It has been six days since I last posted here. Things just got away from me, then I went away, but now I'm back. So, lets see, where was I? I left off on 6/7 having done a redux of my original griffith Park ride.
Now to business. Big thank you to Barbara Goldman, Ramona Martinez and Melissa Bachrach, for the generous donations!
Please join them in supporting this great cause!! It's so simple, just click on this link!
http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE11/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=2501102&pg=personal&fr_id=1440
Thursday, 6/8 I did a standard beach ride, 45 miles, and Friday was a Ride Yoga Ride day (25 miles). I have mentioned before how helpful the yoga is in my training regimen. Stretching out all the muscles that I am somewhat overworking by riding every day. Once again, I want to recommend Brian Kest's Power Yoga in Santa Monica. I can't say enough about what a great atmosphere is cultivated in the studios. I always leave exhausted, but wishing the class was longer. I was toying with the idea of doing my first century ride on Saturday. There was one scheduled up in Solvang, but as the evening grew longer, the thought of driving up to Santa Barbara, or Buellton just seemed a bit daunting on a Friday night. I'll just have to catch the next one.
So On Saturday, A friend of mine who has a house in Santa Barbara invited me up for the weekend. Excited about the prospects for a change of scenery, I passed on the Nichols ride, and high tailed it up to Monticito. I pulled in around 10:30am, donned my kit, and headed out along route 192 north, making my way to Isla Vista. Riding in Santa Barbara is just fantastic! Less cars, more beauty, friendlier people. The round trip was about 50 miles give or take. There was a nice fast downhill on the way out, that I decided to skip on the way back, thinking I'll hammer that uphill tomorrow...... (Best Intentions!)
Sunday I head out to do the right thing, and climb the downhill I flew down on saturday. I retrace the rout I took home, and found the hill that I came down from about 8 miles into the ride. It's a bit colder than Saturday, so I've got my arm and leg warmers on, as well as my windbreaker. As I start up the hill, it is looking fairly familiar. but, I was traveling down it at a much much faster pace. The road is a rough as I remember it and certainly steep. I pass a couple of riders, as well as get passed by a few. so I'm confident that this is a road well traveled. I climb on and on, and on... It's longer than I pictured it to be, but again, I was going fast downhill, so pretty tough to compare. I climb on, grinding and grinding, ever upward, and never ending it seems. 5 miles into the climb, I stop for a cliff bar and some water, also to take off he windbreaker. Then, back to it. The road worsens, and the grade gets steeper. Fuck! I remember the road being bad, but not this bad! Grind on. Finally I arrive at an intersection. Nothing looks familiar, but hey, I know this is the road I came down yesterday, so I just must not have been paying to much attention. The intersection heads to the right, nicely paved, and I see a sign that reads "Santa Barbara - 7 miles". Great! on my way home, and I know I've done the climb. I give myself an attaboy, and head down the road to the right. Now I'm riding along a ridge, that transects the Santa Barbara Mountains. It's lovely, breathtaking actually, but totally, completely and utterly unfamiliar. This I would have remembered. The views are spectacular, and I'm up in the broken clouds, which intermittently blow across the road like wisps of smoke. I'm heading downhill for the most part, and thankful that, although I know I'm on a new road, the sign did say Santa Barbara - 7 miles! As I come around a bend, I see it! Not what I wanted to see. What I see, is a dead end. Really???? A dead end???, I check my odometer, seven miles from the intersection. Well nothing for it, except to turn around and just retrace my steps to get home. Great, another seven mile climb, just to get back to that sign. Which I now realize was directing traffic down the road of my original climb. Oops! At least this is a gentile climb, not the bitch that the first one was. Finally I'm heading back down the hill. The road is so bad, that I can't get any faster than 17 or 18 MPH and, it getting really cold. Needless to say I get to the bottom, see where I went wrong, and return via West Mountain Rd. (52 miles) I get back to the house just as my host is leaving. He offers me the house for another day if I want to stay, which I of course accept. Quick shower, and I'm off to La Super Rica, my favorite Mexican restaurant. Eight tacos and a Tecate later, bed never looked so good!
Monday I woke up late, and did a quick adios to SB 33. Hot springs to the coast road, to Santa Monica Rd. to the 192, and back.
All I can say is , "What a great fucking weekend!"
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