Mr. Beanz And His Bike Rides: 42 San Gabriel Trail Ride with Erik & Gang

42 miles 15.7 average speed. First time meeting Jimbo. Long time blog follower and forum member years back. I had seen that Jumbo rides this trail fairly often so we live about 30 miles apart but I had never met him before. He does post comments and views my blog so he must be OK ha ha! Having done a few rides with Erik and his group, I figured I'd invite Jimbo to meet us there seeing he is from the area. Good thing is that he is from the area so he pointed out a few objects and areas of interest. Like the Spreading Grounds. I had seen it on his strava and just thought he was spreading ground ha ha. Now I see there is actually a place name that, now I know. Then the house with the roller coaster in the back yard. Then he pointed out the place along the trail that was a graveyard. I wonder if he noticed but when he pointed it out, I raise the pace ha ha! But it was a good thing meeting Jimbo, cool guy. One really good thing was that he was willing to help out when the tough got going. The big headwinds or the lifted pace on the return. He'd come to the front and lend a helping hand. I told him of my stories and as well as having read my blog experiences with jack holes that instead of helping out, raise the pace by 5 mph or even sprint off ha ha! So we are on the same level and I knew it when he came to the front to actually "help" me. Cool guy, strong rider, and no macho attitude. I can get along with good guys that actually know how to ride together and don't make a competition out of the ride. Very much unlike the forum jack holes like Trojan Horse who go on the forums and boast about beating you on 1 segment while doing a ride half the distance and 3 mph slower ha ha! That is the kind of bull I try to avoid with ride partners and Jimbo had none of that nonsensical type of attitude. Just a good guy who is going to help you when you need it , or even before you need it!

So we set out on the ride with Erik and his gang. These guys have fancy names for their rides so I wasn't sure what this one was called so I just called it Seal Beach ride. Usually named like Tasty Pastry Ride, Ladies and Gents, I kept this one simple so I hope they recognize it ha ha!

Starting from the Pico Rivera golf course to Seal Beach, a stop for lunch then back. A pretty good size group. Having met Jimbo for the first time, I told him that I was not sure exactly how the riders will act. At times some shoot out from the gate in a blaze. Taken by surprise at times, I find myself pushing hard off the block trying not to fall too far behind ha ha! So most times I sit back and observe to see what is going to happen. But he is a careful rider as well so we just went along with the flow. I was actually a bit surprised as the group started out pretty mellow and rather slow. Good and safe but doing too slow a pace hurts my butt ha ha! All my weight on the saddle and not the pedals. But it progressed little by little.

I'm guessing because I don't know, but I think there are a few newer riders who probably aren't sure of what they should be and not be doing. Like the gal in the red on the video cover shot. Red jersey black helmet. She seemed to be a pretty good rider but right off the line, she ended up in front of the group for the first few miles, maybe 5? I saw her up there and thought, uh oh, that's a mistake. Not that she was trying to be at the front, it just happens that she ended up there. A few riders shoot up then drop back so somewhere rather quickly in the mix, she was at the front. Doing a decent pace but with the wind, I knew she would soon get a little beat. If I knew her better, I would have told her to drop back and let the others pull her into the wind. But I did not want to offend anybody.

But anyway, about half way to the coast, I see her fall back into the line. A few riders are rush and go types so that sucks for the line organization. We were cruising at a decent speed into a big headwind so a few riders dropped back. The gal in the red was one of them. But she was at the front of the last 3 in line with a big gap back to her. She looked like she was doing a good effort and though a gap between, she was pretty much keeping the same pace that we were. I think she was working a little harder than she had to being separated.

So I dropped back till she took my wheel. I was not sure if she knew about drafting, or if she knew what I was trying to do, but she took my wheel and kept on really well. Just as I thought, if I give here a steady wheel to hold, she would be fine. Couple miles later she said, "thanks for letting me ride behind you because I can't keep up." I told her that I saw what was going on and told her that I knew she could keep up, it was more the organization of the line that was hurting her. Heck, I ride with Gina and keep a steady pace so she can draft me at a good speed for miles and miles if I don't sprint off and create gaps. I guess most people don't think about this on rides. But I saw her back in line and the 2 riders in front of her sprinted around creating that gap on her leaving her out to hang. Poor gal!

I explained this to her and I think she understood what I meant. So for miles she stuck on my wheel and did great. One underpass she fell back slightly so I soft pedaled for 10 strokes maybe giving her a chance to reconnect. I wish more people would ride this way instead of trying to prove you're stronger than your partner. Lose 2 seconds but hey, everybody is happy. So she was still with me and now we hit the MASSIVE head wind section. She's still there so I shouted out that she was doing great! She said thanks but that she hopes she can continue to hang on. I told her she would and I would control the pace so that she could.

So now we are in the real windy section about 5 miles (?) from Seal Beach. Me, her and maybe 1 or 2 other riders on our wheel. I see the main group ahead and sure enough, we roll up on them for the pass. Gentle pass so she can see what I'm doing and not wanting to gap her now. So now we're at the front of the main group with everybody on our wheel. I see 2 of the gals ahead of us maybe 40 yards and I back off the pace a little bit for her to relax some. I asked her if she noticed the difference in riding with someone holding a steady pace vs the accelerations and hesitation type style. She said she noticed it and again thanks but hopefully she could continue to hang on. I told her again she was fine.

So then I tell tell her that the gals that took off earlier, they were just up ahead and that she should not be surprised if we catch them or even pass them. She said she didn't think so. OK, hold just keep holding on. Sure enough we roll up on the 2 gals that seemed to be the dominant personalities of the group. As we rolled by, one of them turns to me and says,'man, it got really wind!". Yup!

I think the gal on my wheel was pretty happy at this point seeing what she could do. So now we are at the very front of the group when Jimbo comes up the help for a stretch into the wind. So I get some relief for a bit then again find myself at the front with the gal still on my wheel. I think she was pretty tickled to be up there. So we're up front for a few miles into the stiff headwind. Next step I tell her is that some riders will realize we are close to the coast and will go around now that it's almost over. Sure enough, 3 riders go around as expected. No, I am not going to chase knowing we're doing well just keeping our pace and in my opinion, the work is done!

Kind of reminded me of a forum ride years ago, back around 2006. About 30 forum members shooting off here and there then once the real wind hit, found myself and Gina in the same position, with everyone on our wheel. That was a funny story in itself. A gal got a little overconfident after having pulled them into the wind. She said at the coast," don't be offended if we drop you on the way back, but we are going to go fast on the return". :-O Ha ha ha! Gina was in pretty good form back then so they sprinted off on the return like a bat out of hell. We kept a good pace then noticed, they aren't going anywhere so I asked Gina how she felt. She said she felt good so I told her we were going to pick it up. We lifted the pace and caught them at the steel bridge. Passed them then Gina and 2 other guys holding on dropped her and her group like a hot potato. Now I am the kind of guy that if you insult me, I'm going to surely make sure I insult you real good if I can ha ha! That ride was 72 from Encanto Park to Seal Beach and back. So Gina and the guys got back to Encanto Park. I had pulled the entire way being in better shape back then, and 50 pound lighter. We got back and I told Gina to dress down and pack up asap. I wanted to be refreshed and hanging out when the gal and her group got back. Sure enough, she rolls up and we're just chilling in the shade. The gal rolls up and says, "Wow Gina, I didn't realize you were that strong!". Ha ha ha, those were the days! No names to protect the innocent! :-P

So back to the Seal Beach ride. We get to town and decide to eat lunch. Some people go here and some go there. I was shocked at the traffic in town (Seal Beach) on a Friday afternoon. Plenty of people and plenty of short shorts! Of course I did not get any shots for you guys seeing I had to keep it tame having several female riders with us ha ha! i don't think they'd e be happy with the video had I included a few short shorts shots ha ha!

Some had planned to play in the water and stay a little longer. Me, I would rather head back and avoid getting sand in my socks. So nearly half stayed a bit longer as a group of us headed back.

I have been feeling better with more cycling so I felt strong for the way back. Our little group started back for the first mile or so at like 14 mph. Oh no, I can't do this too long, my butt hurts when I have full weight on the saddle for hours. I have to pick it up some. With a tailwind, it was pretty easy so I went around lifting the pace but holding back so those that wanted to go had a chance to get on my wheel. Jimbo quickly headed out with me. We picked it up then noticed another couple of riders were chasing. I told Jimbo that another couple were coming so we held back a bit for them to catch on.

After they caught on, I lifted the effort and easily doing 23 with the tailwind. Not sure if the other 2 gals and Erik wanted to go with us. So we stopped at the metal bridge to regroup and announce our intentions giving them a chance to go with us if they liked. I didn't want to rudely leave anybody behind. So we started out trying to hold it at 20. We did for a while but 3 riders dropped back. I think Erik (with a K) saw 2 of the gals weren't going to hang so he stayed back with them being the organizer.

I saw they were falling behind and knew they wouldn't keep up so I decided to lift the pace. We were doing pretty good at 23 and a nice tailwind. Now it was me, Jimbo, Eric (with a C), and a gal, Susan I think. We got about half way back and she started fading off the back. I noticed she was falling behind on the little up sections of the underpasses. Of course holding back after each underpass because that trail is so thrashed compared to SART. I backed off giving everyone a chance to make it up. Not because I thought they were fading, but more because when I was hitting those ratty sections of pavement on the underpass, I was not liking the pounding my bike was taking. Now wanting to lose control or force anybody else to press on through rough roads, I decided to make it smoother for all of us as far as safety. Nobody wants to get hurt enjoying a hobby.

But the gal started to fade some so Eric asked if I would slow it down some. He asked to keep it at 20, no more than 20. OK cool! It was getting late in the ride and the gal had done so well that there was no sense in leaving her out alone at this stage of the ride. Especially since we were heading into the uglier side of the trail now. Couple of hoodlum looking types but not many like the whiners on the forums complain about ha ha! Saw a couple of very small homeless camps but not bad at all, just a drop in the bucket compared to what was on SART not long ago.

I did notice Jimbo has the same mindset as me on the bike when it comes to the rough looking characters. I noticed he waved or nodded to everyone. Probably thinks like I do. I'll be real nice to you, nod or wave, acknowledge you as a person but if you mess with me, I'll freaking put you in a headlock and choke you out ha ha! I think it works, the friendly nod of the head but with a bit of stink eye in the mix ha ha!

So Jimbo takes the front for a while seeing we are getting close to his turnout, which is only a mile or two from our start point. But as we approach his stop, he decided to continue on with us to the ugly steep sharp dangerous little turn underpass area. There's a big turnout area there perfect for a meeting. So we stop and wait there for Erik to arrive so that Jimbo can say thanks for the ride and say bye to Erik and the gang.

There, Susan I think, says,"now that is the way I like to ride!". She says it was nice doing a nice smooth good pace together. I think so too, just roll and let it go! I myself like a rather nice straight smooth consistent line. Good pace but no sprinting off, trying to drop the others. Just a nice good pace for all of us. I looked on Strava and had sixty something PR's on this ride. I looked at the segments and 48 hidden segments. So I made those segments visible then refreshed the accomplishments and ended up with one hundred and something PR's ha ha! I guess it was a good ride. Jimbo left a comment saying something about having been on that trail for a long time and not had any PR's for a while. But this ride he got 16 new ones. So I guess we all enjoyed the ride! :-P

So that's pretty much the end of the ride and a good day. One thing that made me smile was that Eric (with a C) said thanks for doing the pull into the wind heading to the coast. Then after the ride, being one of the riders heading back with us said as he was leaving, "thanks for pulling us back, you are awesome!". Always nice to know other riders enjoyed the effort! ;-)

Ride Video

Jimbo! First time meeting after years of knowing each other on the forums and Strava

I felt so fancy in the golf course club house even though I was just there to tinkle! :-P

Gals of the ride

Erik (with a K) ride organizer

Susan (?) the gall that rolled back with us!

The gal that rode my wheel to the coast in a massive headwind. I think she's amazed at what she can do!

Denise. New friend, rode together a few times now. Very strong gal after overcoming a serious bike accident resulting in some health issues. Concussion and balance problems. Stopped smoking recently and doing great on the bike riding almost everyday, sometimes twice!