Big Waves and Hunqapillar Love

Given yesterday's mechanical issues with the Hunqapillar, I began the morning with some careful chain cleaning and lubrication. I mentioned in yesterday's post that the chain was relatively new and couldn't really be completely fouled yet. This had something to do with some of Sheldon Brown's sage advice that a new chain is coated with factory lube, which in his opinion is as good as it gets ... and one should be good to go for quite a while with just that. Well ... I would have to say now that, although his advice is generally stellar, in this case I think he's wrong. With not a huge number of miles on it with the factory lube, my chain was thick and rather stiff, and that factory lube seemed like some kind of gel coating that magnetically adhered any kind of dirt that touched it. I've been pretty good about wiping it clean, but this time it looked like I hadn't touched it in months. So I cleaned it thoroughly and applied some more appropriate lube for my conditions here. The chain felt immediately more flexible, looked nice and shiny, and shifted through the cogs and chainrings like butter. Much better.

Having spent a bit of time on maintenance, I lost some of my ride time ... but I felt it was important to get down to the harbor today, as the morning weather people all offered warnings of high surf advisories, which means there might be some good photos to be taken. So I grabbed my camera and headed out.

There was considerable traffic on the way to the Ocean Institute where I thought the coolest photos would be. As I approached the beach and tide pool area, I understood why. It seems my idea of watching the waves and snapping photos was not a unique one ... there were lots of people already there, many camped out in folding chairs:

People, dogs, cameras ... wave watchers, all

I was actually one of the late arrivals, barely getting a good place to park the Hunqapillar and take some pics. Several people rode bikes there, every kind imaginable, including the racy-looking fellow below with his Lynskey Titanium steed and full matched team kit (whatever you do, don't call it an "outfit"). He complained that he hadn't brought his good camera, although I'm not sure where he'd put it while riding ... couldn't see any bags or racks on that very nice bike, and his jersey pockets were already stuffed with stuff. I, on the other hand, had my camera, tool kit, picnic blanket, and coffee ... and had room to spare in my saddle bag. Of course, he did seem to get up that hill on the way out a TINY bit faster than me ... and by "tiny", I mean that he was likely home, showered, eating lunch, and watching soap operas before I actually crested the hill. But at least I had my photos ...

Mountain bikes, cruisers, city bikes ... even titanium race machines!

The object of everyone's attention was the ocean, which was kicking up some pretty heavy swells and waves. The photos below are misleading, because there's no real point of reference to show how big the waves are ... but you'll notice there's no one surfing today, in contrast to the previous posts, where there was always someone on a board.

Normally you'd see some huge rocks where those waves are crashing

Just as I snapped this, the water swelled up around the rock in the distance, which is about  20 feet high

These waves are actually 12-15 feet high, or so the Ocean Institute people told me

Pictures can't talk, but the sound of the water hitting these rocks was AWESOME!

Since I didn't have a lot of time (I do actually work, you know), I headed back home ... but on the way, I grabbed a shot from above the harbor. The arrow in the photo below shows where I was when I took the photos above ... and to the left is a wave crashing over the break wall. Compare the size of that wave to the people standing to the right to get an idea how big the waves are today. Click on the image (or any of them) to get a larger view.

See those tiny people? Compare them to the waves for size ...

That's it for today ... more riding and stuff next week, if not sooner. Hope your new year is off to a great start!!
 

Great Day in Dana Point!

I mentioned in the last post how nice the weather has been ... well, it just keeps coming. Today was almost 80 degrees at the peak, sunny, and absolutely beautiful. So I grabbed the camera and an insulated Kleen Kanteen full of Stumptown coffee, hopped on the Funqapillar, and headed down to the Dana Point Harbor for a great ride and some nice pics.

Beautiful view at the Ocean Institute with Seagull Fly-By greeting

Surfers were diggin' the higher-than-usual waves

Whoa, dude ... is that a huge rock under the wave ahead of you?

I never learned to surf, myself ... but this sure looks fun

SUP'ers were out in force in the Harbor

The Brig Pilgrim Pirate Ship ... ready to set sail ... take a ride when you visit!

Gotta love the complex sail rigging ...

The Harbor water was absolutely stunning today ... bluer than blue

After a ride around the Harbor, I headed on down the road to Doheny Beach for a slightly different view of the ocean and its visitors of the day:

Another stunning view of blue water, birds, and hazy fog-clouded mountains

Smaller waves here, but the surfers were still enjoying them

More SUP'ers ... I just HAVE to try that sometime ... looks like fun!

I love my copper bell ... hidden in the reflection is me in shorts ... in January!

Lots of people out enjoying the sun today, riding bikes to lunch at the beach

After enjoying some of that Stumptown Coffee (the "Hairbender" blend, with a little vanilla added), I rode back into town, up through the hills in Heritage Park, where I generally get quite tired, since it's fairly steep and always at the end of my ride. Funny today, though, I was about 2/3 of the way up the set of hills when I realized I wasn't breathing as hard as usual, and actually kind of enjoying the climb. Maybe it was the weather ... maybe I'm just getting better at it. In any case, when I finished the set of hills, I decided to continue on to visit one of the many scenic harbor overlooks for a few more photos. I stopped by the Blue Lantern Inn and snapped these:

The story of Dana Point

The Harbor from above ... lots of boats, blue sky, and blue water

When I got home, our smaller dog, Libby, gave me this look:

No, I'm not going to smile ... YOU smile ... and where have you been? I'm hungry!

Non-plussed hungry dogs aside, the day was inspiring. So much so, that I made this little video for you, to document a beautiful day in Dana Point (of course, the blogger video interface has made it into a low-res, grainy-looking thing ... but I was in a hurry and didn't do the YouTube thing ... sorry, but you get the idea) :

Hope the weather's nice where you are ... and that this new year brings you much happiness!!

Is this really December?

Is this December?  Seriously?  Wow ... I've been in California for over ten years now, and sometimes I still have to check the high tech digital computer interwebipedia calendar to be sure. It's December 22, and I can ride down to the beach in short sleeves and shorts.  That's a statement that often makes me scratch my head in confusion. I grew up in Michigan, and late December certainly never meant riding a bike to the beach ... forget the short sleeves and shorts (unless you're one of those crazy people there who do it just to be crazy). More often it meant making sure the driveway was cleared so I could get the car out to go to work, and then pre-heating the car and clearing ice from the window so I could see where I was going. Sure, I miss the snow every now and then, but I remember too many white-knuckled drives home on the black-ice covered highways for that emotion to last very long.

We've had a little colder weather this month, but the past few days have been beautiful. Last year at this very time we had some pretty rough storms ... heavy rain and wind, flooding, aqueduct walls breaking, and the canopy of vines in our back yard collapsed. This year ... pretty darn nice.

I took the Funqapillar (Hunqapillar + Fun + Funky) down to the harbor to see the waves and snap a few photos to prove to myself later that this was indeed the weather in late December. This is what I saw:

Calm, Cool Dana Point Harbor water

People and dogs having fun ... no shirt ... in December!

Surfin' ... in December!

Funqapillar at the Harbor ... basking in the sun and ready to roll ... in December!

I have to admit, we're a little spoiled here when it comes to having great year-round weather. Sure, it costs more to live here ... and we have the occasional earthquake ... and sometimes the coastline crumbles and falls away ... and the traffic is a nightmare ... but the weather is pretty awesome.

Hope the weather's fine where you are, and that you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Cross-Training

   
I love riding to the harbor, especially at this time of year.  It's beginning to fill with activity, since Summer is on its way ... but it's still not yet crowded, so one can enjoy the beauty and happenings without worry of obstacles like traffic and people ... not that there's anything wrong with either.

The only thing I DON'T like about riding to the harbor is that, as I mentioned in a previous post, the return ride is always ... ALWAYS an uphill ride.  Hills are okay, but there are two main roads back home, and both of them are fairly steep ... like THIS one:

The photo doesn't do justice, even with the tall ship views from the bottom and top for perspective, but suffice it to say this hill is about an 18% grade and runs for over a quarter mile.  It's almost as though every ride becomes a "training" ride because of hills like this one.  Now don't go assuming I think there's something wrong with training ... I have great admiration for those who do it.  For me, however, the word "training" conjures up images of something that isn't as much FUN and RELAXING as it is WORK ... and cycling isn't something I want to view as WORK.  I already do enough of that.  But since Summer is on its way ... and that often means getting in shape for beach outings and BBQ events ... I felt it was time today to begin a different kind of training regimen.

People often speak of "cross-training", using different forms of exercise to work (there's that word again) different muscle groups or to work the same groups in different ways.  You might think that means doing something WITHOUT your bike ... but that's not always true.  Today, I have developed a cross-training event that uses the bicycle throughout the entire process.  Truth be told, it happened by accident, when I really needed a different route home from the harbor.  Instead of taking one of the two road routes, I decided to enter the local park across from the harbor area.  I've never gone that way before because I've seen the posted signs asking for "no bicycling" on the park sidewalks ... however, I see many people doing it every day, so I thought I'd be bold and give it a whirl.  Geography dictates that going home WILL involve going uphill, so I knew there would be some kind of hill action ... but at least it was off the road and through some new territory.  What I found was a veritable plethora of cross-training possibilities.  Here's how it works:

Upon entering the park, one immediately encounters the first uphill path, followed by another, and another ... and then a series of "switchback" paths that lead ... you guessed it ... uphill through the park.  Here's a look:

And here's a graphic depiction of the switchbacks:

Once again, a photo cannot do this justice ... it's a very long, winding path up through that pretty green grass.

Now ... here's where the cross-training fun begins.  If trying to pedal up these paths becomes difficult, one can simply walk the bike ... and walking uphill with a bike works different leg and foot muscles, as well as working the riding muscles in different ways.  This can be especially effective if done near the end of what has already been a good long ride, when your legs are "pre-fatigued".  You can also skip the switchback paths altogether and push your bike uphill through the grass ... cyclocross style ... for a more invigorating workout.  If you want to add some strength training to your day, there are three sets of concrete stairs ... one VERY long (#1 in the photo), one medium long (#2), and one normal (#3).  You could carry your bike up them for added intensity and upper body work.  Here's a look:

I did not opt for the added stair workout today ... as holding the camera in one hand and the bike in the other presented a problem that could not be easily resolved at the moment.  Next time ...

I was a bit disappointed that I was obviously not the first cyclist to think of this cross-training plan.  I noticed several others performing the same workout:

Workout or not, I couldn't help but stop and enjoy the amazing scenery this particular park has to offer:

And the best view is the one at the top of all the switchbacks ... looking down over the climb just made with superhuman strength:

It really is a LONG way down to the bottom ... you'll just have to take my word for it!  Now get out of your computer chair and go explore some new territory of your own!!