Wednesday April 11, 2012
13 miles (21 km) – Total so far: 204 miles (328 km)
What a difference a good nights sleep makes! It rained really hard last night, but I slept like a baby. Once I was sure everything inside the tent would stay dry, I actually found the sound of the rain falling on the tent very comforting. I slept till after 7:30 – very late for me.
Tuesday April 10, 2012
45 miles (72 km) – Total so far: 191 miles (307 km)
I slept really well in Carpenteria. The hiker/biker campsites back right up against the railroad tracks, and I was afraid the trains would wake me. Apparently the trains run silent at night, because I heard nothing until chirping birds woke me at 7:00. I planned today to be a relatively short day – only about 32 miles. My destination – Lake Cachuma in the Los Padres National Forest.
Monday April 9, 2012
50 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 146 miles (235 km)
I woke early and ready to get on the road for day 3 of the trike adventure.
The PCH was very quiet early on Monday morning. I was concerned there might be rush hour traffic, but those concerns were clearly unfounded. Almost no traffic in either directions and I rode past the gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean near Point Magu.
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
