All Work and no Play

Makes Rob a fatter tired guy.  Looking at last evening’s pictures I could not help but notice the extra chin starting to make its reappearance.  It took close to 8 months of daily riding after the last desk job/3 hour windshield time commute came to an end to get rid of the last double chin.  Nothing like taking self portraits with a fish eye lens to remind you of which way things are heading.

I decided to head out for a mid day ride, met a buddy for lunch, ran some errands and put in 26 miles or so in perfect weather.One of the better ways to burn off some surplus side meat.

It was a perfect way to break up the day.  Surf is up again too, I think that may be tomorrow’s mid day vacation.

Now it is time to get back to work so that you guys can have a new bike option by spring, maybe even a few surprises to go with it.

Sunday Standard

It has been a pretty bikey day in spite of the chilly weather. We rode as a family to breakfast the ladies all bundled up against the 40 deg temps.  Then later as it warmed up into the 50s I headed out to the farmer’s market.  Pretty close to perfect, but I should have had something to keep my knees warm.

I know better when it is below 60 or so, but with it being sunny I decided to push it.  The price is not too bad, but they are sore now, and kind of make me feel not so young at the moment.

As part of the efforts to get more motivated with my riding, I decided to track my efforts on the phone with a GPS app.  It still surprises me when the data comes in at 14 mph averages, sitting upright in the wind at least half the trip, on a 20 mile around town loop.  Not to bad for a guy feeling out of shape at the moment riding on a fat tire bike loaded with produce.  We will see how the rest of the week goes.

Christmas Tree Ride

This morning was the perfect day to go hunt for a tree.  The morning low was in the 30’s and it actually felt like winter.  By the time we had breakfast and loaded up the bikes it was a little warmer out, but still pretty cold by California beach standards.  There seems to be an abundance of tree yards this year, and I was able to work out a fun route for a family ride, with little or no traffic. 

The ride to the lot was balmy, but the hills helped keep things warm, and the views were incredible now that the last week’s wind and dust had settled down.

With the mission half accomplished, Aly decided that the new family ride to get a tree tradition, should include hot chocolate, and who could argue with that.

From there we headed home to unload the tree.

The day was staying nice, the wind never really came up the way it does in the afternoon here.  I set up the tree, switched bikes and headed back across town to run some errands and grab a load of food at the Farmer’s Market.

I can only imagine how nice it must have been up in the mountains today, this weather is about as good as it gets.

The legs are feeling pretty spent at this point, rest and picture break is over and time to hit the kitchen.  Thanks for taking a look and I hope it was this much fun getting your tree this year.

On a side note I finally am coming around to the Facebook thing, still feels a bit funny for some reason, but it is pretty easy to find my, Ocean Air Cycles page and I hope that it makes it a bit easier to follow me here if that is the way you like to keep up on and share things with your friends.

 

Sunday Standard

Back to the regularly scheduled Sunday ride to the Farmer’s Market.

 

Yes, it really was as nice as it looks.  The weather was perfect, the ride was longer than I planned, nad that made it better.  I look back and find it hard to remember a time when it was more fun to get the food for the week.   The food tastes better when you sweat a little to get it too.

 

New Sunday Standard

Adding a twist to the regular Sunday ride we have been heading over to the playground as a family before keep on riding to the market.

Then it is time for me to keep on keepin on for the next 10 miles to get the veggies.  Today was another incredible day to be outside.

This area of southern California  is really is a wonderful place to ride and call home.

While setting up for some pictures came across one of my pet peeves.  I will never fully understand why changing a tube is so intense that you throw the dead tube off on the side of the road. 

I usually pick them up, take them home and patch them.  While a free tube is a nice bonus, they are usually 23mm tubes, and do not see much use in my stable.  have a few ideas on how to curb this kind of waste, but implementation is going to be a bit of a process.