First, there was...Lisa's return to the bike!...
Well, okay, last week, Jason escorted Lisa (by bike) to work all of 5 miles, so she'd been back on a bike (technically). But yesterday was her first 'real' ride since being taken out by a deer on Angeles Crest. Yesterday was also the first time I sang, "Lisa got ran over by a Reindeer...riding on Angeles Crest one Saturday..." to her. I'm happy to report that not only is the woman back up to riding, but she laughed (heartily) when I sang this to her. (Phew!) Come on! Humor is acceptable when the human who faced great harm is okay. Otherwise? That'd not been so funny.
Also, to set the record straight, it was a buck that ran out in front of her (with antlers and all) as she remembers exactly what I remembered! We talked about it, of course. I had talked about it in front of Jason on a ride a few weeks ago, and he got visibly upset (I'm so dumb sometimes and should have realized that he'd not want to hear about his wife being hurt!). Talking with Lisa was different. I think she wanted specific details, actually. So, I provided her with my 'eye' view. I also reiterated how happy I was that she's okay and that we'd now get a chance to ride along the coast!
Which is exactly what we did. We started at Neptune's Net and rode to Port Hueneme, inland a bit to Oxnard and back. We got 33.something miles which was just fine by me. Lisa, who did suffer a bruised tailbone, could feel some discomfort while riding (but not too much). She (and I) did not want her to go too far out and then suffer on the way back. So, 33.something miles it was - glorious miles too!
I really like Lisa. We have this 'act' going on where I annoy her and she tells me I do. When in reality (and she'll say from time to time), I don't bother her at all. But I do take tons of photos of her. I just think she's so pretty (no, I don't have a fantasy that involves her, lingerie and candles). She's also strong - on the bike and in person. I like strong women. She's my contemporary and she, as well as Jason, is a good, kind human being. Don't underestimate the value of a good, kind human being - they are rare and a commodity. I'm lucky to have met The Lobsters, and even when I get all fussy over dynamics in our cycling group, when the day is done, I'm grateful I know her and Jason and that they are my friends - and I'm grateful and relieved she's okay and back to riding. Yesterday was a treat for me.
Fortunately, there is no drama to report, just great miles, ridden at a relaxed pace along a beautiful, sunlit ocean with, at times, dramatic waves. It was actually cool out the majority of the ride, and the air was blessedly clean of smoke! We took it easy and enjoyed the views. I did put my chain in the big ring for most of the ride. I wanted to test my legs after all of my mountain biking. Lisa, who can easily hang on my wheel (and pass me!), hung back, which was smart to do. She took it easy (as she should have), and I, in turn, hung back with her. I really enjoyed our pace, truthfully, along with the views, her company and the many opportunities to take pics (of her and the the crystal blue ocean - it was spectacular along the coast yesterday!)
Best moment all day? When I said to Lisa, while snapping the 150th shot of her, "You're like my captive audience, aren't you?"
To this, Lisa replied, "More like 'captive' actually."
Heh Heh.
We had lunch following our ride at Coogies (which I told Lisa was Moogies - ??), and all I can say (repeating myself here) is that I'm so happy Lisa is okay, back on a bike and giving me sh*t again. The universe is realigned!
And then there was smoke, a mountain bike ride and The Pink...
I knew I had today's mountain bike ride with Karen (The Pink) and I knew it would be challenging. Here's the thing. Karen is like me in that she does not favor crazy, technical trails. However, Karen is unlike me in that she's skinny (I mean, the girl has NO fat on her, just muscle and a gorgeous figure...so not fair!) and she can climb all the hell up anything, road or dirt. I have no issue with this except that I want to ride with her and so I'll just say, "Sure, wherever you want to go," without really thinking through the work ahead of me. Today, I thought I had control of the situation...I'd suggested that we ride out to Parker Mesa and back - a ride I've done and can handle. Karen had suggested some (very doable) single tracks that I would like to try in the future, but not on a weekend of 100+ degrees, but relented to my plan (she's so easy going).
However, neither of us thought through the whole 'smoky air, shouldn't breathe' thing this morning and when I pulled up to Karen at the top of Reseda Blvd. at 6:30am, I was panicked. There was clearly a 'cloud' covering that wasn't a cloud, but smoke! "Karen, I can't ride in this," were the first words out of my mouth (no "good morning, how are you?") I have severe asthma (that's the exact way my Pulmonary Specialist (PS) describes it, anyway) and can only breathe at 80% of my lung capacity without drugs (my crack pipe). If there is one condition under which my PS has forbade me to ride, it's smoke from a wildfire (well, okay, he'd prefer I'd not ride in smog, but he realizes that isn't possible). By the way, folks, even if you can't smell or see smoke, if you are within 100 miles of a major wildfire, you are breathing in very dangerous particles! Just sayin'.
Anyway, Karen was so reasonable and sweet. She asked me if I wanted to ride Malibu State Park instead. I'd never been, so awesome! Plus, it was farther from the fire so safe (or so I thought). We took off from Reseda and drove to the parking off of Lost Hills Blvd., where we geared up and clipped in for a beautiful day of it.
If you've never ridden this trail, you should! It starts out on a single track, going kind of all over, but nothing too scary, only some ruts, sand and rocks (like I haven't been riding in that lately already!). I was jazzed. The air around us was almost cold and smelled clean (and looked clean, the skies were blue above us and not hazy!). We rode through golden grass, around a bend, through a very thin-tracked section (talk about a skinny single track!) and up a very steep climb (yup...had to walk the last bit of it...sigh). I truly enjoyed all of the front section and only a little of it scared me. There were a couple of steep descents (but not technical). I just followed Joannie's advice (my Zen master) and flew down those descents with my butt way back off my saddle!
After the last really steep descent, we entered Malibu State Park at an exact spot I had hiked many years ago. What a trip that was. Never, back then, would I have imagined myself riding a bike on that trail! It's a varied terrain that spreads out through a very technical, dried out stream bed, or rock garden, (that Joannie would, love but I mostly walked), past remnants of the old M*A*S*H set ( a couple of very cool rusted jeeps are still there), to the Malibu Dam and the lake, and up Bulldog - a butt-grinding, but totally doable climb. Even through the most technical area - the rock garden- I dug it! I hiked it years ago, so it was familiar and I didn't mind riding a bit over the jutting boulders (until I almost tipped over a couple of times) and then walking. My only real annoyance were the frickin', stupid bugs. Okay, look it, I am not a Cinnamon Bun, no matter how much my ass may resemble one! I kept swatting those critters and cursing.
Before climbing up the mountain, Karen and I rode out to the Dam and then down a trail I was curious to explore. Within a 1/2 mile, it ended at a residential area, Craggs Road. Little did I know how much this would aid us later! We turned around and headed back to the 'real' climbing of the day, Bullfrog. Now, if you are use to climbing on dirt, this trail is not hard. It's kind of longish, but you can take breaks at plateaus and easily clip back in to continue on. It's not uber-steep, just steady. But the problem today, for me, is that we were climbing into smoke-filled air!
As a matter of fact, I was wondering if I'd lost all my fitness (for some fluke reason). I kept gasping, wheezing and had to stop to get my heart rate down - every 10 feet! I felt heavy (well...), almost dizzy and lethargic. Why couldn't I breathe? Then it dawned on me, duh, and I 'sniffed' the air (I'd been breathing through my mouth). Yup, smoke-filled. Then I really looked around me. The air was hazy and thick. Gawddimmit! I'd tried to avoid these exact conditions, and here I was climbing in it! I'd come to a fork in the road, so I called Karen, who was ahead. She came back down as she could sense it too, and it was starting to get hot!
From that point, we headed toward what we thought was the 'abandoned house on the hill" - a structure left years ago that you can hike/bike too. But I think we were too far down, as we missed it. Instead, we ended up descending (we walked) a very technical section to the Malibu neighborhood below. It was here that we encountered the coolest house and the cutest miniature horses I've ever seen (well, the only miniature horses I've ever seen that close - I got to pet them!). We weren't sure where we were, so we knocked on the door of the home. The owner was a very nice man who offered us cool drinks (we turned them down as we had ice water in our camel backs) and who told use how to get back to Malibe State Park. Can you guess? We rode down his street to Craggs Road where we'd been just 45 minutes prior and retraced our steps!
After that, it was a stop at the gorgeous Malibu Lake (?) and a ride up and out (we utilized Los Virgines in lieu of the dirt single track back, given the smoky air and warmer temperatures). It was then a lunch stop at Sharky's and some great conversation. Karen is darling and has such a mellow, sweet temperament. I promised her that I'm working on my weight (I've got to lose, got to!) and my speed on hills. I wanted her to know that I'm not taking her time (or any one's) lightly. I really want to improve. I think the reasons I've been so drawn to dirt of late are the challenges and the 'unknown' fitness factor. Mountain biking kicks my ass! We only rode 16 miles with 1,600 feet of climbing - on a road bike? not too impressive (well, a little - that's good climbing); on a mountain bike? damn...that was a hell of a workout!
Trust me on this one.
So that's it...great rides with some great women this weekend. I ride with GT tomorrow (if all goes well), along the ocean. I hope for coffee and good conversation. I don't believe I'll be disappointed.
2 comments:
Great post and glad to see Lisa on the bike again. If you have time this week lets get a cup as well.
Thanks. Would love to! :-)
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