Errandonnee 2017: Honing the Art of Two-Wheeled Multitasking

Posted on by bikiegirl

Last year, I took my first stab at the Errandonnee Challenge, a 12-day event during which participants perform 12 errands in at least 7 different categories by bicycle, logging a cumulative total of at least 30 miles. It’s brought to us by Mary of Chasing Mailboxes, the same shero who keeps us pedaling in the Fall with Coffeeneuring. For those of us unlikely to take up randonneuring, it’s a great way to embrace the sport in a manner that easily fits into our everyday lives. No need to train for hundreds of miles, nor to stay awake all night. Precisely because I use my bike for commuting and errands on a regular basis, I seriously underestimated the challenge last year. This time around, I was able to up my game a wee bit, by applying a few lessons learned.

Of course, last year, the Errandonneur-in-Chief had mercifully granted us two weekends within the dates of the challenge. I remember being grateful for that since I was committed to the Seattle Bike Show during the opening weekend and, ironically, being a vendor at that event means I have to use a motorized vehicle to haul my pop up shop supplies to and from the venue, with no free time to sneak off and ride a bicycle. (It has been a sad realization that starting a side business related to my passion for urban cycling has been a major destroyer of opportunities to ride my bicycle.) I also remember that my sons were home for Spring break during the 2016 Errandonnee, and cheerfully tagged along for some of the rides.

Even with the bonus weekend, I ended up scrambling to fill my control card last year. For 2017, I knew better. I was going to be organized!

The announcement of the event dates came a little late this year, perhaps owing to the Errandonneur-in-Chief having a life to live and all that. It appears the scheduling of the event may have been simply a matter of practical considerations. The event was announced on March 15th, with the dates set for March 20th-31st. In other words, just in time to end before the grand international #30daysofbiking, which always runs from April 1st to 30th.

No problem, even with just one weekend in there. Oh, except my darling husband had just very thoughtfully booked a trip for us to Seattle that weekend. That should pose no problem, though. There are bicycles in Seattle! Except the point of the weekend was to visit family and spend some time together while hubby is on Spring break and before he heads off to Cuba (again). Well, it’s only a weekend. I still have plenty of other days during which to complete the challenge, and besides, this year I’m organized!

To make sure I wouldn’t end up in a pickle, I carried a note card with me. On one side of the card, I kept a running list of errands I could think of that needed to be done. As each errand was completed, I added it to a numbered list on the other side, and made a note of the categories under which that errand might fall. I also noted my mileage there, as I’m well aware that most of my errands are quite short in distance. I then looked at my calendar, and figured out which days would work for which errands.

Last year, I got my mileage in with my weekend recreational ride to Griffith Park, but that wasn’t going to be possilbe this year. I decided to use my need for mileage as a motivator to follow through on a maybe-someday-I’ll-check-it-out idea of going to a DraftLA Meet Up scheduled for March 30th at a bike shop in Burbank. The Draft Meet Up are a new series of gatherings organized by People for Bikes to bring cyclists, advocacy groups and bike industry people together in a social setting.

The rules of the Errandonnee (because it wouldn’t be an errandonnee without rules) require no more than two errands in each of the nine categories, and at least seven different categories must be included. There is no minimum mileage for each trip, but the total over the event must be at least 30. For each errand, a photo must be taken to show that the errand was taken by bike. Finally, for each errand, the participant is to share one observation or something that they learned from that outing.

The nine categories can involve overlapping activities. That is, some activities could qualify under more than one category. I find that useful, when my very organized planning starts to go awry. Here are the nine:

  • Personal Care
  • Personal Business
  • You carried WHAT on your bike?!
  • Arts and Entertainment
  • Non-Store Errand
  • Social Call (includes restaurants, coffee, and other social activities)
  • Work or Volunteering, School
  • Store
  • Wild Card

Now, I can’t seem to approach something like this without invoking a theme. This year has been a heavy-hearted one. My mother died suddenly in October, and I am still processing this grief. She was a big fan of my bike adventures, an enthusiastic supporter of my Bikie Girl Bloomers, and loved to follow along as I posted photos and stories on Facebook. She wasn’t a cyclist herself, but encouraged my love of it, and even got me doing my first bike tour, Ride the Rockies, back in 1986. When Mom would call me, she’d always begin the call with, “So where are you now?” She’d say she just couldn’t keep track of my travels and whatever was on my schedule. Since her passing, I have felt her presence with me, and find that I particularly enjoy wearing something of hers as a way to enhance that feeling that she is riding along and enjoying my adventures with me. So I decided that I would include in my report the item of hers I wore each day of the event to honor her memory. Plus, I have to include in my report the bloomers I’m wearing that day, because, that’s my thing.

And, with all that ado, drum roll please, here is my “control card”:

Control No. 1: Commuting to the office

2017-03-20 08.27.46-1Date:  March 20, 2017

Category: Work

Destination: Office

Remembering Mom by wearing: A pretty purple scarf she brought back from India, back when she was Director of Development for a charity hospital in Vellore.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-20 08.45.18Bloomers: Blue Bandana

Mileage: 3.3 (because I took the scenic route through Hancock Park)

Observation/Lesson: Riding through the wide, tree-lined streets, past the grand historic homes of Hancock Park makes me feel like I’m riding through a movie – it’s too idyllic to be real. Surely everyone would bike to work if they could do it this way!

Control No. 2: Mailing a small package

2017-03-20 18.25.17-1.jpgDate:  March 20, 2017

Category: Non-Store Errand

Destination: Mailbox

Remembering Mom by wearing: A pretty purple scarf she brought back from India, back when she was Director of Development for a charity hospital in Vellore.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

Bloomers: Blue Bandana

Mileage: 1

Observation/Lesson: I wasn’t sure if my package would be delivered. Doesn’t the USPS have some rule about requiring packages be left at the counter of the post office or something? I was happy to see confirmation that my package did make it to its destination.

Control No. 3: Attempt to deposit check at the ATM

2017-03-21 08.15.49-1Date:  March 21, 2017

Category: Personal Business

Destination: ATM at Western/Wilshire

Remembering Mom by wearing: Her raincoat. I found this white raincoat in her closet. It looked so pristine, as if it had never been worn. Might she have received it as a gift? Was it new? Now that I know white is a color associated with the suffragette movement, it feels rather special. It’s a nice lightweight coat very suitable for the kind of light rain we get here in Los Angeles (when we’re not in a drought).

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-21 08.03.34Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers

Mileage: 1

Observation/Lesson: Normally, I get mildly annoyed when I receive a check that is for an amount just a nudge above the limit for mobile deposits. This time I was thrilled to find myself tasked with an unexpected errand, just at the right time! The errand resulted in disappointment, however, when I discovered that the ATM was “not accepting deposits at this time”. I get that sometimes an ATM can’t dispense cash, but hadn’t realized that sometimes they can’t accept deposits. So my errand was a fail, but the Errandonneur-in-Chief informed that it still counts. Phew!

Control No. 4: Taking documents to be notarized

2017-03-21 17.44.11Date:  March 21, 2017

Category: Non-Store Errand

Destination: Wilshire Shipping Center

Remembering Mom by wearing: Same raincoat.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers

Mileage: 0.2 (That’s what Strava says, but most of the distance was getting out of the parking structure; Wilshire Shipping Center is in the building just across the street from my office building!)

Observation/Lesson: Some businesses are so good-natured about letting customers bring their bikes inside. There were no bike racks near the entrance, but they waved me in with my bike!

Control No. 5: Commuting home in the rain

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If you look closely enough, you can see raindrops on my glasses.
Date:  March 21, 2017

Category: Work

Destination: Home

Remembering Mom by wearing: Same raincoat – going for a triple today.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

Bloomers: PinkaDot Black Bloomers

Mileage: 1

Observation/Lesson: Riding in the rain gives me a small sense of legitimacy in the Errnadonnee. I read about others biking their errands in foul weather, and it makes me feel a tiny bit guilty. We have it so easy with our gentle weather here in Southern California. But it’s only a small sense of legitimacy today, as the rain is quite light and manageable. Just enough to justify the raincoat.

Control No. 6: Second attempt to deposit my check at the ATM

2017-03-23 08.59.15Date:  March 23, 2017

Category: Personal Business

Destination: That same ATM

Remembering Mom by wearing: Another scarf from her colorful collection. This one is a pretty batik of jewel tones.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-23 09.36.27Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers

Mileage: 1.3 (stopping on the way to the office)

Observation/Lesson: Today my deposit was accepted! And I am getting better at managing the challenge of getting my bike inside the ATM cage with its rather heavy door.

Control No. 7: Mammogram

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That funky building is the Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center.
Date:  March 23, 2017

Category: Personal Care

Destination: Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center

Remembering Mom by wearing: Same scarf with the pretty batik of jewel tones.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers

Mileage: 5.3

Observation/Lesson: I didn’t know why I had been putting off the mammogram that was more than a year overdue until I saw the announcement of the 2017 Errandonee. I just needed something to make me get excited about taking time away from work to run an errand!

Control No. 8: Materials Delivery

2017-03-23 18.11.44-1Date:  March 23, 2017

Category: Wild Card

Destination: The home/office of my production manager for Bikie Girl Bloomers, where I delivered two spools of quarter-inch elastic and two bags of garment labels (leftover from prior productions) to be used in the new styles of bloomers.

Remembering Mom by wearing: Same day, same scarf with the pretty batik of jewel tones (another triple errand day).

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

Bloomers: Hot Pink Zebra Stripe Bloomers

Mileage: 6.8

Observation/Lesson: I don’t understand what Google Maps thinks is a bikeable street. There were a few stretches on this route where I felt the sidewalk was my only safe place to ride, and I don’t normally think it’s wise to bike on the sidewalks. Fortunately, most of the ride was quite pleasant, as urban cycling goes.

Control No. 9: Grocery Store

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Instead of locking my bike to the shopping cart corral near the entrance, I used the bike rack that is inconveniently placed on a narrow sidewalk.
Date:  March 27, 2017

Category: Store

Destination: Ralph’s

Remembering Mom by wearing: Her red earrings that look great with the beautiful red blouse my sister gave me during our visit to Seattle.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-27-16-23-08-1-1.jpgBloomers: Red Hot Aqua Dot

Mileage: 2.1

Observation/Lesson: I was feeling so refreshed from an enjoyable weekend out of town, I was actually excited to plan dinner and run to the store for fresh ingredients. I bought some salmon to bake in parchment paper. If you haven’t tried cooking salmon this way, you are really missing out!

Control No. 10: Dry Cleaning Drop Off

4 jackets, 2 blouses, 1 pair of lacks and a scarf
Balancing the bike against a wall in front of the cleaners

Date:  March 29, 2017

Category: You Carried What on Your Bicycle?

Destination: Rutley’s Cleaners

Remembering Mom by wearing: Her fuzzy purple jacket.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-29 10.00.47Bloomers: Groovy Tie Dye Bloomers

Mileage: 1.2 (stopping on the way to the office)

Observation/Lesson: This was another errand that had been put off for months, apparently waiting for Errandonnee season. I don’t have that much clothing that requires dry cleaning, so I tend to let it pile up. This was about six month’s worth: 4 jackets, one pair of slacks, two blouses, and a scarf. I piled them into a bundle, laid them over the rear rack with as much of the bulk in the pannier basket, and bungee cords holding the bundle in place. It was quite a lopsided load, and the bike would easily fall over when parked, but I only had to go 4 blocks. The hard part was taking a picture. I had to lean the front wheel against a building to keep the bike upright.

Control No. 11: Draft Meet-Up with People for Bikes

2017-03-30 20.02.12-1Date:  March 30, 2017

Category: Social Call

Destination: Pure Cycles in Burbank

Remembering Mom by wearing: Her other red earrings.

Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp

2017-03-30 09.58.16Bloomers: Blue Bandana Bloomers

Mileage: 17.7 (biking miles; multi-modal trip – train miles excluded)

2017-03-30 17.58.35Observation/Lesson: Noticed the big, beautiful Centennial Fountain across from the entrance to Griffith Park. I must have ridden past it dozens of times on my way to the park without noticing it. This time I was on the fountain side of the street, waiting to continue straight across toward the river path entrance (instead of turning left into the park).

Control No. 12: Grocery Store

2017-03-31 17.22.03Date:  March 31, 2017

Category: Store

Destination: Ralph’s

Remembering Mom by wearing: Her shoes.

Bike: Gazelle Tour Populaire

2017-03-31 07.52.57 HDR-1Bloomers: Sapphire, a test sample from the upcoming Jeweltones Collection

Mileage: 1.3 (stopping on the way home from the office)

Observation/Lesson: It’s tough to stick to my carrying capacity when shopping for a party I’m hosting. Thank goodness for bungee cords!

 

That gives me a total of 8 categories, and 42.2 miles! I have proudly earned my patch!

Coffeeneuring 7.0: Bru Coffeebar in Los Feliz

Posted on by bikiegirl

For my final ride, on the final day of the coffeeneuring challenge, I was determined to check out a place in Los Feliz, a rather hip and pleasantly funky neighborhood north of mine that I don’t visit often enough. Los Feliz is also a neighborhood I pass through on a frequent Sunday morning route, when I ride up to Griffith Park. That ride gives me a nice 22-mile or so loop, with my choice of moderate or intense hill climbing (the latter complete with a fantastic view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory) that I can complete in 2-1/2 hours or less. This means I can still make it to church at 11:00, or have time for other activities. But that was not going to happen on this particular Sunday in November 2016. It was wet and drizzly out, and I don’t do Griffith Park when it’s wet.

So, I did my advance work, and I Googled for coffee shops worth checking out in Los Feliz. Despite a distracting array of enticing options from which to choose, I settled on Bru Coffeebar. It wasn’t too tricky to map out my route, and yet, I still didn’t quite do it right on the first try. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, I snapped my style shot, so I wouldn’t forget to document the Bloomers of the Day like I forgot last time.

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Keeping it colorful with Red Hot Aqua Dot Bloomers under a Fruit Punch Nuu-Muu dress (and my orange bike socks!)
I rode up Edgemont, one of my favorite bike lane equipped streets. I often take it on my return from Griffith Park, so today I thought it might be fun to try it out on my northbound leg.

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The Edgemont bike lane. Griffith Observatory is the big white building on the hillside.
Sometimes I get my “F” streets messed up, and I guess that’s where I goofed this time. I turned right onto Fountain and headed over to Vermont, expecting to find Bru Coffeebar near the intersection, but no. I rode south on Vermont a bit, and then realized I must’ve jumped the gun when turning off of Edgemont. So, I checked my directions, circled back to Edgement, and continued farther north this time, to Franklin, that other “F” street. Sure enough, that did the trick, and although Bru Coffeebar is easy to miss, thanks to its stealth signage, I finally saw it right in front of my face, and found a place to lock up the bike.

2016-11-20 09.43.11 HDR-2
Bru Coffeebar in Los Feliz. Can you see their sign?
It’s a nice, contemporary space, with high beamed ceiling and a cool-looking loft area. I ordered a ginger latte and some kind of syrupy, croissantish pastry that appealed to my sweet tooth. The presentation was lovely, perfect for Instagram, and both the ginger latte and the sweet pastry were delicious. After filling up, I returned to my bike, and was glad to find the saddle on a bit wet. If you’re going to bike in the rain, this is the kind of light rain you can easily manage.

2016-11-20 09.46.562016-11-20 09.52.50

Not wanting to return the same way I’d arrived, I decided to try taking Virgil back. Virgil is often one of the suggested streets when using Google Maps in bike mode, but I’ve been skeptical. Sunday morning is always a good time to take a first try at biking on a street that might be too heavily-trafficked an arterial. It turned out to be quite fun, even if a bit more trafficky than I would like at times. Part of the way, I did have a bike lane, and the slight decline made for a fun and fast ride.

I worked my way back to familiar parts of Koreatown, and enjoyed seeing some of my favorite architectural gems along the way.

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The Bullocks Wilshire, one of L.A.’s coolest art deco buildings. Originally a fancy department store, it now houses Southwestern School of Law.
Not a bad way to spend a dreary, drizzly Sunday morning.

2016-11-20 15.39.34
Yeah, I’m gonna share my loop within the loop.
Total mileage: 12.4

Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp

Destination: Bru Coffeebar, Los Feliz, Los Angeles

Beverage: Ginger Latte

Coffeeneuring 6.0: Coffee + Food in Larchmont

Posted on by bikiegirl

I was getting down to the wire. It was the final weekend of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. I had two days to get in my two final outings. Much to my delight, I had a bicycle-loving house guest who was happy to join me that Saturday morning. I thought it would be fun to show her some of the local architectural and culinary goodies. Besides, charming Larchmont village is just a couple miles from my home, and yet it has more coffee shops than I have yet visited, so something really must be done about that.

My guest for this ride, Judi, is big on bike touring and seeing the world. On a recent trip, Judi spent several months seeing Hawaii, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and New Zealand. You can see her pics from that trip and others on her Flickr page. We met when I saw her post to the Los Angeles Women & Bicycles Facebook page, asking when the next coffee meetup was planned. When I asked what part of town she was in, she replied that she was looking for a place to stay for the next few weeks while visiting. And with our kids out of the house leaving empty bedrooms behind, I figured it was a perfect chance to practice our bed & breakfast services. It was so fun to have a bicyclista staying at our home.

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Judi and I rode north into Hancock Park to the northernmost end of Larchmont to check out Coffee + Food, a place on Melrose I’d found in my online research for coffeeneuring destinations. Bike parking was easy to find close to the front of the shop. We went inside and made our selections. I had a flat white coffee with caramel, just because I had never had a “flat white” before, and got some kind of sweet cinnamon thing to go with it. Judi went for a drip coffee and a breakfast burrito.

2016-11-19 09.47.44 HDR

If, like me, you need a tutorial on what the heck a “flat white” is, here’s the low down. The quick answer: it’s like a latte, but with less milk and less frothy.

We wandered through Koreatown on our way back, stopping by Alexandria House. Just the night before, we’d been at a neighbor’s house for a fundraising party in support of this shelter that provides transitional housing and other resources for women and children. We stopped inside for a bit, and saw a group of women and teens getting makeovers. It’s a gorgeous house, and it was filled with warm and wonderful people.

AlexandriaHouse

We completed a loop back towards home, turning our short ride into a respectable 9.1 mile route.

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The short dip along the southern edge of our loop (between Wilton Place & Crenshaw) is where I just had to show Judi my favorite mansion in Country Club Park, that has apparently been seen in a show called American Horror Story. The short dip near the northeast part of our loop is where we stopped to check out Alexandria House.

Total mileage: 9.1

Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp

Destination: Coffee + Food, Larchmont Village, Los Angeles

Beverage: Flat White

Coffeeneuring 5.0: Santa Monica & Sex Ed

Posted on by bikiegirl

What does coffeeneuring have to do with sex ed, you ask? Nothing, unless you decide to bring them together. As a coffeeneur who also has duties as a facilitator of a sexuality program, I knew what I had to do given the short time remaining to complete the 2016 coffeeneuring challenge. A couple of Sundays a month, on a biannual basis, I help facilitate for 8th & 9th graders at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica. The program is called Our Whole Lives, reflecting a recognition that we are sexual beings throughout our entire lifespan. It’s an awesome curriculum that covers far more than anything offered in the school system. We discuss honestly all aspects of sexuality, not just reproduction and safety. We help young people develop their skills for dealing with peer pressure, seeking consent, understanding the wide variety of sexual identities and different ways of expressing and experiencing one’s sexuality, in a context of values and within a trusted community.

I was scheduled to teach a session on that Sunday in early November, and I needed to get some coffeeneuring in. I normally enjoy biking the 11-12 miles (depending on my route) to Santa Monica, so why not bike to a coffee shop after the session ends? Santa Monica offers a plentiful selection of fancy coffee shops worth trying. For this one, I decided to try out Philz Coffee on Santa Monica Blvd & 6th Street.

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I loved the cool design of the bike rack right next door to Philz.

Philz offers some outdoor seating, in addition to a large indoor seating area. There was a substantial line, but they have several servers taking orders at the counter, and the line moves quickly.

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Knowing I needed to fuel up for a longer ride home, I got some peanut butter power balls and a yogurt in addition to a refreshing iced gingersnap latte. I strongly recommend the iced gingersnap when you need a combo of spice, creaminess, and potent java on a hot day.

I wanted to take a leisurely route back home by heading a few blocks farther west to the beach. It was a nice day to ride along the beach and then take the Ballona Creek bike path back into the city. This routing added a few extra miles to my ride, but many of those miles were delightfully car-free.

Tank top weather; leopard print bloomers kept me covered under my skirt.
Stopping for a rest along the Ballona Creek bike path.

It felt great to be out on my road bike, enjoying some warm weather again. Soon enough, I was back in my own neighborhood. It was such a clear day, you could see the Hollywood sign.

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Total mileage: 30.3

Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp

Destination: Philz Coffee, Santa Monica, California

Beverage: Iced Gingersnap Latte

The Bikie Girl Half Century Solo Challenge

Posted on by bikiegirl

A favorite ritual of mine on Sunday mornings is to head out early on my road bike, ride a 24-mile loop from my house to Griffith Park. It starts with about 7 miles of city-riding to the park, leads to a lovely loop through the park, which loop includes climbing up a winding road to the Griffith Observatory. Then I get to fly back downhill and home again. It’s a gorgeous ride, gets in about 1700 feet of climbing, takes a little less than 2-1/2 hours, and I can get home and showered with enough time to catch the 11:00 service at First Unitarian Church of L.A. to complete my spiritual nourishment and recharge for the week. As much as I enjoy that ritual, lately I started feeling like I was getting into a rut and limiting myself from doing longer or more challenging rides.

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Griffith Observatory

A couple of Sundays ago, I had a reason to ride to Torrance for a visit with extended family. That took me onto the Ballona Creek Bike Path, which feeds in to the bike path that runs south along the beach all the way along the South Bay. In other words, the bulk of my 25-mile ride that day was on bike paths. I’d forgotten how nice it can be to cruise along on a flat path without having to stop at intersections and interact with automobiles.

Then last Sunday, I had a reason to go to Venice. The Rapha Pop Up Shop on Abbott Kinney was hosting a women’s round table and social ride, and a friend was going to be one of the panelists. To get there on time for the 9:00 a.m. event, I headed straight west on the Venice Boulevard bike lane. The social ride (I opted for the “low-key” alternative, as I knew I couldn’t keep up with the serious roadie gals) was a gentle 14-miler, so I took a little bit longer return route when it was time to head home, allowing me to get back on that Ballona Creek Bike Path. That day I got in a total of 37 miles, and that whetted my appetite for adding more distance.

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Rapha LA Women’s Roundtable in front of the Pop Up Shop

The next Sunday, I had an excuse to visit the Unitarian Universalist Church in Santa Monica, and to arrive there between 10-11 a.m. That would allow me to knit a bit with the knitting group I used to hang with each Sunday, catch the 11:00 service, and get in on the final opportunity for bidding on the Dining 4 Dollars events, an annual fundraising tradition that involves bidding on themed dinners and events. I really wanted to try my luck at Lorenzo’s Crawfish Boil.

I decided this was also an opportunity to put together an epic ride. Something that would challenge me on both distance and climbing, since all of my recent rides have been one or the other, and never that much of either. I mapped it out with Google: head up Nichols Canyon (after all, I did that one last Fall – should be doable), descend from Mulholland at Coldwater Canyon, work my way farther west and see if I can handle Mandeville (it’s been 4 years since the last time I climbed that one), and then I would be not too far from Santa Monica. After the service and bidding was done, I could then take the longer way home, along the ocean and then back east toward home via the Ballona Creek Path. The total mileage would be close to 50, a challenge given my current level of conditioning, but not too intimidating or unrealistic.

I figured the first climb was definitely within reach, and if the second was not, well, I could always just turn around and end the climb early, giving me more time with the knitting group. So off I went, leaving the house at 7:15. It was cool and foggy; we don’t usually get such dense fog this far inland. I felt good, and was psyched for the challenge. By the time I was approaching Nichols Canyon to begin climbing, I was rather wet. My glasses were wet with dew, my clothes were damp, and my brake hoods and shift levers were slippery. Even my tissue that I pulled from my pocket to blow my wet nose was damp, just from being in my pocket.

Soon enough, the dampness was no longer distracting me, and must have disappeared somewhere along the climb. It turned out to be a great day for riding, maybe just because I started out early enough that there wasn’t much car traffic on the winding narrow road. I like checking out the variety of interesting-looking homes along the way, and then being awestruck by the scenery once I’m high enough to see out over the Hollywood Hills. By this time it was just plain sunny; no hints remained of my foggy start. Before I knew it, there was the right turn onto Woodrow Wilson, which told me I was beginning the final and steepest part of the climb to Mulholland. I certainly felt maxed out on that last steep part, and grateful for my bike’s lowest gear, and especially grateful for the knowledge that this part of the climb would be short. Otherwise I might have considered giving up.

Once I got to Mulholland, I took a good little break. I needed to catch my breath, chug some water, and snap a photo to memorialize my adventure on Instagram.

Top of Nichols Canyon

The next part, cruising along Mulholland, was better than I had remembered it, in that the road had been repaved, and I didn’t have any scary moments with motorists zipping by too closely. At least not until I crossed Laurel Canyon. Then it was the rough road and hostile/ignorant drivers I remembered. For those reasons, I prefer to limit my time on Mulholland and take the first good option for my descent: Coldwater Canyon. I love this one. The road is in good condition and traffic is fairly light. There is plenty of room for cars to pass me safely, a minimum of cross-streets, and I can really pick up speed without freaking out.

I stopped at the bottom to check google maps and plan the next segment. I felt good enough to continue with my plan to head over to Mandeville, but knew the steep part of that climb would be harder than that last part of Nichols, and I may well not be able to go the whole way. No reason not to see how far I can make it, though, especially since it’s an up-and-back route.

Riding through Beverly Hills is nice: giant mansions and ridiculously manicured lawns to gawk at, plus ostentatiously wide streets. I discovered for my first time that there is a cut through to Santa Monica Boulevard that makes it easy to head over to the west side. You still have to ride the awful part through Century City, with cars swooshing by at freeway speeds and no bike lane. There really needs to be a protected bike lane there, more so than anywhere else I’ve ridden in L.A.

Having made it to Beverly Glen without getting plowed over, I got to ride in bike lanes all the way to Westwood and continuing as I headed north to Ohio. Ohio got me to Federal, which got me to San Vicente. There’s a bike lane there, but this is Brentwood, so cyclists have to be extra vigilant about inattentive drivers, cars stopped in the bike lane, and entitled drivers who think nothing of cutting you off in their hurry to make a right turn.

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Colorful nuu-muu dress & red hot aqua dot bloomers to keep me visible!

As I got close to the turn off to head towards Mandeville, I considered the time, and how I could just go straight on to Santa Monica and be able to join the knitting group for the full hour between services. But,no, I was too close to Mandeville not to at least see how far I could go. I survived the scary 0.3 miles one has to ride on Sunset in order to get to Mandeville, and shortly thereafter pulled over to take off my jacket and refill my main water bottle from my backup bottle. At this point, another rider pulled over, too. Turns out he was about to attempt Mandeville for his first time, and asked me about it. I told him I hadn’t done it in 4 years, but that I remember that just when you think you aren’t going to make it, you can see the top, and that helps you make it up that last super steep bit. We wished each other luck, and got to it.

In general, I did okay. I was able to enjoy the ride, and could feel the climb, but without discomfort or feeling discouraged by my limited conditioning. At least not until I got to the steeper part. I was working hard, breathing hard, and reached a point where I began to wonder if I might be pushing myself a little too hard for my own good. Was I starting to cross that line between embracing a challenge and stupidity? I wasn’t sure. I remembered that you can see the end of the road when you are near the top, and it bothered me that I still could not see that end. Maybe I still had a ways to go. My pulse was pounding. If I’m not ready to make it all the way today, I can just stop and turn around and try again another day. No biggie. Yet maybe that guy who was trying Mandeville for his first time was waiting for me. But I couldn’t base my decision on that. I decided I was struggling just a bit too much and ought to stop and turn around at the shady spot just ahead of me, so I did. But as soon as I stopped, I looked up and there was the top, only a short block ahead of me. I took a minute or two to drink some water and catch my breath, and mustered up a little more oomph to get me up that last grunt! Three gentlemen on bikes were at the top, resting, and I recognized one as my friend from the bottom of the hill. They offered words of encouragement, and before I knew it, I’d made it!

I snapped a selfie for Instagram and to send to my hubby, who knew I hadn’t been sure about my ability to do this climb, and took only a short break before getting rolling again. The descent was sweet, especially with the added glow of accomplishment.

Victory selfie at the top of Mandeville

I didn’t get to the Santa Monica church as early as I’d hoped, but it didn’t matter much. I had enough time for a cup of coffee and to catch up with a friend before the 11:00 service began. I got some knitting in during the service, and then joined the bidding frenzy and chatted with old friends in the social hall. My mid-ride break ended up being over 2 hours, as it was after 1 pm by the time I got rolling again.

I headed south toward the beach, and enjoyed watching all the sunny Sunday afternoon action along the Santa Monica oceanside before heading into Venice on ultra-hip Abbott Kinney to get over to the bike path into Marina del Rey.

Ocean Park Beach

By this time, the reality that I hadn’t eaten any lunch was getting to me, yet I didn’t feel like stopping at a restaurant or fast food joint. Hungry as I was, nothing like that sounded very appealing to me. Once I’d started onto the connecting Ballona Creek bike path, I decided to stop at one of the recently added beautiful park-like areas that have been added along the path. I drank a good bit of water and ate my second Kind bar to keep the hunger at bay.

Rest stop along Ballona Creek Bike Path

It was great to zoom along the path without being interrupted by intersections. At the other end, in Culver City, I considered looking for a place to get some lunch, but I really just wanted to finish the trip home. I figured I could just eat something when I got home.

But as I got closer to home, heading east on Venice Boulevard, I saw that Strava showed my mileage was only in the low 40’s. I thought my route was going to be 48 miles, which could easily be nudged up to 50 by altering the last bit home. This bothered me. I’d been out all day and I wanted to claim I’d ridden a half century! I decided to take a left when I got to Country Club Drive, instead of the right turn that would have taken me straight home.  I arced west and north, the way I go when taking the longer, prettier route to work through Hancock Park. As I came back east, though, my miles traveled remained disappointingly short of the target, so I extended my route farther east, and took Harvard south to 11th. This looped me through Koreatown and then back west to home. The final tally (49.3 miles per Strava) was still a wee bit shy of 50, but I decided to just go home already!

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It was still a ride I could be proud of, and getting home after 3 was late enough!