Sunday April 8, 2012
65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 146 miles (235 km)
A night in a fancy hotel with Nancy. What a nice way to start the tour!
I had locked the bike in the hotel employee parking lot right next to the security office. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake. The trike was fine, but I worried about it all night. “What if something happens to it — the whole tour will be ruined.” I kept waking up and thinking about it. Definitely did not get enough sleep.
I rode from home to the Bonita Creek Park. Nancy met me there, along with Glenn, Kevin, Derek and Jim from the Trike Squadron. We all yakked for a while and enjoyed the coffee, brownies and muffins Nancy brought along. Nancy also gave me a bright green Helium Star balloon that I attached to my flag pole.
I recently ran a report to see how much riding I have done. Wow! Over 1800 miles this year so far. I knew I had ridden a lot – but that is as much as I usually do in 8-10 months! Here is a summary by week of my rides training for this tour. I’ll continue to update this table until I leave. I will begin to taper down the training a bit in week before the start of the tour, but will still be riding some.
Today is the Spring Equinox. The first official day of Spring. The beginning of the end to long, cold, dark winter! This being Southern California, the long winter is not much different from the long Summer, but still the equinox marks a beginning of sorts. And a new beginning always calls for a bike ride. For the very first bike ride of this new spring, I decided to ride to the nearby community of Yorba Linda and pay a visit to the memorial library of the 37th President of the United States – Richard M. Nixon.
Tuesday March 13, 2012
Continue reading A True Test Ride: Fully Loaded, in the Hills
I’ve decided it is time for a bike tour! I’m going to ride up the Pacific Coast. I’ve gone on bike tours a few time in the past – and it has always helped to clear my head and get me focused on what is to come next in my life.
When I moved to Southern California in 2001, I took a job here that I loved, creating software systems for surgical equipment used in ophthalmology. It is interesting, challenging and rewarding work. It is also work that took essentially every minute of my life. And it is located in an area where the traffic does not easily permit safe cycling. My beloved bicycles sit in my garage unused. Continue reading Mike Loses Some Weight
