Woke up this morning and the roads were wet so I went out on a 5 mile run to get a little warm-up and let the roads dry out. Then headed for the ocean. It was a little cool (upper 50s) so I wore my arm warmers. I know, I’m turning into a wimp out here. It’s about 15 miles to the coast from the hotel and there is a bike path that goes most of the way.
Reaching Hwy 101
Hwy 101 runs parallel to the ocean and has tons of cyclists. It is pretty high traffic with lots of traffic light stops. Kind of hard to get a rhythm. Eventually I ended up in La Jolla which is a pretty little tourist town with spectacular views of the ocean.
La Jolla
The Coast from La Jolla
On the way back I came across of group of riders from the “Major Taylor Cycling Club San Diego” (MTCCSD). http://www.mtccsd.com/home.html. This sparked my interest because a few years ago I read "Major Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer," by Andrew Ritchie. It is a great book and I highly recommend it. We rode together to Lake Mirmar and I had the privilege of meeting a great bunch of cyclists, in particular Ron Brogdon. He is a very fit and a very strong rider, former Marine, Kona Ironman, president of the MTCCSD and will be 67 this year. I can only hope I’m half as fit as him if I reach that age. After parting with the MTCSSD I rode around Lake Mirmar then found some hills to climb before heading back to the hotel. Today was one of rides where you just ride for the love of riding. It didn’t feel like training, I was just enjoying the day being a tourist.
Ron Brogdon & Me
Run 44:47, 5 Miles
Bike 6 Hrs, 75 Miles
It sounds like you serious bikers have a real comraderie even when you are strangers. I am glad that you document your adventures with pictures....just make sure you don't lay the camera down while lacing your shoes. ;)
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