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blondiebiker
09-29-2008, 09:34 PM
My hubby turned 30 last week, and as a birthday surprise I took him camping on Catalina Island. I called the bike shop to see if it would be reasonable to bike from the town of Avalon, where the ferry drops off, to the town of Two Harbors, where our campsite was. The bike shop guy said "It's a little hilly at first, then it's flat the rest of the way."

You can imagine the knot I got in my stomach when I first saw the island looming out of the ocean (picture #1) Bike shop guy must have never done the ride - especially not on a mountain bike with 30 pounds of camping gear on the back! As you can see from the pics, the road goes up... and up... and up some more! Anyway, I just had to boast to ladies who would appreciate the accomplishment. 22 miles, with 1600 feet of climbing in the first 4 miles!

Elevation profile and map:
URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2301949

badgercat
09-29-2008, 10:01 PM
What a lovely birthday gift! Looks like a beautiful location... and congrats on the climbing!

wildhawk
09-30-2008, 01:04 AM
What an awesome way to celebrate a birthday!! Congrats!!

teigyr
09-30-2008, 01:28 AM
Fun!! Did you see any wild boars or anything? I remember taking that road from the airport to Avalon. It was a wild bus ride.

That is an impressive ride. It is HILLY to get out of Avalon!!!

Aggie_Ama
09-30-2008, 04:09 AM
Oh how gorgeous!! I want to camp there ummm tomorrow. :p

sundial
09-30-2008, 04:20 AM
Wow! Now that's the way to celebrate a birthday. :cool:

sfa
09-30-2008, 04:49 AM
A "little" hilly? I'd hate to see what his idea of a lot hilly is!

Looks like a gorgeous location, though. What a nice birthday surprise!

Sarah

Grog
09-30-2008, 07:03 AM
Great surprise! Thanks for the post!

OakLeaf
09-30-2008, 09:58 AM
1600 feet of climbing in the first 4 miles!

:eek::eek::eek:

In case you were thinking about getting me something for my birthday... don't! :D

Seriously though... looks beautiful, I'm sure the effort was worth it!

Jiffer
09-30-2008, 10:27 AM
When I first saw the pictures I thought, "Is that Catalina? Oh, how fun it would be to ride my bike on Catalina!" And then I realized it was a mountain bike thing and that it was, ummm, insane climbing. :eek:

Congrats! And Happy Birthday to Hubby. :D

arielmoon
09-30-2008, 10:49 AM
What an awesome adventure and fantastic birthday pressie!

jesvetmed
09-30-2008, 12:25 PM
Too cool! Glad you guys were up to handling that ride after being a "bit" misled! Looks like a great ride, though! I've never been to Catalina Island, but it is on the list (which grows daily thanks to the ladies here!)

blondiebiker
09-30-2008, 02:11 PM
:eek::eek::eek:

In case you were thinking about getting me something for my birthday... don't! :D


I know - next year he's going to beg me to leave him alone for his b-day! :p