A scenic bike ride through the countryside

Last night the family & I went to the Encino Velodrome for a bbq & outdoor bigscreen showing of the movie, Bicycle Dreams. It is a documentary about the Race Across America (RAAM), which runs from San Diego to Atlantic City. Everyone follows the same route and ride on open, public roads.

Cyclists go for days on end with little or no sleep, pushing themselves into total physical and mental exhaustion. There was an incredibly sad scene where one rider was killed by a car. Another dropped out due to pnumonia, another had foam pieces taped around his neck to ease pain and one rider hallucinated to the extent of having to pull off the road to rest after being chased by dolphins. Typically 48% of cyclists finish the race, and those who do turn themselves inside out to do it.

Lance Armstrong commented that endurance athletes are trying to run away from themselves. I agree with this. All the riders interviewed did not come off as nut cases, but rather as athletes in top form. But there must be something that would make somebody want to spend that much time on a bike. I can tell you that, for me, 100 miles is plenty. Although I can appreciate what the mind & body must go through in this race. It is mind blowing and intense.

If you get a chance, do see this film. It is well made and has a lot of interviews with the riders and race coverage.

I did my first century in 20 years Saturday, the cool breeze century in Ventura. One of the easier rides with 3500 feet of climbing. I was happy to do it in 6 hours. The ride starts along the coast, then the hills start 20 miles in as the route heads inland to a series of hairpin turns. At the top of the hill the ride becomes surreal as many homes were destroyed by the fires a few months back. The major hills end after about 40 miles, then it returns along the coast.

They posted a few photos on the website. And one thing I noticed was a few riders, men & women, had jerseys with cut off sleeves (I hate those) with arm warmers, so that the tops of the arms were exposed. It just seems silly and looks rediculous. Like this gentleman in the blue:

Out of the many cyclists on this ride, I was surprised to find a photo of me. I'm third from the right in the red, white & black jersey.