LA traffic

I got my US citizenship this week and had to drive to the Convention Center in Los Angeles for the oath taking ceremony. Unfortunately Google Maps was not aware that 5000 extra people would be making the same drive at the same time so it took 30 minutes just to get the mile from the 110 freeway to the Convention Center. It occurred to me that Los Angeles traffic is as unpredictable as the English weather. You know it's going to be bad, you just don't know how bad.

The Brookes Isle of Wight saddle bag that Amber bought for me about 18 months ago broke. I'm really disappointed because it looked great, but it just wasn't well made. I can't find anything similar to replace it with so I went for a smaller retro looking saddle bag.

At the same time I replaced my top tube bag with a biggest version of the same one. The new top tube bag can hold my cell phone and the external battery back so, if my knees don't rub on it, it will be a lot more convenient and I'll be able to use it on LeJog.

I'm riding the Beachwood BBQ ride with Amber tonight so I'll find out.

Close call

I went for my weekly (weakly?) mountain climb last night and before I started I topped the 32 mm Gatorskins up to 100 psi. A quarter of a mile later the front tire exploded off the rim. It was so loud I heard the echo off the mountain a couple of seconds later. Fortunately I was climbing at 5 mph at the time.

There was a 10" split in the tube so I didn't try to patch it. Unfortunately my spare tube didn't hold air so I had to walk back to the car. It occurred to me how lucky I was that it didn't wait until I was bombing back down the mountain at 30 mph. That would have caused some serious road rash.

I got back home and replaced the tube and the spare. Hopefully that won't happen again. I still got a 25 mile workout on the trainer and I'll try the mountain again tonight. I'll probably descend a little slower than normal.

Ugh, what a ride

Amber and I rode the Back Bay loop today but it did not go at all well.

All went well until we got to a bridge on the Bayview Trail that had been closed for repair. There was only one detour sign where three were required to get us back onto the trail. Eventually some cyclists passed us who claimed to know how to get around the detour and led us back. At least the roads on the detour were quite nice.

We decided to change it up a bit by eating at the Ha Long restaurant at the Irvine control of my 300k. We would never have known how good this place is without the recommendations of some of my riders. I had a hankering for one of their tri-layer drinks. I'm not sure what is in there but I know it has red beans and boba. There must have been something in there that my body wanted. Listen to your body!

We took the East Irvine trail and followed the 300k route to Santiago Canyon Road where the CHP had closed the road at the bottom of the hill. Why they couldn't tell us the road was closed at the top of the hill, I do not know. Clearly they are not cyclists.

As we labored back up the hill my front tire blew out and went flat in about ten seconds. Amber looked at the blown tire as I replaced it and noticed a huge gash in the tube but there was absolutely no damage to the tire. Then I remembered that the previous tube had a gash in exactly the same place even before I had used it. I suspect I had two tubes from an entire bad batch. I inflated the new tube with my CO2 cartridge and put the ice cold cartridge in my back pocket. Oh that felt good for about five minutes.

Because of the location of the road closure we had to ride along Chapman to get back to the bike path. The first bit was nice, but the section through El Modena sucks horribly. Three lanes each way, no shoulder, heavy traffic. We rode on the sidewalk for a while but that was just as dangerous as the road. Eventually we saw the homeless tents along the SART and turned onto it. I've never been glad to see those homeless tents before.

Not our best ride.

Climbing Children's Forest

I used to climb Children's Forest road once a week on my bike, but haven't done that ride for over a year. I decided I need to start riding it again so yesterday I started at the base of the road and climbed for four miles to Children's Forest.

I quickly realized my climbing is much worse than it used to be. Hopefully with weekly climbs it will improve.

I recently bought a new GoPro mount to replace the poorly designed plastic one that failed in Wisconsin. This mount costs twice as much but is made of aluminum. It's a winner.

I videoed the descent from the top of the climb. Even though the road is pretty rough, the mount held the camera solidly.

What do I have to do to keep air in this thing?

As well as pumpkin butter, great mac and cheese, and a world-class collection of mosquito bites, I also brought back from Wisconsin a large chunk of metal in my rear tire. The fact that it only caused a very small leak is testament to Gatorskin tires.

I patched it when I got home with an old instant patch which failed as soon as I started riding last weekend. I put another patch on from the same batch, which also failed (duh!). Instant patches only have a shelf life of a year or so it seems.

I put in my spare tube which immediately failed with a flaw near the stem. It happens. Amber got her instant patch kit out, which turned out to be empty. Then she got her regular patch kit out, which had no glue in it - it had dried out.

So we went from two spare tubes and three patch kits to nothing in the space of 30 miles. Good thing this didn't happen on the Million Meters of Milk.

The lesson here is that regular and instant patch kits don't last forever. I should add 'replace all patch kits' to my new year's resolutions. I put Amber's spare tire on and prayed. I knew we would be passing a bike shop twenty miles up the road so I would be able to stock up there.

It was amazingly hot climbing Santiago Canyon and unusually humid for Southern California so the sweat was absolutely pouring off me especially into my eyes. We were very ready for food at Cook's Corner but it took 45 minutes coming. With the tire problems and the slow service we were not doing well on time.

The descent to the coast was as enjoyable as always and there was some cloud cover so the ride became a lot more pleasant. I went to the bike store in San Clemente to buy tubes and patch kits and discuss, with the owner, the deficiencies of instant patch kits.

As you know, there is a protected bike lane alongside PCH from Palisades Drive in Dana Point to Camino Capistrano. What you probably don't know is that the protected lane was recently extended all the way to San Clemente. That's great news, especially for North bound cyclists.

While I was buying bicycle supplies, Amber got us some Hawaiian shaved ice which I had never had before. Basically snow, flavored sugar syrup, and condensed milk. Very nice.

We continued down the coast with a slight headwind and after a while I started having gastric distress. I'm seeing a pattern of eating sugar heavy meals while riding and stomach cramps. I have to be very careful of this in future. I have had this problem before, but I've only just made the connection between high sugar snacks and cramps. At least I know what not to do now.

We only had 30 minutes to spare when we arrived in Oceanside so we decided to skip Angelo's and use the Burger King at the Amtrak for our last control.

Million Meters of Milk

My Summer Vacation.
By Terry Hutt, Aged 8.

For my summer vacation I went to Wisconsin to ride my bicycle. Wisconsin is a farming state. The main crops are corn, gravestones, and mosquitoes. Harvesting corn and gravestones is easy. To harvest mosquitoes you have to stand still for ten seconds. Corn feeds on soil and sunshine, gravestones grow on dead people, and mosquitoes eat cyclists. Corn is used to make popcorn and gravestones mark where you must not dig holes. Nobody knows what mosquitoes are for.

In Wisconsin they have weather which is either hot or wet or sometimes both. They have thunderstorms which are cool, and headwinds which are not. Someone said they also have tailwinds, but I didn't see any. They have a lot of dairies in Wisconsin and a lot of cheese. I ate some cheese curds which squeaked in my mouth. Now I know why mice squeak. The cheese was very good. Now I know why mice like cheese.

The End

P.S.
We rode the Million Meters of Milk 1000km brevet.

Amber and I flew out to Chicago on Virgin America. They are far more pleasant to fly on with a bike (and without) than United. I am starting to see the advantage to shipping the bikes ahead. It may be slightly more expensive, but we had to upgrade the car rental to carry two bike boxes and getting all that luggage to the hotel was very awkward. I like the idea of arriving at the hotel and finding my bike already there. However I am still concerned about the possibility of NOT finding my bike already there.

We unpacked the bikes at the Comfort Inn and went for a test ride up the route for 12 miles loving the roads once we were outside of Fond du Lac. For some reason Fond du Lac's roads are Roman era concrete slabs with violent seams every 10 feet. Once out of town, the roads were lovely.

We made a point of stopping at the Fond du Lac bike store on the way back, which has a wide selection of bicycles and accessories, to pick up some reflective ankle straps. We met up there with some other event riders and the organizer, Michele Brougher. She showed us the final few miles of the first loop navigating a tricky section.

Riding towards the rising sun

At 4:00 am the following morning we started the first loop. The temperature was comfortable which is a bad sign that the day will get warm. The sun came up shortly after we started and we made good time for a couple of hours until a 15mph headwind sprung up which slowed us down to 12mph or so even on the aerobars (even slower on the climbs).

Many lovely roads

The route was lovely and Wisconsin drivers are very considerate. Almost all of them made full lane changes to get around us. We didn't get honked at even once. There was none of the aggressive driving we have to deal with in California. The roads were quiet, the countryside was green, and Amber and I both agreed this would be some great touring country.

Heading back south in Sturgeon Bay

We headed northeast until the turnaround in Sturgeon Bay, where I took a longer than usual stop to recuperate so I could take advantage of the tailwind which was still blowing. At this point we were an hour behind schedule but I hoped to make it up with the help of the tailwind.

Pleasant riverside trail

Returning southwest we made good time until the tailwind died three hours later. We got a good dose of rain through this section but as it was pretty warm (about 80F) it was pleasant. After the tailwind died we still made decent time but couldn't seem to eat into that deficit.

Once the sun went down both Amber and I started getting sleepy. Because of the flight times, and the time change, and the early start we had both been unable to get more that six hours of sleep for the prior three nights and it was catching up with us and slowing us down. We used GoCubes which work well but only last a couple of hours. As the night wore on, we kept getting further into time deficit. We were in that cycle of sleepiness, slowness, sleepiness.

About 50 miles from the end we picked up Paul, who is a seasoned randonneur. His navigation had packed up so he opted to ride with us. For some reason he never pulled or drafted and just rode 100 yards or so behind us. An extra wheel would have really helped. We got a lot more rain through this section which was cold, but not unpleasant.

Eventually we finished the first loop three hours behind schedule. We set the alarm for 6:30am but when it went off it was obvious that continuing was not safe. We could have tried, and we may have succeeded. The legs felt good, but the brain did not. It was probably a good idea not to continue because I passed out a couple of hours later, from standing up too quickly, and cracked my head on the restroom wall. It's a good thing that didn't happen while riding.

The next day we just slept, getting up in the afternoon and chilling. My neck was screwed up from the fall and I could barely turn it. On Monday we helped out a little bit by placing the last info control sign and did a little sight seeing in Michele's car. Amber did all the driving because I couldn't look over my shoulder. I enjoyed hanging out at the end of the ride and welcoming the riders as they finished. Even though we didn't complete the ride, we still made the best of it and got to see a little of Wisconsin.

Hiking the Wild Goose trail after the ride

The Wild Goose trail would make a great gravel brevet

PPS.
After the riders had left I overheard some of the hotel staff discussing the fact that some of the riders had used hotel towels to clean their bikes. This is not cool. Most hotels keep a supply of worn out towels that are reserved for cleaning equipment and not normally provided to guests. If you ask, they will happily loan you these towels to clean your bikes with so you don't ruin their guest towels.

Night Audax Description

Night Audax 200k

• Ride Type: ACP 200k
• Date: Saturday, September 9th, 2017
• Fee: $25, CIBC members deduct $5. Click here to become CIBC member. Be sure to make out a separate check for CIBC membership.
• Start Time: 19:00  (evening start)
• Registration: 18:30
• Time Limit: 13.5 Hours
• Ride Ends: 08:30 on September 10th
• Route Map (Subject to Revision): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2623805
• Cue sheet (Subject to Revision): (XLS)
• Start: Cynthia Drive, Huntington Beach
• Waiver and Registration
• Registered Riders

This year we will be following the same route as previous years. This is an Audax ride so we ride as a group with the stronger riders taking longer pulls. One designated rider will stay at the back of the group (any volunteers?). If a rider has a flat or a mechanical we all stop until it is fixed. You need lights that can last for ten hours and reflective gear. Please set your tail lights on steady mode. Note that there are no rest rooms at the start of the ride.

We start on Cynthia Drive in Huntington Beach at 7 o'clock in the evening and head inland on the Santa Ana River Trail. We will be riding this section at 18-20 mph because it is flat and we will have a tail wind. The first climb is Green River road over the 91 freeway. We will regroup at the 76 gas station on the far side of the freeway at mile 28.4, but this is not a control. We will ride the next section more slowly.

The next few miles meander through Corona and Norco with gentle climbs until we get to the entrance to the upper river trail at mile 41.4 where we will have to push our bikes under a closed gate. Then we have another 20 miles of bike path to San Bernardino. A mile after the end of the bike path is the only control at the In'n'Out burger at mile 62.2. Everyone reaching the In'n'Out with me will get their food and drinks for free! Have a double-double, fries, and a milk shake on me. I expect to get here by midnight or slightly earlier and stay for about 30-45 minutes.

We return the same way we rode out. By now the wind will have died down and we will return at around 16mph with a light or no headwind. Make a point of enjoying the view north over the Santa Ana valley from River Drive in Norco looking at the lights of Eastvale. We regroup at the Arco in Corona at mile 93.4 just after we ride under the 91 freeway. Again, this is not a control.

We reenter the Santa Ana river trail at mile 97.6 and stay on it all the way to the end of the ride. I expect we will finish at about 5am.

Every year this is a unique and bizarre ride. We have had thunder and lightning on either side of us without getting wet, we have watched impromptu car shows broken up by the police, lone riders wearing ski masks, and much more. This is a great way to beat the summer heat and get some practice for that PBP evening start.

I have a write up of last year's event and also some photographs that Brent took.

Ride Organizer: Terry Hutt (terryhutt1959@hotmail.com)