Kayaking the Crema

A hot day today - 83F predicted but it was that hot by 9am so it was probably going to be hotter at 2pm. Amber and I decided to ride to the Crema in Seal Beach but add an hour of kayaking at Sunset Beach on the way.

There wasn't much wind on the way to the coast until we got close to the ocean. Turning North we picked up an unusual tailwind which was lovely. The beach path was predictably crowded so we rode carefully until we were passed by a crazed guy on a mountain bike who was threading through the crowd at a very unsafe 17-19 mph. Amber and I kept pace with him but more cautiously which is more work as you are constantly slowing and accelerating. When we got within a 1/4 mile of the end of the bike path the pedestrians had thinned out to almost nothing so Amber and I blew past him at 27 mph. No response. I think our point was made.

We got to Sunset Beach kayak rentals and they were busy. Lots of eye candy, especially one surgically enhanced woman wearing a thong. Amber and I kayaked for an hour then jumped back on our bikes and headed over to The Crema. There was the usual 45 minute wait so we headed over to the Seal Beach pier and hung out for a while. More eye candy and another thong. Nice! I dread the day when gay men start wearing thongs - or straight ones for that matter.

There is a small bike store going out of business across the street from The Crema so we checked it out. It's always sad to see a local bicycle store going out of business. The guy manning the store was a body builder in cycling gear two sizes too small (to make sure that EVERY muscle was clearly defined!). As I have just finished reading "Seven Deadly Sins: My pursuit of Lance Armstrong" by David Walsh, I found it odd that someone who so obviously abused steroids, HGH, and probably testosterone, would wear cycling gear. There's no race that he could enter and pass the drug test - they wouldn't even need a urine or blood sample.

The Crema was awesome as usual and I got to say hello to Heather. The servings were particularly generous today so Amber and I we pretty full when we climbed back onto the bikes. On the way back on the beach path we saw a cyclist riding with one hand and towing a kayak with the other. Some of the best kayak handling skills I've seen in a while!

The beach path got really crowded before Huntington Beach pier so we jumped over to Atlantic which was much better. After getting onto the SART we got passed by a strong teenager - earphones, no helmet @:-( - that's the emote for exposed brains - so I jumped onto his wheel and he pulled us up to a group of five riders who were riding a very nice paceline. We stayed with them until we were within three miles of the Anaheim stadium and they pulled off. We thanked them profusely.

It was bloody hot at the end of the ride. I'm sure it was more than 83F. We had a great ride and the kayaking made it even better.