Cycling this week - 10-29-2012

I decided it was finally time to get caught up on this blog after a few weeks of silence.  So let’s see, back on October 3^rd and 4^th, I commuted to work for 30 miles.  Then I took two weeks off the bike and traveled back east to visit my folks. When I returned, Irit and I rode 13 miles up through Monrovia and back.  On the 21^st I rode 26 miles up the river trail to the Santa Fe dam and back.  This past weekend I rode 20 miles with Irit, up to the Rose Bowl and back.  Yesterday I rode up over Glendora Mtn. Road with Nabeel. We took a little detour through Monrovia and Sierra Madre on the way back so we could indulge in some Coffee Bean goodness.  I don't think the weather could have been much better, unlike back east where everyone is bracing for the frankenstorm, but you know, I think I might have gotten a little sunburn on my legs while I was sipping my ice blended mocha.  That ride was 64 miles and about 5,000 feet of climbing.  So there you have it, only about 150 miles this month, I’m going to have to get my act together if I’m going to keep up with my buddies on the Tour de Foothills in two weeks.

You never know what you'll see up on top of GMR.  Here was an old car, a Pope Hartford, that was driven up here by a brave sole.

 

Here we are in front of it.

 

 

Here is Nabeel with his "Death Ride" jersey on - in celebration of Halloween.

There's nothing like a chocolaty, icy, coffee drink accompanied by a chocolaty pastry to cure your hunger pains late in the afternoon.

 

Here is some uneditied video I shot with my old Blackberry phone.  I'm going to have to get better at this, but it shows more of the old car and the crowd that gathered out in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

Cycling this week - 09-30-2012

It finally started to cool down a little this past work week, so I commuted to work and back on Tuesday and Thursday, adding another 30 miles to my total for the week. 

On Saturday, it started to heat up again.  Irit and I rode over to the Santa Fe dam and up the river trail to Duarte.  It was Irit’s longest ride to date, 25 miles.

On Sunday, I rode down the LA river trail to Long Beach, Then up the San Gabriel river trail back home.  It was scorching hot the last 20 miles.  When I got home, it was 104 degrees in the shade.  I told Irit that now I knew what her broiled Tilapia felt like, if you had peeled back my skin, I would have been tender white flaky flesh, broiled to perfection.  I rode 72 miles.

 

Here is a picture of Irit at the end of our ride on Saturday.  She felt pretty good for just finishing the longest ride of her young cycling career.

 

Here is a stitched together picture of the Long Beach harbour taken from the lighthouse on Sunday around 11:45 AM - there are 6 pictures put together here, so you will have to click and open it up to see it in full size.

 

 

 

Hre is a picture of a sailing class that was taking place just off of the Belmont pier.  The instructors were on the pier yelling down to the students.

 

And last, but not least, this guy was just sitting on the railing of the pier, watching the people walk by, and not paying any attention at all.