Merry Christmas!

Per my Holiday tradition, today I'll post my annual home-made Christmas card for the world (er, well, a tiny handful of the world...but that's ok).

So, without further adieu...2019! (note: I've now made my Christmas card every year starting in 1997 except for one...2008 was my only missed year).

Merry Christmas to the Asylum!

Happy Veterans Day!

Yes, today is that annual day where I (the Veteran) get to get up early and go to work, and Jeannie (the NON Veteran) gets to stay home with pay. Ahhhh....Veterans Day! I'd say I'm used to it, but I'm not...I'm telling you, if I were President, I'd use my Executive Orders power and decree that ALL Veterans will get this day off WITH PAY, and all NON Veterans would go to work. It would be a Federal Holiday ONLY for the Veterans. That way they would stand a chance to go get some of those free IHOP pancakes and all the other goods and goodies that so many businesses give free to Veterans on this special day.

Boy would I piss off a lot of people with that one I bet!

Anyhoo...I've been riding a LOT this past 3 months, and (nobody apparently wants to hear this) my weight is lowest it's been since I got out of the Navy back in 94. I'm thinking my Dress Blues will fit pretty good, going to dig them out this afternoon for a picture with ribbons and dixie-cup (hat). Yep...I'll be fully in uniform for the first time since I retired (last year I tried on the Blues but didn't have my ribbons or hat...it was more of a "will they still fit?" thing). This year I KNOW they will fit.

And so...College football. Yesterday was a pretty big day. LSU won their annual matchup with Alabama, opening the door to Ohio State. But it was a very tough game, so Bama shouldn't fall too far (most of Bama's problems were their MISTAKES! You can't do that against a serious opponent, and it's not the norm for a Sabian team to have that many unforced errors). Penn State also lost so they are out of that elite undefeated company, leaving just LSU, Clemson and OSU undefeated. I'd still put Bama as #4 if I were the in the rankings department...maybe we will get a repeat of that game many years ago when LSU beat Bama in the season and they were still the #1 and #2 teams and went to the National Championship game, where Bama killed them for the title. I'm just NOT a Tigers fan, so that would be fine by me (but they looked pretty darn good against Bama!)...or maybe Clemson will earn a bid to the title game. I'm just HOPING that FINALLY Michigan gets their demons exorcised and can knock OSU out of the undefeated category (it's happened before). Their game on November 30th COULD be a doosey, I sure hope so! And it is at home....maybe the Ann Arbor home-field advantage will give Harbaugh and company the boost it needs to finally win this game (against a seriously tough team!

OK..enough on CFB. How about this awesome time change? Isn't it wonderful to get off work having it almost dark already? Oh yeah...gotta love that! I know we here in California voted to stop changing the time a year or 2 ago but haven't enacted it yet, so I looked it up. We voted to STAY on Daylight Savings Time (which would be fine by me) but that isn't allowed by Federal Law. A state CAN stay on Standard time, but to stay on DST would require a change to the DST law made way back when. I can only ask, WHY when the made the DST law would it be ok to stay on Standard time (like Arizona and a few other states) but not DST? What is the difference?? I hope they get this law change going and passed (assuming Congress can actually agree on ANYTHING) soon...this stoopid time change has got to go!

And say, how about the weather?? Watching the news every morning, sheesh! My cousins up in North Dakota have already been HAMMERED! And back east, BRRRR! Gee, I can hardly wait to move to Richmond! (NOT!!!!) I'm really quite partial to our Central Coast weather...you know, where we have maybe TWO seasons?? Yesterdays bike ride was in just PERFECT weather...I think we got up to maybe 76 in the afternoon...it was in the 60s by the 9am start...that is pretty great weather if you ask me (oh, and the winds have REALLY been absent this last few weeks which is AWESOME!) I don't get why there aren't 10 million people living up here...our weather overall is amazing!! Oops...ssshhh...don't pass that on, I think that's supposed to be a secret!

So....it's been a busy day, but here is my "Dress Blues" photo for this years Veterans Day:

They fit pretty well actually...though getting into the pullover top is ALWAYS a contest...I think the original designers were using some sort of a straight-jacket as their inspiration and ended up with this...you can seriously be trapped inside that thing!

Help, I'm falling!

Yes, it's officially FALL. And then it isn't. Our weather here is very wishy-washy. One moment it's cold and very much like fall, then last week it was HOT (and we don't get HOT very often). We've had some high winds, but nothing like the  Santa Anna's that blow down south, creating havoc with any spark causing an out of control fire. Thankfully that's very rare up where I'm at....further north they have the same problem....funny how the little bubble of not-crazy weather is over my area. I know the utilities have been shutting off a lot of peoples power in order to NOT cause more fires from their aging and faulty equipment (and even that hasn't stopped them from sparking off fires). And now everybody who is losing power wants to sue them for their inconvenience...they (the utility companies) just can't win...they got crushed into bankruptcy the last few years from the devastating fires their equipment caused because they DIDN'T shut down the power, and now that they are everybody is upset at that too. They can't afford to replace all the ancient equipment as it would cost BILLIONS...what are they to do? I haven't the foggiest idea...talk about between a rock and a hard place!

Anyway....lots going on...College football..WOW! Michigan beat-down Notre Dame yesterday (HOORAY!!) but lost a heart breaker to still unbeaten Penn State last Saturday (who has now moved up to 5th with Oklahoma's loss yesterday). Stupid Ohio State (sorry Rae!) is still up in the top 3..RATS! Ol' Blue NEEDS to finally break that curse this year...their game is coming up in a few weeks. But boy does OSU still look good, darn them!

What else...oh, gymnastics! And all that needs to be said about that is "Simone Biles". Greatest gymnast EVER? It would be easy to make a case for that...she is undoubtedly amazing! How many moves new to Gymnastics does she now have named after her? The saying "Dynamite comes in small packages" doesn't even do justice to her...she is more like plastic explosive...WAY more devastating than dynamite! And she looks to not even be slowing down a little...she is better than EVER!

Halloween is almost upon us....I am heading up (work travel) to Travis Air Force Base tomorrow for the week...head back either Weds or Thurs, depending on how things go (I'm hoping for Thursday...just need to be home in time for Trick or Treats...I have a ton of candy ready to give out!)

Did a HUGE road bike ride yesterday (my biggest ever in fact)....my first ever "Death Ride" (a century with well over 10,000' of climbing)....it was the "unofficial" Deer Creek Death Ride (starts in Thousand Oaks off of the 101 and is all over the place in the Santa Monica mtns). I'm finally back at the razors edge of being at my best ever fitness (took me a few months to get 'back' after le Tour)...I'm really pleased with how I rode...felt pretty great considering! So I'm taking my bike with me on the road trip tomorrow and plan to stop and ride Mt Diablo tomorrow on the way up, and again when I"m coming home...got to ride it many years back when the Tour of CA rolled thru and had a mt top finish (I was up working in Sunnyvale that year). Didn't even get to climb the whole thing as they had the last mile or more roped off for only the racers...had to walk up to the finish). Also it was HOT HOT HOT that year (that's the year they did the Palm Springs tram finish and it was so hot the pavement was melting at the finish area and a lot of riders were near heat-stroke).

Was just down in Yuma last weekend with my brothers, working on our Moms house...getting it ready to sell. We painted the entire outside, and pretty much cleared the inside of her presence (THAT was hard...hated doing it). Nearly all her 'stuff' is now gone...given to the local mission she supported. THAT was hard too...I really wanted to put all her 'stuff' (ceramics and all her nic-nacs she collected these last 30 years or so) out on the curb of her house with a "Mary Halvorson/Chapeks stuff, please feel free to take some of her things to remember her by" sign.... (she lived in a large retirement  RV park where there are very few RV's anymore...almost all have "park models" installed on their lots...moms park model is VERY NICE) so that all her friends and acquaintances could have that...but my brothers wanted to give it all to the mission...so there it all went, and it was pretty nice stuff...all going to complete strangers (whatever survives the gauntlet of making it to a shelf in their store and isn't broken). I was pretty crushed by that...none of her friends will have ANY of her stuff...people who knew her. But I was over-ruled...I kept what I could but sadly almost all went to the mission. I'm still hurt on that...nobody will be going "oh, that's cute, where did you get it? Oh...that was Mary's, you remember her?" She had a giant footprint in the park for a lot of years....church, choir, plays, crafts, fundraisers, dances...she touched a lot of lives.

I still feel bad...like we stabbed her in the heart tossing ALL her stuff basically in the trash to get a few $$ for the mission...heck, I would have given the mission money to NOT give them her stuff. Sheesh...there I go again. Got to let it go...can't fix it, it's a done deal. Damn. Anyway...had to vent on that...I'm better now...(not really).

OK...back to more pleasant things...our weather here has been mostly pretty great...but typical Central Coast (all over the map, but generally pretty decent, which describes it almost year round). Which is a good thing as it fueled my cycling comeback (4 rides a week) and was critical to my success...as I am VERY MUCH a "fair weather" cyclist. I've been riding very strong on my Saturday morning Group Rides, and I've been adding distance to further my comeback...my every other Friday off has typically been a very hard ride and been doing great on those too. Yep...I'm BACK! Soon enough will be the STOOPID TIME CHANGE, which is where the decline of my hard-earned late-season form starts to decline (again). The Holidays almost seem to crush my riding.

And so...I should be going...today is 'chores'  day, as are most of my Sundays. And packing and getting ready to roll out early in the morning heading north to Travis.

Later Gators...have a great week!

Cheers!

Another one bites the dust! (Year that is)

On Monday I turn 59.

In years past I'd have put an exclamation point after that number...not so anymore...not really freaking out yet, but NEXT year likely will be some lamenting and wringing of hands and woe-is-me moaning and such. I mean, holy smokes! I think back to when I was 10, and how OLD my grandfathers were! They were ANCIENT! Silver hair, wrinkly skin, OLD!

I don't have exact date, but I have to assume when I was 10 they were likely around 60. Uhm...er, wait...OK...doing the math, more likely that they were around 70...(I was born in 1960 when my dad was 31 and mom was 26...so assuming their parents were about 30 years older, that means my grandparents were around 60 when I was born). Dang...that throws everything into a tizzy...NOW I have to wait until I'm 70 to cry about how old I am!

I guess 60 is the new 40...and 59 is what exactly? Surely not 39. However, I do have to admit that I'm in pretty reasonable shape for an old guy. And as I type that (old guy) I cringe and think about Bill Kennedy...a guy in my weekly Saturday Morning road-ride group. Bill is 72. He KILLS it out there! Honestly...I can only take him on the climbs, and also when the rides get to around 50+ miles I start to pull ahead of him. But he's a terror on flats/rollers AND descents! I actually have a hard time staying with him. Maybe he's a mutant...certainly he won a genetic lottery of some sort, and he MUST take pretty good care of himself. But still...he is a real hero to me as I hope and pray I will be like that. That I am ABLE to be like that (that I"m not all broken down and barely able to move).

I don't have a crystal ball giving me insight into what my next decade + will look like...and even if I could find out I wouldn't want to. Let the future remain a mystery...let me believe I will still be able to Mt bike like I do now until I'm 70 (or longer). I need to believe I'll be riding like Bill when I'm 72...that guys well over a decade (or 2, or 3) younger are going "holy smokes, he's 72!" and trying (unsuccessfully) to hold my wheel.

Rae, you turned 65 a bit ago, but ladies in general outlive men (you've heard the joke "why do men die sooner than their wives? Because they WANT to"...HA HA! Um, er, maybe not so funny to the current readership attendees....but it's a real  hoot to the guys). Susie, I am assuming you are around Jeannie's age (I have 5 on her). All I really know  is that I MUST retire while I'm still young enough AND healthy enough to ENJOY it. SO many guys I work with retire late and die w/in a few years...that is a very sad thought. Work your whole life and finally retire only to croak in a few short years.

Anyway, boy I really went on a wild tangent on this one. Hey...how about that Vuelta?? Rae and Susie, I'm jealous both of you are watching it. Thanks for the updates Susie....Rae feel free to chime in with your insight...the more the merrier. Pretty crazy race so far this year...but when isn't it?

And so...another birthday is almost here...Jeannie will be gone all next week (she leaves for LA on Monday, comes back Thursday I think)...so it will be a rather lonely b-day week...but the babies will be here to keep me company. And I will be bike-riding at least Tues and Thursday, maybe Monday too...I'm trying to hold to four rides a week just now...it's my annual Post TDF comeback...it's going pretty well actually...I have really picked up my pace since the end of July both Mtb and road. But I'm still a ways away from setting any real "PR's" (Personal Records on STRAVA). Setting PR's, 2nds and 3rds is how I know that I'm riding on that high-end knife-edge of my fitness. I getting close tho...my confidence is there now that I've had a few good hard rides with times to show it, and that confidence lets me believe it's actually possible...that I WILL arrive at that knife-edge if I keep it up.

For my b-day this year Jeannie is getting me a "FitBit"...I'm a data-junkie, and from what I see (just about everybody at work has them) it's a pretty cool resource of info...tracks steps, heart-rate, sleep, exercise....I'll be anxious to see how that goes with my riding. Also be cool to see what my sleep is actually like vs what I THINK it's like (I get woke up a lot by the babies...maybe I'm not getting as much sleep as I THINK I am).

OK...time to get some dinner....I'm starved! Welcome to September!!Fall is here (which is summer where I live...our Fall is the best time of year, though our Spring is quite nice AND it's green from the winter rains).

Later gators....and Cheers!

Stages 14-21

And suddenly, we are in the final third of this years Tour! And as always, I'm always stunned that it got here SO FAST!

Anyway, Stage 14...more WOW! Alaphilipe was fantastic! Stayed with the lead group all the way, and even after GT was DROPPED! Bernal hung in there and was better, but GC lost MORE TIME! I had goose bumps! Watching the other GC hopefuls drop off 1 by 1...I was really hoping Rigo would hang and even gain some time back, but even he dropped.

And if there was any more surprise, it was Team Jumbo! They were still there with 2 guys when Ineos was down to just Bernal and GT! I think the era of the Superteam is over....things are a LOT more even now...other teams staying with them, and that they are BEHIND blows my mind...in a GOOD way!

My other takeway is that I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to ride the Col du Tourmalet one day while I am still young enough to enjoy it. That climb looks fantastic! It's very similar in length and altitude gained to our own Figueroa Mt that I ride a few times a year...it's a 40 mile loop from where I park...one way it's 7 miles to the base of the climb, then a 10 mile climb with about 4000' of climbing, 10 miles down the other side, and then 14 miles back to my car where I refill my water bottles and get food, and then take off again going the opposite direction and do the entire loop a 2nd time, netting me 80 miles and just under 10,000' of climbing. This is the mountain that many teams come to our area every January to train on, as it's very similar to the big climbs of le Tour (Lance and US Postal/Discovery came here every year during his heyday, and they stayed in Solvang and trained on our local Santa Ynez valley roads including Fig Mt. I may not be fast but I can ride all day, and it's kind of funny that I dont' know anybody who wants to ride the double Fig loop with me. That's my kind of ride...a grinding hour and a half climb, twice (it's rated HC and there's only one other one in this entire area rated that, and it's out of Santa Barbara....Gibraltar Rd...which is also a great climb!)

OK. I need to get some sleep...did a road ride today with my local bike shop group, and hope to take the Mt bike out tomorrow and do a few laps on our local little hill....I REALLY need to get some saddle time in as I'm in just about my worst fitness of the year right now.

Tour ON!

.

Stages 7 thru 13

OK....another sprint stage is done and done. Gronevagen (sp? that's a HARD one to spell w/out cheating and looking it up) won finally, good for him!

Also, I was confused this morning during the pre-stage when they were showing TJ...I totally thought they were saying he crashed YESTERDAY during the big climbs day...but no, he crashed THIS MORNING! So what was his deal yesterday then? Today I certainly understand him being off the back dying...he's hurt for sure. So he goes to the hospital after the stage today and tomorrow we will find out how he is. Well, you all will find out...I am headed to Las Vegas (again)...my dad's birthday is Monday. Little bro is flying in from Houston, big bro WAS flying in tomorrow night but his work is sucking his will to live and he had to cancel. So little bro Dave and I will hang out w/ Dad for a day and a half or so...take him out to eat, hot tubbing, and sight-seeing (he lives in an assisted living facility). He will be 88...WOW!

So anyway...I will be away from the TV and computer for the next few days (I drive home on Monday)...I gather tomorrow is another hard stage...likely I won't be able to catch up on viewing as it just doesn't work that way...I MIGHT peek in on my phone to see who won Sat and Sunday...Monday likely I will not look as I can see some/most of that stage when I get home.

OK. Gotta hit the sack...getting up at 3am, ugh. Have a nice weekend...

Viva le Tour!

Tour Time!

YES! The day has arrived! The START of the 2019 Tour de France!

I admit that for unknown reasons I'm not quite as "into" it as I typically would be. Maybe it's because I JUST got back from vacation, and right before that work travel.

Maybe it's because a few of the top  pre-race favorites won't be there.

Whatever the reason, I'm just not as in to it as I usually would be.

That all said, I did watch the entire Stage 1 today, and wow! What a finish! I was rooting for Sagan, but the youngster Mike T (won't even TRY to spell that last name) who nipped Peter by a few inches at the line is a breath of fresh air! It was sad to see his sprinter (and likely the TOP sprinter in this years race) go down in the final chaotic moments...but he was there and fresh and went for it...LOVED IT!

I'm sad that Cav won't be there but he has been sucking all year, so I personally doubt very much he'd be in contention for any wins, and he wouln't have lasted very long anyway. This is a tough year for the pure sprinters for sure. I do like the fact that this is one of the rare "wide open" races. The kind of year where a Carlos Sastre wins (wasn't THAT a surprise!). TJ is there, but seriously...I just don't see him staying with Thomas, and don't really see HIM staying with Bernal. We have Uran, and Nibili, and Porte, but I just don't see any of them staying with Bernal in the mountains...maybe this will be the year a true young'un wins it! (during the broadcast it was mentioned that IF Bernal were to win it he'd be the 4th youngest overall, and THE youngest in decades. And nobody can deny that Team Ineos (aka Sky) STILL has the best team. Whoever they put their chips behind has a very good shot, providing he also has 21 days of good luck (or at least no BAD LUCK). I heard Thomas went down today, and we saw Dylan G. go down...you have to wonder how hurt he is. And how about Jacob Fugslang...blood pouring down his face....be interesting to see how hurt he was/is, as he is one of the top contenders IMO.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the TTT, and the big deal out of that at the end of the day will be what GC wanna-bees will lose what kind of time to the other wanna-bees.

OK...won't be too chatty just yet....have to pace myself!

Tour ON!

Cheers!

Viva Las Vegas!

Yep...I really get around....Jeannie and I are now in Las Vegas!

For another 2.5 hours anyway.

And as I type, we are packing to LEAVE Las Vegas.

Its definitely a fun city to visit. at 3am I walked down to get us coffee, and there area all kinds of people gambling. LOTS of really nicely dressed people. What a place!

Anyway, I will post some pictures after we get to Hawaii.

Yes, you read that right...we fly to Honolulu this morning.

We will be there for a week.

There will be a wedding.

And drinks.

I will add more as time permits...the time here in Vegas went by VERY swiftly! 

I am so tired.

Need sleep.

Aloha!

Boulder

Yep, I'm in Boulder. Colorado. Seems like a pretty nice place actually....tho a bit on the pricey side. Who would have thought....I imagine 5 to 10 years ago it was much more affordable...but success brings business which brings people which raises the prices of everything.

But still...a neat town in a neat area. Mountains...much like down south a bit in CO Springs...the great plains meet the Rocky Mountains. Same here. Though I admit I haven't really gotten to see or do much working every day, er, I mean night. 12 hour shifts are the normal, though some  nights we get cut loose early when we run out of work. Its been a REALLY busy trip (left my house on the 29th of May). I'm scheduled to fly home on Saturday....my part of the work is done. About 2/3rds of the crew stays to bring our equipment back home at the end of the month...I wont be in that part of the job as Jeannie and I will be on VACATION! In Hawaii! (woo-HOO!)

but enough on that...I did get out for a nice little hike the other morning up Flagstaff Mountain on yes, you guessed it, Flagstaff Trail. A nifty little 2.5 miles and probably just under 2000 of climbing. Here are a few pics...very pretty area.

 Looking at Boulder Falls, just a few miles out of town up Boulder Canyon (which sucks to drive right now, a ton of winter damage and 1-way traffic with flagmen everywhere...and TONS of traffic on a weekend).

 And Boulder Falls. NICE!

 The start of Flagstaff Trail. 

 This trail is just a bit of a hike...definetly had me sucking wind! (of course, I live at sea-level).

 As I neared the summit this little guy (well, not so little really, he/she is bigger than I am!) came cruising down towards the trail...if I had been just a few minutes behind Id have likely come face to face w/ him as he intersected w/ the trail not too far behind me. Here I'm about 30 to 40 yards from him. Hes not fully grown but not a cub...I took a few pics and got moving, wasn't sure if  he is still w/ mama or not at this age, and I really didn't want to meet HER!

 Just another shot of Mr. Bear. Pretty cool to see a bear on my FIRST hike here!

 Looking at Boulder thru a gap in the trees.

 And a panorama of the view.

 This is the amphitheater at the Flagstaff Mt Summit. Pretty amazing...I guess they have concerts and such here...wicked view!

 Looking at the stage and the view of Boulder beyond. NICE!

 More view of Boulder.

And finally another panorama.

And my trip here is almost over. I fly home Saturday (Hoo-RAY!) I'm tired...the 12 hour night-shifts really wear you down. As does working every day. Time to go home and then go on VACATION! Yeah!!

Cheers!

Tour of California, Stage 5

So I took today (Thursday) off work, a vacation day from the last 2 months of pre-mission-madness. It was a pretty fun way to spend a day: chasing the stage! It was a game of "Catch" and I caught the stage FIVE TIMES!

First I drove up (about 20 miles) to the start at Pismo Beach. Had the gravel (road) bike in the car so I could park near the 101 freeway on-ramp (for quick egress) and ride my bike thru the throngs of pedestrians and vehicles to the pier, where the start was at.

 So here is the start. The riders were all lined up with the jerseys at the front as usual, and now they are just rolling out. Sagan is in green and you can barely see him, he dropped back into the 2nd row just about in the middle of the picture.

 The front of the peleton.

After the start and all the team cars, official cars, TV and photo motos, ambulances and whatnot had FINALLY passed I was able to zip back to my car and hit the 101 headed for home.

 Here I am in Old Orcutt, about 4 miles from my house. This is the sprint-point, and there wasn't a lot of players today. These are the only 2 riders interested. And this is my 2nd catch of the race so far.

 And here is the peleton coming thru the sprint point.

After the enormous caravan again passed I jumped back in my car and followed the race up Clark Ave where I jumped back on the 101 South (the race continued on Clark Ave out of town). They passed within 2 miles of my house as they passed Bradley Ave. I then went south to Los Alamos and a bit beyond where I turned onto Aliso Cyn rd that takes me over to Foxen Canyon (where the race is coming thru).

 Here I"m on Foxen Canyon, just a bit past Aliso Cyn where I am parked. I WAS going to ride my bike up this little cat 3 climb, but the Hwy Patrol officer yelled at me not to go. So I waited the 20 minutes or more for the race to come by (it would have taken me about 5 minutes to climb it). What really ticked me off is that a guy on a bike came thru about TWO minutes before the racers and kept going, and Mr. CHP didn't say a WORD to him! I don't get it...maybe he didn't like my bike? Anyway, this picture is the breakaway cruising along.

 The back of the break-away. That's Sagan 2nd from the back.

 And here is the main peleton blazing by. So this is my THIRD catch of the race so far. I then again got in my car and blazed back over Aliso to the 101 South, where I headed to Santa Barbara. The race was going up and over Hwy 154, and I really wanted to go up that (have never ridden it before) but it's been raining, AND instead of closing the road for several hours like they have done in years past, they are just doing rolling road-blocks (according to the AMGEN site). Ugh...no way I'm riding that with the traffic...it's a dangerous road for CARS! So I had to go with plan B: Play catch with the race.

 Here I am at the intersection fo Hwy 154 and Foothill Road in Santa Barbara. This is the PA announcer-guy vehicle. He comes up in front of the race to any group of people and stops and gives a nice race report, then moves to the next group. LOVED THAT! I don't remember them doing that before...good idea!

 

 And just a few minutes later here comes the breakaway...being led by, you guessed it: Peter Sagan!

 Here you can see the peleton coming down the off-ramp from Hwy 154, about to make the left turn onto Foothill Rd.

And the peleton is making the corner onto Foothill.

 Looking at the back of the peleton, now on Foothill. The first 2 of the team cars are in this picture. After this I jumped BACK in my car and zoomed down past Santa Barbara, hoping to turn onto Hwy 150 towards Lake Casitas, and catch the race for a FIFTH time as they turned left onto 150...but the 101 off-ramp was already closed...missed it by THAT much! So I continued on to Ventura for the finish and expo.

 There were 3 biplanes flying around, doing some simple sky-writing (big "V"s for Ventura I guess).

 And this is the winner of the women's stage (1) van der Breggen...she is the reigning world champ wearing the Rainbow jersey. She finished well ahead of the rest of the strung-out field.

 Here she's about to cross the finish line. I'm standing about 15 meters from the line...not a bad spot!

 And here comes the men (about a half-hour later). I had no idea who was leading, other than that Peter Sagan had dropped out of the lead group as they ramped up the speed for the sprint.

 Here's one of the leaders (in white) just leaving my frame...the co-leader sprinter was to his left and I didn't catch him in this shot (you can see them side by side in the previous shot). That is the rest of the chase-group coming up behind.

And looking at the breakaway and the finish line.

And that was that. I waited a bit for the main peleton to start coming in, but they were quite spread out. I finally made my way back to my car and headed for home. Total mileage for the day: 265 in the car, about 20 (maybe) on the bike. But today wasn't for bike riding anyway...it was for catching the race as many times as I could, and I think FIVE is a pretty good number. I missed six by just a bit (guessing)...but that one was an outside shot anyway...I didn't originally plan for it, just added it into my itinerary this morning wondering if it would be possible. It wasn't. 

AND SO. That is the extent of my 2019 Tour of California-watching.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out bike-packing again (another 1 nighter, returning Saturday afternoon), further refining my gear. I've added some stuff, meaning I have even more weight than my maiden voyage 2 weeks ago (when it weighed 15lbs). But I should be that much more comfortable. We shall soon see. I just need to NOT sleep near a Coyote Super-highway this time.

Later gaters...game ON!

Bikepacking 101, the REST of the story

I survived!

It was a great overnight trip, and I learned a LOT! But I"ll start with some pictures and go into the story from there. Hang on, cuz AWAY WE GO!

 So here is my gear (most of it, there were a few items I thought of after this shot, such as camp clothes to get out of cycling gear. My gear and the bags weighed right at 15lbs.

 Parked at my jump off point, with an 8 mile climb, then 15 miles on the Sierra Madre Ridge to get to the Painted Rock, my camping point.

 Getting close, this view is the first time you see the white rock. There is an entire valley of it, and THE Painted Rock is a lone bit just up from the valley.

 Painted Rock. There is a black hole (the cave with the ancient Chumash Indian paintings in it) about dead center of the picture and just down from teh top of the rock formation. You access the cave from the backside and on top. The Forest Service has put bars in place now to TRY to keep people out of the cave (destroying it)...but people still get inside. I take my pics from the ground or outside the cave.

 So I didn't want to camp AT Painted Rock (for one thing it's right off the dirt road, so anybody else who might pass thru would see me, and I like to be unseen in my camping). I continued past a bit and followed a game trail off the road, across the meadow around the back of Painted Rock, and slightly downhill, pretty much just above the valley of the rock. This smaller formation was my spot. I leaned my bike against the rock for the night, and there were several small puka's (caves) where I put some of my stuff, keeping it off the ground and away from most things that might want to mess with it.

 This is the view looking east, OVER the top of the valley of the Rock. You can see the road slanting across the hillside on the right of the shot. Then there is another large meadow in that valley in the distance with more smaller rock formations, and the road goes right thru it. A beautiful view for sure!

 This is the spring at Painted Rock. There is a large metal cylinder that the pipe (cut/broken, and now pouring spring-water right onto the ground) used to feed for the cattle that had been here years prior. I haven't seen cows here for 2 years now...HOORAY! (Cows really ruin it I can attest...cow pies EVERYWHERE, flies, stinky, stomping the trail into a bumpy mess that is hard to even ride a mt bike on, AND they can be dangerous...and I would know!)

Looking from the east at my campsite. I laid my bivy bag/sleeping bag in the grass in what LOOKED like a flat spot. I was wrong. I no sooner crawled in and I immediately slid to the bottom of the bivy bag...the sleeping bag and inflatable pad are SLICK! So I hauled the combo up to the rock where my bike was leaning, and plopped it down on the hard/flat dirt just in front of my bike. It was fine. Oh, also I should mention...you can see the game trail I rode here on just above the low rock in the upper middle of the picture. It continues around the back side of the big rock my bike is leaning on (and I was lying on the ground sleeping at) and continues I don't know where. So I'm sound asleep around 11pm, when suddenly it sounds like I"m being attacked by a band of Indians who are making coyote noises! I don't know how many there were, but it SOUNDED like a LOT! I grabbed my red pepper spray and my flashlight (inside my sleeping bag) and quickly turned on the light, and the coyotes on the warpath noises immediately STOPPED! That's how close they were! Holy smokes I was terrified! And now there wasn't a SOUND! Where did they go? Were they just on the other side of the rock, plotting their attack? (has anybody ever been attacked by coyotes?) All I know is that I didn't get back to sleep very quick, clutching my flashlight and pepper spray tightly!  But I did eventually fall asleep. I was quite warm until the wee hours of  the morning (the coldest part of the night) and it turns out all my breathing has made quite a bit of condensation on the inside of my bivy bag, and it's all going right into the top of my down sleeping bag, so it's losing it's insulation properties and I"m starting to get cold. Thankfully the sun started to come up not too much longer, and I immediately got up, made HOT COFFEE, and watched the sun come up! Ahhhh....coffee camping, SWEET!

 This is a panarmaa I made of the Painted Rock area as I descend into the valley. It's really different than the typical California Central Coast terrain.

  Another pan of the area looking east.

 A Pan of some of the white rocks that I explored after making my camp.

 This is a pan of 2 vertical shots of the white rocks in the valley, looking south-east. That's the road in the top going across. My camp is back to the left of the picture (a ways).

 More of the white rock...there is a LOT of it, HUGE formations too! Most of it I can't get to due to the thickness of the brush, and how DEEP the valley is with no way to get to the bottom. I only ended up exploring a small portion of what I hoped to...looking for more Chumash rock paintings.

A final shot in the rocks. In this shot I'm near the edge of the formation, with a LONG DROP just ahead and to the right. I'm mostly afraid of heights these days, so I stay well away from the edge.

 Breaking camp Saturday morning. I choose campsites well...this one had a large flat rock for me to lay-out my gear to dry before I packed it.

 Everything is packed and I"m ready to ride. I'm heading east another 10 miles to Santa Barbara Cyn, which will be my turn-around point today. Then I'll head back to the car.

 In the meadow on the other side of the valley. This formation has an arch to it, just about int he middle...see it? I'd never noticed it before, and I've ridden by it at least a half-dozen times now.

 Looking back across the valley I just rode across...my campsite is actually visible in this picture across the Valley of Rock, if you know where to look. Isn't that a beautiful valley?

 And here I'm at the junction of Sierra Madre Ridge (on the left). Santa Barbara Cyn (on the right), and the Forest Service Road (heads towards where I"m standing to take the picture). The Tour de Los Padres comes here on the Sierra Madre Ridge, and then turns right and takes the FS road to Big Pine (this weekends destination from the other direction) and eventually on to Santa Barbara for the finish.

 So I turned around at SB Cyn, and now I'm back at Painted Rock having  quick stop and snack before I head back towards the car (about 21 miles to go from here). So this is a picture from the ground of the Painted Cave...you can see the red'ish paintings on the roof.

Here I zoomed in (from the ground still) of the cave, and NOW you can see the paintings.

 So I'm about ready to ride, having my snack, enjoying the quiet and sun, and for some reason I look up at the little cusp of trees at the top of the little rise just ahead of me. Something was amiss, but I had no idea what...why did I suddenly look here? Wait, what is that in the trees? Do you see it?

 Here is a zoomed in picture. Yep...just what I suspected. A COW! (a bull or steer to be more precise, the thing is HUGE!) Where on earth did he come from? There has been ZERO sign of any cows here...no prints, cow pies, nothing! How long as he been here (in the area)? Did he get left behind 2 years ago somehow when the last herd was pulled out? I find that hard to believe...but here he is. There are cattle-guards on both sides of this valley...and the gates are closed. No cow will cross a cattle-guard. So just where did he come from? I was here yesterday, and I"m LOOKING for signs of cows (I"m afraid of cows). Even at the spring when I filtered water last night, there were no foot prints in the muddy water and the deep green grass around the spring outlet. This must be the smartest cow on the planet! A STEALTH COW! He knows if he leaves any signs that he's here he will be brought out and eaten (well, maybe he doesn't know THAT). He hadn't made a sound, in fact, when I THOUGHT I saw him in the shade I stood watching, and he didn't move a muscle until suddenly the ear on the left flicked like there were flies on it and he was shooing them away. Until that ear moved I wasn't sure it wasn't some trick of rock or something in the shade.

Anyway...thankfully he stayed right where he was at, and I got on my bike and rode away. Maybe he is "The Guardian Of The Painted Rock". You defile the site and you answer to him! I'd be ok with that. So my ride back to my car took abut 3 hours, and was competently uneventful. 

So...what did I learn from this trip? I learned that a "game trail" is made by wild animals, and it's probably NOT a good idea to lay down on the ground and sleep 25' away from one. I also learned I need a way to carry MORE water. My camelback was full, my 1 water bottle was full, but still I needed another 80 to 100 oz of water to complete my trip. I had to unpack my bike and ride BACK to the spring to filter and carry water in my now empty bags back to my camp site. I learned I need to do something different at night....the bivy bag might work but I can't have my face inside as the moisture will condense out onto the inside of the bag and then go right into my down sleeping bag. I think I need a small light 1 man tent. The bivy bag was a trial....likely not a great way to go. Maybe for a 1 or 2 nighter in decent weather...but it was down to around 40 during the night and that's pretty chilly in a 45 degree bag when it starts to get wet. I also learned my bike feels like the Queen Mary when I put 15lbs of stuff on it...but after a while you forget about it as it's still a bike and rides just fine, just a bit slower than usual. It's actually a GREAT way to go camping I discovered! You can cover a WHOLE LOT more ground than backpacking, that's for sure! Though I can carry more weight on my back. But the distance thing is pretty great. It would be 2 or 3 days each way to hike to where I was camping at with a backpack....I got there in a bit over 4 hours.

And so...that about wraps up my FIRST EVER Bike-packing trip! I hope to do another 1 nighter in 2 weeks (my last Friday off b efore the mission, and when I come back it will be getting pretty warm inland, likely NOT good camping weather.

OK. Gotta scoot...later gaters!

Cheers!