INDOORS ON A SUNNY DAY

Living in Southern California can be challenging at times, longing for a rainy day so we have an excuse to be lazy and lay around the house all day. Once in a while you have to give in and lounge about the homestead, despite the sunny blue skies and 70 degree breezes. Monday wasn't exactly a lazy day... we got out for a road ride Monday morning then ran to a couple different places which got us home around 5pm. Since then it's been sofa city! Ahhhhh.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

I never make a trip to one of my favorite lunch-time destinations without thinking of my dad, a fellow Panera Bread fan. I know it's the food that I like because it ain't no bargain.

DESCENDING MT PINOS

What goes up, must come down... thank goodness! After nine miles of climbing up the Mt Pinos trail Sunday afternoon, we had nine miles of glorious downhill singletrack ahead of us. Join us for the ride by clicking HERE.

CLIMBING MT PINOS

Sunday Donna and I got out for a ride at Mt Pinos. Climbing, as slow as we do, doesn't really lend itself to video... It can be like watching paint dry. So I took the time lapse photography approach, in order to speed up the climb. The video of the downhill will come later.

RELAXATION

Saturday after work it was back to the house to prepare for Sunday's
ride at Mt Pinos. Chains lubed.. Air pressure in shocks and tires...
Gu & Cliff Bloks packed.. Helmets, gloves, sunglasses, shoes in the
car.. Am I forgetting anything? Oh.. The flat kit! After all that I
sat on the back patio and watched the daylight fade away.

DINNER WITH DONNA

Trying out a time-lapse photo app for the iPhone. Donna, though suspicious, didn't know the phone was taking pictures of her.

TIME LAPSE BOREDOM

I needed a break from the office yesterday so I spent a little time sipping on a decaf latte at Starbuck's. Given the spare time, I had to 'create' something and here's what I came up with... a very short time-lapse video clip.

AHHHH, WORK

Working every Saturday can be a drag but I love how quiet it is and
how much I can get done due to lack if distractions. Plus, then I get
Sundays and Mondays off with Donna!

WATCHING THE DOLPHINS

Well this was one of those times I wished I had more than my cell
phone camera with me. After work on Friday I took a short drive over
to the coast to unwind and spotted about a dozen dolphins who appeared
to be rather playful. While they were up close, I knew they still were
too far away to get a decent photo so I didn't bother. Once they got a
little further away, I figured what the heck.

MONDAY IS FUNDAY

This has been a great day so far and it's only 3:30. We got out for a
ride at Sycamore Canyon then returned to the car where picnic goodies,
a blanket, two chairs and a beach awaited us. The weather is perfect,
sitting half in the shade and half in the sun. We've really got it
made, living in Southern California!

SUNDAY RIDE IN SIMI

Sunday we ran out to Simi Valley to ride Hummingbird Trail. Of course the climb to the top was the longest part of the ride but we had a blast. This trail really pushes my technical skills - it feels good to do that now and then - but this camera truly does not do it justice. This trail is about as nasty as I'll go. Donna pushed herself through the entire ride with a pain in her back that she's been dealing with for a few days now. Click HERE to see the video.

EDITING FROM THE iPHONE

Ain't technology grand. Long gone are the days that I have to sit down at a desk, or even in front of the laptop at the coffee shop, in order to edit photos coming in from photographers. Thanks to a $5 app for the iPhone I'm editing photos from wherever I'm at on my iPhone.

SATURDAY ROAD RIDE

We got out for a short ride Saturday morning before we had to go to work. It was the first time I took the helmet camera on a road ride and discovered it's a lot easier to shoot while riding road than mountain bikes. Click HERE to check out the video.

DONNA'S FIRST TOMATO

After months of anticipation, Donna's back yard friend finally
produced a tomato. Of course it took $5 worth of water over the past
few months to get here so I'm hoping it tastes REALLY good. We'll have
to share it I'm sure... I can't imagine eating that whole thing by
myself, in one sitting.

MY FIRST HELMET CAM VIDEO

(click HERE to see the video)

After debating the purchase of a GoPro helmet camera for ages, I finally broke down and bought one. Nothing seems to be ideal for shooting video of our outdoor activities, but this thing rocks! It's waterproof, drop proof and has a really wide-angle lens. My maiden voyage with the camera yielded decent results, though I'm already getting better with it. Donna and I headed out to Agoura Hills for a mix of singletrack and fire roads.

BIKING ROCKS

(VIDEO LINK: CLICK HERE... NOT ON THE PHOTO)

I'm really enjoying my new helmet camera. This is the second video I've created with it and already I'm learning a lot about it. This was from a Thursday night ride with Bruce - we got out after work and managed to squeeze in 20 miles before we ran out of light (and energy). With the exception of the swarms of gnats, we had a great time.

TOGETHERNESS

Wednesday I was supposed to get out for a ride after work.
Unfortunately things went bad at about 5:15 which delayed me from
getting out of the office until roughly 7:15 - too late to still het
in a ride. The good news was that it provided to opportunity to run
out for a cup of coffee with Donna before heading home for dinner.

SUNDAY IN SANTA MONICA

Sunday (yes, I'm catching up) Donna and I went to Santa Monica for the day to meet up with an old friend of Donna's, who she hasn't seen in probably ten years. Although our plans were just to meet for lunch, Donna and I decided to make a day of it and even took a ride on the ferris wheel - very overpriced but also very romantic. It also turned out to be a great day for people watching.

STILLS FROM SANTA MONICA

The video from Santa Monica pretty much says it all, but here's a few
photos as well.

SOLO SATURDAY SINGLETRACK

Donna and I normally get out for a ride together Saturday mornings, but since Donna was making a short trip to the dentist thanks to a faulty temporary cap, I hit the trails by myself... well, sort of. In Donna's absence, the camera always serves as a great distraction, so I don't realize how much my legs hurt or how badly I'm sucking wind. All in all it was a great ride, though I got a lot of weird looks from people who couldn't figure out why I had a camera on my head.

THIS IS ONLY A TEST...

A VICTORIOUS RACE DAY

Sunday marked the second race of Donna's soon-to-be-professional career - at least that's what I'm hoping because then I could work full time as race support and a bike mechanic. We were anticipating gloomy weather but instead ended up with sunny skies and perfect temps for racing. The worst part of the race was before it even started... Donna went out on the course to get warmed up while I waited at the start/finish line. First call for beginner women was announced. Then came the second call, but no Donna. The final call was announced and still, Donna was nowhere to be seen. About three minutes before the start of the race she came rolling up. I was far more freaked out than she was - she felt great, having had the chance to get warmed up by riding the course one full lap. One hour and five minutes later, Donna was rolling across the finish line in first place. She looked great on the podium!

THE USUAL... THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE

Bruce, my usual Thursday riding partner, was busy with the Lakers game Thursday night so I ventured out on my own. I couldn't decide what to ride so I tried something new... something I had never seen before. So off I went. The first part was great. The climbing wasn't nearly as tough as I thought it would be. The scenery was great. I was having a great time then I hit the dreaded sign - 'no trespassing.' Long story short, I ended up riding the streets and sidewalks and Thousand Oaks, trying to get back into the park somehow. I finally figured out where I was and I new the shortest way back to the car would take me through some deep creek crossings. Given the light was diminishing fast I knew I had to get back so I headed for the creek crossings. With soaking feet I got back to the car and called it a night.

"THE" RIDE... THE CONCLUSION

Eventually we made it to the top, 4,000 feet above where we started our ride. I thought having all the downhill ahead of me would be the best part of the ride, but really, the best part of the ride was the sense of accomplishment I got from it all. Five-and-a-half hours after starting the ride, we were pulling up to the car. Whew!

"THE" RIDE, PART IV

Climb, climb, climb. The climbing of today's ride seemed it would never come to an end. The closer we got the top, the more the dramatic the sky became. The sceneery was absolutely breathtaking and made the hours of climbing all worth the effort.