I went a little bit further today, out the the second kiosk. There are not actually kiosks along the beach, just public showers and drinking fountains. But as long as I've been here I've been calling them kiosks.

The bike path along the canal goes through the Ballona Wetlands, home to all kinds of beautiful birds. I love the contrast between this preserved bit of nature and the rest of L.A.


















Here's part of the crew team that practices in the canal and the marina, I think they're LMU but I'm not sure.






Miles biked 8.16
Soundtrack-This American Life "Enforcers"

Got up at 6:30 and biked out to Dockweiller. Since daylight savings last weekend its dark by the time I leave work, so I'm trying to adjust to an early morning bike riding schedule. If you know me, you know I don't usually do early morning anything. I'm trying to go a little further everyday. It was chilly but I warmed up pretty quickly.

Returned home by 7:40 to a hot cup of tea and a roommate making frosting. She does that.



And in other news, go Obama!

Miles biked-7.18
Soundtrack-A Splendid Table (Nov 1, 2008)

Thank you Santa Monica Co-Op

I received a donation of a $25 gift card from the Santa Monica Co-Op. Thanks so much! It is going to go towards making pie near the end of November for R&H pie day, where I will be seeking donations from my co-workers. And who doesn't like pie?

If you've never been to the Co-op, they have a great selection of all natural foods, bulk spices and rice/flour/nuts/granola etc, and you can order your Thanksgiving turkey there. You don't have to be a member to shop.

Thanks Grandma!

Thanks Grandma D for being my first donation! You are awesome! I have a cosmo with your name on it.

Marina del Rey, Ballona Bike Path

After voting this morning I decided to take a spin down to the beach.
8:15am is a great time to bike down there. Generally I encounter a few other bikers, the Women's Crew team, and lots of water birds.

It rained around 5:30 this morning, and by the time I got out there the clouds were beautiful and the air was clear.

Miles biked-6ish

Venice, and what I did on Sunday

I usually get up Sunday morning and go for a pretty long bike ride, generally 10-12 miles along the coastal bike path. The path goes for about 22 miles from Malibu down past Manhattan beach. However this particular Sunday I woke up and discovered a flat in the back tire of my Trek Mocha 7.2FX . My gracious roommate gave me a ride to Helen's Cycles off of Lincoln to get a fix. They offer a discount for TNT members, and my bike originally came from Helen's, though I got my from a guy off of craigslist. While I was waiting I tried on bike gloves, finally decided on a pair of 'Attack Gloves.' I feel pretty hard core biking in them. My friend Scott suggested I bungee a boom box to the back of my bike and blast "Bad to the Bone" down the bike path.


From there I decided to take Venice to Abbot Kinney and continue onto to my original destination, the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. If anyone was wondering why I typically bike with a little white basket fastened to the front of my bike, it's because I'm a hippie and I like to carry home farm fresh vegetables. Haven't lost one yet. Though there was one morning my pumpkin tamale almost flew out of my basket in response to rough road conditions.

After loading up on purple carrots, sweet dumpling squash, garlic, onions, Arkansas Black Apples, and a skinny eggplant, I decided to wonder through the Santa Monica/Venice neighborhoods instead of taking a more direct path home. That's how I discovered that there are actual canals in Venice. Cute, no?



One of the things I have come to love about this city is how continually surprised I find myself. Los Angeles excels at hidden treasures and oddball landmarks. And most of them I would have never seen if I hadn't been out biking. The canals are delightful. Ducks swim about, families push baby strollers gently across bridges and every house seems to have a canoe or kayak tethered to their porch.


And I should really learn how to fix my own flats....

Miles biked-7.14

Welcome

Look, I already have a purple shirt!

A couple of weekends ago I attended a Team in Training (TNT) information meeting at R.E.I. in Santa Monica, and walked away inspired, excited, and signed up for the Solvang Century Ride in Santa Barbara. If anyone has seen the movie Sideways, it was filmed in the Solvang/Santa Ynez Valley area, so you have a pretty good idea of how lovely this part of California is. The century ride is a 100 mile bike ride on March 14th, 2009.

This is TNT's 20th year, and so far they have raised over $950 million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS,) a national voluntary health agency dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. My goal is to help raise $2200 for this wonderful cause.

Here's how you can help-

-You can donate directly to me through the following link. I would love to surpass my goal by leaps and bounds. I have a few events in mind, like a breakfast bake sale, but direct donations are essential to reaching my goal. All donations are tax deductible.

-Send my info on to your friends!

-See if your work has a donation matching program!

-Sign up! If you are interested in training for an event in your area, check out Team in Training. TNT operates all over the country, training people for triathlons, biking events, and running and walking marathons. Trust me, if I can do this, you can too!

-Have any old books, cds, movies or video games collecting dust on your shelf? I am holding an online garage sale to sell pretty much anything with an ISBN# through my Amazon account. If you have anything in mind, you can ship it to me directly, or I can list it and you can send it when it sells from where ever you may be.

I have been inspired by numerous friends who joined Team in Training in order to compete in the Malibu Triathalon last September. I am incredibly excited about participating in my own event and doing my part for this wonderful cause.
There are so many great reasons to participate in a TNT event raising money for LLS, but more than anything I am doing this in memory of someone we all lost last summer to leukemia. It is my hope that through organizations like LLS, we can work towards a cure, and provide much needed support for those who are sick.

Thank you so much for your help and support! Check back often for updates on my training progress.