Fellow Rider

Today I bicycled with Jim who lives in Hermosa Beach. He is 1 of the 18 cyclists who will be biking cross country. We met at the Marina Del Rey Bridge and bicycled around Palos Verdes. He is a very strong rider. I wish I could have rode with him before today. Biking with him it felt that much quicker than the previous two times that I rode the 30 mile loop.

We bicycled back to Manhatten Beach and above is a picture of Jim and I at the pier. Two weeks from today we will leave from that spot. We then rode back to the bridge at Marina Del Rey. We parted and I continued back home.

And now a word from my sponsor - Extreme Energy six hour shot. I drank half of this at Hermosa Beach as I was feeling a little tired. Almost immediately I felt much better. I am definitely going to be using this during my trip.

Total miles today was 101. My last century until the tour begins.

Same old, Same old

Today started out a little cool in the morning. My hands felt pretty cold for the first 1 1/2. After that they warmed up. Same group as last week with two more persons added, James and Mara. We went up to Mt. St. Mary. I was the first one up and did a little extra climb. I almost lost my balance and fell down as it was pretty steep. Sue had another flat in her back tube this morning and this time Jay helped with fixing the flat this time. I think it is time for a new tire. James and I were talking and we both were glad that we did not have the flat as we would have had problems fixing it.

After that we went to Mandyville Canyon and climbed up. This is very similar to Benedict Canyon Blvd. We then went to the Marina Del Rey Bridge and back up to Beverly Hills. I left the remaining 3 (Bennett, Jay and Mitch) and continued to Griffith Park. The wind was against me most of the time so it was good training against the wind.

As I am trying to decrease my training mileage, I only biked 85 miles today vs. 90 miles last Saturday. Tomorrow will be my last long ride. I am meeting Jim from the tour.

Two weeks out

Today was my easy 21 mile to work Friday. If I ride the same amount back home tonight I will have rode around 350 miles this week. That is down from last week, but still not too bad. This weekend will be my last long riding weekend. After that I will be decreasing the mileage. I may train behind my office as there is the steep incline up Loma Vista which should get the heart beat going.

I now have 5 followers. Jordan - I finally did not forget the link and was able to set up this blog. I will try to be interesting and witty, but as you followers know those are 2 traits that I do not possess.

Overhaul

The overhaul seemed to really work well. I think that part of it is mental, but the bike seems to be in perfect condition (better than the body). I am very excited as I have a follower. It is Rob Day and he has vowed to take me out on Benedict Canyon. Fortunately, he has promised to do so after the I have completed my trip.

Back to the purpose of this blog. Bicycling. I have been averaging around 50 miles a day on the bike. I am taking different ways, trying to avoid potholes. The weather has become cooler. It has dropped 20 degress in 4 days. It is great bicyling weather, but I doubt that the weather on the trip will be that cool.

I was contacted by Jim who is also on the cross country tour. We are going to ride together on Sunday. It will be good to meet someone from the tour and share the excitement.

Odometer good, me bad

The new battery is now in the odometer and it has solved the problem. The good news is that all of my estimates have probably been on the low side so at least I know at a minimum that my training log is accurate.

I told Yuko I would be home no later than 11:00 and here it was almost 11:00. I made it home in time. Only problem is that I set the time 1 hour ahead. No problem. I just vacuumed, ate lunch and rode for 2 more hours.

Today was uphill training. At least 35% of my ride was uphill. I need to get the heart going. Also, my afternoon ride was probably in the high 80's so a little desert training as well. Total mileage today was 72. So for the weekend I averaged 81 miles which is less than the past two weekends, but still not bad.

Tomorrow I take my bike in for an overhaul so no riding.

Broken Spoke

A Summary of my weekday riding - I decided on Monday and Wednesday to take the Rustic Canyon route to work. It gets me some uphill training and that is what I need. I have been riding about 2 hours in the morning which is anywhere from 25 - 30 miles. On Monday, I did a lunch ride to Santa Monica and back (20 miles). On Monday and Wednesday I took Sepulveda Blvd home. That is a nice 5 - 6 mile uphill ride. Total ride is around 22 miles. On Tuesday it was around 20 - 25 mph winds and that was scary. I rode much slower than normal and made it home safe. I felt I needed to do this as I wanted some experience riding in the wind. Friday was an easy 46 miles. Mostly flat terrain.

Today I found out the source of the noise from my back wheel was caused by a broken spoke. The group helped me eliminate the noise and assured me that I would be able to ride safely. Sue in our group ended up getting a flat tire just before we ascended Vista del lago. After replacing the tube (it took about 10 - 15 minutes - thanks to Mitch's efforts) we were on our way to Palos Verdes. The group decided to meet at Catalina Coffee in Redondo Beach so we were all able to decide what pace and how many times we would make the loop around the golf course. I needed to get in some additional miles and a little climbing (not that steep) so I went around twice. After that off to Redondo Beach. After about 15 - 20 minutes we got on our bikes and continued back up North. Jay, Mitch and I continued on the bike path from Marina Del Rey and the two of them ended their ride at Peets in Beverly Hills. I continued up to Benedict Canyon Drive for a little uphill training and back to Muholland before taking Coldwater Canyon down. A total of 90 miles.

Yuko bought batteries for my odometer so tomorrow morning I am going to take a short ride (probably uphill) to see the actual amount I have been riding and not an estimate. I hope that I have been keeping an accurate total as it would be disappointing if I had underestimated what I have been riding.

On Monday, I take my bike in for a major overhaul. I know I need at least one spoke, and Tracy's recommendation of carrying extra spokes took on a more urgent need.

Recovery

After yesterday, I decided to ride less miles today. I rode the valley route through - Encino - Woodland Hills - Tarzana - Calabasas - Westlake Village - Thousand Oaks. Up Potrero Road is about a 2 mile climb, with an 8% grade. Round trip I rode 76 miles today.

Century

After a few weeks of doing a lot of gentle climbing, the group I ride with on Saturday decided to ride north on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). The main group made it to Trancas. Another person named Stacey wanted to go a little further North and I wanted the extra miles so I decided to join her. We left Los Angeles county and entered Ventura county. We went a little past Pt. Mugu and turned around what is referred to as "The Rock" (see above). I took the lead and blocked the wind going up the gradual incline. I was glad that I could help out. We joined up with 2 other bicyclists at "The Rock" and headed back. They were faster than us, and as we wanted to keep up it was much quicker riding back to Trancas. We continued our ride as they stopped. As I know very little about shifting , Stacey was very gracious (and patient) in teaching me about shifting. It improved my speed. We hooked up with another person and he was going about 25 mph. Stacey could keep up, but I could not. Another thing I learned was to keep on the wheel of the cyclist ahead. Once you fall behind you will have a difficult time catching up. Stacey slowed down and waited for me and we rode back to Brentwood where we parted ways. I then bicycled home. All together 110 miles today.

Windy

I am trying to vary the time of day that I ride. In the morning it usually cooler and easier to ride (although a lot more cars are on the road). During lunch, there are less cars on the road, it is a little warmer, but the stop lights really slow me down. At night the wind has usually been the strongest, more cars are stopped at lights so it is a little safer and I enjoy passing the stopped cars. It has been a little windy the last few days. It has been blowing around 8 - 10 MPH. Sometimes it has been against me, sometimes with me and sometimes crosswinds. Crosswinds are the most dangerous for me as it feels as if I will be blown off the bike. I am ending my weekly training (6 days). I have averaged a little over 60 miles a day. That will most likely be the most mileage I can train before the trip as I am working during the week.

Today is a month from the day that I meet the other participants for the trip. Tomorrow will be 1 month until the day I leave. I am getting more excited, but still nervous at the same time.

Feeling a little bit better

The above is an overview of my bicycle trip. We start out from Manhattan Beach, California in 50 days we end in Boston, Mass.

The last few days have been spent increasing my training mileage. I averaged around 79 miles for the last 3 days. The weather has been really nice with highs in the 80s. Beautiful bicycling days.