riding through May....National Bike Month!!!

[rebeccaC]

My friend Alexandra spent the weekend at my place. After a great dinner, some clubs, good music and dancing last night we did one of my favorite rides into the Santa Monica Mountains today. Rode the beach bike path to its end then PCH to Las Flores Canyon Rd to Piuma Rd to Malibu Canyon Rd and back down to PCH and then the last miles again on the beach bike path to home. The bike path keeps us away from some of the busier PCH traffic coming into Santa Monica. Ended with 54 miles, high 60’s most of the ride with some clouding towards the top of the Las Flores climb and part of Piuma.

Las Flores is one solid hard climb. The beginning is a 8+% climb and there is a one mile 13% section. The last 2.5 miles averages 11+% with a couple 20% sections that we were down to a barely moving mph on and had Alex questioning our sanity. Most of Piuma was a descent but the first section was a 7+% climb that seemed flat after Las Flores. Piuma has some incredible views towards the eastern part of the mountains, which makes it a beautiful descent. May wildflower blooms also made for a delicate counterpoint to the mountain landscape. Good climbing, great views and good company made for a great ride/day.

….…and more importantly on the way home after the great descent on PCH from Pepperdine University was a stop at the Sunday Malibu farmers market for peach green tea boba and chocolate croissants made with unicorn butter and rainbows and whatever's closest to the purist form of happiness one can find….when we got back and showered we spent time relaxing in the Jacuzzi on my buildings pool deck. Alex didn’t want to leave and I didn’t want her to.

I’ve known Alex for 8 months now (I’m not a u-haul type girl…for those who know what that is) and we have so much in common and what isn’t still compliments/improves our relationship….thinking I’ve fallen in love







The view from our stretching/fluid/nutrient break.

[north woods gal]

Wow! Now that is some serious stretch of climbing. Makes what we call hills in northern Wisconsin look pretty tame. Thanks for the pics. Very nice.

[emily_in_nc]

Well, our ride yesterday was not the best. Normally Sunday mornings are the best time to ride, with lighter traffic, but since we are in a recreation area, the road (highway) was busy with boaters, RVs, and general traffic. At times, the shoulder was very wide, so we were fine, but other times it got narrow. There was also one dog that chased us in both directions -- scary. We have to take this road, as it's the only way to get to the post office here, and we have some mail to pick up. Hoping that during the week, the traffic will be less AND that the dog will be inside. Ended up with 20 miles, including a couple of loops inside the campground itself.

We did find an unpaved forest road today when we were hiking, and DH investigated how to get there on google maps. Should be fun to check out on the mountain bikes. Looks like we can access it after just a few miles on the icky highway, and then hopefully not have traffic or dogs to deal with!