Day 1: San Francisco to Vallejo

Posted on June 2, 2013 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:
We started our day with a group picture, all wearing our new jerseys. Eighteen riders left together at 7:00 and rode in a group for the first several miles before going off at our own paces. The temperature started out around 50, and a steep one mile hill warmed us up early as we traveled west to reach the Pacific ocean. Once near the shore, the temp dropped to 45 and a thick fog made it quite chilly. We stopped briefly to document our departure from this coastline. Then turning away from the shore, we climbed the hilly San Francisco streets and worked our way up to the Golden Gate bridge. It’s a magnificent site and we were lucky to have a beautiful clear sky this morning for a clear view of the bridge and bay. Apparently, the west side of the bridge was open only to bikers. Traffic was light which made it very easy to cycle across and also stop for pictures. On the north end of the bridge we rode through the beautiful town of Sausalito. I made a stop at the Renovo Bike showroom. They make awesome looking wooden bikes, and it was a nice treat to see them on the first day of this cycling adventure. The remainder of the day had very comfortable weather.

Our cue sheet had four pages of instructions today, requiring a lot of navigation. This slowed down our normal average speed a little. Plus some of us did bonus miles by overshooting a few turns. Much of the middle of the ride was through small towns without any notable scenery. The last 20 miles or so skirted the north side of San Pablo Bay. A strong cross wind came off the bay which added a lot more work to our travel. We were on highway 37 which had a lot of fast traffic and a messy shoulder. It wasn’t too pleasant, but there were some nice views of farm and ranch land.

I rode part of the day with Ken and my roommate Bud, and with Andy, or alone. Generally, we were far ahead of the rest of the group. I was the third person to reach the hotel today. I guess my training paid off. I’m ready to do it again tomorrow.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Posted in 2013 Cross Country Bike Trip, Biking, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Day 0: San Francisco

Posted on June 1, 2013 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:
I arrived in Burlingame, south of San Francisco, in the wee hours Friday morning. Later that afternoon I went through registration with the crew, reassembled my bike and organized my gear. About half the riders had arrived and the remaining came in today. There are only 13 people who will be riding all the way from California to Maine. Several others are signed up for smaller sections, so at most we will have 18 riders on any given day. There is a crew of four providing support.

I took a short ride this morning to make sure everything was working properly. A father-son team, Tom and Tommy, from Colorado joined me. We rode the Bayshore Path along the southwest shore of San Francisco Bay down to the San Mateo Bridge. The round trip was an easy 15 miles. It was a beautiful calm morning with a bright blue sky and comfortable temperature, and we enjoyed the sites along the way.

In the afternoon the entire group met for orientation and an overview of tomorrow’s route. Then it was off to a Mexican dinner. My roommate, Bud, arrived today. A very cool guy and very experienced rider.

Our message board highlights tomorrow’s schedule. Breakfast at 5:00 am, load the luggage truck at 6:30 am, start riding at 7:00. Now that’s my kind of vacation!message board

Pictures Of The Day:

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Foul Weather Hill Training

Posted on May 25, 2013 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:
The best weather we had today was 45 degrees, raining and high winds. So what’s a biker to do? Get out and ride, of course! I did my short, hilly training ride close to home, hoping to build up some strength for the climb over the Sierra Nevada range about ten days from now. I will be in California very soon and I am really looking forward to some warm, sunny weather!

Statistics:
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Highland Training Ride

Posted on May 17, 2013 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:
I rode 53 miles today with about 2300 feet of climbing. My injury seems to be healing, although I don’t know why I rode slower today and yesterday. My route was a very scenic, traveling over the Hudson River on the Walkway, and through the countryside of Highland and New Paltz. A chilly 55 degrees at the start, but it warmed up to 70 by the time I finished.
Pictures Of The Day:

(John Aylward) (John Aylward) (John Aylward)

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Training Ride

Posted on May 12, 2013 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:
Today I rode about 70 miles. Most of the route was on a flat rail trail and gentle country roads. There was one long, but gradual climb. I tried out my Canon G15 along the way.
Pictures Of The Day:

(John Aylward) (John Aylward)

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Rail Trail and Flat Roads Map

Posted on January 25, 2013 by John Aylward

Rail Trail and Flat Road:

Here is a Garmin route covering the rail trails both east and west of the Walkway Over The Hudson, and some nice flat country roads extending off the rail trails.  You can start and end almost anywhere along this route, and make as short or long a loop, or out-and-back, as you want.

Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Detail’ to view more information at Garmin Connect.  In Garmin Connect, you can view full screen and zoom into the details of the roads and intersections.

 

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Walkway in Fall

Posted on November 1, 2012 by John Aylward

On October 21 I went to the Walkway Over The Hudson at dawn and enjoyed a peaceful sunrise. The fall colors were at their peak on the west bank of the Hudson River, and lit up dramatically as the sun came up. A couple long trains came down the west side, and several sculls were out early, far up the river.

Later in the evening, I went back there with Sue and we walked the length of the walkway as the sun slowly set.  Here are some of the pictures I took that morning and evening.

Pictures Of The Day:
Click the lower-right icon for a fullscreen slideshow.

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Adirondack Camping Weekend

Posted on October 27, 2012 by John Aylward

I am finally getting a chance to post some pictures from my fall foliage photography weekend in the Adirondacks.  On October 5, I went to Putnam Pond State Park campground, which is seven miles west of Ticonderoga NY.  I stayed for two nights and three days, during which I kayaked and hiked and photographed.  The weather was not very good.  It was cloudy and cold the entire visit, and it rained most of the second day.  Since I expected Saturday to be rainy, I spent that day hiking in the woods and visiting a few ponds.  Photography in the woods is better on overcast days, because the light is more even and not as contrasty.  Additionally, a light rain enhances the colors.  These conditions did help with some nature images, but were a disadvantage for larger landscape vistas of the ponds and mountainsides.  It was also very windy most of the time, which eliminates any nice reflections on the surface of the ponds.  Most of the time, the pond surface was just black with ripples, due to the bald sky and the wind.

Despite the weather, it was extremely peaceful and relaxing.  I hiked and kayaked all three days, and got a lot of exercise.  There were very few people.  I only saw three on my first hike on Friday, only six (in one group) on my all-day hike on Saturday, and no one on my Sunday morning hike.  I shared Clear Pond with two loons on Sunday morning.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures I took.  One note:  There are three mushroom pictures, and they are all the same mushroom take 12 hours apart.

Pictures Of The Weekend:
Click the lower-right icon for a fullscreen slideshow.

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Day 23: Marina del Rey to Newport Beach

Posted on September 24, 2012 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:

Chris and I finished our cycling adventure today with over 1400 miles of riding in twenty three days.  We cycled the entire coast of Oregon and most of California’s coast.  We saw magnificent scenery, including the beaches of Oregon, the redwood forests, wine country, fertile farms that stretched to the horizon, vast ranches on rolling golden hills, and much more.  The ride presented many challenges, with cold weather, many significant hills to climb, many miles per day, various new body pains to overcome, and a cold virus.  We worked through all the challenges and accomplished our objective each day.  We made new friends who shared the adventure and challenges with us, and we will remember them forever.  Best of all, we had fun everyday.

Today there were basically three phases of the route.  We started and ended on easy bike paths right on the beach – primarily Manhattan Beach and Huntington Beach.  In between, we had to get through Los Angeles, which is nothing to write home about.  Overall, it was a very good bike ride, and the beach bike paths will be the parts we will always remember.

Today is my 35th wedding anniversary and a big highlight of the day was meeting Sue at the end of the ride.  We will spend a few more days in Newport Beach to enjoy the sun and surf before flying home on Thursday.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Chris:

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Day 22: Oxnard to Marina del Rey

Posted on September 23, 2012 by John Aylward

Today’s Highlights:

Most of today’s ride was along the Pacific Coast Highway and on bike paths along the beach.  It was the easiest day so far and we were averaging over 16 mph for the first 45 miles.  There were great views of the beaches through Santa Barbara since the road runs mostly along the edge of the beach or ocean.  We went through Malibu and had our first SAG stop at Zuma Beach.  We took an extra long stop there so that Chris could swim in the ocean for the first time since we entered California 1000 miles ago.  The waves were perfect and he body surfed for a while.

In Santa Monica we got on a bike path that was right on the beach, taking it for six miles and passing through Venice Beach and ending in Marina del Rey.  This required very slow riding since it was heavily used.  But that was great because it slowed us down into relaxation mode.  We stopped for lunch just before Venice Beach and enjoyed some beach-side patio dining and people watching.  After lunch there was still time to kill before our hotel rooms were ready, so we walked down the pier, watched some surfers and checked out the sites.

Tonight we had our banquet dinner, which was very nice, followed by a meeting where each of us received a certificate recognizing our accomplishment and had a chance to say a few words about our three week adventure.  It has been really great to meet such wonderful people on this trip and share the experience.

Perfect Ride
Today’s ride was perfect: Flat, fast, short, easy, great weather, lots of coast, and time to kill. I finally got to play in the ocean. I rode some waves at Zuma Beach! Luckily there was a shower station to get the sand out of my shorts or it would have long 26 miles to the hotel.

I now know why Barbie has a Malibu beach house.

I wasn’t the only one having fun on the beach. In Santa Monica we saw surfing, boogie boarding, sailing, parasailing, yachting, volleyballing, tanning, body building, paddle boarding, kayaking, fishing, biking, rollerblading, trumpet playing, soccering, gaffiti-ing, seagull chasing, tattooing, swimming, skateboarding, and a freak show… to name a few. What a place!

There was so much to see that we had to take a break and eat lunch on the beach (pic 38). We ate with Tim from Manchester. We have ridden with him quite a bit over the last week. Great guy.

Tomorrow’s ride looks like the same, and then home sweet home.

Chris

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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Chris:

Posted in 2012 West Coast Bike Trip, Biking | 4 Comments