Finally, a 200k

The temperature has finally dropped below 90F so Amber and I rode the Four Rivers 200k route starting at Yorba Linda park. The free parking area was completely full so we drove to the pay area and coughed up $5 which is pretty reasonable considering how great the park is. We started about 8:15 under overcast skies and light winds. Why is it "overcast skies" when there's only one sky. Do some people have more than one sky?

The SART was very busy so we kept getting stuck behind slow riders while waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic. This may have been a blessing in disguise by forcing us to keep riding at a more conservative pace. It's still frustrating, though, and I could see a lot of other trail riders were thinking "Why are there so many other people on the trail today?"

It was still overcast at the beach and the beach trail was very busy too. For some reason I had assumed that the lack of sun would keep people away. I was wrong. We got to The Crema and decided to get food to go. They were out of baguettes so I got a spinach and cheese croissant and a danish which hit the spot.

Even the San Gabriel bike trail was busy for a few miles but it quickly cleared out and we enjoyed a tail wind almost all the way to El Monte. At the gas station Amber and I compared sandwiches. I was surprised that my tuna salad had almost 400 calories but Amber's egg salad had less that 300. Not that it really matters when you're riding a 200k.

After that uninspiring meal we headed back to the coast with a headwind that reached about 20mph once we got within five miles of Long Beach. Amber pulled a lot of that stretch. The Los Angeles bike path has a lot of new tents popping up. It's clear that one of the downsides of a booming economy is that a lot of people get forced out of the housing market. California's homeless problem has not improved under Newsom and Trump compared to Brown and Obama.

I was craving a Jack-in-the-Box teriyaki bowl so we stopped in Long Beach for a carb fix. While I was waiting for our food a drugged out customer spent five minutes trying to figure out what he wanted before ordering all six specials and realizing he only had enough money for one. Not having to deal with people like that is why I never pursued a career in the fast food business. That, and the fact I'd weigh 400lbs by now. Plus, I'm pretty sure all fast-food executives automatically go to Hell.

As we left the beach at Horny Corner (seriously, that's the name) in Long Beach there was a live band playing in someone's front yard with an audience in the street (it's closed so that's cool). They were really good but we were on a timed ride so we couldn't stop. Plus, it looked like a super-spreader event.

The beach trail was still crowded so we headed inland on Golden and Atlanta and turned towards Yorba Linda with a (surprise) headwind. It wasn't too bad though, so we still held 17mph. We got back to the cars with a 9:28 elapsed time which I was very pleased with. That ride takes me over 10,000 miles for the year - the earliest I've ever reached that mark.

The next training ride will be the southern loop of next year's Triple Loop 600k. We've never ridden this entire loop in one ride, so we'll see how it goes.