The 40-Minute Weather Wheel

I try to keep an eye on the weather forecast during the Winter months, as it seems to change a lot from day to day. It's not uncommon for the local weather guys and girls to disagree on what's coming later in the week, and there may not be a consensus until the day before a planned event. And by "event", I mean "tomorrow's ride".

The forecast for today was supposed to be partly-to-mostly cloudy in the morning, followed by thickening cloud cover in the early afternoon, developing into light occasional rain showers later in the day ... windy all day long with strong gusts at times ... and chilly (for us, anyway). That worked for me. I figured I could go out for a nice long-ish ride in the morning and be home long before any showers started. I'm not exactly fond of strong wind, but I can handle it, so no big deal ... and I can just dress a little warmer when it's chilly ... but windy AND rainy AND chilly isn't my idea of good riding weather. Riding into a cold headwind with blowing cold rain? Nope.

Okay ... so this morning appeared to be as predicted. Mostly cloudy with the sun poking through here and there, and a little chilly. I got dressed and got out the door. As I rode down to the Harbor, I definitely felt the wind pushing back at me, which was nice in a way, because the direction meant I'd have a tailwind on the ride home ... but it made the 50-degree air temperature feel more like the mid-30's, and my fingers were getting very cold. No matter, though ... I always warm up as I ride on. I noticed some darker clouds beginning to roll in, but didn't think too much about it because there was also some blue sky showing:

Dark low clouds AND blue sky over the Harbor

As I began to leave the Harbor and head down past the beach to the trail, I started to feel a few drops of rain. My head told me it wasn't actually going to rain ... because how could ALL of the weather people be wrong? Well ... they were wrong. The few drops quickly became actual rain. Cold ... windy ... and now RAIN. I turned into  a small covered area at Doheny Beach to see if it would pass before I continued on. It did pass ... rather quickly, and treated me to some interesting sky images.

Doheny Beach sky

When the rain stopped, I decided I wasn't having a lot of fun ... and since I was now cold and wet, it might be a good idea to head home. I rode back past the beach and up the hills toward the house, stopping to look at the sky again. It was quite a sight, almost like two completely different skies split down the middle over the Harbor. To the left, it was dark, thick, gloomy clouds. To the right, bright blue, sunny, clear sky.

View to the left ... dark clouds

View to the right ... bright, sunny, clear blue

As I continued toward home, the clouds went away, and the sky became completely clear and sunny.

This all took place in a 40-minute time period. It was cloudy when I started ... then turned dark and started to rain ... and then became completely clear and sunny. How strange this Winter weather can be!

Had I thought there was any chance of rain, I could have prepared better and put on some rain-worthy clothing ... and I would have then continued on with the ride. But three weather people AND the weather dot com folks ALL said no rain until late afternoon. Their collective score for today: FAIL.

As I write this post, an hour after getting home, the weather wheel has turned again ... the sky has gone from sunny, blue, and clear to dark and cloudy, and it is starting to rain. I guess it can't be sunny and warm EVERY day ... even in Southern California!

Here's to a better tomorrow ... hope your Winter weather hasn't hindered your riding! More reviews in the works!

Happy February!!

This year is already moving fast. It's difficult to believe we've already entered the second month of 2012 ... and even more difficult to think that it's the year 2012. Wow. Aren't we supposed to be driving cars that fly and perform self-navigation so we simply sit and await arrival at our destination like the Jetsons? Maybe that's still a bit down the road.

In any case, being that it's now the beginning of February, this is the time of year when the holidays are all over, but it's still not yet Spring. And, although this Winter has been awfully mild here in the good ol' USA, the sun still sets early, and we aren't getting quite enough of the natural vitamin D we need to feel good. In addition, the bills from our extravagant holiday expenditures have now arrived, we're looking at the decorations that still haven't been put away, and  that overgrown chipmunk in that famous town has apparently seen his own shadow and given us the royal groundhog middle finger of a longer winter ahead as he crawls back into his den, where he has a comfortable supply of pizza and beer. So, with all of that happening, unless you live for the Super Bowl (did I mention pizza and beer?), this week can be downright "blah". FYI, I do turn on the Super Bowl, but my watching may be a bit blasphemous. You see, I watch ONLY the commercials, which are the very best part of the whole thing, and go about my normal day in between. I do, however, have pizza and beer ... to celebrate those incredibly clever and extremely expensive commercials.

Back to the point ... February, especially the first week of it, can sometimes leave us (and by "us", I basically mean "me") feeling a little bit "gray" ... like this little fellow I saw a few days ago:

Don't be sad ... your chubby cousin said it would only be six more weeks of Winter!

I don't like feeling gray ... which is why I like to ride a bike. Heck, just looking at my Hunqapillar begins to bring a little color into my otherwise gray day:

Bring on the color ... Bring on the Funq(apillar)!!

Although it might be tempting to go sit at the bar ... what makes me feel better is the view from my "bars":

This winter thing isn't so bad after all ... in fact, it's pretty nice today!

It always works, and I always feel better after a good ride. I come home with the energy to do the things I didn't want to do earlier, like the major office and house cleaning at the top of my list ... and putting away the last of the holiday decorations. And it seems that while I'm riding, the plan comes together in my head for getting done what I thought impossible before I left the house.

Maybe riding a bike does the same for you? If not, just get outside for a bit. Since the weather has been so mild, there are plenty of things you could do:

You could go surfing!!!

If you don't want to get wet, you could just go and watch the waves!

You could even learn to fly ... (or maybe just watch the birds)

Okay ... maybe you don't live near a large body of water. The point is ... get some fresh air. It will do good things for your spirit!

Back with more soon, including some reviews of stuff. But first ... I have to finish the cleaning and organizing of the house and office. Good thing I went for a nice ride this morning ...

California Winter and the Wind Tunnel From Hell

Well, since I've posted so much about how nice the weather has been here, it seems only fitting that we finally received some California-style winter. Sunday brought us some light misty cold rain off and on through the day and evening, followed by a very cold (for SoCal) night and Monday morning. It was cold and windy, but not too much for a ride ... and the misty rain was gone, so I dressed warmer than usual and headed out.

The blue skies were nowhere to be seen, instead coated with varying shades of gray. The warm air was also missing, replaced with a chilling wind. Nevertheless, I pressed on ... seeing images like this:

Remember when this was pretty blue sky just a couple of days ago?

I rode past the beach to the entrance of the bike path that leads inland, wanting to check up on the path closure status. When I got there, I found the underpass flooded. You see, when we get rain here, no matter how small the amount, it all runs downhill from the mountains through the creeks and water channels to the ocean. Since the path entrance is at an underpass at the mouth of the water channel, it gets deep ... and floods the path at that lowest point.

This water is about hub deep ... and I was wearing sandals with wool socks.

Since I was without my river-fording knee-high boots, I decided to turn around and take a different route. There's a short detour that leads further south along the beach and connects to a separated bike path running between Pacific Coast Highway and the Amtrak train tracks, leading almost all the way to San Clemente. The path itself runs only for about 2 miles, but with the detour and beach sections leading to it, it turns out to be about a 6 mile round trip from the starting point at Doheny Beach. Being that it was cold and windy, I thought that would make for a nice little ride, combined with the 3 or 4 miles that gets me from my house to Doheny and back.

After a leisurely cruise by the  beach/RV area, I connected with the bike path and began the ride south.

It's cold. It's dark and cloudy. There are no motorized vehicles. And I'm wearing sunglasses.

It was relatively peaceful along the way, but a rather dull and non-scenic ride. It did seem nice and smooth, though, and with a nice relatively new path surface, the pedaling seemed light and easy. After the 2-mile stretch, I reached the end of the separated path. You can continue along PCH in a bike lane to San Clemente, but I decided to turn around and head back. Did I mention it was cold?

Turn around here or join PCH traffic to San Clemente

As I began to ride back toward Dana Point, I suddenly remembered why I don't ride this route more often, and realized why the pedaling seemed light and easy on the outbound portion. The return trip was what I can only describe as "The Wind Tunnel From Hell". It seems the combination of the rock cliffs on one side, houses and ocean on the other, and the path itself bound with tall-ish concrete barriers on both sides creates a super funnel for the wind that seems to always head south along this path. Needless to say, I was not excited to be riding into the worst headwind ever ... and did I mention it was really cold? I suddenly felt the familiar bite of winter on my fingers and face, my lips were becoming numb, and the fact that I had no handkerchief or tissue for my nose was beginning to concern me. Was I somehow transported back to the Midwestern winter?

With a lower gear and a determined heart, I pedaled the 2 miles back to the beach/RV area and snapped a photo with my frozen hands to document the evil path for you:

Remind me to remember this next time I decide to ride here, okay?

In the direction the photo is taken, the ride is fine ... but the return trip will feel twice as long and require several times the effort. Somehow I managed the "Wind Tunnel From Hell" ... and the cold ... and got back to Doheny Beach, then back through the hills and home. It took most of the day to recover from the chill. And for us here in Southern California, that's a traumatic experience. Do not worry ... I will survive.

I know ... for most of you out there, winter means snow, ice, and temperatures below freezing for at least 2-3 months. I used to live in a place like that. I think California has softened me, because what I'm describing above as frigid cold would likely feel downright balmy for many of you this time of year, and would have to me when I used to live in the upper Midwest. Times have certainly changed ...

I can't complain, though, given the amazing weather we've had for the month leading up to this cold snap. Last year brought us some horrible storms, and as a result, we were in the midst of repairs for most of last January. So a little cold and some very light rain is just fine with me. I'll just have to remember to save the "Wind Tunnel From Hell" for a warmer day ...

Hope your winter is progressing quickly into the coming Spring and that you can at least get out for some kind of ride, despite the weather!