Stan’s Obligatory Blog

On Sunday morning, Susan and I went for a bike ride in San Diego. My favorite ride there was the one to Point Loma, so we did it again. Strangely enough, the weather today was better than when we did it last June, and also better than when I did it in April, 2007.

We took the coast route through La Jolla, and suddenly my phone rang. It was Vikki, who was there for work, and had seen us ride by from the balcony of her hotel. So we doubled back a block to visit with her. She and her friend had ridden down from Los Angeles yesterday.

There was a sign up at the beach that the seals have taken over, warning us that it was “pupping season” and that we should not disturb the seals. While we were there, I bought a seal T-shirt to take home for Lucinda.

Continuing on, we went through Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach, and then up the hill to the road out to Point Loma. We didn’t pay the $3 to go in this time, since we were a bit short on time and didn’t feel like riding down and back up the big hill to the tide pools. So we turned around and headed back.

On the road around Mission Bay, we saw the truck with “Jesus Christ is Lord” on it. I wonder what they were hauling in there?

When we were almost back to the hotel, Susan got a flat. So I took the picture for the Flat Tire Gallery. Then we rode the last mile back to the hotel. It was a very nice ride.

37 miles.

Sunday’s bike ride was the classic Toluca Lake route. West through Eagle Rock and Glendale, and then through a bit of Bubank to Priscilla’s in Toluca Lake. Then back by way of the L.A. River bike path and South Pasadena.

The only amusing things we saw along the way were some people filming something across the street from Warner Bros, a homeless guy with a very large cart of stuff on the bike path, and a long line of birds down in the river bed, all standing at attention on one leg.

It was a very nice day. By the time we were heading back, it was quite warm and very pleasant. And that alone made it a very nice ride.

40 miles.
cycling

Today’s bike ride was through La Tuna Canyon and then across the San Fernando Valley with a snack stop in Toluca Lake.

We met at the Elks Lodge in Pasadena. The Rose Parade grandstands were still up, and they were apparently filming something there. There were some police cars for a fictitious police department in the parking lot.

The ride up through Montrose was nice. At the top of La Tuna Canyon we caught up with Gene and Charley. Then we all headed down the other side. At the bottom, we rode across Sun Valley to get to Coldwater Canyon Road, which we took south all the way across the Valley. The road was pretty wretched, like many Los Angeles city streets. It was also windy, since we’re having a Santa Ana right now. But that also meant that the air was very clear, and we could see the mountains very well. Along the way, we passed the Great Wall of Los Angeles.

In Toluca Lake, we stopped at Priscilla’s for bagels and such. Then we headed home by the direct route across Glendale and Eagle Rock. Then back up the Colorado hill into Pasadena.

It was a nice ride.

51 miles.
cycling

Since I posted my 2008 Car Report, here’s the comparable report for my bike. In 2008, I rode 6,013 miles total. Despite all the upheaval in my personal life this past year, I was still able to ride my bike to work nearly every day. Commuting accounted for about 2,000 miles. The remainder was my weekend rides for fun.

This is comfortably more than the 5,703 miles I put on my car, so the balance of the universe is still correct.

Today’s bike ride was to Mt. Washington in Los Angeles. We started out from Victory Park and headed up into Altadena. From there, we rode over into La Cañada and then down Verdugo Blvd all the way to Glassell Park. Then we headed up Mt. Washington. They repaved the road last year, and it’s really pretty nice now. It’s a pleasant climb with some nice switchbacks.

Coming down the other side into Highland Park, we headed north, back to South Pasadena. When we crossed the Gold Line railroad tracks, I got a flat. Fortunately, it was a slow leak, so I was able to make it to the snack stop at Kaldi’s before I had to fix it.

Finally, we rode across San Marino and back up Sierra Madre Blvd to the park. It was a nice ride.

37 miles.
cycling

I’ve long been of the opinion that going riding on January 1st is a good way to start the year. So today, Susan and I joined some of the other people from the bike club for a ride to start out the year. The route was one that Gene made up, and it didn’t really go anywhere in particular, but it was fun anyway. It was a bit chilly at first, but then it warmed up nicely.

In honor of our adventure last night, Susan wore her martini socks.

Getting out was a bit of a challenge, since we had to cross the Rose Parade route. And when we got back, the parade had just ended, and the whole area around my house was a zoo. That was where we saw some of the horses walking up the street by my house. We stopped and visited with some of the neighbors before heading inside to get cleaned up and have lunch before going to see the Rose Parade floats.

43 miles.
cycling

Today’s ride was the “Turnbull Canyon plus Temple” route. My camera is still traveling with Susan, so I have no pictures from today. If you want pictures, have a look at the last time we did this ride.

When we got to the temple, we skipped stopping. Gene wanted to experiment with a different route back to Whitter, so we headed up Hacienda Blvd to the top of the hill, where we turned off and rode on a bunch of little winding roads through the hills there to get back to Colima Rd in Whittier. It was quite a bit longer than the regular route, but it was fun. So we told the others that we’d ‘taken the longcut’ to get there.

In Whittier, we stopped for snacks before heading home. It was a very pleasant ride.

56 miles.
cycling

Today I went for a bike ride with Gene from the Sunday morning group. We did the “Mary’s Market” route that he made up recently. This is a meandering route that goes all over, but nowhere in particular until the end. Because we had no time pressure today, we added a few miles by making a loop through Santa Fe Dam and Azusa. This added about 10 miles to the ride. Then we headed up the canyons above Sierra Madre to visit Mary’s Market. I’d never been there before, and it was kind of a remarkable place. We were just a little bit above the suburbs of Los Angeles, yet it felt like we were far up in the mountains. The climb up there was steep at times, but I managed to make it without having to use my lowest gear. It was a fun ride. But there are no pictures, since my small camera that I usually take on rides is off in the wilds of upstate New York with Susan. I gave it to her so she could take pictures when she went there to visit her mom. So no pictures for the bike rides this weekend.

50 miles
cycling

Today’s club ride was Gene’s “San Dimas South” route. The last time we did this one was on a gloomy day in April. Today wasn’t gloomy, but it was cold by SoCal standards.

We took a picture at the start, since Gene and I both had decorated our bikes for the holidays.

Along the way, we saw some amusing decorations on houses, including the big tree decorated with big ornaments. And at then end, we saw a small harem of peahens in Arcadia.

I skipped the snack stop, since I had to get home a bit early to pick up Lucinda, so it was a relatively quick ride. But it was nice.

48 miles.
cycling

More news from today’s L.A. Times. As one might guess, this is a topic that’s near and dear to me:

Christopher Thompson to be tried in confrontations with cyclists