Wednesday, October 30, 2013

A New High...For Now???

San Gabriel Bike Trail
This past weekend a buddy and I decided to get some extra miles in, and thought we'd venture out to a new ride. In hopes to be training for the Fall Tour de St. George, I figured the San Gabriel Bike Trail would be a good test. The trail is approximately 38 miles long from north to south, with the north end starting alongside San Garbiel Canyon Rd at the base of the mountains north of Los Angeles and heads south along the San Gabriel River all the way to Seal Beach.

Chilly
As we are now into fall, the morning are colder now than they have been. The good news was I just picked up some arm and leg warmers and I was excited to try them out. However, as we were quickly out of the car and onto the trail we wondered if maybe we should have worn our full finger gloves. Luckily, the sun started to come out and things started to warm up not too far into our ride. That said, the arm and leg warmers were welcomed apparel for the entire day.

The Ride Down
We started about 3 miles or so south of the top of the trail, and thought it best to do the main part of the ride before coming back and hitting up the last 6 miles. The way down was great. Flat, with a small bit of down hill as you made your way down to the ocean. We were even able to get a quick view of the sun coming up over the mountains as we passed the Santa Fe Dam Nature Center.

(Views like this are part of why I ride)
It was good to see the number of people that use the trail. As expected, the numbers grew as the morning went on, and we got closer to the water.

(Andrew leading the way)
(Almost there)
(At the beach. One can get an idea of the size difference between myself and Andrew by looking at our bikes. I consider his long legs the reason for him being faster than me. I am sure there could be NO other reason.)

The Ride Back Up
The ride back was good, but I was worn out. I am sure I should have eaten more before, and maybe even during, because I was more than over it with about 12-14 miles left. I was sure to finish the ride, which included the additional few miles just north of where we started. I was kicking myself for not doing this when we first left, but hey, live and learn. Andrew was great in trying to keep me motivated. That said, it didn't work. Instead I just felt bad for him needing to waiting for my slow butt as we rode along.

All in all, a good ride, and one I knew I needed to get under my belt in preparation for the Fall Tour of St. George. It is couple miles longer, and more like 4500 ft of climbing instead of under 1000.

(Some folks rocking a mud run of some sort.)
(Almost the end, Andrew is ready for more.)
(Almost the end, almost the end of me.)
(Overview of the trail.)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Dear Evan,
Where are all of the celebrities? I tuned into your blog because I wanted to see who's been traveling on Southwest lately.
Please update with more interesting and relevant information ASAP.
Thanks so much!
Jeanne