It doesn't get any better than this

We skipped riding Christmas weekend from fear of crazy traffic getting to and from the ride. But yesterday we decided to ride Back Bay, one of my favorite rides. It was in the low 60's when we started and I thought about tights and a jacket, but in the end I went with a vest.

There was a slight tailwind as we headed to the coast, which is unusual but as we turned south we still had a tailwind which is normal. The trail was very busy, probably with New Year's resolutions. A lot of people were on e-bikes, probably because they thought they count, somehow.

When we got to the beach, the under pass was flooded and people were trying to walk around over the rocks while carrying their bikes. Or they tried, and failed, to ride through. We took a slight detour, but only after Amber realized how deep it was and got her feet wet backing out.

As we headed inland the trail was even more busy, but there were fewer e-bikes. Perhaps the residents of Orange County are smarter than the average Californian. We had a slight headwind, but no big deal. We both wanted Chicken with butter rice when we got to Ha-Long. I couldn't make the guy understand what I was ordering - between my English accent, his Vietnamese accent, and two masks. Fortunately Amber was able to communicate.

This meal is amazing and ideal for long bike rides. Butter rice (here's a version), grilled chicken, and a light salad. I added Vietnamese coffee and Amber had Vietnamese milk tea. The coffee is so heavily caffeinated I knew I would have to stop at the rest rooms at the top of Pioneer :-) It was getting into the low 70's now and the vest came off. Fortunately my Acorn saddle bag can carry a lot.

Sure enough, 20 minutes later at the top of Pioneer, I was jonesing for the rest room. Ahh - sweet relief. The second half of the ride has most of the climbing which is made harder by a full stomach. It also had most of the headwind, but a light headwind while climbing is not a problem.

The last four miles on the bike path had a tailwind again, so I held 20mph all the way. I had such a good ride.