A little detour

I decided to take a little break from Tucson.  And I mean little.  A few weeks ago I thought to myself, hmmmm... maybe I should take this opportunity to go out to Los Angeles and visit with my cousin's family?  I could have a little scenery change of pace for some of the training, go back for the first time in eight years, visit with family I don't get to see very often and have some actual human interaction, which would be a nice change of pace.  So a little e-mail exchanging and here I am. 

It's a little under 500 miles, which now to me is hardly a big deal at all after coming all the way across the country.  Plus, it's a lot more desolate highway with high speed limits, so it actually only took me a little over six hours to get here.  Plus a nice time zone change meant it was more like five hours.  I lived with these guys for a while when I lived here, so it's nice to be able to come back.  Also, it meant that I got to ride my bike on the Pacific Coast Highway for the first time since I moved back. 

So yesterday I had the bike in the car and off I went to the coast.  While the weather in Tucson has been sunny and such, it hasn't really been that warm.  I'm not complaining, because 50 is certainly better than 20, but when I ride in the morning in the desert air I've still been stuck in tights and long sleeves mostly.  Well, not the case out here.  I parked where I always used to, right by Sunset Boulevard, hopped on and started riding north through Malibu. 

Now, I tend to enjoy riding my bike mostly, though like anyone, there are times when I just don't feel like it and am not that excited about it.  I couldn't tell you the last time I enjoyed a bike ride the way I did yesterday.  I didn't want it to end.  It was sunny and in the 70's, riding along the ocean with trees and mountains and lots of other cyclists.  Sure, there were lots of cars, but trust me when I tell you that it is a small price to pay.  The entire time I was thinking that everything about this trip might be kind of dangerous because I'm not sure how I can ever spend another winter riding my bike in the basement and running through snow and ice under fifteen pounds of winter clothes. 

I don't remember ever seeing quite that many cyclists out when I used to ride out there, and certainly not so many tri bikes, but as you can imagine, there were lots and lots of bikes out.  The surfers were doing their thing, beach volleyball, and quite a few stand-up paddle boards, which definitely wasn't a big thing last time I was here but has really exploded in popularity. 

Everything about yesterday made me just immensely glad that I had chosen to come out here this winter.  I feel the same way in Tucson, but you just sort of fall into a routine after a while and stop thinking about it as much.  I had to keep reminding myself that it was February and not June.  I really needed this trip.  I think a lot of times I think about what I should be doing or what I shouldn't be doing, and what I'm basing those on, I'm not sure.  But most of the time you really have to sit back and think, wait, why not?  I realize that I am in such a position where it's easy for me to pick up and go somewhere for months at a time and not leave behind kids or anything like that, and a lot of people just don't have that freedom.  As long as I've got it though, I'm going to take advantage. 

That is another reason why I think I've decided to extend my little trip a bit.  The plan was to race Oceanside and then drive back from there the first week of April.  Well, we have this QT2 training camp coming up in Florida about a week and a half later, and I was thinking to myself, why drive back and then fly down to Florida so soon after?  Why not drive to Florida and then drive home?  So that's what I think I'm going to do.  I'll stay in California for a week, drive to Florida and do the camp, and then drive home.  I might even stop off in DC on the way back and visit another cousin I don't get to see that often.  And maybe then the snow will finally be gone.  How often do you get an opportunity to do something like that?  I don't think that often.  So, I'm taking it. 

Well, another day in Los Angeles and then back to the desert tomorrow.  My mom and my aunt are coming to visit this week so that should be nice.  You know, eating dinner in front of the TV is nice and all, but six weeks of almost strictly that and I think I'm ready for a break.