This was weekend was my scheduled monthly visit back to LA. I hooked up with my old friend Lynn, who I have known for about 15 years … jeez, has it been that long? Actually, it might be longer, but who’s counting.
Lynn is a veteran of about 90 double centuries, and is someone who I hold in high regard in cycling. I’ve also known her since the old days when we rode with Foothill Cycle Club, and then later on with Bicycle Club of Irvine. At the time, I was still living in Pasadena (in Southern California). We had been riding together for a while, then we decided to ride Wine Country and Grizzly Peak (back to back rides on the same weekend). We hung out at my brother’s place in Fremont, and after talking, we realized that we both had the same teacher, in the same IS Math class, and of course the same high school, Mark Keppel High School. Now here’s the stranger part … she and my brother were in the same IS Math Class together, and Lynn was in the same graduating class as my sister. No one knew this … boy what a small world.
We also rode with her friend John, who also has a number of double centuries under his belt. And here I am, with a scant 4 under my belt … I was the newbie in doubles in this group.
This was a long but flat ride, where the first 30 miles or so had < 500 feet. This was a nice change from the typical Wrecking Crew ride (averaging 1000 feet climb per 10 miles). Well, I definitely wouldn’t be accomplishing this. As Lynn says, sometimes you need a break from this, because otherwise you’ll get burned out.
Lately, in the Bay Area, the rides have been cold, and even when the sun comes out, it is not enough to peel off your arm warmers, or take off your jacket. Today, when the sun was out, it was nice. The temps were in the 70’s … nice contrast to the mid-50’s we have been experiencing lately in the Bay Area. This is Southern California cycling … gotta love it.
This was the first time I rode with no arm warmers on at all. But as I was riding, with no arm warmers on, I realized, I didn’t put sunscreen on. Gotta remember this next time. Good thing the clouds did come later, and the sun intensity wasn’t too bad. However, we had to keep pulling arm warmers off, putting it on, pulling off, etc … I even contemplated taking off my knee warmers.
I started to run low on water, so at the top of the last major climb, we decided to hang out at the Pavilions to refuel with water (okay, I was the only one, since both Lynn and John had camelbacks, and have ample water). Just as we were about to head off, Lynn’s rear tire was flat. Doh! We couldn’t find source of the leak, so maybe she had been climbing on this flat all along, without realizing it? Maybe that’s why she was having an issue climbing? Well, I find that a little hard to believe, but we’ll never know now.
We ended up having lunch in Seal Beach, and with the best sweet potato fries. This was at the 75 mile mark, and that really hit the spot.
By the time we got back to the cars, we had logged in 85 miles, and roughly 2900 feet of climbing. This is a far cry from the Wrecking Crew ride, and this was a nice change of pace. This was also a bit odd, not being the last one to the top of the hill. And this answers everyone’s question … yes, I can do social rides, when needed.
Sevencyclist's Blog 