Cieous

Hi,

I am enjoying a lot what I am reading and learning from this forum.

I just moved to So Cal (Southern California) after living in the midwest for almost 20 years. After seeing mostly flats in Michigan, I love the mountains here in Cali. I'm 40, male and I have rode my bike my entire life, and since I moved here to Cali, I'm really getting into bicycle touring.

Have a hybrid, steel frame, with bunch of improvements I made such as putting 1.5 in road-tires on it (removing the Nabis which they came with). So it's not as fast as a spiffy Carbon Fiber road-bike, but it gets me around. I have made a ride from Orange County (OC) to San Fernando few weeks ago, and to San Diego and back within a day. Last week I rode from OC over the Santa Ana Mountains (5,700 ft) to Riveside on a trail -- bad idea with my road tires. Won't do that again soon. It was next to a miracle I didn't get a flat. Instead, I'm thinking of riding the SR 39 this Saturday. The idea is to start in Azusa go all the way up to the intersection of Angeles Crest Hwy, and ride back all the way to OC -- about 120 miles.

Generally, I'm trying to get my condition in shape to ride from Orange County to Las Vegas (through the Mojave desert and outskirts of Death Valley) -- about 400 miles -- end of October in 3 days. Trying desperately avoid to have to install panniers on my bike, which would surely add a lot of weight and slow it down considerably. Finding accommodation in the desert is no easy matter either. There's just nothing out there. But I think it is a formidable challenge.

Aside from biking, I'm an avid tennis player. Train about 5 or 6 times a week for few hours. I'm about a 5.0 NPTR rating, plan to play in some tournaments next year. Work-wise I run a software company that provides innovative software solutions for real estate companies.

I love the posts here on BikeForum! I'm learning a lot. Thanks to everyone for their posts!

-- Cieous.