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Archive for October, 2010

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Big Trees

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

After the excitement of the century ride, we decided to take some time off and enjoy the extended summer weather we are lucky enough to get here in California.  We thought about going to Yosemite camping, but decided to head for Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks instead.  We had never been to either one and they are a little closer to Southern California.

It turned out to be a great decision.  These parks don’t get as many visitors, so it’s pretty easy to find yourself completely alone on a hiking trail.  It’s a shame that more people don’t visit, because the scenery is beautiful.  The star attractions are the sequoia trees.  It’s hard to describe how tiny you feel standing next to them, and it’s amazing to think about all the things that have happened in the last 1,000 to 2,000 years while they’ve been growing.

Besides the trees, there are also great views of the mountains and canyons, and so many trails that you hike for weeks and not repeat them.

Here’s a view of something else that was on the trails with us, along with a giant sequoia.

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Century

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Eric and I have been into cycling for a while now – both as fans of professional races and riding on our own for fun.  For some reason though, I’ve always had this notion that you can’t really call yourself a cyclist until you’ve done a century ride (that’s 100 miles… yes, in one day).  We’ve done some 50 mile “fun rides,” but nothing else even close.  We made the decision early in the summer that we needed a goal help us get in shape and a century ride seemed like a good way to motivate us.  With that in mind, we signed up for the OC Wheelmen’s Amtrak Century.  It’s a 100 mile ride from Irvine to San Diego, where you board a train and ride home in style.

After 10 weeks of training, the big day arrived.  We started out with the sunrise and cruised into Mission Bay around 3:30.  Our actual riding time was about 7 hours (total was longer including the stops for snacks and lunch) and we averaged 14 mph.  This time was a lot faster than most of our training rides, so I think there is something to the adrenaline that kicks in when you’re riding with lot of other people – my first peloton.

This ride was much better than I expected.  We trained just the right amount, the scenery along the coast was fantastic, and the food at the rest stops was  much tastier than the energy bars we normally eat on training rides.  I won’t deny that I was pretty tired at the end, but the feeling of accomplishment kept me going on the train home where everyone broke out coolers to celebrate with some more good food and drink.  I’m hooked now and actually thinking of doing it again.

Here’s the final distance from bike computer (the extra is from a wrong turn I took as well a few detours to the rest stops).

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