What an incredible ride we had this weekend up to Redondo Beach and back. For those of you who went, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. It started out with a cool, slightly overcast day but turned into a beautiful sunny day with a slight off-shore breeze.Group 1 combined with Group 2 and about 20 of us rode the 102 miles up the coast with breathtaking views and serious headwinds. We started out the ride with several flats - ok to get those out of the way. Then it was up the coast for some pretty fun riding. The group pretty much stayed together the whole way. Some of us split through Camp Pendleton, but then we hooked on to Bryan Black's wheel and he pulled us back to the group. Thanks Bryon.
Just past San Clemente, we hooked up with Giberto, a challenged athlete that has a missing leg. It was impressive to see him pedal and keep up with even the strongest riders on the hills. We then proceeded through all the beach town communities up the coast with rolling hills and beautiful views of the ocean.Past Long Beach, we headed through a industrial area complete with factories, smokestacks, and warehouses. We stopped at a taco stand to wait for some riders and decided we should probably just keep moving along. This brought us to a series of three bridges that I swear felt like they were drawbridges raising up while we were riding over them. They seemed to go up and up and then once you got to the top, the wind hit you smack in the face and slowed you down to a crawl.
About 15 miles just this side of Redondo, we made a left turn and stopped at a 7-11 for a quick water fill up. This was much needed since the next five miles were a stair step hill climb that seemed to go on forever. The pace was keep pretty high, but we all managed to stay together. Once we got to the top, however, we were treated with a pretty fast descent into Redondo Beach.
Once we got to the hotel, tacos and drinks were waiting for us. They mentioned this at the start of the ride and for the last 25 miles I thought of nothing else. It is amazing how you will push your body if you know there is a taco waiting on the other end.A few of us gathered at the hotel pool and jaccuzi and hung out for a while. Anish, one seriously strong rider and I went in seach of a stretch of beach along the boardwalk and went swimming in the ocean. The waves weren't that big, but they were just fine for some body surfing.
Around 6 PM, we all met in the hotel lobby before walking over to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I sat with Mike Henderson and his lovely wife Crystal at dinner and had a pleasant conversation. Mike and I are throwing a Silent Auction and Sushi fundraising party on Monday, September 29 at the Southwestern Yacht Club. It allowed us a chance to talk about the event and what still needs to be done.
Bed came early for most of us because after all, we still had over 100 miles to ride the next morning.
Morning came all too soon and we found ourselves having breakfast with the other riders at the hotel restaurant. Mike MacGregor, Nina, Mike Henderson, and I all sat together and chatted a little. After getting our fill of food, coffee, and filling our water bottles, we were off again.
We started off with 9 Group Leaders in our group, so it was suggested that a few of them ride with Group 3 and 4. The first few hills were a wake up call to the legs, but we all knew that those 5 miles of up hill the day before would now be 5 miles of down hill today. We managed to catch almost every green light coming down the hill, then made our way through industrial world (it was here one rider pointed out Jesse James' West Coast Choppers building), over the three drawbridges, and into Long Beach.
The ride south of Long Beach was pretty windy, but that didn't stop us from cranking along, with a lot of pulls by Anish and Bryon. With those two out front, no one else really needs to pull, but we all took our turns regardless. We then found ourselves passing the rolling hills of the many beach communities along the route and pushed pretty hard south of San Clemente Beach just before Camp Pendleton. It was here that we stopped at the SAG Wagon with sandwhiches, soda, and even brownies that were made by John Welch's wife. They were awesome.
It was Mike Henderson's B-Day today and someone made him a sign wishing him well on his
49th B-day. Mike's goal is to live to 110, so he is not even half way there yet. Mike is no stranger to back to back long rides on the weekends. He helps out with Trek's Saturday rides and usually puts in between 125 - 175 miles on any given weekend alone. He has an incredible heart and is a great guy. Happy Birthday Mike!It was at this SAG stop we met up with some of the riders that didn't make it up with us on Saturday. They rode up in the morning from Solana Beach and were going to ride the rest of the way back with us. It was nice to see some familiar faces, including Scott Bailey and Nancy.
I was chatting with Scott through the campground when all of the sudden several riders blew past and if I didn't jump on, I knew that it would be a long ride back to Solana Beach. I managed to hook on to the back and held on through Camp Pendleton. About six of us managed to keep a pretty constant paceline of 22 mph through Camp Pendleton and came out the other side completely wiped out. However, that didn't stop Bryon and Anish from picking it up a notch and leaving us all behind.
I had a little left in me and managed to catch back up to them only to get dropped again, only to catch up again, and get dropped. The last time I caught up with them, I flatted and had to stop to fix it. By the time it was fixed, almost the entire Group 1/2 riders caught up to us and we all headed into the home stretch. Once the last hill was in sight, everyone sprinted to the finish. It was fun to watch.
Once we rolled into the parking lot, we were greeted by Kristine, Kris, and Deb Hoffman. It was a nice welcoming committee and we all patted the other riders on the back for a job well done and for completing (for most of us) our first back to back century rides. I feel that this weekend helped everyone bond together a little bit closer. We all know now that we can do 20o miles in two days and feel that come mid October, we will be ready to ride 600 miles in 7 days.
Well done everyone!
