Back to Malibu 55.5 miles!

Last Saturday we returned to Malibu for a pretty spectacular 81 degree, sunny, not a cloud in the sky kind of day. We met across from Pepperdine University, again at Malibu Bluffs Park, and had a lovely 11 mile warm up heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway. All of this was familiar, and even those first few notorious hills I greeted with a smile. In the past I have scoffed every time one of the coaches told us that hills get easier with practice, but you know what? They're right. Malibu this time around was considerably easier than it was in December (note that that is easi-er, not easy), and we even threw in a 5 mile uphill canyon detour.

This week I biked with my mentor Greg, an attorney who is also riding his first century at Solvang, and Brad, the FedEx guy/Jazz DJ. Around mile 12 of the 55 mile route we reached Encinal Canyon, our detour up a 5 mile hill. Luckily only the very beginning was particularly steep, after that it was a pretty gentle upgrade. Judging by the number of other cyclists I saw winding their ways up and down the hill it is a very popular cycling spot, and with good reason. As you slowly travel upward the canyon takes you through pine trees and farmlands, with views of the beach down below.

Ready to tackle the hill!

There were rich smells of pine, rosemary and woodsmoke, birds and crickets chirped from the underbrush, cars were few, and I was in the company of my fellow cyclists and the great outdoors. It was a really wonderful, peaceful ride, even adding in the fact that I was BIKING UPHILL. For FIVE MILES.

Here's me taking a really stupid picture of myself.

Looking back on it now that I’ve had a couple of days to reflect, I would say the emotion I’m feeling towards that particular hill is a crazy sort of fondness. It was a long, slow trek, but large swaths of it was just me, my bike, the beach waaay down below, and sunshine. I felt very proud of myself when we reached the top. It is reassuring to know that that hill is longer than anything they have in Solvang.

Woo hill

After a brief break for water and snacks, we flew down the winding and exhilarating Mullholland Dr. I reached a top speed of 31.3mph, and while that is fun, it started to feel a little dangerous so I backed off a bit. When we finally got back down to the PCH the air was full of that briny freshness you only get on the beach.

The mountain view when reached the top of our hill.

We kept going another 8 miles or so, past Neptune's Net to the picturesque Mugu Rock, before turning around for 22 miles back to Pepperdine and our cars. It is amazing how your perspective changes when you know that you can bike more than 50 miles in a morning and you can bike uphill five miles without stopping.
After reaching Mugu the whole ride back seemed fun and while not exactly effortless, significantly more manageable than it was in December. Malibu is a wonderful area to ride in. From the scenery to all of the short up and down hills, it is just plain fun.


I feel like I have reached a great point in my training. We're more than half way to our event, I have acquired a bunch of awesome fancy biking equipment, I feel pretty comfortable with my new shoes and pedals, I'm working out a lot, hills are a little easier, and from here on out I need to keep building physical and mental endurance, and enjoy exploring Southern California with my team. (Which is pretty easy to do considering that it is 80 degrees here and -3 everywhere else in the country.)

Brad and Greg enjoying the ocean view at Mugu.

And Happy Inauguration day everyone!

Next week we will be doing the Palos Verdes Route again!