Tag Archives: California

Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Days 7 & 8: Santa Maria to Paso Robles

Friday April 13, 2012

Well, I’d love to report the harrowing experiences I had with the rain and the hail and the nasty weather that the Central Coast has  experienced the last few days.   Unfortunately, I can only report that I spent the time safe and warm and happy and holed up in lovely hotels eating great meals and drinking fine wine.

On last report, I had made my way from Solvang to Santa Maria, and I had checked into the Historic Santa Maria Inn.  Built in 1917, the Santa Maria Inn is located in the city of Santa Maria, a town of about 100,000 halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Additionally there are several ghosts that haunt the hotel.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 5: Lake Cachuma to Solvang

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.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 3: Malibu to Carpenteria

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.

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The Naval Air Base in Ventura

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Ride Days

Day 2: Long Beach to Malibu

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.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Planning

Reality Sets In…

Sunday March 25, 2012

Well, it’s getting very close to the time when I am going to head out.  Up till now its all been daydreams.   For years I’ve thought about getting out on a long ride.   I spent most of the last two months consumed by getting myself and all my equipment ready.   I’ve actually managed to pull this off! It’s taken up a huge amount of time and energy.
Now all the dreaming, and scheming and planning is over. All that’s left is to get on the trike and ride.   But reality is setting in. I can admit I’m a little nervous. Much more nervous than I’ve been on previous trips. I’m not really sure why – but I find myself obsessively worrying about several parts of this ride.

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Pacific Coast Tour (Spring 2012), Training

A Training Summary

Saturday March 24, 2012

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.

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Bike Rides, Bike Touring, Bike Trails, Recumbent Bikes, Recumbent Trikes, Recumbents

Our First Mini-Tour

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April 16, 2011

Once Mike got us hooked on the idea of touring on our trikes,  we started looking for a short trip that would be relatively easy and beautiful at the same time.   We decided to ride from Ventura, California to Ojai, California on the Ventura River Trail.   We spent the night in Ojai and returned on Sunday to Ventura.   Not so much riding – only about 40 miles – but very fun.   It was the first time Nancy ever contemplated riding a bike anywhere that would force her to be dependent on herself (and not have a car to drive to a store or restaurant) and Mike.

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Bike Rides, Bike Trails, Recumbent Trikes, Recumbents

Nancy’s Inaugural Ride

March 13, 2011

I have ridden my trike for 6 months or so, and just love it!  So we have decided that Nancy should ride as well.  After a quick trip to our friend Dana Lieberman’s  bike shop in N. Hollywood  (Bent up Cycles), we came home with Nancy’s beautiful blue ICE Adventure.

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