In this post: Bicycling, Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Seal Beach, Newport Beach, La Palapa Del Mar, The Crab Pot, River's End Cafe, Sandy's Beach Grill, Rockin' Baja Lobster, Billy's At The Beach, Jax Bicycle Center, Trek Bicycles
This 50 mile round-trip bike ride, which connects three of Southern California's beach bike paths via some street riding, isn't a good ride if you're in a hurry. For one thing, there aren't nearly as many restaurant/bar/cafes right on the beach in SoCal as you might think and this route takes you right past three good'uns.
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| Winter wetsuits are de rigueur for the holidays in SoCal |
The other slow-down is, whenever you're riding on a bike path that is right on the beach, chances are you'll be slowing down from time-to-time to slalom through beach goers crossing the path, pedestrians strolling obliviously on the bike path, dog-walkers, runners, power-walkers, roller-bladders, roller-skaters, skateboarders and people on all sorts of oddball, human-powered, trendy conveyances. You might even be required to walk your bike in really congested areas. If your okay with all that, this is a unique urban ride; if not, you can speed things up by taking PCH through Seal Beach, Sunset Beach & Huntington Beach.
Today, five of us started riding in Long Beach, near the Queen Mary, followed the 2nd Street and PCH route to the Huntington Pier and took a break at Sandy's Beach Grill. This was the maiden voyage for Kathy's new Trek road bike; a gift from A.R. which the two of them picked out at Jax Bicycle Center in Long Beach yesterday.
That makes three of us in today's group riding Treks from Jax. Kathy and A.R. are riding road bikes - 2 Series and Madone respectively - and I am riding a hybrid FX7.6, which is basically a road bike with straight handle bars (instead of the swoop down type), which give me a more upright riding position. I'm not sure any of us are actually worthy of such nice bikes, but we're subscribing to the theory that we'll ride more if we have really nice bikes to ride.
Up until now, Kathy has been riding a mountain bike on all of our road rides. It was a very cool, high-end mountain bike, but today she immediately saw the advantages of her new road bike, fell in love and proclaimed bicycling as her new fitness passion.
The advantage of a nice road bike is, you go faster for the same amount of effort, which means you can ride further and last longer in the saddle. For those of us over 50, a big part of getting in shape and staying fit comes down to how much time we spend being active and staying motivated. A nice road bike can help accomplish both goals.
Gear Review: Another new product we tested today was a one-time-use bike lock. Here's how it works: you unlock your bike lock before leaving home and leave the key behind. When you get where you're going, you lock up your bikes as usual. When you're ready to resume your ride, you simply call the bike shop where you bought a new bike the day before, get them to graciously send someone to cut the lock off your bikes, throw the lock away and your on your way.
The bottom line: I dunno 'bout one-time-use locks. The only plus I could see was people who use them seem inclined to buy drinks for their friends.
Polar Fitness Stats |
| Kathy & A.R. on Treks |
That makes three of us in today's group riding Treks from Jax. Kathy and A.R. are riding road bikes - 2 Series and Madone respectively - and I am riding a hybrid FX7.6, which is basically a road bike with straight handle bars (instead of the swoop down type), which give me a more upright riding position. I'm not sure any of us are actually worthy of such nice bikes, but we're subscribing to the theory that we'll ride more if we have really nice bikes to ride.
Up until now, Kathy has been riding a mountain bike on all of our road rides. It was a very cool, high-end mountain bike, but today she immediately saw the advantages of her new road bike, fell in love and proclaimed bicycling as her new fitness passion.
The advantage of a nice road bike is, you go faster for the same amount of effort, which means you can ride further and last longer in the saddle. For those of us over 50, a big part of getting in shape and staying fit comes down to how much time we spend being active and staying motivated. A nice road bike can help accomplish both goals.
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| The crew testing the one-time-use lock at Sandy's |
The bottom line: I dunno 'bout one-time-use locks. The only plus I could see was people who use them seem inclined to buy drinks for their friends.
Group: 2 women, 3 men
Ages: 50 - 64
Activity: Bicycling (Rainbow Harbor to Huntington Beach Pier & back)
Time (moving): 2 hrs 18 min
Distance: 30 miles round trip
Elevation: 10' - 40'
Calories: 1,162 - 1,958 (average 1,443)
Average Heart Rate: 114 - 144 (average 127)
Max Heart Rate: 153 - 172 (average 161)
Comments: There are fewer people on the beach bike paths on cool/cold days and in the morning vs. afternoon. Afternoon northwest winds are common on this route.
Challenge: 1) Ride the whole 50 mile route. 2) Don't bump into anyone on the bike path.
Dec 12, 2010 - Update
WE DID IT! We rode the whole 50 miles!
For the whole story go to: First 50-Mile Bike Ride!
Dec 12, 2010 - Update
WE DID IT! We rode the whole 50 miles!
For the whole story go to: First 50-Mile Bike Ride!
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| When we got to Newport, we decided to take the ferry across the bay & ride to Billy's At The Beach for lunch. |
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| Back in Long Beach, we celebrated our first 50 mile ride at La Palapa del Mar |
We're attempting to do the whole 50 mile today. Hope we make it. If we do it will be our longest ride ever.
ReplyDeleteWe made it! Our first 50 mile ride! We started in Long Beach at 9:30am & pretty much made a day of it. We ate a lite lunch in Newport at Billy's At The Beach, celebrated making it to the goal line at La Palapa del Mar (Long Beach) and finished up the ride just after sunset. Actual riding time was a little over 4 hours.
ReplyDeleteYes We did!!! What a fantastic, fun and memorable day. It will always be one of my FAVS!
ReplyDeleteSo, with sore butt, I am back in the office today, (sock or no sock:) reflecting on all of the fun we had and HOW MUCH FUN staying fit has become! I have always been an exercise enthusiast, doing the ususal trudgery of lifting weights, jogging on the treadmilll or elyptical, over and over again until it became such a drudgery that inevitably I quite. I would then take time off, only to gain some weight, then would hit that drudgery again. I've always heard experts saying, "mix it up", "go hiking, biking, swimming etc", but never felt those options as 'true workouts', because...working out had to be miserable, Right? Was I EVER wrong! With my new found love and appreciation that 'fitness is fun', I hope to never look back and I look forward to all of the fun fitness to come!
Hey guys, looking forward to our first centurion ride, to "bagging those peaks", (Alan), our wonderful runs, (where we discovering something new everytime) and to all the other fun fitness we discover along the way!
To staying fit the fun way!
Kathy