diphthong

i would likely shoot for starting at the entrance to fiesta island with plenty of parking nearabouts and 4+ flattish miles around the island to loosen the legs...then head over to and up mission hills and then...


https://www.strava.com/routes/2852830454560726738


44 miles. 1,400 ft el gain. two beer stops. grub tbd.

joesch

Looks like a fun plan and route to me. Thanks

jonathanf2

Last night I did 15 miles with the Trash Panda Cycling group from DTLA to Hollywood. It was a chill ride with a various mix of road bikes, fixed gear, MTB'ers, gravel riders and some slick E-bikes. Someone had a a really nice belt drive E-bike with bullhorns and a rear motor hub...made for a nice looking urban bike. It was cool seeing how each bicycle rider handled their style of bike on different terrain. It was also nice riding in a group especially through the Hollywood area which is not exactly the most bike friendly area when riding solo. I also have to give props to the young fixed gear riders pushing up the Silver Lake hills...too much punishment on my knees!

TakingMyTime

57 miles this morning on PCH down to the South end of Newport Beach / Crystal Cove. Same ride as the last 3 days. Just working on extending my mileage. I'm also closing in on a biggest month for me and I've only got to get in about 110 miles before the end of the month!

CAT7RDR

^^^^^^^^Smash it!
PR's are meant to be broken.

Eric F 

Between my daughter's softball schedule, and a 2019-style cold that has kicked my @$$, I haven't been on my bike in over a week. I don't like this bull$#!+ at all.

TakingMyTime

I just realized this I WILL because I thought that this weekend was the end of the month and I've got 1 more week to go !!!!

TakingMyTime

I've had a few friends coming down with colds and verified it was not Covid. There seems to be something going around. Hope you're able to get back on your bike soon.

Eric F 

I got tested, just to be sure, also. There is something going around, for sure. At the moment, it's going around in my lungs. I might try an easy short road spin tonight.

TakingMyTime

Tacked on another 57 miles down to Newport Beach.

jonathanf2

Yesterday I did a quick 14 mile hill climb up to the Griffith Observatory. I focused on conserving energy by controlling my cadence (pedaling within 60-70rpm) and sealed off my two lowest gears to make the climb more challenging. I found by the time I was close to the end I had way more energy and I was able to sprint out of the saddle passing two lanes of car traffic up the hill!

diphthong

64-spot encompassing some of metro san diego and the old neighborhood (like north/south park, golden hill, balboa park)
and eastwards (city heights, la mesa, grossmont) environs.
yes...crushed a medium sausage/pepp pizza at the round table off friars in mission valley. no, beers were not involved at any point.
met up with a friend at the 30 mile mark and we proceeded to do the talmadge/kensington homes & gardens tour of
approx 15 miles along with the approach and departure. light overcast revealed plenty of paint/textures/floral complexities
usually lost in the glare of the sun on the homes & gardens tour. doing more shortish, steep hills lately on the semi-(in)frequent
rides and the legs are either too stupid to say no or too dumb to resist. regardless, legs feeling better. regret not taking a pic of a vintage
auto to post/accompany here but perhaps in the near future.

TakingMyTime

50 miles on the SGRT from El Dorado Park to the Santa Fe Damn and back. I am now experiencing my biggest month ever at 556 miles and I think I may be able to cram in another 100 before the end of the month.

Eric F 

Rides from last weekend...

Saturday - After 10 days off the bike, I was feeling really mediocre with pretty low motivation. Singlespeed dirt therapy got me feeling good again. Same Cherry Canyon loop I've been doing most frequently. The singletrack descent is just flat-out fun! 14mil/1600'


Sunday - Coffee Ride (about 20 riders). Easy to moderate tempo for the first half, and some spicy moments in the second half. The group was missing a few of my good friends who frequent this ride, but there's always someone to chat with as we pedal. 38mi/1600'

Eric F 

Hot and dirty...Brown Mtn (aka Fern Truck Trail) to El Prieto Canyon. I always manage to pick hot days to do this ride, and the climb is pretty much all exposed. The 3 mile climb is a pretty big challenge for me on this bike, and I still can't get up the whole thing without a few recovery stops along the way to get my HR under control. My goal is to be able to ride it non-stop, but I'm not there yet. The El Prieto singletrack is demanding and fun, but the limitations of my bike became clear when a guy on a full-squish 29er blew by at a pace I couldn't come close to matching. As I thought about it, I realized it's probably better than my speed is limited. I'm a lot more adverse to breaking my body than I was 20 years ago. (10mi / 1500')


While enjoying the views and environment at Brown Saddle, I was chatting with a couple of younger guys who were fascinated with my old bike. One commented that it needs disc brakes, and he was concerned for my safety on the descent. The v-brakes that competently and confidently stopped this same bike, on these same trails, 20 years ago still work just as well as they always have. Are disc brakes better? Probably. Are they necessary? Nope.

TakingMyTime

Another quick 25 miles down to the Queen Mary. I really need to work on my saddle position. After 50 miles yesterday and then hopping back on again today my butt was killing me.

TakingMyTime

Did a slow leisurely 18 mile ride down Ball Rd to Disneyland and back to cap this months total mileage at 600.14 miles. That is a record for me and I'm pretty stoked. Actually, anything over 500 miles is more than enough for me but I had to prove something to myself. I also appreciate all the encouragement I get from this forum.

diphthong

wowzers! congrats! can a ranging mountain scouting foray be far behind? may be time to start nibbling at the sammos, san berdoos or angeles/san gabes or do a 4 hour+ ride in palos verdes.

Eric F 

Did my frequent singlespeed MTB route to Cherry Canyon, but was joined by 2 friends on their geared, full-squish, big wheel rigs. They are both at a similar fitness level to me (we ride on the road together regularly). What I discovered is that my old 26er singlespeed is not nearly as much of a handicap as I thought it would be. As long as the grade of a climb stays at 10% or less, I can keep pace without much issue. Likewise with descents that don't have highly-technical demands. The biggest short-coming of my bike was on flat pedaling sections - my spin maxes out at 14mph. Overall, it as a fun ride with good people. (14mi / 1600')

Eric F 

What is locally known as the "Lubanski Ride" (although Steve Lubanski hasn't been involved with the ride in a long time).starts on Wednesdays at 6:00 from Velo Pasadena. Many people peel off and head towards their homes after the last climb, but there is always part of the group that returns to VP. There are some fiercely strong riders who do this ride as part of their weekly training.

TakingMyTime

Sunday 12 miles down to Seal Beach. Monday, 50 miles up to the Santa Fe Dam on the SGRT and today 57 miles down to Newport Back Bay (all the way from home). I'm sitting at 119 miles so far this month. I was really interested in what doing 50 miles rides back to back would feel like and today wasn't a problem.

diphthong

38-spot. drove up to the las pulgas exit just off the 5 freeway and parked in the large turnout area on the ne corner
of the 5 fwy/las pulgas intersection. didn't feel like riding through pendleton today. hit the old 101, rolled thru san onofre state
beach/park and continued to san clemente. a small beer/pizza stop at the pizza port in san clemente. dropped down el camino real
and hit a two minute, fogless, cold patch at 1pm. weird. warmed up again once on the coastal straightaway and thru
doheny sb to the start of the san juan capistrano bike path. turned around and pretty much the same route back.
oodles of cyclists out 11:45am-3pm. nice day overall. original plan was to continue up to mission viejo, do the 1984 olympic
road race course and head back...approx 75 miles...but said nah.

confirmed, yet again, that the san clemente pizza port seems to be the best of the bunch. inconvenient (for me) since it's the farthest
from me but worth the stop every time.

Eric F 

20 disappointing miles. Joined the Rode Bowl Ride this evening, intending to do 6-7 (of 10) laps and then roll home. Although I was holding my position in the pack just fine, I didn't feel right - low motivation to suffer and uncomfortable in the group. After 2 hot laps, I pulled the plug, rolled one more slow lap, and then crawled home. I don't like how I feel right now.

diphthong

exactly how i felt today. wanted to ride somewhere out of town but looked too hot pretty much anywhere but the coast that didn't involve a pre-dawn start.
was okay pushing the slow big gear on the big ring into a decent headwind for 10+ miles heading north up the coast but would have had zero motivation today
doing a climb/climbs in the sammos, san gabes or the san berdoos with the temps in the upper 80's + at some point. averaged out all the mountain area projected
temps and decided to pass. palos verdes was the only real alternative but was up there recently. ugh. maybe thursday will bring more motivation and/or better temps?
the butt/saddle interface feels good so looking for longer/more difficult in the next few weeks.

jonathanf2

Did about 14 miles with the DTLA Trash Panda group last night. The rides aren't grueling, but it's quite fun. The pack is always led by the young/stronger guys/gals and it's fun to keep pace with them, but it's a no-drop group so there's a few stops if any mechanical issues arise (about 5 flat tires, 1 dropped chain and a wipeout last night). Lots of different personalities, different bike setups to nerd out on and all levels of cycling. If anything, it's a nice mid-week evening ride with some good people. I met some of the older riders (40-50 range) and we're on the same page with just trying to keep fit and hang with the youngsters! The ride ends at a food destination, so it's also a good way to learn about different eateries!

Probably later this week I'll hit the hill climb at either the Griffith Observatory or Elysian Park.