What the Hey !!!! More Wind on Sunday

41 miles at 15.4 average speed. So what the heck, do these forecast dudes know their stuff or not ?! The forecast said Sunday would be half the wind speed of Saturday. So poor Gina who is getting over a cold thought it would be cool to ride today. Pooor Gina! She did really well but really suffered on the way back. I did offer a shorter ride today but Gina the trooper she is said she would give it a whirl! She did it! Welcome back Gina!

We started the ride into a monster headwind heading toward Imperial. Somewhere along the line, Taft Ave maybe, I noticed some dude on Gina's wheel. Oh well, I figured he would go around sooner or later but never did. I started to think maybe it was someone we knew playing mind games with me. It was, The Legend Greg caught us from behind and played possum ha ha! I couldn't look back long enough to see who it was as it was "hold the bars or die!" riding into this wind ha ha! Once we hit Imperial and stopped at our turnaround point, he rolled up and then I knew who it was ha ha! Had a pretty good chat then we headed back together with a big tailwind!

At the coast we ran into Mark, then later Ron and Dixie rolled up into the rest stop. They headed off on PCH for a bit as Ron was concerned about reaching his weekly mileage goal. at first Dixie passed on the offer but once she saw the broken heart look on Ron's face, she gave in! Now is that true love or what?! :-P

We headed back with Mark hoping we would have some kind of tailwind back. Somewhat of a tailwind, better and longer than Saturday but once we did hit the headwind, it totally killed Gina on the little uppities. At one point, she just pulled over and stopped. Took a short 2 minute break then got back on. seemed to be doing OK but then another couple miles later, I heard her shout, "that's it!". She fell off the pace but I backed off so she easily hopped back on for a while. Then after that, she fell back and told Mark to go ahead. It seemed he held back for her and let her take his wheel. Wow that was a first. Usually if Gina falls off my wheel, the other riders just sit behind her. But Mark pulled her back up and really helped her to get back on. That was cool!

After the ride, Mark gave me a hat he said he had been meaning to give me for a while. Nice cycling hat, mesh upper, great for after the ride. My current cap leaves my head hot so this should be nice! Plus a few water bottles he figures I can use. Thank Mark and to all you others, Yes, Mr. Beanz does accept gifts ha ha! Just kidding, but there have been some cool people out there who gave me some nice things. Hats, cycling coins, red blinkies from races, fish, yes fish, and a little packet for a camera that GMR gave me when she saw that my case had broken. I still use that thing too!But as a pouch for my Garmin during transport, which is every weekend! :-)

But I think Gina was pretty toasted after that but we only had a couple miles left so she survived! Just needs a bit more saddle time and a day that is not so WIND tough!

After the ride, we stopped at Burger Town USA, the only place I will eat a hamburger. I don't eat fast food at all other than this place since it seems really fresh. Reminds me of the good ol burger joints back in the with the real fresh produce and beautiful tomatoes. OK, I will say the old Greek burger joints. I didn't want to go there cause some dope will start complaining that I am a racist ha ha! But that pretty much describes the goodness of these burgers.

While there, a couple kept looking at us funny. As they were done, they walked by and asked it that was our truck with the bikes in the back. Yup, that's us! We had a short but good chat as they were cyclists. They had a tandem and had drove down from the high desert to ride the San Gabriel trail. They said it had the best wind forecast of all places ha ha!

I was real shocked, well both Gina and I as the lady said, you guys eat the healthy stuff (burger combo, substitute the salad instead of fries, free of charge at BT USA). She they were bad and ate the fried stuff. Then she smiled and said,"well you guys look like cyclists!".

What ?! Ha ha ha! Must have been the dried salt sweat lines on Gina's face, the dried up sunblock caked on my ears, or the smell of salty sweat that made her say that ha ha! In our 20+ years of cycling, that is the first time anybody has ever said we looked like cyclists. But we'll take it ha ha!

                                        This was the wind as we arrived at the start.



                             The Legend sneaking up on us while fighting a fierce headwind!

Heading back, safely space as the tailwinds blow us at 20 MPH without much effort! 

This was before the windy return leg when Gina was still smiling!

I was a bit tired today so I did let her pull me to the coast for a while!

Winter in SoCal

The cool people!

Mark.

The Hat! No, not the burger place!

Holy Cow Wind !!

52 miles solo today! 16.2 MPH average speed. I think I was the only one interested on facing the wind today. Gina had a bit of a relapse this week with her cold from couple weeks back. Figure all the cold air we've had this week. So I excused her from the ride as she said she would ride Sunday. Hmm, could be the cold or could be that she got a look at the wind forecast for Saturday ha ha!

Anyway, I went at it alone. Pretty windy once I reached Imperial heading inland. I had thoughts of Greenriver but once I hit Gypsum, I figured I better save some ammo for later in the ride. I know there are times that I was pushing pretty good on the return. Felt like a 22MPH effort but the speedometer said 14 ha ha ha!

I did run into Mark, Alex and Gail at the coast.

Oh, BTW, this pic was sent to me by a friend who lives about 5 miles south of us. Shows how cold it was this week. ;-)

Lousy photographer, but I kind of like the shadows!

Had more pics but the sunscreen looked like a bird pooped on my face ha ha!

Alex and Mark

Gail to the right!

Night Ride

A bit chilly tonight but sometimes you just gotta ride. 43 degrees, which was better than the 37 yesterday ha ha! So I got in 15 miles with a bit over 1300 ft of gain. First time up to 24th street was chilling. Felt like I had earrings on as my lobes were feeling a git heavy. First approach to 24th street, I could feel a cold chill right through my sleeve and under layer on my arm like it was water.

But second climb up was much better. Third time up, I felt like I was riding on any other day on the trail. Not bad at all, hard part is getting out there.

I still say drivers are so courteous when I am out there! Thanks!

Wind, Water, and Blood

OK really, no blood! Just thought I would throw that into the title to make it sound dangerous. :-P

52.5 miles to Gypsum Cyn at 16.5 average.

So anyway, Gina didn't ride today so I saw the chance to get in a longer ride seeing it's supposed to rain hard on Sunday. I thought about 60 to Green River but once I saw the underpass at Orangewood, I figured the GR area may be underwater. I know the golf course at Edna park was flooded.

After the ride I was kind of glad I didn't choose GR cause it was pretty windy today. Not your 40 MPH winds, but a stiff headwind all the way from Gypsum Cyn to the coast. Heading back from Gypsum Cyn, I was pushing pretty good and struggling to hold 16. Alllllll they way to the coast ha ha! Oh well, it was a good workout!

Nope, didn't try to cross this floodness! :-P

Should I Stay Or...........

Should I stay or should I go now?! Seems to fit the situation. I had jury duty, got home early then started thinking about going for a ride. I wimped out once I picked up my guitar and decided to "stay"! Oh well, I did learn a new song. :-P

Idiot Cyclists Blowing Stop Signs and Intersections

You know I had poster for years on various cycling forums. I got so sick of reading "Stupid Driver" threads. I have seen for myself firsthand what kind of idiots are out there on bicycles. I will not give names but I have ridden on friendly rides with some of the posters who consider themselves cycling advocates and "SAFE" experienced cyclist. Let me tell you, I have seen a couple of them nearly get creamed by vehicular traffic due to their own stupidity.

Sadly, one guy almost got killed on GMR. It was an ugly sigh to see this guy go head on with a car. Luckily the driver saw him and slammed on his brakes as the cyclist cut the turn switchback to save a second or two. After that, I vowed to never ride with that idiot again. I didn't want to be the one who had to tell his wife he had been in an accident because I just might have said, "sorry, your husband is dead because he was an idiot!".

Another time I was riding with some guy who did something stupid in traffic. I tried to say it gently "uhhh, what the hell are you doing?!". His response, was, "so what are they going to do, run over me?". I'm guessing these idiots think a driver can't run over them because it's again the law. Hello, wake up you idiots!

So this evening, this video was sent to me. Sure I am going to use it! I ride in this same exact area midweek on evening rides. Many cyclists complain about driver behavior but honestly, I get nothing but respect on the road. I ride at night, well lit, front and read, and even ankle bands for side visibility. I make stops, I obey the law and I ride predictably. 95% of the time, even if I am not the first to approach a 4 way stop, the drivers, ALL OF THEM will wave me through. Nothing but consideration out there. I am sure there are a few bad drivers, but yeah, bad cyclists too!

So after all the "stupid driver" threads, my biggest scares on the road were close encounters with other cyclists. You guess it! Stupid cyclists who blow 4 way stops and intersections like this idiot!

One day, day time, plenty of sun, I made my stop at a 4 way stop. I was crossing and waited my turn. I started my take off from the line and WHAT THE HELL!!!!! Some idiot who blew the 4 way almost creams me from the side doing about 25 MPH, running the stop signs. Yes, there was also vehicular traffic present.

Another situation that really scared the piss out of me was when Gina was driving. Plenty of cars at the 4 way stop and she starts her take off as she should have. The video shows a red truck on the far side of the cyclist but in this case, Gina was on the same side as the cyclist who blew the 4 way stop. So she drives 1/2 way through the intersection when this idiot comes flying between cars splitting the lanes of stopped cars. No way could she see him flying through the center of the cars and trucks. She proceeds then this idiot swerves just enough as Gina slams on her brakes to avoid becoming a hood ornament.

I have to say it, there are a lot of stupid cyclists out there! Nobody wants to hear this but ..THEY ARE ASKING FOR IT!!!. You say that on a cycling forum and the cycling advocates jump your ass right away. You should never say something like that because nobody ever asks for it! Uhh yeah they do, they are just asking to be hit!

Too bad these idiots really think they are good cyclists and handlers. Yes, maybe they are and maybe they have been lucky so far but sooner or later, your luck runs out!

Just seeing these idiots for myself from my bike and from my vehicle, I have to say these guys give us a bad rap! Again, the forum world does not want to hear that because...drivers should never lump us all into one category blah blah blah but they do, I have been told myself by people who do not like cyclists for this type of reason. Sure I try to talk sense into them but really, you idiots really are giving us a bad rap!

Sunday Single Bikes

Another 41 miles today at 15.4 average. Not bad considering it felt pretty windy today. The last 2 miles to the coast I was pushing pretty good at the front holding 13.5 and 15 from bridge to bridge heading south. Pretty stiff headwind. I was worried about Gina but she actually did pretty good today! I think she complains less when other people are around. Not to mention she calls me fewer not so nice names when we have company ha ha!

Aimee and Jose rode with us. Did see Mark heading the opposite way as well as Ron & Dixie a couple of times. I thought they would catch us heading to the coast having to ride against a big head wind. Seems they finished the ride shortly after we got back. so they weren't far behind.

We hit a big headwind heading to Imperial today. So once we turned around and headed to the coast, you can see Aimee smiling ha ha! I don't think any of them were smiling much heading into the wind. :-P

Even Cyclist Need Faith! & SART Saturday

This video was sent to me so I asked if I could post it on my blog, permission granted! So I figure I won't use any name, Err cough cough.........RON & DIXIE !!!! Ha ha ha!

I guess Ron racked the tandem after their ride last week. They drove home but realized when they got home, the front wheel was not in the truck. Uh oh! So, hope I get the story right, Dixie talks Ron into driving all the way back figuring it would still be there. They don't live far from us so I know it was at least a 30 mile drive one way home. 60 Home and back to Rampart where we usually park around the corner. So 60 miles later and over 1 1/2 hours, they return and the wheel is still there! Talk about Faith!

So this is the video footage sent to me, I just added the intro and credits.






Saturday Gina and I rode the tandem, it's been a while! Gina hasn't been on the bike much lately so I was expecting the worst. But she did pretty good and we ended up with an average of 16.3 over the 44 miles. I was ready to get tortured today but it wasn't all that bad, thank goodness!

One point that almost killed me was the steep ramp just South of Moon Park. Strava has it at 15.4% but it's only like 30 yards or so. Gina pulled a cramp going up the short hill and couldn't pedal. Have you ever tried to ride up a 15% grade with a one legged stoker on the back of a tandem? :-O

Old Faithful Jose rode with us and did help ups along the way. Ran into Ron at Edna Park and had a pretty good chat. Ron and Mark at the coast then Alex a bit later.

A really nice day and what made it even better is that we saw Bad Bob on the trail! :-P

Jose, Gina, and Ron (PinoyBnter)

I didn't think that it was that cold but after seeing my nipple..........

Somebody's got some spiffy wheels!

I'm not sure but I think the dude in the red is getting ready to sing to the dude in green! :P

Running With The Pack!

46 miles @ 17.9 MPH average speed. Mike and Joaquin rode yesterday so they wanted to hold the pace down today. I didn't ride so I was game for whatever our legs could do. I thought it was funny though. About a month ago I did a solo 50 miler on Saturday, then rode with the same guys on Sunday. Knowing I did miles the previous days, they didn't care and they tried to rip my legs off. Just to show them what a team player I am, I went with the plan today. We actually took it pretty easy until 2 miles from the coast heading South. Once we were there, it seemed we had a pretty good average so we did pick it up a bit on the return. I figured I was the freshest out of the 3 so I pulled 5 of the 12 mile return leg. The other guys then rotated once then I ended up at the front for the last mile pushing pretty good trying to hit the 18 average. Didn't work though and I was happy with the ride. It was nice to be the fresh guy for once and take it easy! I was once all night till 4 am cooking tamales so I was a bit short on sleep today. Didn't feel it till the ride was over though ha ha!

Did see Bad Bob, Ron & Dixie on their tandem, and Alex heading the opposite way. Oh yeah, and a set of boobs! That's Winter in Southern California!

Wed Eve Ride

Darn, I forgot to post it so it's a bit late! Local 18 miles with 1,500 ft of elevation gain. 56 degrees average temperature. Looked like rain, smelled like rain, even had rain in the forecast. But no rain! Gina said I better go tonight cause the rest of the week looks like rain. Thank goodness for them bike lights! :-P Now to cook my dinner cause Gina ain't home!

The course and profile!

Lights with aid from street lamps

All headlights

Night selfie!

Happy Rough New Year Ride For Gina Today

40 miles @ 15.2 average speed. I think she did too much Christmas shopping! We started off alone and she did pretty good. I thought about doing 36 to the Circle K but hey, it's New Years and I figured she would do OK on the 40 (Imperial bridge, not to Yorba Park). But I was wrong. She had a tough time the last 4 or 5 miles and if I had settled for the shorter ride, she probably would have had a bit more fun on the ride. Oh well, maybe that will help her figure out her cycling goals for the new year he he he! Saw Fabulous Frank roll by, I think he's out of retirement now. Also saw Alex at the coast but seemed he was in a hurry to get on with his ride.

It did seem a bit breezy heading to the coast but not as much wind as the last 2 weeks. Once at the coast we ran into Mark and Gail so we headed back with them. Gina said her legs were already hurting but I thought she would be OK. But a couple miles from Edna Park, her legs really pooped out on her. I think she needs more hill training ha ha!

So anyway, I got a flat! But luckily it was my day as it happened in the last 20 yards or so! Have to say, it will take a couple more rides for Gina to get back up to speed!