I have been the proud owner of a bike for almost three weeks now. I hadn't owned a bike since I moved out here, when I ditched my old one because I was so afraid of the traffic. Lately, though, I've been going to a spinning class at the gym. It has me totally hooked, so I convinced Josh that we needed bikes. He unearthed his beloved bike from his parents' basement when we were in Anchorage in July, and I found a great one on Craig's List. We've been hitting REI almost weekly for gear (and I definitely need to go back and get some shorts with padding, I've found). Good thing they have a 10% annual rebate on all of your purchases. :)
Two days ago, Josh and I got a bike rack for the car, and today we tested it out on the San Gabriel River Bike Trail. The Kokosing Gap Trail, it ain't, but it had some nice scenery. Next time I will take my camera to get some shots of the mountains. They were particularly lovely today. We've decided that we want to get into good enough shape that we can take the trail all the way to the beach and back--more than 70 miles round trip. I am nowhere near that point right now (today's 25 will leave me pretty sore), but maybe I can get there if I crank up the resistance in my spinning classes and spend some more time outside on my real bike.
One of the best parts of the trip was the barbecue place we found near the trail head. It was FANTASTIC, especially for hungry biker tummies. It was some of the best barbecue I've ever had, and that in spite of the fact that they'd run out of pulled pork (my favorite) by the time we got there. Even with all of the good restaurants in Southern California, good barbecue is hard to come by. This place makes up for all of the bad barbecue joints in the area.
Posted by waltondammerung at August 19, 2006 9:57 PMThat's it now! My daughter is now a biker! Can't wait for the tatoos, chains and leather coats!
Posted by: Dad at August 20, 2006 9:41 AMJust looked at the SanGabriel River bike trail link and thought that the only gang activity we might see on the Kokosing Gap Trail is some overzealous chipmunks pestering some deer. Somewhow a wall of compacted trash doesn't enhance my view of enjoying a ride in nature either.
Posted by: Dad at August 20, 2006 9:47 AMHurrah for the padded shorts (or the raw-beefsteak-down-the-pants, if you have French inclinations)! But a word of warning: if possible, try to get the shorts with the anti-bacterial padding (or pads that can be removed and sprayed with disinfectant). The pants with the absorbent padding are more comfortable than the gel on hot days, but they also serve as bacteria traps, and female cyclists (especially new ones) easily pick up cases of unmentionable-itis from them after long hours in the saddle. Saint's presarv us, I've seen three cases of it already this month. Just a friendly Hillsdale warning.... And Happy Trails to you!
Posted by: Kappy at August 20, 2006 12:28 PMThanks for the advice, Steve! I definitely wouldn't have known to get the best kind of shorts without your advice. :)
Posted by: Amy at August 20, 2006 9:10 PMHey, nothin but the best fer ya! (sorry, didn't mean to turn your blog into a female hygiene advice column--don't know what overcame me)
Posted by: Kappy at August 20, 2006 9:19 PMKappy- what about the fertility warning for male cyclists! We want little Pookums juniors running around, don't we??
BTW tell me more about the spinning class. I might be interested... I am getting tubby these days. Living in the 'burbs makes us fat.
Posted by: Sarah (Mrs. Irani) at August 29, 2006 8:12 AM