J.R. gives the safety speech to an attentive crowd of cyclists
We had a lot of things to set up and at one point it seemed that with each minute one new rider or roadie was arriving - most of us excited but a little hesitant to show any immediate sign of it at such an early hour. It was so good to see so many friends.
We started the ride in West Hills and departed for our first rest stop at Santa Susana Park in Simi Valley. The first stretch took us over 13 miles of mostly developed land. I had a really good start to the day and was the fourth cyclist to reach the first rest stop. I ended up being held back a little bit at the start of the day and throughout by "lallygagging" at each of the rest stops. It's a common enough criticism, but I don't come out and join these rides for the cycling alone. I do this as much for the community and getting to know new, amazing people.
Between Rest Stops 1 and 2 I got my first and only flat of the day; and when I stopped to change the tube, another rider, Gary, I did not know today stopped with me to help me with the task. Gary and I rode with each other to the next stop in Moorpark.
Moorpark ended up being a shorter stop for me - a refueling. I got back out on the road with Cruz, Shawn, and a handful of others who had passed me earlier while I was changing my tube.
The stretch before lunch was a good challenge. We rode up the back side of Grimes Canyon (in headwinds) and then came down the winding switchbacks on the other side. The view was stunning. At the bottom we connected to a stretch that was familiar to me from the Paul Hulse Memorial Century Ride we did with the PosPeds in April. I was on this stretch by myself for most of the distance into lunch, which gave me a lot of time to sort out things floating around in my brain and why I am participating in this ride.
After some distance of riding, I could see Max on the horizon and ended up getting within 100 yards of him, but never caught up. Instead, I stopped with a few friends who were working on a flat before we all rode into lunch together.
Lunch was in Santa Paula. Ginger Brewlay was there to serve it up and provided constant entertainment, as did Phil in the Baby Dragon costume. I stayed there for awhile talking with EVERYONE before I left with Max to ride out along the next stretch into Ventura. Max and I just met yesterday, but had a good chance to talk and get acquainted over the 18 miles between stops. It was nice to have him along for that stretch of the route.
It's best to not ask questions... Or to caption this one - to protect identities
Phil the Baby Dragon attempts to eat Justin for lunch...
J.R. and me at lunch before I took off
Rest Stop 3 was in the Marina in Ventura. I spent quite a bit of time there, too... Are you seeing the trend? It was there that I got to talk for awhile with Hunter Allen's mother and also with "Uncle" Larry. Max went ahead on the next stretch and I waited, but not quite long enough for Cruz and Shawn to leave. So I was solo for the next stretch into the Water Stop, which I did not intend to stop for, but had to due to the intense, disgusting, challenging, shitty (I can swear here, right?), make-me-want-to-hit-someone headwinds coming from the north. So I stopped and refueled with Bart and Sarah, talked with J.R. for a little bit, waited for the others and took off to the final stop. I TRUCKED from the water stop to Rest Stop 4. The winds were not as bad, although still present, and the roads were much better. It was a good ride.
Rest Stop 4 was in Carpinteria, a beautiful little area along the coastal mountains. Stunning views of both the ocean and the mountains kept me entertained. I didn't spend much time at Rest Stop 4... There were no shirtless, dancing men like the rest stops of ALC and I just wanted to get on the road to the hotel.
The last stretch in was about 15 miles and I just wanted to be in the shower, jacuzzi, eating dinner... You name it. Anything but riding!
I caught up with Justin and Cesar on the final stretch and we rode in together. We had made it! 98 miles!!!
Justin, Cesar, Jackie, Gary, me, and Dustin at the Lemon Tree Hotel in Santa Barbara
We had dinner at the nearby American Red Cross. Chicken, some kind of AMAZING pasta, etc. There was a dinner program - some of which I caught on camera and will recap later. But the feature was the hot tub AFTER dinner. Good time to chat with friends old and new before bed. It was a nice way to end the day.
Some of the guys in the jacuzzi
Total distance today was 98 miles! Tomorrow, we'll ride about 80 back to the starting spot! It's going to be a good day!!!
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