Cycling this week - 08-12-2012

O.K., so last week I didn't ride my bike at all.  I hung out in San Diego instead, and I had fun.  This week I made up for it by riding both Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday Irit and I rode up to the Huntington Library in the brutal mid-day sun.  What is that saying about mad dogs and Englishmen? Anyway, Irit got her chance to go up the hill on Oxford street, so she was happy.  We only rode 7 miles.

On Sunday, Nabeel and I rode down to Long Beach, then over to Seal beach, and then back home all via the river trails.  We stopped for lunch at Chronic tacos and got our usual fish tacos with baja sauce.  Then we headed over to Javatinis in Seal Beach to get our coffee fix.  We had to take in some of the local culture, so we ventured out on to the Seal Beach pier.  The heat was pretty oppressive on the way back inland.  I'm guessing it was just about 100 degrees or so, a big difference from the 75-80 degrees in Seal Beach.  We rode 74 miles.

Here is Nabeel down in Long Beach.

Here is Nabel and I out on the Seal Beach pier.

Here I am out on the Seal Beach pier, check out the local culture.

Zoom in and notice the difference in texture between the carbon fiber and the wood on the railing.

Typical So Cal Sunday at the beach.

Cycling this week - 07-30-2012

On Saturday, Irit and I rode up through Monrovia and Arcadia.  She got the opportunity to tackle some challenging hills just north of Foothill Blvd. for the first time.  She powered up those hills with determination, despite the fact that I was harassing her, (sorry babe, you did great).  On the way back we stopped at Arcadia park and watched the squirrels try and convince us to feed them.  We rode 18 miles.

On Sunday Rich, Nabeel and I rode up to Mt. Wilson and back from my house.  We got an early start (for us) 7:30, which turned out to be good, because it got pretty warm as the day went on.  We reached the top at about 11:40.  After some great sandwiches at the Cosmic Cafe, and some picture taking, we headed on down the mountain.  We were reaching speeds of just over 40 miles per hour, which is a far cry from our average speed of 10 miles per hour going up.  We rode 66 miles.

Here is Nabeel and Rich at the start of the climb near Foothill Blvd - 19 miles to Mt. Wilson.

Sign at the start of the climb - down by Foothill Blvd.

Random road sign.

View from the road about halfway up - Looking Northwest.

Nabeel at the ranger station where Angeles Forest road intersects with Angeles Crest Hwy. - about 10 miles up.

Me at the ranger station.

The sign at the entrance to Mt. Wilson, ahhh what a feeling, finally at the top.

A view from the top - looking Southeast.

Nabeel at the top just before lunch 

Rich and I in the lower parking lot, the view behind us is to the Southwest

Rich and Nabeel

Cycling this week - 07-22-2012

This Saturday Irit and I rode up through Arcadia and Monrovia.  It was hot, so we kept the ride short and got back to the house before the mid-day sun caused us to melt.  We rode 13 miles.

On Sunday, Dave and Nabeel came over to my place and we did the usual ride down to Long Beach, Seal Beach, and back home via the L.A. and San Gabriel river trails.  We stopped for lunch at Chronic Tacos in Long Beach, and then stopped for some icy coffee goodness in Seal Beach before heading back.  We rode 74 miles in 4:45.

Here is a shot of the harbor down in Long Beach

Here is a shot of myself and Dave - we are victorious

Here is Nabeel, he's thinking, if you two guys are crazy enough to take such a ridiculous picture above, I might as well join in.

Cycling this week - 07-08-2012

The past two weeks I've been slacking as far as taking pictures goes, so, you'll just have to read about my adventures.  On June 30th, Irit and I rode all around the Pasadena area for a total of 13 miles.  After feeling her wrath about taking her on a 23 miler two weeks prior (and associated Facebook posts), I decided that we would actually do the amount that she wanted.

On July 4th six of us got together for a ride, BBQ and fireworks show courtesy of my neighbor.  Irit, Jennifer, Heidi, Nabeel, Rich and I all met at my place in the morning.  The girls took off for their own ride and the guys went down the LA river trail to South Street.  Then we cut over to the San Gabriel river trail and back home.  On the way back, the girls called and they were stuck on the Rio Hondo river trail with a flat, so we diverted and rode over to help them out.  I rode with Jen and Irit back home and Rich, Nabeel and Heidi rode up to the dam before heading back home.  I ended up with 57 miles, Rich and Nabeel ended up with 66 miles, Irit rocked her 23 mile ride, Jen had 33 miles, and Heidi had 40 miles.  Afterward, we all sat around the backyard BBQing.  At 9:00 the neighbor started the usual fireworks show, awesome.

On July 7th, Irit came over and the two of us went on a tour of the Rose Bowl.  We stopped at the casting pond down in the Arroyo for a break.  I've ridden by that place a hundred times but never been down there.  It's a nice little park and the head for several hiking trails that meander through the Arroyo.  We ended up with a total of 21 miles, and since Irit was wearing her new sunglasses, she rode much faster, you could even say she rocked.

On July 8th, Heidi, Rich and Nabeel came over to my place and we took off down the San Gabriel River trail.  Heidi rode all the way down to Wilderness park, where she took a break and then turned around for the trip back. She had a 37 mile ride.  Rich, Nabeel and I continued on to the beach.  We headed over to Chronic tacos in Long Beach for lunch.  On the way back we took the LA river trail. There was a pretty stiff headwind all the way back up the trail. We stopped at Starbucks off of Washington Blvd. in Pico Rivera for a break and some cool, icy, chocolaty, coffee drink goodness.  That gave us just the extra boost we needed to continue on our way back home.  After a quick dip in the pool, Rich took off for home and Nabeel and I watched the Tour of France while we chowed down on delivered Thai food, a great way to finish the day.  We ended up with 68 miles in total.

All added up, I had 159 miles in the past two weeks.

Cycling this week - 06-24-2012

On Fathers day Irit and I rode around the Santa Fe dam area for a total of 23 miles.  I got in big trouble because she only wanted to ride about 12 miles, and after looking down on the computer and seeing that we had already gone 11 miles, and we hadn't even started back yet, she was concerned.  As it turned out, she made it back with no problems.  Afterward, we had a backyard barbeque with Lauren and Kristin.  A fabulous Fathers day.

On Wednesday the 20th, I met up with Rich, Jen, Simon, and Irit. We went riding out in the Lancaster area.  The girls and Simon went out to Apollo park (now minus the space capsule) and back for a total of about 16 miles, while Rich and I continued out and around the Tropico Mine, along the Kern County line.  On the way back it hit 111 degrees (too hot to ride) and Rich crashed in the soft dirt on the side of the road.  Luckily, he didn't have any permanent damage and we continued back home.  We had about 56 miles in the 100+ degree heat.

Riding partners Simon and Rich.

Some desert scenery.

More desert scenery.

Jen and Irit were on the tandem - cool party shades.

Cycling this week - 06-10-2012

This past week I got off my lazy butt and commuted to work and back two days, for a total of 30 miles.  On Saturday I took a spin up the river trail and through the dam area, over to Duarte and back home for a total of 29.5 miles.  On Sunday Irit and I rode up to the Huntington Library for 7.5 miles total.  This marking a return to cycling for Irit after not riding for 5 weeks.  Total for the week was 67 miles.

Here is a picture of the river trail as it winds it way up through the dam area towards Duarte - just off to the right...

is this red sign off in the distance (hard to see, zoom in).  It is the Miller brewery - Now, if they could just connect the bike path with the beer factory, I think I would have to move.

On Sunday Irit (pictured here) and I rode up to the Huntington Library, marking her return to cycling after about 5 weeks of not riding.

Cycling this week - 06-02-2012

So, there was no cycling this week at all, in any way shape or form. - See last weeks post for my 140 + miles.