SoCal TE Ride - Memorial Day (long)
I guess it's only fair for me to start this ride report, since I was the first one done (by hours!).
So, I get up at 6:00am and am in my car by 6:30. I drive forever (okay, 50minutes). BCIPam's directions are impeccable, and I turn into a pretty little park in Tustin Ranch (inland orange county). I sort of notice that it's on the side of a foothill, but that can't be too important, can it? I park in the parking lot, use what has to be the cleanest park bathroom I've ever seen, and pull my bike out of my car. My plan is to ride around a bit before everyone else gets there so that if they all look too scary to ride with, I can just say I'm done riding and skeedaddle (hey, it's the first time meeting internet people, so you never know ;) )
I ride up a trail for a little bit and come back to the parking lot, riding right past a woman who's calling my name! It's Tracy. She got there early, too. We chat, and wait for the others. Eventually, Brandy, Pam, Nina and her husband, Judy and some other friends of Pam's show up too (sorry if I forgot anyone). I start looking at their kit - everyone has really nice bikes and really nice clipless pedals and really nice . . . well you get the idea from this newbie's perspective.
Still, everyone's really nice and encouraging, so I decide to go for it. They're planning on riding out to the ocean, and I figure if I can hang on for a few miles, it'll be enough for me. We start out, at a very sedate pace. We're going for a while and I'm thinking "hey, this isn't too bad". Then I realize I've only had to pedal about once every 5 minutes - we're going downhill.
And suddenly it dawns on me why going downhill is bad - my car's parked back up the hill :eek: !!! See, hills scare the bejeepers out of me. About 20 minutes into the ride, Pam kindly tells me that we're at a good turnaround point for me. I bid everyone goodbye, and figure I'll be lucky to make it back to my car before they finish their ride!
Someone else will have to describe the rest of their adventure, but I took a deep breath, turned around and started to slog my way back to my car. And, much to my surprise and delight, it only took me about 25 minutes to get back to my car, and I never even had to go out of my middle chainring!!! :D (okay, it was more of an incline than hill, but still . . . ) I even rode up a bit more past the parking lot, just cuz I could!
I had a great time meeting everyone, and I really appreciate all the encouragement. I'm definitely looking forward to another SoCal TE adventure.
Cathy
So.... about the Otter Pop jersey :)
I've been dying to hear about the Otter Pop jersey story! :D
Glad to hear everyone had such a great day!
