It was a great day along the coast through Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach. Only 53 miles and a little less than 1300 feet of climbing -
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226337919. I rode with Mark and Susan the whole day and really enjoyed our time together. Leaving Oxnard we were on back roads past Missile Park before finding the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1).
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| Imagine My Speed With The Help of This Engine |
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| Mark and Susan ... An Early Morning Sod Field |
The ride along the Pacific Coast Highway was very scenic, but it required us to really be on our toes. A dedicated bike lane helped us stay away from the fast moving cars, but we had to watch closely for the parked ones carrying beach goers and surfers. The water views, ocean side homes, and canyon side homes were amazing at every turn. The road was flat with a few 100-200 foot risers that brought even better vistas.
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| Great Ocean Views |
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| The Marks |
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| Me and the Duchess |
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| One Of The Many Amazing Malibu Homes |
After a quick SAG at Point Dume Beach we headed past Pepperdine University. Another 10 miles on the Pacific Coast Highway flew by and we made our way onto the beach bike path that would carry us all the way to Venice Beach. The closer we got to Santa Monica the more crowded it got. There were people everywhere. The path was like dodgem cars in some spots. Going under the Santa Monica pier a guy on tricycle (pulling a trailer no less) decided to abruptly do a U turn. Susan and I missed him by "this much".
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| Getty Villa Museum |
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| Santa Monica Pier and Ferris Wheel |
The path got busier and busier as we made our way to Venice Beach. The beach was filled with wall to wall shops, cafes, street vendors, and people ... it was a mad house. Mark, Susan, and I moved over to the pedestrian path that ran directly in front of all the shops and vendors. After surveying a few lunch spots we settled on one and had a nice meal watching all the action.
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| Venice Beach ... This Was A Quieter Section |
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| Amazing People Watching |
From there we headed to the hotel in Marina del Rey. Mark and Susan were finally able to get an early room (with Barb's help) and headed off to meet some family for the afternoon. I headed back to the beach and had a few drinks with Russ and Mose. More great people watching. I did not see as many bathing beauties as I expected, but I did see some of pigs friends (one was sitting in the sun a bit too long).
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| Bathing Hotties On Venice Beach |
Dinner was at a local Italian restaurant. Michael and Matt Louis from our 2010 ride stopped by to say hello. Michael will ride with us tomorrow. We ended the evening with a great photo show of some of Mike Munk's pictures and all got the chance to say our goodbyes and thank yous. As expected, it was an emotional and laugh filled time. I donned my mask one last time to recount my least favorite trip moment. Tracey Bail was given the most inspirational rider and received the route map. He sang and played a heart felt version of America the Beautiful on his guitar. A great way to cap off a great ride. The last day is upon us. 50 more miles to Newport Beach.
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| Michael Louis From 2010 Joined Us For Dinner With His Son Matt |
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| Emotional End to a Great Night ... Tracey Was a Big Inspiration To Us All |
Good Night Moon ... Good Night Venice Beach ... Good Night Crew ... Good Night Riders
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