Two Wheels

[2021-07-02]

As some of you may know I recently acquired a bicycle. It has been just under a month and I have approximately 100 miles on it now. I added (16) sixteen miles riding from Liberty Park to Seal Beach and back with a few people. We started early ish around 0830 PT to avoid too much sun and so I could make it to a tire appointment in the afternoon. It was a casual ride since I am still green. About a mile into the ride though a friend yelled to stop because our other friend dropped an AirPod. I looked over my shoulder only to see that friend diving into the shoulder of the river trail...if only it was recorded. They apparently were trying to maneuver in such a way to get back to the AirPod but instead gracefully dove off the bicycle. Once they had their fallen item we were on our way with a planned stop near a bridge for a break and look over the bicycle involved in the crash due to some unusual noises. My friends inspected the noisy bicycle and the chain was quite dry...which let me know I have two types of vehicles requiring chain maintenance now, great. We carried on with our ride while getting passed by the more serious cyclists with a pace I cannot maintain.

We finally made it to Seal Beach and end of the trail. We stopped for a bit to checkout the surfers and naturally take some photos for the gram. We even saw a cyclist on a Cervélo so they are either in debt or have a sizable disposable income. While we waited my friends went on the rocks as well to see the water. As we prepared to leave we also noticed a decent amount of squirrels drinking water from tiny pools in the rocks. A friend mentioned concern of getting near them because of plague. However, we were not aware the person at the drinking fountain was listening to our absurd conversations (likely the whole time) and said it was fine since they were the ones providing water to the squirrels.

After the squirrel conversation we were back on our way to Liberty Park. It was an easy cruise back with no surprises and the following stats:

• Distance: 16 miles
• Average Speed: 12.8 mi/h
• Max Speed: 23.3 mi/h
• Moving Time: 1:18:41

We made it back to the park and took another break while we decided on food. While waiting it was time to remove some safety features such as reflectors, but I still have my dork disc. We loaded up our cars and settled on McDonald's because time and location. If we do end up going to McDonald's again we will travel by bicycle via another connected trail before heading back to Liberty Park.

It was a beautiful day and only cut short because I had an appointment for new tires on my Ford Focus ST. If you followed my previous adventures you will know I should pay more attention to my tires. The appointment went well except for the money part, but that is to be expected. Once my tires were good to go, I was off to pick up another friend and drop them off to pick up their vehicle from their mechanic.

[2021-07-03]

Another busy day starting off early in the morning for an appointment and impromptu lunch with family. It was great some of my family was able to accommodate a last minute lunch at Red Robin. Well it went from The Original Pancake House (TOPH) since Red Robin was not open for another 45 minutes and then back to Red Robin because it was a 45+ minute wait at TOPH. It was great because my cousin with a Honda Grom showed up as well. It was fun watching their route as they avoided Imperial Highway for reasons. After lunch my cousin and I rode towards home as I planned to continue to visit other family.

I made it in time to see some other family for a bit. I did not have much time to visit because I still had a wedding reception to attend in the afternoon, so I will need to visit again soon. I was now on my way to "pickup" another friend with their motorcycle. We were "carpooling" to the reception. Fortunately traffic was light and we made good time to our destination. We were a few minutes early but that meant prime parking spots.

The reception was for some friends I saw on my cross country trip. I was happy to see them again sooner rather than the usual later. Other mutual friends showed up and it was an amazing time. I am certain there was some unexpected outcomes from the celebration such as people ending up in the swimming pool. We all left later than we thought we would as well. It was all worth it as far as I know. Everyone enjoyed themselves and a much needed break from mundane routine.

[2021-07-04]

So back to the party, I may have been convinced to ride my bicycle instead of driving/riding for a small July 4th gathering. That was on the condition I could be transported back home at the end of the day. Ride I did and awake earlier than I would have liked, but I was committed. Some street riding and back on familiar trails from earlier in the week, or so I thought. I should pay attention before entering trails so I end up on the right one instead of detouring. It all worked out in the end, but I did have to correct my deviation from the planned route. I thought it was odd the trail looked different than it did on Friday. I was so close to the San Gabriel River Trail but I ended up on the Coyote Creek Trail instead. Similar to my other experiences, there are very fast riders out there that pass and disappear.

Once I was able to determine my location, I corrected my course and entered the right trail at Liberty Park. As I was riding towards my destination I was surprised by the amount of horse owners on the river trail as I leered into backyards while cruising. Just a surprising observation. I did see a trampoline as well at one point which did not seem safe considering the location.

I made it to my destination earlier than expected since the only breaks were at stoplights. My stats for the ride:

• Distance: 20 miles
• Average Speed: 13.1 mi/h
• Max Speed: 26.8 mi/h
• Moving Time: 1:35:28

Due to the late night for everyone it was a McDonald's breakfast. I am now noticing a pattern here after my trail rides...and I should do something about that. The rest of the day was chill and spent hanging out with friends. They smoked ribs and other meats for hours. A friend did some bicycle maintenance, again another reminder of things I will need to do for mine. A couple other friends joined through the day and we had dinner just after 1900 PT. A friend transported me home since I did not have lights for the bicycle and the trail may not be ideal at the late hour.

[2021-07-05]

A day off? Preposterous! I coordinated plans for a casual motorcycle ride with some friends today. Min max all the available time and carpe diem as they say. I found another rider to include in the ride and I was on my way. The meet up location at a friends house at 0800 PT. A solid group of (4) four riders with our destination set for Malibu - Neptune's Net.

We rolled out with our plan to cruise Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) the entire way. Surprisingly traffic was not as bad as I expected it to be. I thought traffic would be worse considering the holiday weekend but maybe that helped? My friend may never trust me again when I say a ride will be short, it is all relative. We made good time since we made it to Neptune's Net just before opening. The majority of people out in the area seemed to be surfers, cyclists, or just people. The only other motorcycles were either entering or leaving the nearby canyons.

We had an early lunch and sat around enjoying our company until it got too warm. We may have tried to extend the ride a bit but we were unsuccessful, this time. We went a few more miles up before turning around and heading back to our origin. Traffic was starting to pick up going towards Malibu so I am glad we went early. We finally made it back to our starting point just before 1400 PT and loitered for a few minutes before going our separate ways.

I went to REI with the intention of window shopping. Window shopping for me takes more time than it should because I start reading reviews on items. I ended up buying some lights for the bicycle. I purchased Dash 520 by Cyglolite and Sabre 110 by NiteRider. After spending more money than intended with window shopping I went home.

I was going to be productive and do some cleaning; however, I instead distracted myself. I charged up my lights and called a friend to talk bicycle stuff. While talking I mentioned I needed to go on a ride within the next day or so due to a busier schedule this week. This friend was easily swayed into driving out to do a casual night ride on Santiago Creek Trail.

We met at Main Place Mall near the trail start around 2019 PT. The new lights were bright so I was not as worried about the darkness, only the people on the trail. Since I did not have a rest day I was only set on doing ~10 miles and on we went. As we neared the end of our planned route we stumbled upon a couple other cyclists jamming to some tunes with one being a child on an electric bicycle. It was fine except for the area we were in did not really allow for passing so it slowed us for a few minutes. We rode up the small ramp that I struggled with but was nothing for my friend. It was time to turn around and head back to our vehicles. We made it back to the parking lot around 2100. We were around 9.x miles so we rode around the parking lot a bit to round it up to 10 miles.

My stats for the ride:

• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Speed: 12.4 mi/h
• Max Speed: 24.2 mi/h
• Moving Time: 51:34

As we were hanging out at our cars I noticed some motorcycles in the parking lot. A few thoughts occurred to me, they were either: loitering, learning, or (learning) to stunt. After a few pulls down the lot, I saw the motorcyclist perform a stoppie, stunting confirmed. It was tame in a relatively empty parking lot. Hopefully they do not attempt these tricks in the street and they all scattered as a security patrol drove through.

After my friend swapped their bars to drops they suggested I try their bicycle. I could ride a bicycle, but this would be my first attempt at riding a fixed gear bicycle. It is different. I know the concept of riding a bicycle, but I still had to have them walk me through the basics because brain. I know riding a fixie means always pedaling and I still tried to relax my legs. I do not think fixie is my style until my body is ready. I was done after a couple circles in the parking lot. I asked my friend to look at my bicycle due to the front disc brake rubbing. They had some idea on the topic and we confirmed online. A few attempts later and the issue appears to be resolved. It was now time for dinner.

Due to time and location we settled on In-N-Out, a few miles away. We were also able to convince another friend to join us for our late night. We ordered, waited, talked, ate, and loitered before heading home to sleep because work.

One day the summary post will be worked on to completion. I just need to slow down...but that will have to wait because I am going to Reno and Bay Area this weekend. So for those counting, I rode about ~250 miles on the motorcycle and ~46 miles on the bicycle over the holiday weekend. Good Times Roll.