62 Miles Anaheim to Long Beach Lighthouse

A nice ride with the group today. 62 miles at 16.1 average speed. Strava says 60 because I forgot to restart my Garmin after a break. Had a few riders, maybe 13 I think. But pretty much the same old story. A little frustrating with the people and the tactics. Starts out fast and I'm trying to hang on without a warmup then a couple miles later, the speed is way down. I never understand it but that is the way it happens.

So I get in the front to set the pace. Doing pretty well keeping the group together just keeping it steady. Couple times I looked back and there must have been 15 people as other jumped on too. A couple of guys hopped on as we went by but I was just holding it steady. They must have recovered then one at a time, both guys went around and took off. One guy almost took out the wheel of one of our gals. But the guys get about 50 yards ahead, and as usual, they fade. So I go around them again but this time I said to one of the guys. "THAT WAS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!!!!". He just said, I know! :-/  Then as they jumped back in line, Erik told the guy, "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!" ha ha ha! Then, we ended up dropping them far behind. We stopped for a break at the wooden bridge before the coast then a few minutes later, they went by with their heads between their tales type of look. But one guy did say thanks, so that was cool!

But our little group headed across PCH to Long Beach. Here, again frustrated. I am let's say 4th in line but we have to stop at a red light. Here comes the slower riders all crowding around the lead rider. I don't understand it but it would be more organized if they kept in order. So the light turns green and half of them can't clip in quickly so I get blocked and the group splits. I'm not going around in traffic to get a spot. Then later, half the group runs a yellow light and we're stopped, maybe 4 of us. So the front group keeps going and never looks back. I'm different. If my group is split, soft pedal or maybe even wait. As we roll on, I can't even see the group ahead on PCH. But I stay at the front when Tim comes around and gives me a hand. That helped a lot. I had pulled a lot and was hoping somebody else had the balls to help out.

I was surprised as most other guys will get brave but race ahead instead of helping out. I have no idea what they plan to gain doing that. On the way back, I was holding the pace for the group almost all the way back from LB to HB. Along PCH, one of the guys would shoot around and take off. OK great, draft for 5 miles then shoot off instead of helping. And of course, a 1/2 mile later, roll him in. I even had gals asking me today, why does he do that? Hard to understand. At the end of the ride, the guy has like a 14.3 average speed and I a 16.1. Seems like he/they would want to try to work 
TOGETHER"  instead of showing off. Maybe the guys are too concerned about trying to impress the women.

But I got plenty of compliments today by the women for holding it together. So that is cool! Women fighting for my wheel ha  ha ha!

But on the return, again. We start out, and a couple of riders shoot off ahead even before I can get on the trail. So I have to work pretty hard to catch up. Once I do, they pull over, OK I'm tired! WTF!!! So later, after pulling them for a while, I picked  up the pace and dropped them. Then as I got tired, Milton asked me how fast I wanted to go. 18 was good as it was a headwind. Really bummed after expecting a tailwind. So we were working pretty hard and the effort to do 21 or 22, I found myself doing 17. Heck, at one point, I fell off Milton's wheel at 17.5. I think I was getting tired from being at the front of the group most of the day.

A good burrito at a place called Sancho's. But it's funny! Helen, who is half my size ate the same big fat burrito I had. She beat me by like 15 minutes and downed it all. But I'm watching her scarf down this huge burrito and I'm gaining the weight ha ha ha!

But overall a nice ride. Would be nice to have more help holding steady though! ;-)

A few still images till I get the video made!

Ride with the Group, 43 Degrees (Video)

 25 mile ride with the group last night.  Chilly 43 degrees for us SoCal riders but hey, somebody has to do it! Nice mellow ride, good exercise and kept me warm on the ride actually. Now stopping after the ride was something else. Sat at the outdoor patio at Daug Haus in Upland (210 and Baseline shopping center). Now there it was freezing cold. The sweat in my underlayers was cold after taking off the windbreaker. I had my gator face mask on but he ears were still cold. Tempted to get back and my bike and ride some more to keep warm ha ha ha!

But a good ride., only a handful of us but we were out there. Met some more nice people. Been meeting new people and they seem to be a little friendlier than the old crowd I was riding with back when I started last Feb. Well, the women anyway. The guys have always been cool. ;-)

Received some of the stuff I ordered online with a gift card to a cycling site of which my daughter gave me a gift card. Things I have a hard time finding at local shops. Amazing I know but I finally got some more Podium bottles by Camelbak and 3XL gloves. I think it has been 15 years since I have found 3XL gloves at a local shop. So much nicer!

So I am read to ride tomorrow, doing a 64 miler with the group.

Short Ride with Gina

 31 miles with Gina today 15.6 average speed. Tried to go easy but wow, the wind has not been cooperating lately. Usually have somewhat of a tailwind back but last few weeks, nope! Easy cruising to the coast at about 16 just to conserve energy and relax. Once at the coast, we had a 15.6 easy average. I thought we'd pick it up a bit on the way back just cruising. Wrong! It was hard to maintain 16 on the way back. Not pushing too hard but hard enough and doing 15.5, sucks ha ha ha! Finally the final 4 miles or so, it seemed to let up a little bit so I was able to save our fallen average but only back to what it was at the coast.

Those easy days that are not easy like you want 'em ha ha ha! But it was foggy, wet and dark when we woke up this morn. Gina said she would sit it out but figured she would miss all the fun so she went anyway. I'm glad, got to ride with my Honey.  Worried about the rain when we left home but once we hit the hill in Diamond Bar, heading South on the 57, saw a hint of the sun. Arriving in Anaheim was even nicer. Felt a little chilly with the breeze while riding but overall a nice day to ride.

Only 24 more miles to hit 4,000 for the year. Was thinking about a short ride somewhere but then Eyemage contacted me and asked if I wanted to do a NY eve morning ride. OK, that will get my 4,000 for sure. Maybe 40 miles.

Not a whole lot going on so sometimes, you just got to do something to make the ride a little more enjoyable. In this case, I took a selfie of myself rubbing Gina's boob for good luck. That did it for me ha ha ha! :-P

Well darn! Gina missed the shift going up the little hill. Bye bye Gina! 

Dark clouds at the coast but no rain, so I am happy!

Rough 40 miles today. 15.0 average busting my hump ha ha ha! Solo with rain and wind. 

I knew I was in trouble driving to the trail head seeing the trees swaying. Thought it was OK but rain on first 23 miles off and on, mostly on ha ha! Really tough ride today. Big headwind on the way and even bigger on the return. I thought it might change from the coast back to the train station on the last leg of 14 miles. Hoping it would turn around the soccer fields but didn't so I knew I was screwed ha ha ha! Even thought about cutting it short but these are the rides that build character, they say! :-P

My goal was to reach 4,000 miles this year. Well, didn't try till I saw I was close at the end of October so I figured I could do it 402 miles in November and 440 in December will do it for me. I only need 57 more for December now to make the 4,000. Also, 440 in December will be my best month of the year so that is a good thing late in the game! I stand corrected. Looked at Garmin graphs and seems May was my best with 470 miles. Oh well, still a good December! :-)

I did see Bad Bob heading to the coast just south of Moon Park. I don't think he recognized me with a mask and being alone. I shouted but he was too busy smiling while riding his bike ha ha ha! Looked determined to hold that smile. After we crossed paths, I was thinking, Man that guy must like riding his bike ha ha ha!

                      Not a soaking rain. Just enough to get a little wet and wet the road.

The ground was most wet in Yorba.

Once back in Anaheim, it saw some sun to the south so I was hoping it was better. Still a few drops here and there in about 5 different places but only for a minute or two.

The water was ugly today. :-(

Just me and the birds today!

Man, 2 underlayers and a wind breaker. Sweating up a storm trying to fight the wind.

After the ride, rough but I'm still standing! Only need about 50 more miles to reach my goal for the year.

Gina passed on the offer to ride with me. She went shopping instead. Not a pic from today but a Macy's pic that I like. Maybe it's the boobs! :-P

BTW, Gina started a new job a few months ago. Her bosses had called her in and told her that the customers said Gina was a real breath of fresh air. SO she's doing well and for Christmas, another customer she deals with asked for her home address as they wanted to send a gift to her for Christmas. She was expecting candy or a fruit basket but they actually sent her a $100 Visa gift card along with a Christmas card signed by all the workers from that company saying they appreciate all that she does for them on the job. Wow, pays to be nice for Gina. Me, all I ever get for being nice is an ice cream ha ha ha!

Monday Night Chill Ride

 20 miles with a small group. I took my mountain bike for 2 reasons. Wanted to hear the tires hum and some of the other people did a century on Sunday. I figured they would go slow so I took the MTB. Funny though, I ended up with 56 PR's on Strava ha ha ha!

What happened was that we cruised most of the way but on the return, the riders who didn't do the century the day before picked it up on the way back. Sadly though, there are some sour apples out there. I was at the front of the group for a couple miles doing pretty well on my MTB while they were on roadies. OK, before I go there, one guy was asking me about drafting and how does he know how fast to go while at the front. I mentioned that maintaining a good pace is ideal but too many sprint off and many won't help work as well. One guy backed me up with this comment. Well, this is actually just what happened on the way back.

So being at the front on my MTB, there were a few riders on my wheel. We hit  a section where one can see the road drop a bit. A rider went around and sprinted off, ok! Then another, then a third. So I picked it up even more to catch a wheel, if I could. They took off pretty fast and on the MTB, there was no sprinting. So I caught back up to one guy and he took off again so I kept up my speed hoping to reel him back in. Then he passes a gal that had sprinted off as well. So I hopped on her wheel for a few seconds till she realized I was there. Then she moved all the way over to the left side of the trail so I could not get a draft, or couldn't draft her. Wow, really?! She was on my tail for at least a couple of miles but didn't want me to draft her, OKAY WHATEVER!!

So the other guy finally faded and I got on his wheel for a bit but it was too late, he faded so no help there. Of course he is back on my wheel and again later sprints ahead. But shortly after, I caught the one guy that had agreed with me at break, about the poor wheelsucker habits of too many riders. He was doing pretty good and when I caught him, he did lift the pace some but not too much. I think he was getting tired at this point but he allowed me to stick on his wheel. No baby games trying to brush me off his wheel, I appreciate that!

A couple of times I thought I might be able to go around but since he was riding well, steady and smooth, I figured it would be rude of me to go around at the last 1/2 mile. So I just sat on his wheel and let him do his thing. Then the last 1/4 mile, he caught up to the gal that had sprinted ahead. I saw him lift the pace and knew he wanted to pass her at this point. Heck, I wanted him to pass her too ha ha! I was redlining at this point but found the will to stick on his wheel as he passed her. I really wanted to pass her too after her little cheap ass tactics earlier. So he gave it a good push and passed her about 100 yards before the end of the trail.

 I stuck with him and his good effort and just as he passed her, she tried to pick it up. So he went around her then moved left and I was on his wheel but just off to his left after we rolled around her. So she picked it up and got a couple feet behind him the called out, "ON YOUR ......RIGHT!!!".     Wait a second. You got passed by 2 riders, one is now on the right and the other just to his left taking up pretty much the full right lane on a trail, left lane open but she wants to pass on his right, while his is like 10 inches from the right side of the trail? WOW! Then she shouts out to him, "OK I guess not!". Wow, that was a dumb move on her part. Once you get passed and the riders move right to take the lane and only a few inches from the right side of the trail, it's up to you to pass safely on the left. Do yourself a favor gal, think a little more about it before you get hurt! Those rocks on the side of the trail are going to win if you try passing on the right and hit the guy's wheel.

After the ride, she just loaded her bike in her auto and took off. Never said a word to anybody, just took off. I'm guessing the spoiled baby type ha ha! It's just a bike ride girl, not a race, don't get your feelings hurt ha ha!

But anyway, a good ride. Though started slow, it ended pretty fast toward the end. Good workout for me, I know that. Heck, one 2 mile section and another  1 miler on Strava were at 18-19 MPH average. The final .2 to the finish was a 20 MPH average speed.  Heck, I was not racing these guys, just trying to catch up and keep up for a workout ha ha! And I did set 56 PR's, on my mountain bike ha ha ha!

I am not very familiar with the trail right now so at night, it is kind of tricky. I miss a couple of the turns here and there at the intersections. Some are straight across and others, one needs to get on the sidewalk and go left for a few feet to get back on the trail. But the mountain bike did smooth out the lousy concrete slab sections along the trail. Those parts on a road bike are almost like riding across the wood bridges on SART ha ha!

Either way, good fun ride if you can laugh at the crybabies! :-P

Not much on the video. Didn't get to record much on the ride, being busy trying to keep up on the return, I forgot about the recorders. So just a couple of clips heading out.

At the start. A selfie using the timer. Me and my 2005 Trek 8000. Haven't rode this bike in about 3 years. So I cleaned and lubed it, hoping it would stay together on the ride ha ha!

About half way back. Maria in the background did 100 miles the day before. Glad I got her in the pic because she gave me a home made cookie before the ride. :-P

Last Ladies & Gents for 2020

So, another 25 with the group. Final Thurs nite ride with the Ladies & Gents. Nice ride and a pretty good size group. I am not sure but I think about 3 riders were a little too slow on the ride and either turned back or continued on their own. Sad but it is hard for a large group to hold back too much. 

But other than that, a good ride. I am impressed that a couple of riders that I thought really sucked and were a danger, seemed to have shaped up some. or quite a bit. Glad to see this because they had really worried me a few months back. 

Did run into a former, or registered forum poster Dutchboy2 who is actually Rick and one of my buds on Strava. I met him on the road back in about 2005 riding up Euclid Ave and Mt Baldy Rd. This guy is a monster on the bike. He did the Senior Games a while back and still riding strong. One of those guys that when he says he will ride with you, it will be you giving it your all and him soft pedaling ha ha! But a really cool guy who understands cycling and all it's aspects. So it was nice to see Rick again after several years though we always seem to be in touch some way. 

Funny because though I am not on the forums, I have live contact, in person contact and keep in touch with riders from the forums. I bet I have more real forum friends that I see on a regular basis than those people still on the forums trying to keep it alive with  2 or 3 new posts every week ha ha ha! I am not allowed on the forums but I have contact with the real forum people of past years. Kind of stupid on the forum mods' side. So boring there, they should come out and ride with me/us ha ha ha!

Good riding with some of the buddies on this night. Met a couple new friends. One gal, Bev #1 was really strong. I had been pushing pretty good early in the ride then later crossing Scipps and Radcliffe, there was a small group of 3 ahead of us. Bev dropped me so I had to step on the gas to try keeping her in sight. She kept pulling away every time I gained on her.  Finally I passed her just near the end but by then, I was dripping sweat like it was 105 outside. But the temp was only 51 ha ha ha! Strong lady. But she gave me a workout ha ha ha!

It is a little more challenging to ride in a group at night though, keeping your eye on the road. We encountered a dead cat in the bike lane (about 5:20 into the vid). The guy ahead of me signaled the obstacle, then I signaled, but a couple women behind me ran right over it, yuck! It was open pretty good so I was hoping they didn't have any blood or guts on their bikes. :-P

We did stop at the Christmas House in LaVerne on Bonita. Same house with the Halloween set up. Wow, these people go all out for holidays. That's cool and thousands of people drive, walk, and cycle by to see the deco. Nice but too much work for me ha ha ha! 

Nice ride tonight though, had fun and a good time!

The video

                                                        The Christmas House

Lesson in photography. Do not exhale while taking pics on a cool night.

Just me and some deco

Not sure what happened to my face but a good shot of the group.

I always look scared at night ha ha! Actually, this little cheapo $80 point and shoot keeps me wondering if it is going to snap or not ha ha!

The women

Monday Night Chill Ride

Easy 20 miler with a group last night. Easy 12 point something pace. I never ride this trail here, Pacific Electric Trail from Rancho to Claremont. Too many stops, and crossings on big major streets and Avenues. But I figured I'd give it a try to chill with a group. OK, but I don't think I'll do this one again. Have a hard time stopping and starting, waiting for traffic and wondering if they will stop ha ha ha!

But an experience. 5 or 6 flat repairs. 3 from one ride and 2 from the others. Botched repairs. I would have liked to step in and help or even do the repair but few others were helping but I will say it did not go well ha ha! But I hate to step in and have people think I'm a know it all. So I just sit back and watch them clown around ha ha! My experience has been that I show and teach people then they fumble the next time anyway ha ha ha! I've seen riders pull out surgical gloves and all kinds of stuff ha ha but still can't fix a flat. I will if it means we have to sit there for an hour while the rider figures it out. Last night, I think it was more bad luck and inexperience but they will learn. They seemed interested to know, even talked about holding a little class.

But it was OK if you ask me. I learned something, I don't like that trail and I won't do that ride again ha ha! Cool people though, just not my style. I ride more for exercise and to push myself a little, break a sweat. This was more just to ride at night and get cold ha ha ha! Strange though, I was not chilly at all.

But I did get a chance to make a little video of the clips I recorded.

Erik making his second repair. First one botched with CO2 when the stem snapped off. Reason I don't use it any longer, had bad luck with it. I'm a pump guy now! Have been for 15 years.

I didn't know the way so I HAD to follow these women. Oh the sacrifices we make for cycling ha ha!

I do look kind of scared. Haven't done this trail and at night? I only ran off the road twice ha ha!

The Video 65 miles Anaheim to Long Beach and Back

 Good ride! I gave a shout out to Mandy for giving me an energy bar last weekend. Must have worked as I felt great the entire ride.  Then just some chatting and a music video. :-)

31 with Gina

31 at 15.4 Supposed to be easy but darn wind! Ran into Alyce at the beach. Pics for now.

(Video Monday) 64 Miler with the Group

 64 miles with the group, vid on Monday. Nice ride with some strong women! :-O  ARTIC train station to Long Beach lighthouse and back.

Started out at 8:30 am, really?! That is pretty early for me but that was the plan. Not really worried about the time but it was chilly today ha ha, that early!  Low of 55 but I was actually expecting it to be cooler. I can't really say cold because I have friends on FB that laugh when I say 55 seeing they live in the snow states. But I was prepared, wore 2 underlayers. I didn't want to wear my windbreaker because that makes it hard to grab the gopro from my jersey pocket while riding. It worked thought it was not all the cold.

Started out kind of fast as I'm used to a warmup. As soon as we hit the trail, we were doing like 18. I start at 14 sometimes ha ha! So I just sat at the back for a bit to warm up and let them work the front. I held back half a step after warming up so that Nadine could hold my wheel. Not sure why, but if the group held back for a second, the entire group would be together. Then next 5 miles with Nadine on my wheel, we were only 5 seconds back. I guess I'm a different kind of rider, I dunno! But the times the lead riders pulled over to see where we were, we rolled by them only being a handful of seconds. Of course I could have easily caught up but holding back for Nadine giving her a smooth ride, she like it!

It does kind of suck because I don't get to draft but oh well, I'll do my thing. If I get tired, I get tired but wouldn't be long before we hit the wind ha ha ha, the equalizer! After Moon Park, we hit the little hill. The first 4 riders slowed to look back but Nadine was doing well at this point so we roll right on by. 

Then I found myself at the front into the wind. Tim, waited till after the wooden bridge then took off like a bat out of hell. I almost thought he was going to help but nope. He opened a gap of about 50 yards rather quickly. Then the other guy, Rick, took off around us as well. The others stayed behind me so I just put the pressure on ha ha!

I saw Rich fade rather quickly so we gobbled him up right away. Tim was still ahead but I saw him fade after some time. So the last half of the strip, we rolled by him and his little grin ha ha!  He said he likes to push it on the 2 mile sprint from the bridge. Then he said he thought he could make but faded like Thor Hushovd ha ha ha! He seemed a little tickled about the situation and getting passed before the end of the trail.

So we headed north on PCH to Long Beach. Checked out the views, had lunch, then headed back. Some cool buildings in LB. Heading south on PCH was a little easier I think. We all did well and this time I had Maria on my wheel. Oh, before I forget, the other gal Shawn was awesome today. Not to embarrass anybody, but this lady was over 300 pounds then decided to do something about it. Now she is way under that, I did not ask her current weight ha ha! She was to strong, might knock me out if she got upset ha ha! But heading north on PCH, she was a bit ahead of Nadine and I, between groups and holding her own very well. I thought I'd catch her quickly but she was strong fighting the wind. Even pulled a way a couple of times.

But heading south, I had Maria on my wheel. Another strong lady. She seemed to like the wheel ride. She kept thanking me over and over even when it was time to leave the parking lot heading home. That's cool! Love to hear people appreciate the wheel. Nice lady, very friendly. I met her on the Thursday night ride couple weeks back. Very friendly and not catty at all. Pleasant lady and a good sense of humor. At one point, someone honked, at us I think, on PCH. I told her that I hated being so sexy because people on PCH honk at me all the time. She laughed and had a few good comebacks ha ha! Love a lady with a sense of humor and can ride a bike well ha ha!

Then we all regrouped at the usual beach stop. Headed back ...finish late, dinner time! :-P