Pacific Tire Dip

We dipped our rear wheels in the pacific today and then biked about 20 miles up the coast along Highway 101. Tomorrow when we leave San Diego we are actually driving about 10 miles south of the city due to traffic/safety issues, so we made the cross country part official today.  Thought this was such a great shot I wanted to get it uploaded right away, Ill put more pictures up soon!

Shortly after the group shot we got attacked by a wave.

The 3 bulls.

Our backyard for the week.

La Jolla Cove

The views on our ride up the 101

Super sexy time.

Avocado

I had avocado on my sandwich the other night at Whole Foods, I’ve never even tried avocado before but it seemed like a good idea at the time.  I think new experiences are going to be the theme for this trip, often it takes leaving ones comfort zone to discover something new and great.  I know trying avocado is a lame example of this but I guess you have to start somewhere right?  Probably a better example would be my new friend Sam.  I often form preconceived opinions about people way too quickly; it’s one of my many faults, so when I saw the kid with the skinny jeans, tattoos and gauged earrings I automatically assumed there was no way we would spend any time getting to know one another.  But much like trying that avocado I’m glad I have.  Sam is a great cyclist; he’s on a pro team in Louisville so he has been a great measure of just how far I have to go in my cycling endeavors. So far the past few days my good friend Pete and I have latched on to his rear wheel and let him pull us up and down hills, valleys and along the California coast.  Its funny how once you get on the bike and start pedaling all those preconceived opinions quickly disappear, especially when you are within inches of each others tires plunging downhill at 45 miles per hour.  Riding with Sam continually drives me to push harder on my bike, and I look forward to riding in his peloton all across the country.  Tomorrow we leave on this great journey and I look forward to continually discovering new and exciting things/places/people all along the way.  No Chain!

Me and Sam.

San Diego or Bust!

Our Whip.

We made it to California! After 36 hours of driving a cargo van  absolutely packed with gear and bikes me and my co-pilot Pete headed directly for the beaches of La Jolla.  We drove straight through, 2,300 miles, only stopping for gas exchanging passenger for riders role each time....A real road trip!

We're all staying at the Shiley Medical Plaza part of the campus of UCSD on a floor where a physical therapy clinic used to be, its just a large empty room now which is perfect for 23 riders to throw down our "beds", park our bikes, and prepare for our ride.  Our backyard is made up of the world famous Torrey Pines golf course and the ocean so its hard to complain about the set up.

So far we've doing a lot of orientation stuff and getting to know the other national riders.  Pete and I got out for our first training ride this morning, we headed straight down the coast from La Jolla towards downtown San Diego.  Beautiful scenery but definitely some major hills to contend with along the way.  Can't wait for the first real day of riding on Thursday.  Ill post pictures as soon as I get an internet connection that doesn't block them. No Chain!

36 hours of endless highway.

Border Patrol stops are interesting in a cargo van packed with stuff

My co-pilot at the end of a lot of driving.

Spring Fever

The last few days I've had the opportunity to bike outdoors, its a really great change of pace from the monotonous hours spent on my trainer in Paul and mines living room.  I've put close to 200 miles on my bike since Monday cruising around the back roads outside of Columbus.  You think you are working hard on the trainer until you hit that first hill after a couple of hours with a little breeze in your face, definitely made me a little bit nervous about hitting the road  for real in about 2 weeks time but I'm sure everyone will be hurting a little bit that first week.  Also I've started packing, which is quite an endeavor when you have to plan for 2 months time, we'll ride in every kind of weather imaginable so being prepared is a must.  Besides clothing, we also are responsible for brining along a lot of supplies I never thought I would own including sleeping bags, sleeping pads, quick drying towels, head lamps, etc...overall though I can't wait to get to San Diego! All the preparing and training will be completely worth it once we hit the road. No Chain!