Have Jersey, Will Travel, by Chris

I took my husband Scott, on a well-deserved vacation to Northern California.  We wanted to go as far north as one day driving allowed.  Our landing destination was the Crescent City area, near the Smith River.  We were less than 30 miles from the Oregon border and surrounded by redwoods.  The area is rich in state parks and big trees, perfect for our plans to mountain bike and hike the week away.  Our cabin was situated on the Smith River and the hosts provided us with plenty of inspiration. The reading materials included bike routes in and around the Jedediah Smith State Park. 

In fact, the whole area seemed to be a biking paradise.  Highway 101, which runs through California up to Oregon and beyond, had a designated bike lane.  The bridges that crossed the Smith River had signs alerting cars of bikers using bridge; bikers had the right of way!  As we drove around the area, we saw at least a dozen touring bikers traveling through.  Bikers rode solo or in small groups, loaded down with panniers, some with rear wheel carts, for their gear.  It takes a special kind of dedication to ride a bike with 20 lbs or more of gear, up and down the terrain of the roads, to some unknown destination.  I’m sure they came from Oregon, which is a big biking state.

Our first (and only) big bike ride took place on Monday morning.  We drove to a clay-packed road that traveled the length of Jedediah Smith State Park.  We started at one end of Howland Hill Road, which was strategically planned, so that we could investigate our next ride path, scheduled for later in the week.  It was a great ride through the redwoods and while we shared the road with hikers and cars, we mostly had the road to ourselves.  We encountered some climbs and one series was a monster.  Riding a mountain bike up a series of hills was challenging and I was glad to have my stash of Sharkies with me.  At one point, I just had to stop and eat. Luckily, I had stopped in an area that was generally flat for a few yards, so that I could regain my momentum for another hill climb.  Finally, we were at the top and what goes up must go down!  We rode the decline past the park signs and almost into the town of Crescent City!

Our turnaround was staged at a corner, where wild, rambling blackberries were in full fruit.  Scott and I ate blackberries, nuts and apples, as we contemplated the inevitable hill climbs back into the park.  I joked with a man who was out running with his dog about the inclines, as he told me he ran up and down the hill every other day.  He told me that it was about a ¾ mile climb.  Back on the bikes, energized with all that fresh wild fruit, I rode up the first leg of the hills, rode up the second leg, gearing to keep myself going.  I rode with all my heart and I was feeling it!  I bailed on parts of the hill climb, opting to walk my bike for a while to the next flat area before attempting it again!  I rode most of the hills and I finally reached the top crest, riding to meet my husband, as he rested near a side road.  He rode the entire hill section and we swapped stores on the effort we shared. 

Back on the bikes, we rode the length of the Howland Hill Road, to our car.  We planned our next bike ride, which was a true mountain bike adventure, 10 miles into a remote area called Little Bald Hills trail. The State Park brochure had warnings about bears and sometimes mountain lions!  Our first bike ride on our vacation was a great ride and unfortunately it would be our only ride together.  The next day, my husband tweaked his back and felt that biking was out of the picture for him.  We would hike; walking was a better option, considering his recovering back.

I took my bike out on a couple of occasions, riding the roads near our cabin, riding into the town of Smith River and exploring where I could.  I wanted to ride the 10-mile remote trail alone, but after practical discussion, we agreed to stick to hiking.  One trail we visited was the Damnation Creek Trail in the Del Norte Redwoods State Park.  It was a 5 mile round trip which wound through some beautiful groves of redwoods, down to the Pacific Ocean.  I wore my biking jersey for this hike, knowing that the weather would be cool and moist, breaking into sun on occasions. Cotton would be too clammy and my jersey kept me very comfortable as we walked through the giant redwoods. 

Chicks that fix flats

Nope, no one had a flat during the ride.  For tonight's ride we met in the parking lot of the shopping center where Rock 'n Road Cyclery, Irvine is located.  Suzanne and Chris were on vacation and Stacy had to work late.  Becky, Karen, Pat and Theresa rode toward the old work building along the gentle grade on the back side of the Marine Base.  It was a great way to warm up.   Then we traveled along Alton and circled back around to Sand Canyon for a 13 mile ride.

Everyone did great riding on the road with quite a bit of traffic.  Awesome work managing lane changes through the freeway on-ramps.  We made it back to the shopping center and met up with Stacy to join the Rock 'n Road Divas for their awesome Fix a Flat clinic.

This was a free clinic held at Rock 'n Road Cyclery   There were about 15 women in attendance and our hosts did a fabulous job really breaking down the process for fixing a flat on a bicycle tire.  Then we broke up in groups and each had a chance to deflate, take out the tube, then replace the tube and pump back up.  As we had each brought our own wheels, the chicks all learned how to remove their front wheels so they could be brought into the store for practice on.

First Diva, Nicky showed the group how to deflate and remove the tube.

Diane explaining to Pat how to use the tire lever

Stacy listening intently

Karen working on her new tire

We won't say who wasn't paying attention and was too busy talking to notice that her tube was peaking out of her old tire as it was being inflated.  Everyone was entertained with a very loud pop!   We each received a hand-out that we could keep in our saddle bags for future reference.

Karen with the final push of the bead back on the rim.

All the trainers were encouraging and helpful and we left looking forward to the next Diva event.  Be sure to like them on facebook http://www.facebook.com/rocknroaddivas, so you can receive announcements for upcoming events.

The chicks with our trainer, Diane.

Saturday's ride for those training for September's century is planned for 58 flat miles starting at 8:00 a.m.  See Pat or Theresa for details.

Riding hard and fast

Tonight was a quick one.  We did a combination of our Frozen Yogurt/Margarita route.  It was hard for Karen to bypass TiaJuanna's.    We did 18 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes.  Up Peter's Canyon trail onto Hick's Canyon and taking Portola over to Sand Canyon -- a stretch of road we had never been on before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Creek_bicycle_path

We were a little concerned that it might turn into the toll road, but alas we followed signs to the Great Park for an awesome downhill.   Theresa caught onto a road racer out for a nightly training ride and was able to move 25 miles per hour for a couple of miles before the guy turned left.

Although I think Pat forgot to call the street sweepers to clean the bike lane before our ride and it must have been Karen's luck that we caught all of those red lights.  Otherwise we would have been done quicker.

Wednesday night is a Flat Fix Clinic at Rock 'n Road Cyclery in Irvine.   The clinic starts at 7:30 PM so we may shorten our ride a little bit.  Let Theresa know if you want to go as we need to RSVP.

Chicks that eat frozen yogurt

Yep, we had a surprise stop on the ride tonight.  When we started out it looked like it was gonna storm, but we made fast time up Havard onto the lovely Peter's Canyon Trail.  Once there we rode a great green belt through some parks and behind homes.  We left the road noise behind for a very pleasant ride. 

Then East on Hicks Canyon which was a mild grade and then out onto Portola to turn South on Jeffrey.  Everyone did terrific over the freeway overpass even with the cars speeding past.

We stopped at Yogurtland on the corner of Walnut and Jeffrey for some yummy frozen treats while our trusty steeds waited patiently outside.

We ended up with a pretty quick 13 mile ride, unless you asked Chris who thinks our distance maybe should be measure in a.m./p.m.

The century training girls are planning a 40 mile ride on Saturday starting in Huntington Beach.  Next week Theresa will be in Minnesota again - dodging Mosquitoes.  

I think I heard Pat say, "Wednesdays should be treat day."  I wonder what is in store for next Wednesday?

Happy Hour Bike Parking

Yep, this is what it looks like.

Suzanne thought our plan was a Margarita ride.  Becky and Stacy were on board, so off we went, doing our normal route to TiaJuana's http://www.tiajuanas.com/home.html in reverse.  We had very quick and great service from our server Elvoy.  In time for happy hour, we shared a pitcher of margaritas and two type of appetizers. 

The ride out was fast and fun.  Guess who had a little balance trouble on the way back.  Was it too much margarita? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Chris or Karen because they went to the Angel game.  Twelve miles and happy hour too.

Did you know the Performance Bike sale started today.  I wonder who will be purchasing the next bike?  What are your riding plans this weekend?

Let's do the Whole Route!

Are we ready?  We've ridden to Back Bay and back.   We've also parked at Back Bay and done the loop around.   Are we ready to do the whole thing?  Karen pushed us out the door at work.  She now has road tires on that mountain bike.  If we start before 6 pm we should be able to push it and get back before dark. 

Unfortunately, Suzanne ended up with child's school appointment and couldn't join.  But everyone else was there and ready to go.  We decided Karen couldn't get a flat because she didn't have a spare tube the correct size.  (Although, I'm sure the one she had would do in a pinch.). And off we were.

Going toward Back Bay was a very heavy head wind.  It's like riding up a hill and makes you feel out of shape.  But we had trained for this and since we had broken into a couple of smaller groups we couldn't practice any drafting.  We took very short stops to regroup and ensure everyone was drinking and then it was down the steep hill.  Chris, you don't need to use those brakes! 

The trail around Back Bay gave us a little relief from the heavy wind and we were praying that the wind would not clock around for our trip back. Everyone kept the pace up and did fantastic on the longer uphill up Irvine Avenue.  Stacy even conquered the hill with a smile on her face. I think the rest of the team was a bit disappointed that their rest at the top wasn't longer since Stacy climbed it so fast.

On the northern side of the bay, it became a pinball game of sorts as we wove our way among all of the many pedestrians out enjoying an evening walk along the bay.  You have to watch out for those little ones (the children) because they could dart out in front of you at any time.  Good time to practice even braking.  Pat, be sure you don't pull that front brake on too hard and fast.

The path back rewarded us with a tail wind which made us feel strong into the home stretch.   We finished in about 1 hour 45 minutes for a total of 20 miles.

When we returned to the cars, it was time to toast Stacy's new steed, "Lucy".  She had recently had a few minor adjustments made at the shop and decided she would like her saddle tilt adjusted back down a hair.  A local runner came by and it turned out to be the Performance Bike employee who had sold her the bike.  He took our mini Allen wrench and made the adjustment.

Hmmm... if we can do 20 miles, and Stacy's bike is now readjusted...where shall we ride on Wednesday?  Karen won't be joining, so maybe it's time for another margarita ride?