Tour of the California Coast

Day #5
June 10, 2010
Carpinteria - Newport Beach
133 miles

Not too bright and not too early we were on the road again. Once again we had a 6:30 a.m. breakfast then hit the road.

Even as far south as Capinteria it was chilly in the morning.

The fog didn't last long and then it was a typical California bluebird day.

At some point it was time for a coffee break.

and maybe a croissant  (for me it was a cookie).I think the coffee break was in Port Heuneme south of Ventura and Oxnard. After the coffee we did good work and made it into Malibu lickity split.

I didn't think Malibu would be as nice to ride through as it was. It was awesome.

 We flew and there really wasn't much in the way of traffic and lights.

Riding through Malibu was delightful.Tim and I went to a wedding here two summers ago.

It sure was fun. We had fun reminiscing. Riding is good for that.

We met up with a couple of nice roadies. Bruce befriended them and they advised us where to get lunch. How to get through L.A. as there are multiple options, and most importantly, where to have lunch. Just passed Pepperdine University at the bottom of the hill was a nice shopping complex. We ate at Koogis. The food was great. The ambiance was great, slightly shi shi, but very eclectic. Most important to know is that next store there is a frozen yogurt shop. Unfortunately, I failed to leave room for frozen yogurt. Total travesty. BTW: I don't think life is any to rough for the Pepperdine University students. Just saying.

The roadies also warned us to be careful as it was trash day. Trash cans in the bike lane on a slight downward grade with a tailwind into Santa Monica was how we rolled. I guess that means we were two for three, the positives being the downward grade and the tail wind.

Soon we were at the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica wouldn't be a bad place to finish for the day and hang out in. We wanted to be south of L.A. by the days end so we kept rolling. We thought navigating L.A. would test our nerves and patience. At the Roller coaster we hopped on the bike path. It was crowded and pedestrian-ish. We exited and followed a street that paralleled the boardwalk. It was totally fine, comparable to riding D street in Encinitas. Soon we were at the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica wouldn't be a bad place to finish for the day and hang out in.

A few blocks later the good street ended and we had to go onto a busy street with lots of stop lights. We dropped back down to the boardwalk and hopped on a Venice Beach. I am certain we got a few stares since we were all spandex ed up and stuff.

Bruce usually rolls very cautiously on bike paths, being very respectful of pedestrians. This time it was lead foot down on the accelerator. It was funny to see but I had a hard time snapping pictures while riding and keeping up. Then it was back to a busy road for jut a bit then onto another bike path and a leisurely ride through Marina Del Rey

And then it was more bike path all the way to Manhattan Beach. Of note the bike path actually weaves through a parking structure in Redondo Beach. It was actually really efficient. Bike paths are usually slow but we weren't real speed demons on these long days and any time we could roll was better than sitting at a stop light.

Strangely after the first day of riding I couldn't ride for more than an hour without having to stop to pee. I have several theories on this my mad scientist thought is that after the first day (139.8 miles) of bouncing along with fluid in the bladder the bladder got a bit contused or something.

I am very proud of how my bike photography skills progressed this trip.

We chose to avoid Torrance and Carson by riding over Palos Verdes Estates. I enjoyed this section of the ride very much. It was beautiful and fun to go up and down after the last bit of flat bike path.

Getting into to Long Beach was a bit of this for a few miles.

I think the sand is marking the bike path. We utilized the sidewalk here.

Memories of Long Beach.

and then we reached the bike path.

Beautiful pavement. I could have kissed it.

Finally, we entered the good part of Long Beach

with a view of the Queen Mary

Touristy but safe!

There was a boat to Catalina Island leaving.

We pontificated taking the ferry to Catalina Island and extending our trip.

alas we rolled on

So long to Long Beach.

We kept rolling.

We rolled past Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, and called it a night in New Port Beach.