Slept okay, a little better than previous nights (less beer consumed). I woke up and got absorbed in reading about the Blue Wave, then Charlie woke up, and I noticed it was 6:15. I had to hustle to grab a shower, change into my riding gear, and pack my bike up. Down to the lobby before 6:45, Nel was already there, and James came out as well. Charlie, Hugo, and Andy came to the lobby, and we rode a short distance to Jack's Bistro & Bagels for breakfast. Sat outside on a really fine morning, I had some decaf coffee and a couple of bagels. I'd drunk a cup of motel coffee to get some caffeine, and I ate an apple there as well while waiting for the others. We left the motel at 6:54, a little late but not too bad. Got to the restaurant, had our breakfast, and did our morning constitutionals before we headed out. We were rolling again by about 7:50, again within reason. Headed through Carpinteria on surface streets until we had to get on the 101, which was a section I'd worried about. Turns out there is a completely separate bike lane for us, and the views were just spectacular. We followed good bike paths and safe roads for a while until we got to Emma Woods SB, which is closed. It looked like there was a way for bikes to still get through and avoid riding on the 101, so we rode on these old roads. Went past a couple of games and at one point had to walk our bikes across a dirt patch. We made it all the way to the end of the road and we're lucky enough to see some riders on a bike path above us, on the other side of the railroad tracks. We found a very rough, kinda steep dirt path that we were able to use to get up to the true bike path, whose entrance we had somehow missed. This path was in good maintenance and led us all the way into the outskirts of Ventura, eventually dropping us onto the Ventura seaside boardwalk. This section of the ride was a little dicey, having to share the path with lots of walkers, but we made it through. Then we rode by the marina and past it, stopping at a liquor store so Hugo could get some Gatorade. We had tried to stop at a bike shop in Ventura, but we were early (it didn't open until 10:00). So we rode by the dunes along Oxnard Shores until turning inland around the Channel Islands Marina. It was time for our mid-morning break, so I pulled us into a shopping center, hoping to find a coffee or pastry shop. No luck, but we needed a bio break spot, so we ended up stopping at Carl's Jr. Several of us had sodas, some got a snack too. Andy looked up the directions to our VRBO and saw it was in west Malibu, much closer than my originally mapped endpoint for the ride. So we were going to have a shorter ride on this day (and a longer one on the following day). We took our time at this stop, then continued on into Oxnard. I stopped shortly after to tighten the screws on my head unit bracket, then we continued. We rode east aided by a tailwind, then turned south to get to Port Hueneme, turning east again there. This road took us through some farmland until we got to the frontage road along Hwy 1,heqding southeast there along Naval Air Station Point Mugu. The group spread out a bit on this stretch, but we stopped at Point Mugu Missile Park for some photos. This was a cool little stop. Nel had been attached to an F-18 squadron back in the day, so we rolled out the banner and took some pics in front of one of the planes. Our overall pace was slow (we were stopping more than expected), but we had lots of time on this day due to the shorter distance. We continued on, and here Charlie, Nel, and I got out ahead. We eventually got on Hwy 1 and rode on the shoulder (it was fine) past Mugu Rock and along some really beautiful coastline. Wind wasn't pushing us as hard as the previous day, but it wasn't a headwind either. At some point the three of us pulled over to the side to wait for Andy and Hugo, then we rolled on. In this next stretch a strong female rider passed us, so Nel and I decided to pick up the pace and try to match her. She would slow down a little on the slight ascents, then speed up on the descents and flats. I offered to give her a draft at one point, but she wasn't interested. So we rode on her wheel or (me) in front, trading positions until we got to Neptune's Net, our lunch spot. We pulled off there and waited for the others. This is obviously a seafood spot, with burgers, but I wasn't interested in a $20 Impossible burger. I had Cole slaw, then later a beer and an ice cream bar, while we killed time until we could check in to the VRBO, after 2:15. It wasn't too much further down the coast, 5-6 miles. Others' legs were more tired than mine, so on this last segment I gapped the others and rode fairly hard to the turnoff. After everybody showed up we had to climb about 300' to the VRBO. It wasn't very steep, I just put my bike in its lowest gear and spun up. I waited for Nel and Charlie at the turn, had them wait there while I rode to the place and met Larry and Nancy, our hosts. The driveway was pretty steep, I needed a headstart to get up it with my loaded bike.
Avg speed = 14.3 mph. Total mileage = 53.2 mi
Avg power = 114 W. Weighted avg power = 137 W
Total elevation gain = 1310'
Avg heartrate = 113 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 60
Training Load = 173
Intensity = 62%
The layout of the little apartment was fine, two bedrooms, a small kitchen and living area with a pull-out bed, and a nice outdoor patio. The views of the ocean were also quite nice. We had some time to relax, and I was glad for the break. I proposed making dinner, was originally going to ride to the nearest market, about 2.5 miles away. But it wasn't practical with that last climb to negotiate, so eventually Andy and I took an Uber to the market. We got stuff for chicken stir fry, rice, some beer, and some little bread cakes for dessert. I should have gotten some bread to go with it but didn't. Took another Uber back, then with Andy and Nel's help made dinner. The others liked it, so it was a quified success. We ate everything, and they probably would have eaten more if I'd made more, but it was sufficient. Hugo opened up a little bit during and after dinner/dessert, and he and I traded stories for the others about visiting Baja California. I had had a long day by the end of it. The others on this trip are, for the most part, waiting to be told what to do and where to go. Charlie has been a help in deciding what to do, the others usually wait to be told. I mapped out the plan for an early start to our ride the following day, then Charlie and discussed some high-level logistics for a proposed bie trip in Europe next June. Then it was bedtime for me.
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