back up in the mutha mutha saddle
considering it’s basically all i ever think about it’s been quite a long time since i rode my bike. until today!
quick stats from last ride i did which was just my usual loop to the beach and back went like this -
dst = 23 miles
avg = 20.0 mph
time = 1:08:08
max = 31.8 = mph
so it’s been over a week since i got to ride and boy-oh was i not looking forward to it. i went on a honeymoon, which if you’ve never done i highly suggest you do it cuz you get to relax and if you’re like me well then you know that sounds impossible but also like basically the only thing you really want to do. i relaxed so hard i pulled a muscle in my shoulder. amazing!
anyway, today’s ride was just a quick romp to the beach and back via the bologna creek path. i love this path even though it’s normally crowded with walkers ignoring the blatant “bikes only” signs all over the place and then the bikers that are on it are, like most bikers, total fucking tards with their kids who happen to have just fallen off their bike and so stupid dad is literally in the middle of both lanes with the first aid kit out (cuz you should always carry a first aid kit if you’re??? really a first aid kit open in the middle of the bike path?) and his little girl, cute as a button, is screaming her brains out over a tiny little scrape that wouldn’t have happened had daddy not decided to take her and her big bro out on a 20 mile ride.
plus it was windy as fuck. and then you have to contend with the guys who want you to think they are super serious cuz look at how decked out i am in all my gear on my 5 g bike but somehow i don’t know how to get passed or stay in my lane or swerve erratically just because someone is coming from the other direction.
jeez i love people.
so the point is i got up late and didn’t feel like getting a move on. so i lounged around and drank coffee slowly and then my wife sara said she was gonna go shopping and…i got out and on and made my way down venice to dubgenquese or whatever the name of that street is in culver city where the bike path pops up and hit the pedal to the metal only to be smacked long and hard by a straight on head wind that basically debilitated me and made me want to kill myself.
i knew i wasn’t gonna go that far so i just plowed on. i tried to get as low as possibleto stay out of the wind and it helped. not much, but it helped.
there are a few blind type curves heading west where i always seem to meet the most wonderful people jogging (on the path clearly marked “bikes only”) and even though they are on their right side and i am on my right side they seem to freak out cuz i’m moving faster than them and they kinda do a jitter-side-step thing that makes me have to break really hard and suddenly cuz “what the fuck are you doing?” and then i have to say “bikes only” in a very nice voice with a big smile since i’m so close and pissed that they made me slow down.
man oh man do i love people.
i made it to the beach/bridge which is where most of the people on the bike path go to be seen biking like when writers go to starbucks to write so the whole world knows they are writing. you have to make it real somehow right? other people seeing you definitely makes it real. even if they are super self absorbed and barely even notice you sitting there with your brand new de rosa.
or maybe some people meet up their with their friends as a starting point. either way it’s always packed with people doing really dangerous shit like riding in circles in the middle of everyone else trying to just get across.
i flipped a u and thanked my luck stars to be riding with the wind. i picked up the pace and and pedaled hard for as long as i could. i love the feeling of passing people regardless of whether or not they are trying to go fast. the tail wind really boosted me. i don’t know how fast the wind was blowing but i maxed out at 35.4 mph on flat and i wasn’t even trying very hard i was just trying to keep my pace.
off the trail and back on venice toward home there was a guy on a fixie (surprise surprise it was a chromed out bianchi pista with a aerospoke front and a deep v something on the back) that was just terrible. no brakes at all meant he was just jumping around at every intersection. i wasn’t in a hurry so i just stayed behind him from national all the way to fairfax where he finally turned. he must have looked back about 700 times. and not short, smart little glances. like long slow turn the head and shoulders and make yourself swerve out of the bike lane glances. i couldn’t tell if he was looking at me or trying to find a gap in the cars to make his turn but he never did turn until fairfax and then he didn’t look for the lane change he just put his hand out and went for it. the car he cut off honked and he looked back and jumped into the other lane while still looking back only to turn around just in time to see the car stopped in front of him which, i must say he deftly avoided with a very quick and accurate skid, hop, turn. scary as fuck to watch from my safe perch in the bike lane. when we reached the light he actually would have had plenty of time to get across safely. oh well.
i mashed it all out and made it home to see these stats -
dst = 22.8 miles
avg = 16.7 mph
time = 1:23:00
feeling good, looking good. glad to get out there again. off for a few days now and i plan on riding ‘til i puke. who’s with me?
chirp,
hillary
20 hours ago