I Adopted the southbound I-5 Freeway…allow me to explain.

The Butterfield Double Century will be held on Saturday Feb 16, 2008. Although I don’t have an official route sheet yet I have an idea which roads the route will take. I still don’t understand why Planet Ultra doesn’t provide route sheets prior to the event… seems silly to me. From the Planet Ultra Butterfield website,

“From Dana Point you’ll be on the coast through San Clemente, and along the bike path through San Onofre, all the way to Oceanside.”

I am assuming we are taking the I-5 freeway to get from San Onofre to Oceanside. I commute a couple of times a week from Huntington Beach to Encinitas. On my commute I take the I-5 freeway southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening. This morning I decided to take note of the condition of the shoulder and the debris strewn on the road.

Generally speaking, the shoulder was clear as of 6:30 this morning. There are scattered rocks, no bigger than an average sized plum. Between mile marker 56.5 and 56.0 (bridge) there was a lot of blown tire tread that I moved from the center of the shoulder to the right-most edge.

The two most significant issues with the southbound shoulder are:

1. Just as you approach the last roller and see the sign indicating: Harbor Blvd 3/4 miles (I can’t remember the mileage). There appears to be remnents of a car fire. There is glass, and burnt remains of car parts that are raised above the surface and centered in the shoulder. If you are riding solo no problem but beware if you are in a paceline. I removed most of the big pieces of blown tire tread in this section as well.

2. There is a storm drain on the exit ramp. It is closer to the white line on the left side of the shoulder but it does take a good portion of the shoulder. There are orange arrows painted on the ground that should warn you of impending danger. The drain is sunk in about 8″ below the surface of the road. Once again you will see it if you are riding solo but beware if you are in a paceline.

As many of you know I commute to work about three times a week. My commute is 65 miles each way along the beautiful southern California coastline from Huntington Beach to Encinitas. I leave my home in Huntington Beach at 4am to get to work by 8am. I work a full 8hr shift and then commute home to Huntington Beach at 4pm and get home by 8ish pm. The headwinds going North usually add 15-20 mins.

On my commute today I met Louis. And who is Louis? Well every morning as I enter Newport Beach, just South of Huntington Beach, I see the trail of the street sweeping machine. Different parts of town are done on different days and I am always “chasing” the street sweeper. I feel so privileged to be the first cyclist to ride on a freshly swept road. I just want to catch the sweeper and say Thank you.

So….today I “caught” the sweeper. I pulled over and motioned to the driver that I wanted to talk to him. I couldn’t believe how noisy the machine was but Louis was kind enough to shut the different systems down. I introduced myself and we chatted for a minute and I thanked him because I’m quite sure no one thanks him. Here he is sweeping the streets for us cyclists (I know, I know it’s not just for us but let me fantasize) and he does it in the middle of the night and we never see him. He’s out there pre-dawn making Newport Beach a clean and road hazard free zone.

Next time you are out on a ride and are suprised you don’t see any road hazards think of Louis…I will!

So the last week has been interesting. I have felt like a fish out of water. Rushing to take a train…..is this really me?

I wanted to ride fewer miles on the days leading up to the San Diego Brevet Series 300km. I took the Metrolink one day from Irvine to Oceanside round trip. I rode my bike from Oceanside to Encinitas in the morning and back to Oceanside in the afternoon. Today I took the Amtrak from Irvine to Solana Beach. It was a nice relaxing ride on the train but getting to the train was nerve-racking. I kept thinking if I missed the train then I would have to ride my bike home. Isn’t it funny how I was commuting the whole way on the bike the week before but this week I was fearing the ride? It’s just one of those things where when your mind is expecting one thing it is a shock to the body and mind to do something else.

On the first day of my train commuting, I walked up to the platform carrying my bike and immediately a gentleman approached me. We started talking about the bike, riding and different events. I told him I was doing a brevet and he was familiar with them.

SO I asked, “How do you know about brevets?”

He replied “I tried PBP once has really bad knee problems and didn’t finish.”

What a small world. There were three people on the platform and two of us were Ultra Cyclists.

With the New Year’s holiday approaching I decided to get three days of consecutive riding. Actually, credit should go to my girlfriend, Brandy, the best girlfriend ever, for coming up with the schedule. Here was my plan–my commute home Monday 65 miles, the New Years Ride 100 miles and the commute back to work on Wed am of 65 miles. Then I would recover before my first event of the year, the San Diego Brevet Series 200km. The 200km is about 125 miles unsupported through some of San Diego North County’s back country roads.

On Monday afternoon I left my car at work in Encinitas and rode home 65 miles to Huntington Beach. As I was entering Newport beach I noticed the number 1 bus traveling northbound alongside me. I looked up and noticed it’s serial number and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The number was “5309”. Does anyone remember that song “867-5309”? Well I couldn’t get it out of my head for the next 15 miles. Urg!!! And now I would like to share the misery with you!

I believe a little background into my commute is necessary to set the “scene” for those readers that are new to my blog. I have recently taken residence in Huntington Beach. I do a one way commute on my bike on Tuesday evening Nortbound, Wednesday morning Southbound, Thursday evening Northbound and Friday morning Southbound. Every other Friday I will do both South and North bound commutes. The reason for the one way commutes is I have my son on Monday, Wed nights and every other weekend.

The commute is 65 miles and about 1.5 hours of the morning commute is in the dark and about 3 hours of the evening commute is in the dark. Northbound commute avgs 3.5 hours to 4 hours depending on headwinds and traffic– it IS during rush hours. And Southbound is between 3.5 hours to 3 hours and 45 mins. As you can see riding at night and predawn can lead to some interesting stories.

Soooo this morning I am 2.5 miles into my commute and it is approx. 5:15 am and I see another cyclist. We go through the same intersection and I pass him as we turn left onto PCH. We later come up to the same stoplight and I ask:

Me: “Mornin’ where you headed?”
Joel: “That way” (as he points South with his right arm and then sprints off)

So I think what a jerk and go back to doing my own thing. I had specific goals for my training today and figured I’m not going to chase him I’ve got my own thing to do.

But he sat up and slowed down and there he is again.

Me: “So where you headed?”
Joel: “McArthur” (I didn’t hear him until the third time I asked)

At this point I noticed he seemed agitated almost angry so I said:

Me: “Dude… lighten up it’s a beautiful morning and we’re on our bikes”
Joel: “F’ off (and some other stuff not safe for children reading this blog)

So I wonder what set him off. Why would another rider who apparently has the same degree of motivation as me act so obtuse (Shawshank Redemption). Let’s see how many things we had in common:

1. We are cyclists
2. It was predawn and we were on our bikes
3. We both went to bed last night looking forward to riding before work.
4. We both must be pretty serious about our training to be out predawn
5. We both must have really busy schedule with family and work

just to name a few of our similarities. So where did it go wrong? Maybe it wasn’t wise of me to try to make a friend and I should have just put my headphones on and let him approach me if it was meant to be.

I thought I would begin a series of posts where I talk about my commute not from a “I rode 65 miles with an Avg speed ….blah blah blah”. No it would be more of a reflection on the day’s/night’s events. I will focus on things like the people I meet the things I see and yes I might even include the motorists that do stupid things.