty of spaces? Get that prime water for surfing? Relax. We made it through the parking lot and back onto Old Pacific Highway Trail. We cautiously proceeded through a muddy and water filled tunnel entrance. Once we cleared the tunnel we rode along what appears to be a landing strip with signs: NO STOPPING WATCH FOR MILITARY VEHICLES. Likely some use for Camp Pendleton past, present, and future. We eventually reached the end of our trip at a gated entrance or exit depending on your perspective. We saw a few other cyclists, refueled, and were on our way North again.

As we made it back to Dana Point we started our ascent on San Juan Creek trail and continued the uphill ride through South Orange County. Up roads such as Antonio Parkway, Oso, and Alicia Parkway. Naturally as the day progressed the temperature warmed up as well. We were keen on making it back to the start before the heat would be too much. While riding through Rancho Santa Margarita we were honked again by inpatient people going to the grocery store? We were riding in the bicycle lane so not sure on their problem, but one of these days [...]. However, from the beginning of the day I had planned to potentially round the ride up to a century if I could muster it, We made it back to our start with 85 miles...so what is another 15 miles? We refueled and attempted to plan out the easiest route to round up. Unfortunately for us this involved going uphill and it was unavoidable. We settled on a route and one friend joined with our goal to ride a century. Along with the initial uphill battle was a higher temperature. We made sure to maintain a slow but steady pace while taking necessary breaks. As we approached Rancho Santa Margarita some police cruisers sped past us at high speed. What could be so urgent? Apparently a hostage situation?! Of course we did not find this out until the day after our ride. We happened to ride past the location with the police cruisers outside on our way back to finish the route.

We also took a much needed rest stop at a gas station. While my friend was inside I greeted some people leaving and they were surprised we were not on electric bikes. We like using our legs like suckers. At some point we saw some debris and thought could that be a snake? It was not, but we still discussed what would we do if something had lunged at us. Anyways, we finally made it back with one last uphill and then back to the vehicle. It was a struggle and I was more impressed for my friend considering their lack of proper rest the night before. We packed our things up and went to In-N-Out for a celebratory meal.

2021-10-10

p.s. this post has been delayed because time spent cycling. We have since crashed the LA Marathon ride and climbed Mt. Wilson with others.