Bikus

It's been a while since I last posted, about a week. The reason has been that I've been off the bike for that practically amount of time. I got a ride from Monterey to SF to LA in a variety of ways, let's say they involved hitchhiking, Enterprise car rental (which has the best customer service of any company I've encountered, ever), craigslist rideshare, friends and friends of friends. (Big thanks to Baumer for coming through with an impromptu mini-road trip.)

I'm back in LA contemplating my future, waiting for the Achilles to heal and strengthen. Yesterday and today I road to Julien's and back (about 8-10 miles round-trip) and I've been feeling alright, still a bit hesitant to push it though.

Here are some long past due pictures from the trip (the pics are very selective, because I often would forget that I had a camera):



Elephant seal mating/battle grounds, near San Simeon. They're small, but if you look closely you can see some.


Hill.


Sunset in one of the most beautiful campgrounds I've ever stayed in, right on the ocean near Big Sur.


Breakfast in Big Sur.


Leaving Kirk Creek campground.


Ahh, the San Francisco skyline, taken from Dolores Park near Lisa's place in the Mission District.


And here are some bike-related haikus I wrote while I was in misery in Monterey:

California coast
Looks more beautiful when you're
Riding down the hills.

Swiss cyclers got lost
Looking for a place to eat
We all ate porridge.

Wind, cars and gravity
Are tough but cannot compete
With biking music.

Hubris got Achilles;
I've never read the Iliad
But perhaps lived it?

After a long climb
Energy bars taste as good
As double burgers.

Coasting California

I'm in San Francisco right now, staying with Lisa. Short story, rode to Monterey, injured my Achilles tendon there, and had to drive the rest of the way to SF. I'm still unsure about the way back, I'm on a wait-and-see schedule to see if I can ride down. Things aren't looking too good though. Bummer.

The rest of this post will be the long(er) story. I kept notebook and jotted down notes about the ride each day, mostly just highlights/lowlights. I'll briefly, reproduce them as the rest of this post.

Day Zero - Solvang Century

See previous post.



End of the century: 102 miles and feeling fine.

Day 1 - San Luis Obispo to San Simeon

The first day of riding was incredible. Started off a little slow, getting used to the Ibex and riding. Coming out of SLO to the coast was one of the most beautiful parts of the ride that day. I stopped in a town called Cayucos for lunch; feasting on a giant an of tuna and a loaf of bread. I stayed at a campground near the town of San Simeon where Hearst Castle is. There wasn't cell phone reception there, so I had to ride into town. Sure enough, no cell reception either so I spent the next hour cruising around looking for a pay phone. I made a couple calls, headed back to my site where I met an Australian woman Sharon and her husband. They gave me some pasta, tea, coffee, and chocolates and took this picture of me as I was leaving the next day:



Day 2 - San Simeon to Lucia

For the most part, this day was about climbing. Sometimes, the roads rose 1000 feet on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was some of the most beautiful sights I had seen, felt some of the best feelings I've had riding or doing anything else for that matter. I stopped for lunch/dinner in a small town called Gorda, where I met a guy who was buying an Ibex. I camped at a place called Kirk Creek Campground about 10 miles north of Gorda, near a town called Lucia. This site was right on the ocean and just gorgeous. I met there a bunch of great people: a father-son bike tour team who were riding from Mt. Shasta to L.A. in training for a week-long, unsupported tour in the Nevada/Utah desert; a couple from the Claremont colleges camping and backpacking over their spring break; and a Minnesotan couple of RV-ers. They gave me encouragement, beer and food, respectively.

Day 3 - Lucia to Monterey

This was the day I believe which destroyed my Achilles tendon. I rode a hard 62 miles up 1000-foot hills and facing a harsh head-wind pretty much the entire time. Perhaps my training was inadequate, perhaps I bit off more than I could chew. No sense in regretting what I did, I only have to look to what I can do to recover and get back on the bike. I basically set up camp in Monterey, hung around there until I faced the reality that I could not continue riding. So I sucked it up, rented a car and drove to SF where I am now. Monday's my deadline to make a decision to ride back down the coast or to rent a car again and drive back to LA where I can make a recovery. Time will tell...

In toto: I rode 260 miles in 4 days, saw some of the most beautiful natural sights I've ever seen and met some great, generous and hospitable people, all in such a short time. This trip is just a preview for many future tours I hope to experience.

End of the century

Just finished the Solvang century! Highlights: cows, vineyards galore, top speed of 40 mph, and a post-ride meal at the restaurant from the movie Sideways. On the way now to San luis obispo (I'm on an iPhone) to spend the night before heading off tomorrow !

Utopia parkway

Things I'm looking forward to:

• finishing the Solvang Century
• Hearst Castle
• Big Sur
• a bike/road trip iPod mix that I just finished compiling (including the Fountains of Wayne song that lends its name to the title of this post)
  
• (possibly) seeing Shawna in Santa Cruz
• elephant seals
• tuna

Soon my dad and I are driving to Solvang. We're staying in a hotel around there before the Century ride bright and early tomorrow morning. Notice the weather forecast (according to weather.com) predicts an easy 44 degrees at 6:00 am when the ride starts.

6 am 44°F Feels Like 42°F

9 am 50°F Feels Like 48°F

12 pm 62°F Feels Like 62°F

3 pm 63°F Feels Like 63°F

6 pm 58°F Feels Like 55°F

9 pm 52°F Feels Like 49°F

After the ride's over (we should finish somewhere between 1 and 2 pm) the plan is to grab lunch and relax for a little. Then I'm gonna get dropped off at a campground in San Luis Obispo where my trip to SF will officially start.

I have a sketch of how the first couple days will look, the rest I'll play by ear on the road. On Sunday, I'm planning on taking an easy 35-40 miler to San Simeon State Park, which is on the coast and on the foothills of Hearst Castle. Either Sunday or Monday, I'd like to visit the Castle and go on a tour; I'll have to see how much time I have on either ride and how I'm feeling. Monday night the plan is stay at a campground or state park somewhere south of Big Sur. After that, we'll see. Shawna said she's might be in Santa Cruz on Wed, so I'll see if I could make it there by then.

With that I'm almost ready to go. I've paid my credit card bill. I've returned my library books. I've made my bed, cleaned off my desk, packed a separate overnight bag for Solvang with all my bike stuff. I likely will not be updated this blog on the trip, at least not until I get to San Francisco, as I won't have a computer or smart phone.

If you need to get in touch, for whatever reason, even just to say hi, I'll have my cell phone. I'm going to be leaving it off, to conserve battery, but I'll be checking messages a few times a day and using it to make calls out.

Gear, revisted

So today I reevaluated some of the packing and removed a bunch of stuff (the floss, of course, stays). Everything weighs about 30 lbs, which was my goal. Here's what it looks like all packed up--the tent and foam pad, which don't fit into the waterproof neon yellow bag, are strapped on top:

Gear

John Muir set out to explore the Yosemite Valley with just a giant overcoat stuffed with biscuits. Here's everything I have for the trip haul to SF:

• bike tools (allen wrenches, spare tubes, pump, lock, etc.)
  
• bike gear (helmet, gloves, 2 pairs bike shorts, bike shoes, sunglasses, water bottles)
• clothes (3 T-shirts, socks and boxers, pair of jeans, 2 sweatshirts, jacket, 2 long sleeve shirts, sweatpants, hiking boots, baseball cap, warm hat)
  
• rain poncho
• various food items (tuna, oatmeal, Cliff bars, beans)--I may scrap this and just buy stuff along the way
  
• cookware (pot, pan, utensils, small gas stove and propane)
• sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad, headlamp flashlight
  
• maps
• iPod, cell phone, camera (and their respective chargers), binoculars, spare batteries
  
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, first-aid kit, soap, hand sanitizer, deodorant
  
• sunblock and bug spray
  
• drugs (OTC)

What I still need:

• can opener

Getting all my gear together and packing it up is making more and more excited and slightly more and more nervous. Riding today was, no other way to put it, bad. I was experiencing some slight aches and pains in my knees and left Achilles tendon. The traffic seemed thicker than usual. Plus and got a flat tire in Venice which took some time to replace, so I cut the ride short by about 10 miles, only doing 20. Not a good last ride before Solvang and the trip up north. Though, the extra rest will be welcome to recharge by body and refocus for the next couple weeks.

Having all my gear is comforting in all this, but also adds another element to worry about now. With about 80% packed, it seems to weigh a little less than the weights I used. A gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. and there will likely be more food to buy. Looks like I'll be travelling at a steady 12-15 mph with the Ibex attached--at that pace, 60 miles could take up to 5 hours on the bike, 6-7 with stops.

If I seem a bit down, I'm pretty exhausted and a little daunted by the task that lies ahead. Nothing a solid sleep won't fix, I hope. Maybe tomorrow I'll go see The Wrestler to put things--at least things physical--in perspective.


starting to fill up...


yea, I built the tent in my room...

8(0) mile

On Saturday, I rode 80 miles (well, 77.76) with my dad--the last big training ride before Solvang, which is only 20 miles and change more than that. We rode thru Brentwood to the ocean, all the way past Santa Monica, Venice, Playa del Rey, Redondo, El Segundo, Manhattan and Hermosa Beaches, and Torrance to hilly Rancho Palos Verdes, and traced pretty much the exact same route back.

One of the things that was most difficult for me from the ride was hunger. We left at 6:00 am without eating anything; the ride, which lasted about 5 hours, naturally consumed all of my energy. My muscles were in shape enough to keep going, but by the end, I just felt generally hungry and exhausted throughout my whole body. On the Solvang ride, there are designated rest areas with food/water I believe and around mile 60 or so I'll plan to stop to refuel. For the trip up to SF, the only time crunch I'll be under is the sun, so I'll have more of a flexible schedule to eat a big lunch in the middle of the day (followed by a short siesta to digest) and/or stop at various points to enjoy the scenery and eat snacks. I anticipate apples, bread, granola or Cliff bars will do the trick.

Riding schedule for the rest of the week:
Today: rest day
Tues: 45 miles w/loaded Ibex
Wed: 30 miles w/loaded Ibex
Thu: easy 20 miles
Fri: rest
Sat: Solvang 100+ miles (see route and elevation maps below)
Sun: embark to SF!

I should have all my gear by tomorrow (I'm basically only waiting for the tent to arrive), which means on Wed., after a trip to Target, I'll start packing everything up and decide what's essential, useful and superfluous in order to make some cuts to keep the weight down.






One more thing: I found out today that I was not accepted to Berkeley Law (which is, was, my top choice). That means I'll only have UC Hastings to check out in SF, besides Stanford, but today's news doesn't make that option so plausible either. On the bright side, I will have more time to hang out in SF.

This blog is not about ibexes

I know I've been mentioning them a lot--and it seems there's been some confusion. Just to clarify, when I write about "the Ibex" I'm referring to the trailer carrying all my gear I've attached to my bike which I'll be pulling up to San Francisco and back (see post from March 3); when I write about "ibexes" I'm referring to my favorite animal, which I saw at the L.A. zoo today with Dalia.

Buy or don't buy

This post is modeled after my friend Caroline's blog "Buy or Don't Buy":

Don't buy: REI. Their gear is overpriced. They're sales people are aloof and absent-minded, don't seem that willing to help, and condescending. (I did have a nearly redeeming long conversation about bike touring a couple weeks ago with one of the mechanics there, which did help get me focused on what I needed to do/get before heading up north.) Did I mention that all their stuff is overpriced?
Buy: Amazon.com. I saved at least $200 buying stuff from Amazon.com (and the independent retailers featured there) than from REI. $100 at least on a comprable lightweight two-person tent. $60 on a camping stove. $50 on a handlebar bag. $10-20 here and there on other camping stuff that I need...the list goes on. Plus with a one-month trial of Amazon Prime, I get free two-day shipping delivered hot right to me. No wonder it's the only company that's fending off the Recession.

Don't buy: scones. A couple months ago I went on a 50 mile ride and about halfway thru I stopped at a coffee shop and wolfed one down; I felt terrible, heavy and sluggish for the rest of the ride and almost threw up. Needless to say I vowed to never eat one while riding again (perhaps at all). Today during the 80-miler I passed by that same coffee shop and that heavy, 23829-grain taste started to come back. I sped away.
Buy: apples. This is just to say I have eaten the [Granny Smith apples] that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast. Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold (and especially after a long ride, the last 25+ miles of which I had been craving the amazingly refreshing sweet/sour juicy taste).

Don't buy: tighty-whiteys under bike shorts. A hapless experiment only to be remedied by...
Buy: Chamois Butt'r.

Buy: an awesome bike jersey given to me by Arie.
Don't buy: a dryer that so ruthlessly shrunk it.

Buy: Daylight Savings Time. In about an hour it will officially be DST, which means I'll have lots more sunlight for my ride up north. I barely lucked out, having coincidentally planned on embarking exactly one week after the clocks move on hour ahead. Normally I'm not a fan of DST, but in this case, it definitely is in my favor.
Don't buy: the fact that the clocks move forward during a last-minute weekend visit from Dalia, which means one-hour less time with her. (Plus, one hour less sleep in between two big and important training rides before Solvang.)

Buy: Breaking Away.
Don't buy: Quicksilver. (Alright, it is a pretty cool movie, if you take out the plot, bad acting, worse dialogue and terrible synth-filled soundtrack. The biking scene are actually the only good part of this 80's genre gem starring Kevin Bacon.)

"Facebook doesn't have, like, a harem option or alpha/beta/gamma male option, so I think that definitely falls under the complicated category."

I just came across this weird/funny article from my iGoogle home page, titled, "For Seals On Facebook, 'It's Complicated'" . It's about marine biologists at UC Santa Cruz tracking the mating habits of elephant seals on the California cost. I don't approve of wild animals having Facebook profiles, but a quote from one of the researchers (which serves as this post's title) made me laugh.

What struck me about this article was that the area where these seals mate is called Año Nuevo State Reserve, which is on Route 1 in between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, right along which should be my proposed route for my last day on the trip north. Now, I was a bit puzzled because on previous (car) trips up and down California, I stopped at a colony of elephant seals on the beach (see pic below), but I remember it being a lot farther south than that one, closer to Santa Barbara I believe. I assume there are multiple elephant seal mating/battle grounds on the California coast. I'll have to investigate.

Beast of burden

I've had this song stuck in my head all day:



This morning I loaded up the Ibex (the brand name of which is the namesake of this post) with weights totaling about 30 lbs. What a difference that made: I was slow (averaged only about 15 mph on a 35-mile ride), sluggish (it was difficult to get started pedaling after stopping at a traffic light or for whatever reason), and unwieldy (especially when I would stand on the pedals climbing or to readjust my seating position). I did get used to it, though. After a while was able to figure how to balance the weight and that in order to fight the increased inertia I should downshift the gears before stopping. Although I can blame the low average speed on L.A. morning traffic, I know the the added weight will undoubtedly slow me down or at least make me work harder to achieve a higher average speed. I felt my muscles tire easier, at least at the beginning of the ride, but once they got used to it, I could only feel them getting stronger, which is good.

So to sum up, I've definitely got a new obstacle in my ride up and need to do everything possible to limit the weight load to 30 lbs, 35 max. On Saturday morning my dad and I are doing an 80-miler, the last big training ride before Solvang; so as to not take all day, I'll leave the weights behind.

Ibexes aren't used as beasts of burden; Todds are.

Route to San Francisco (and rain)

This morning I had planned on loading up the Ibex with about 20 lbs of weights and train on some hills, but when I woke up this morning at around 6:15, the clouds were quite nebulous, as were my chances of riding. Sure enough, it started pouring rain about 10 minutes later. The weather forecast says that it'll clear up by around 11 or 12; I have to swing by REI in Santa Monica later to grab some more gear, so I'll probably turn that errand into a short, but hilly ride up and back on Sepulveda. I know that on the ride to SF the chances of it raining like this are quite high, so I might as well get accustomed to it now, but I wanted to get used to the Ibex a little more. (I'm counting on necessity to be the mother of motivation.) Plus L.A. rush hour traffic is an added element of danger in itself; and I really can't risk getting sick/injured before the Solvang Century. Yes, I know these are just excuses and "they-make-an-ass-out-of-you-and-me" but that's the way it's going for me this morning.

Solvang --> SF

I thought I'd write a little about my proposed route to San Francisco, tentatively scheduled to leave Sunday, 3/15. Here a general overview:


View Larger Map

After the Solvang ride, the plan is to find a campsite around the area, relax, eat, and get a solid night's sleep before setting off. I somewhat fear that I'll be too exhausted after the 100-miler to put in the 60+ mileage I have planned for the trip, in which case I hope to at least put in 30 or so miles just to get myself going. As you can see, the Google map is just a general overview of my route. I'll be using a Santa Barbara-San Francisco biking map I purchased from Adventure Cycling Association, which is extremely detailed and contains info about campsites and the best/safest bike route to take, as well as some road maps from AAA. I plan on taking Route 1, a drive I've done a few times before; highlights I'm looking forward: Hearst Castle (funny, I just watched Citizen Kane), a crazy elephant seal colony on the beach, camping in Big Sur, and Santa Cruz. If I can do 60-80 miles a day, it'll take me about 4-5 days to complete the 280-320 mile journey. I have to keep in mind factors such as hills, wind, rain, spectacular views, hiking trails, and good seafood that will only slow me down.

That's it for now. The rain doesn't look like it's letting up, but hopefully it will this afternoon and I'll be able to put in a few miles with the loaded Ibex and get to REI.

The Ibex

My favorite animal is the ibex, a rock-dwelling animal that looks like a cross between a goat and an antelope. The particular attributes that draw me to the ibex are as follows: their most apparent feature (on the males, at least)--gigantically curled and long horns; creepily enticing amber-colored eyes; and their superb agility in climbing and descending. I once saw a nature show on TV where two male ibexes were battling for the rights to mate with a female--though their collisions were (literally) head-splitting, neither one lost his balance.



Why am I making this Melville-like digression from my bike-related blog? I will explain. In determining the best way to transport my gear (tent, sleeping bag, clothing, food, water, books, iPods, etc.) on my bike up the coast to SF, I had originally planned on loading up with racks and panniers. Unfortunately, I found out that my new Cannondale road bike, particularly its various carbon-fiber components, could not handle such a direct load. I was recommended to check out a dragging trailer instead. A company called BoB (as in Beast of Burden) makes various bike trailers, one of which is called the Ibex! Of course, with such a name, it had to be mine!



As you can see, I assembled and attached the Ibex to my bike and, voila!, and I had created the ultimate seamless touring animal-bicycle hybrid. This morning I took it out for a spin on a mostly-flat 40-mile ride. Although some reviews I had read warned of slight feelings of drag and instability, the vast majority were generally favorable. I agree: once I got going pedaling, balancing, and turning was pretty much the same as without the Ibex, and after a while, I forgot it was even there. A shock absorber and hinged-fork gave the Ibex, I like to think, a similar elegance and ability as its namesake. One problem came when I huge truck cut me off and I had to stop short and slam on the breaks. The Ibex, wanted to keep going and curved off the side, tilting my bike over. Thankfully I was ok (the truck and I weren't going that fast), but it's something to keep in mind, especially when the Ibex is loaded up with all my stuff (it comes with a neon yellow waterproof bag). For the rest of this week and next I'm gonna put weights on it to train for my trip to SF, which I anticipate that I (or the Ibex, I should say) will be carrying about 30 lbs. You may also have noticed the flagpole sticking out of the Ibex; right now, the flag is a logo of the company, BoB; I'm trying to thinking of putting a different flag on, a California Republic flag? a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap? a picture of an ibex?!?

Todd Bike Blog

The purpose of this blog is to document the various bicycle exploits I have planned for the next few weeks, and, hopefully, thereafter. I hope that friends and other people will read it, ask questions, give advice; if not, then at least I'll have a record of what I've been doing in terms of bike-riding. That said, here is the plan in brief for the next month or so:

- on Saturday, March 14, my dad and I are doing the Solvang Century ride in Solvang, CA, which is near Santa Barbara
- after that, I plan to stay around that area and set off on my own to ride to San Francisco
- I'll spend the weekend in SF, seeing friends and checking out some law schools
- I'll spend the last week or so in March riding back to LA, hopefully in time to catch a flight I have booked to NY on Friday, April 3

The main points of preparation I have left are twofold: supplies, and to continue training. I'll be sure to flesh out this and the bullet points in future posts.