Camping Time!

Well, my so-called "training" has entered a new phase. Gone are the days of riding all over town eating at gas-stations and convenience stores. Granted, those are important skills to develop. But now, I am now riding out of town, laying down a bed roll, then riding home the next day. The Periodization crowd would say I have left Around-II and entered Out-I. I still do my cheap-carbohydrate drills. But new exercises--like falling over exhausted and landing on  a thermarest--are finding a place in my highly-regimented training schedule.

It was perfect timing when I met this fellow below. Milton is actually in his Keep-II phase. Each day, when he wakes up, he keeps going in the same direction as yesterday. Despite the fact that Milton is further along in his training than I, he took the time to spot me with my bedroll training. In the picture, you can see him towing a small house, in case my bedroll fails.

This guy had a trailer...

Although Milton had a road ride planned (and a road bike to do it on), it turns out that it is legal to ride a mountainbike on the road. The converse is not always true. Riding a road bike on the trails may result in a citation for "cyclocross."

This guy had several small trailers
attached to various parts of his bike...

So, Milton, Mr Two-Handlebar-Bags-Two-Seat-Bags, and myself, all headed out of town. As you can see in the photo above, it was a beautiful sunny day. So we headed to the coast to get out of all that beautiful sun.

We swung by the beach...

Once we hit the Pacific Ocean, we turned right. I guess that means we were heading north.

There was fine dining al fresco...

Dinner was at 5pm in a parking lot. We had pulled over primarily to switch the trailer. Milton was a stud, to be sure, but we all took a turn pulling. I mean why should he get all the fun. And by "fun" I mean that stretch of PCH north approaching Pepperdine University. 

It got dark, so we had to camp...

After eating at the first sign of food in Oxnard, we packed up some pan dulce for the road and for the morning, and looked for a spot to become supine.

Team "Robbin' Bank"

In the morning, I handed off the team colors to Josh and set off on a southerly heading.

Polaris, but no Cavendish...

I got to see some of the sights we had missed in the dark. For example, there is a Missile Park at Pt Mugu.

I think this one is called "Ficke"

I think the scene below looks nice, but if you've ever ridden there, you probably see nothing but a headwind. I think I preferred Pepperdine Hill. Going south was fun, however. I don't often get to coast uphill!

Much nicer in the light of day!

Superman Dirt

Somehow or other, they just had a cross-country race at Bonelli. Only two days earlier, I went to Bonelli after the rain to check out the Superman Dirt. If you've never been to Bonelli after a rain, I am not talking about that sweet tacky moist dirt that makes you an invincible downhill pro. I'm talking about that clay that bonds to your tires in such a way that even Superman would need to eat his Wheaties before trying to pry it off.

Sure enough, after a few miles, my tires had transformed from 2.2 inchers to 3.0 inch earthenware monstrosities. I took no photos on the ride, but perhaps this photo can give you an idea. My tires looked at least this ridiculous:

In case you aren't familiar with north-eastern Los Angeles County riding, the photo above was taken near Marshall Canyon. Next time it rains, head there rather than Bonelli...