63 today but still having fun! Breakfast at Millie's with Gina after sleeping in a bit.
The Sizzler video on YT
First was breakfast at Millie's. Nice, can't complain about a place that has the $6.99 Senior special on the weekends. Of course Gina had to add bacon and couldn't wait long enough for me to take a picture of the bacon first. 4 strips, 2 MIA ha ha ha!
The waiters and waitresses watch me now that I told them I gave up desserts for my NY resolution. So this is the first time having a little individual pie since. Almost 6 months but the waitress heated it up a little much I guess cause it came out flat like a pancake ha ha ha. Still tasted mighty fine thoughQ
Dinner at Sizzler after a visit to the mall, a trip to Rhino Records and a cruise through town.
Thought I'd try something a little different today, some ribs. Boy, I couldn't eat much so I skipped on the salad. Gina had the usual with a trip to the salad bar.
During out little trip to the mall, the people from the jewelry store came out and gave me a box of cookies for my b-day. That was very nice and from Mrs. Fields where we get coffee most nights and next to the jewelry store. All of them nice people!
The evening before, Gina insisted on taking me out to a nicer place. Went to Outback Steakhouse. I was actually disappointed. We paid $95 and Gina didn't even get a full meal, just a side soup and salad. I did get a carrot cake, hey it's my birthday and I was going to take advantage ha ha ha! But sadly, I think Sizzler is better for half the price.
Today she wanted to take me to The Northwoods Inn for steak and lobster. Sounded good but I told her I was worried that I would once again be disappointed. I dunno, something just told me to save some dough and go to Sizzler.
I must be getting old though. All day and last night, Gina had been asking me to pick something out for my gift. Anything she said, for the bike, for my videos, anything at all. I told her I think about another GoPro but so expensive now and the GP10 I bought a little over a year ago works great so no need for a front and rear mounted recorders. This one is great hand held so it allows me to aim back and ahead..
Bike stuff, heck I think my old bike is doing fine, just bought some shoes a few weeks ago, some jerseys, more earbuds, and really, can't think of anything I don't have that I want and really don't want for anything ha ha ha!
Oh well, the weekend isn't over yet though ha ha ha!
Solo 63 on the Santa Ana River Trail. 15.8 average speed. Not bad for an old guy. More later.
This is what I look like after 63 miles.😄
Ran into Roccio and her Bo on the trail. Then they stopped by after the ride for a little chat. First time meeting her boyfriend, Scott. Really cool guy! They did 50 miles from the train station to Seal Beach. Bot of them pretty strong riders. I think Roccio is one of the stronger riders I met on the group rides a few years back. Lovely lady, always sweet and friendly. Scott seems like a really cool guy, good for her!
As far as me, heck it was hard to get out of bed. I slept really well though. I ate pasta the night before and brought along a little more nutrition today knowing it would be a longer ride, damn I'm getting old ha ha ha! I laugh every year, have for a few now. Back when we were 40, I had plenty of friends willing to tag along on a birthday ride. Mid 50's, into my 63rd year, not so many volunteers. Actually, not one ha ha ha! But that is cool because my personality is to propel myself on my own if I plan to say, I DID IT!!!
Maybe in the 40's, a group would be no problem but now getting older, I think 60's are something that one must prove on their own that they can do it.
One big reward for me is that my health has been very well over the years. 11 years ago diagnosed as type 2 but refused meds and decided to exercise as I always have but adding in better nutrition. I hate to say diet as I am not on a diet, more about eating the right stuff. I guess it is working! My retinal eye scan was good a couple months back. Many diabetics have problems so I'm happy. Then having to go into the DMV passing the eye test with flying colors. Heck, I have been to the eye doctors a few times thinking I was going to need glasses but nope, not yet!
So hey, getting old but still good health and working body parts.
Funny thought, waking up feeling a little stiff, I told Gina that I hoped I could make it. She said, "oh, you could actually do 100 if you wanted." Yeah, I guess she is right but it's nice to know the wife has confidence in you ha ha ha! And the way I felt today, I actually felt like I could have done 100 no problem had I brought along a sandwich ha ha ha!
I guess one of the things that makes me proud of myself being consistent this far into life is having experienced bike forum warriors. Looking around the other day on Strava at groups that friends have joined, I ran across one that stroke each other's egos. Only to come across profiles of those that considered themselves to be real hardcore cyclists for life finding their profiles filled with nothing more than a bunch of online yoga sessions. Yeah dude, you're a real hard-core cyclist. I consider myself a recreational cyclist riding for fun and exercise but c'mon dude, you guys are more like hard-core yoga boys. 😆😄😆
Don't get me wrong, not all cycling forum posters are fake ass cyclists. I do see 2 or 3 guys there that actually ride their bikes. But for the most part, it seems that certain forums are more like support groups trying to convince one another that it's OK to waste your health on booze and smoking while continuously whining about health issues and sharing info about their wives complaining about their booze consumption. 😄
Dudes, go ride your bikes!
The youtube video
As I finished my rife, I was taking selfies when Pepito rode up. He said he wanted to take the pics for me. OK, seemed he has some experience.
Pepito. He says he's a videographer and invites everyone to visit his TikTok. I don't have it and would have no idea how to use it but he says you can scan the image to get there.
Ron, PinoyBentr on the forums. Sadly he said his health has not been to well lately. I would say he has to be at least 70, not sure. But he was a Bad Man on the bike. Riding up GMR on fixies and folding bikes. Super fast on a trike back in the day. I remember being with a group that broke up competing with one another. I was pushing as hard as I could just south of the Imperial bridge. I was doing 26 MPH and Ron was catching me on his trike. Glad I got there before he caught me, gave me a reason to slow down ha ha ha!
This dude was at the coast today when I arrived. He is 74 years old. Had a pretty good chat about old bikes and bike envy, not having it like me ha ha ha! Crazy bike prices nowadays when my old bike works perfectly well. My Cannondale is a 1997 and his is a 2002 but seems we both still love our old bikes.
Not sure what the story is here but when I was at Green River taking a break, this kid started walking down the trail. His father was shouting his name saying bye and waving like a mad man trying to get his picture. I'm guessing some kind of a journey. Maybe he walked to a certain point where his father picked him up. I don't know but his father was rather excited.
Solo 36 going up to Azusa Cyn saving energy for the weekend but freaking wind. On the way "down" doing 14 with a 150 heart rate. 🤪 86 degrees at the end of my ride according to the forecast, another guy said 92. My device says 90. But either way, the heat wasn't a factor. It was the wind. 🤣
Pretty cool, had to renew my DL but needing a test and thumb print so I actually had to go into the office. Lady said, "wow you haven't been into the DMV in 20 years. Well yeah, good record, no tickets, no accidents, but last time I had to renew was during covid so they just asked me to pay the fee online.
But the best part is not needing glasses at 63. Being type 2 diabetic and not taking meds, my retinal eye scans were good. So eating well and exercising has done me good. I've had people tell me that at 50, I'll be blind as a bat. At 30, I'll be too tired to get out of bed. Too old to exercise but here I am at 63 (on the 24th) and I'm still kicking and still no glasses. 😄
I will say the DMV is quite different. Scan this do this online, text this......wow, OK! 😄
The little 5 inch tripod I use to mount the cell into the cell holder snapped on me. A plastic screw broke off into the cell holder so I had to prop the cell holder and cam on a rock. Not all that bad ha ha ha! But I do know now not to tighten the tripod too much. Didn't think I had but now I know I better back off a little more. It's ok, I have about 5 extra little tripods ha ha ha!
HR on the way down. Might as well be going up.🤣
Ok, so I did cheat a little bit over the weekend. I was too lazy to get out of bed so I just hung out with Gina instead. Sugarland candy store at the Montclair Plaza. Cool little store with lots of old candy, gum, jelly beans, chews, and stuff. Got a bag of taffy, various flavors. Candy apple, popcorn, spumoni, bomb pop, and other crazy flavors. Now to sit and enjoy some with my Honey. 😄
Gina has been working 10 hour shifts during the week and 8 on Saturdays. She finally got a full weekend off so I skipped my rides and ate candy 🍬. Some creep little flavors that I had to try. Not because I thought I would like them, because I figured they would gross me out ha ha ha! Buttered popcorn, extreme hot spicy. They were good, guess I'm just a gross guy ha ha ha!
Got this in the mail today from ebay. Snug fitting base layer. The several that I have are kind of flapping in the wind types. I saw this one figuring I would give it a try. I did get navy blue to match a couple of the new jerseys.
After visiting Under Armor and the Nike outlet at the mall, not much in the way of affordable stuff. I have a couple Nikes that I bought a few years ago for $40 and not much different, if at all from the Wally World models I have. Russell I believe and a new George model that was $17. The George is pretty thick but still a little flappy into the wind along the sleeves. Not that it bothers me or I worry about speed, just figured I'd try a snugger fit. Actually looking for navy blue but found the snug one so why not?
Tried it on and it is snug. Good thing I went one size up after viewing the sizing chart. Snug for sure but long enough to cover my long torso. Unlike one that I recently bought at the Columbia store. Nice color and like it but it's short. Just barely enough to cover my back down to the bike shorts and I refuse to be the plumber dude ha ha ha!
But this one seems cool. Just hope it isn't too snug to wear in the heat. But hopefully, the aerodynamics of it will increase the wheel speed on the road. That's a joke for the weenies he he he.
Not bad for $17 considering the UA and Nike were $40 on sale. BTW, this seller was fast. I ordered on Monday night about 7:30 and on my doorstep Wednesday afternoon.
Solo 40 miles on the bike trail today. Pico golf course to Azusa Cyn and back. My regular route was 35 but I added a few by repeating a section of the ride to get another 5 miles. Doing so, I took another 2 Local Legends ha ha ha! Glad I did as the guy who had those segments is using 2 devices doing like 10-15 mile rides and doubling his mileage on Strava. So he gets credit for completing the segment 2 times every time he rides. Never understood why people cheat.
Heck, my whole outlook on Strava has changed. I don't really give much credit anymore with all the cheats and motors out there. I was talking with a buddy today after the ride. He hadn't yet left the parking lot so we started chatting. Riding a pedal assist which is ok but not if you want to post times then boast or take credit for fake info, if you ask me. Just my opinion but I was telling him that the 18 mile segment heading up to Azusa Cyn have some amazing times on the ride. So I have fast buddies and they average about 19 on the way up. The top 8 guys are 28.5 mph, no freaking way. I have seen some bad ass dudes heading up as many go up into the mountains. You can tell these guys are awesome cyclists and they may be doing even 20 mph. But the 28.5 and the 6 or 7 riders right behind the leader are clearly BS. That course isn't anything you could do 28. Not to mention the lower part is not as much of an incline which means these guys would be averaging thirty something, no way. Funny thing about it, the profiles are request to follow. If one is so bad ass, one would have an open profile but of course, they are private so they can hide the motor bikes.
Now, as I was starting my ride, I was about a mile in warming up when I saw someone about 100 yards back. I looked ahead then looked back to see if it was a couple that I saw sitting at the dam, the start of my ride. As I looked back, the dude rolled right by me with a wave. It was Tinker Juarez. He rolled by effortlessly and pulled away effortlessly ha ha ha!
But to be fair, I was warming up, heart rate was only 116, and I was listening to Neil Diamond ha ha ha! He was fast but you know, a credible fast. No way was he averaging 28.5 and that was Tinker. He averaged 21 on the lower segment so no way is some other clown going to average 30 on this segment.
Sadly Strava has been taken over a bunch of clowns taking away from the honest fun. Heck, even on my rides nowadays, I don't pay much mind to people catching and passing me. I've seen way too many with motors PRETENDING to be pedaling. yeah right!
But after the ride was cool sitting in the GC patio. Ran into the gal who works there again. She didn't realize that I actually post videos on YT so I showed it to her as she walked by to the parking lot. She saw it and thought it was so cool. Some funny chatting and laughing then she said she was going to give it a like, she did!
Just a ride for exercise, felt good and some good effort along the way.
Of course, a little Sizzler after the ride with my Honey.
Well I tried to go easy but starting late around noon attracts WIND. 😄 Pico Golf ⛳️ course to Seal Beach and across the backstreets to the pier. I don't understand this wind both ways thing. 😝 Rode to the beach and the trail was scary empty. Though I usually start late most times, I started really late today ha ha ha! So I saw a few but when I got close to the coast, I was really alone. Just me and the wind.
Didn't think I'd had enough footage to even make a video but I stretched real hard ha ha ha! I wasn't going to make it but then ran into mhy GC buddy after the ride and asked her if I could record her. She said sure so if you ask me, it gave me something to post ha ha ha! Always been a cool lady and we have actually chatted about bikes. She told me that she and her kids have ridden the bike trail in the past down to the beach. Pretty cool. Amazing how many people one can meet who have actually ridden bikes in the past. I believe I have encountered about 10 golfers walking by the patio who stop and ask about my bike ride then go on to tell me they have ridden or do ride. Pretty cool.
My buddy at the Pico GC. Ran into her maybe couple months ago. Chat every once in a while so I get some pretty accurate info on the future of the golf course, first hand.
youtube video.
Think I saw more horses than bikes out there today.
I like talking to older people, they understand how life was when people had respect and consideration for others before all these entitled youngsters came along. Saw some older dude, 76 leaving his table at Sizzler last night so I smile and told him to have a good evening. He stopped to chat telling me how lucky we are that we can do things like this, go to dinner and enjoy life. He said in order for us to do things like this, SOMEONE HAS TO BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. That is true, I agree. We had a good little chat and just then, Gina walked up and placed her soup bowl and her salad dish on the table.
He said," and look, you have a beautiful lady serving you, bringing you soup and placing in front of you on the table like you're the king, how great is that, you must be doing something right!".
I didn't have the heart to tell him that the soup and salad were for Gina ha ha ha! 🤣😂🤣
Gina had the soup and salad and I the chicken dinner. 🤓
But we had a good little chat about old times before the worlds started going he hell ha ha ha!
But then I started thinking, how lucky am I ? It's not luck. I mean c'mon, I'm a good looking guy, I mean, just look at me! 😄
Ya know that's in humor. Thought I'd point that out because some of the ignorant forum people will probably call me toxic right after their wives tell their drunk selves that they drink too much. I never did get along well with drunks and drug abusers. 😉 Nor will I ever understand the cycling forum chain of command. Bunch of mods that don't cycle. So when one talks about cycling and other riders competing type of posts, the mods only think it's arrogance rather than preference riding alone. They'll never understand as long as they use people that,....well let's say one claims to be a cyclist and petite as well. Sorry but I've seen pics of this sickly short obese person and the person is far from a cyclist and as far as I am concerned, unable to understand the dynamics of real world cycling. Especially when this person does more walking and complaining about health issues rather than cycling. That would be like making me a moderator in a beer forum. I wouldn't know sheot about it because I don't drink. Now the dude who has his wife on his back all the time for drinking too much, he would fit right in ha ha ha!
I'm guessing that's why they would consider me toxic. Because I actually ride, try to eat right, avoid drugs and alcohol so that confuses them and their alcohol damaged minds. They don't understand a straight up person without the twist of being under the influence. 🍺🍻🍺
Funny thing, some dude asked Our Girl Angelina if I was her father when we sat down to have dinner at Sizzler after my ride. Boy it was crowded busy. So the guys sitting behind us asked her but she said no, just regular customers.
So a few minutes later I got up to get my soup then when I returned he caught my attention saying he knew me from somewhere. He said he thought Angelina was our daughter so he was going to ask her. Then said he couldn't let it go because he knows he knew me from somewhere. I told him I play softball for years, worked at General Dynamics for years and another company in my hometown. He wasn't sure but then I asked his name and once he said it, oh yeah, it was the company I worked for, your mom's name is Gloria, I remember this guy and that guy. So we chatted some then he said he remembered me now, I was the dimensional inspector for the CNC machine shop.
Pretty cool meeting an old friend or acquaintance. It was 25 years ago. He said he asked Angelina because the way she was speaking to us, he thought she might be our daughter. I told him no, she just thinks she's our daughter ha ha ha! Actually young enough to be our granddaughter. 25 years ago when I was working for that company we spoke of, Angelina hadn't even been born ha ha ha!
Another dude from the place where we buy coffee at the mall had actually liked the flour chips that we ordered a few weeks ago. He and his family there started ordering them and eating them after Gina mentioned it. So the guy that runs the taco shop was happy.
Yesterday, I went there for lunch and knew I would be back after dinner. So I asked him to make an order of chips for us and one for the coffee people. He did, very cool guy. He made them a short while before we returned to the mall as I ordered them about noon that day. He said he would have them ready for us though I had told him we would not be there till about 7:30 pm. He said they would be ready, cool!
They were! He had mentioned that he tried them with a certain seasoning so he wanted me to try it if I did not mind. Let's do it! So he made the two orders, two flavors ha ha ha! Worked for us as I liked the seasoned and Gina liked the plain.
This was one order, the other went to the coffee ☕️ people. Young kids.
The people at the coffee place were happy.. That was yesterday so when we went in tonight, they had made a cookie for Mother's Day.
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