40 mile bike ride

40 mile bike ride today.

yeah!

only 3rd time on a bike since IMAZ last April.

yeah!

long and slow.

yeah!

no problems. no worries. nobody to ride with, other than 1 other rider. but no big deal.

we took the usual team bike route from the USC campus to the Ballona Creek Path and on to Marina Del Rey. from there were rode down the boardwalk to the Redondo (or is it Hermosa?) Beach Pier--the one that has Sharkey's on it.

i don't particularly like this route. it goes through some gang-infested territory in South Central, and the Ballona Creek Path has gotten some notoriety recently as a place where robbers hang out and hold up cyclists going by. and the boardwalk, while definitely winding through nicer areas, is full of sand that clogs gears and brakes and wheels, is sometimes washed out by large surf, and is frequented by heavy pedestrian traffic (especially once you head south of the pier).

for all that, it does have its advantages. it's relatively flat (meaning easy). there's very little time on the road (meaning less danger of car accidents). the bike route is relatively decent quality (no potholes or flat-tire-inducing trash). and on warm, clear days, it takes you past beaches full of AMAZING eye candy.

i treated this as an aerobic ride. didn't ride any faster than 18 miles an hour the entire time. we covered 42 miles, but factoring in the stoplights, stop signs, and bathroom breaks, it took us around 3:30.

it was pleasant more than anything else. just checking on things and making sure my legs weren't shot. and to start that capillary development that coaches and athletic medicine says is a crucial benefit of aerobic workouts--and the critical component in developing base.

i'll be riding a whole lot farther and longer here soon.