MORE LAX bike rides!

BACK IN LA again!

I had 2 back to back layovers in LA this month. The weather was great topping out at about 76 degrees! I chose to go north on the first up through Santa Monica, Will Rogers Beach to a new north most turning point; Temescal Canyon Road! Next time I will shoot for Malibu!

I found a decent breakfast place in Marina del Rey. Joni's coffee grinder serves up fresh coffee and orange juice. I had some delicious banana pancakes one day. On the other layover I tried the oatmeal with fresh strawberries and bananas. That was good too. I am reserving judgement on the service though. One day it was fine the other the staff seemed a little unnecessarily grumpy.


On the second layover I went south to Redondo Beach. No record here tho. I stopped at the Redondo Beach Marina. Along the way I did a detour through El Segundo where I grabbed a burger. El Segundo is an interesting place located immediately south of runway 25 left at LAX, with a power plant and I what looks to be a refinery to the west. There is beach access though and the beach is not bad. I mentioned in a previous write that there is a hang glider port here along with the Marvin Braude bike trail. The beach is a nice wide Southern California style, I think clean, sandy beach. I think it is possible to ignore the jets taking off to the north and the power plant / refinery is behind - you're not looking that direction anyway! Surf was not bad.

On my return I came upon a sad sight. A 46' sailboat had washed up onto the beach and looked like it may not survive the ordeal. I did some research and found that the owner was preparing to sail around the world in this boat. During a wind storm a few days back the anchor line had severed and, well, you can imagine the rest of the story. (picture coming)

Both days; 73 miles.

Another Great Layover at LAX!

LAX Layovers can be full of surprises, especially when the layover is long enough for exploring and the day is a warm one. Having a bike to get around town on can make the day even more fun filled as one can travel further and find even more to get into! I had such a layover on September 4th, 2008. Staying near the airport on a 80+ degree day I decided to go… where else but the beach! The last time I “hit the beach in LA I went south, so today I decided to go north along the coast. My destination was only about 7 miles away: Marina del Rey. I took the north route out of the airport via Westchester Blvd down to Playa del Rey. From there I joined the Marvin Braude bike trail, this lead me right to the Marina through an interesting route that went along a flood control channel and by UCLAs(?) aquatics center. What a fascinating place Marina del Rey is! My first glimpse was of the Coast Guard station, a lighthouse, followed by a row of multicolored buildings like one might see in Curacao in the Caribbean. Amongst these were a few of the restaurants that surround the marina waters. As I made my way deeper into the harbor, I was taken by the size and sheer number of boats moored within. The public boat launch had 8 launching lanes but was deserted today. This place must be a zoo on a nice weekend! After exploring several of the fingers that extend into the harbor, I decided to move on while simultaneously watching for a restaurant to come back to when dinner time came around. I eventually found my way back to the beach still following the Marvin Braude trail and continued north towards Santa Monica. On the way was a favorite people watching place of mine; Venice Beach. There is always something interesting going on there! Always something to make me laugh! Today there were several people playing instruments along the boardwalk, many visitors browsing the beach shops for clothing, souvenirs, or food. I admit was a bit disappointed that the chain saw juggle was not here today. I hope he is ok?? Nor I did not see the guy with the long blond scraggly beard with the white turbine hat, on roller blades while playing the guitar while chasing after pretty girls, or the 70ish year old woman who wears a leopard skin bikini and dances with a parasol with him (when he is not chasing girls). As I continued north I came to another favorite spot to watch people; Muscle Beach. Today I found 4 people of various ages practicing hand stands who seemed to be coaching each other. There were a few who dared tackling the various sets of “swinging rings.” Of course there was volleyball being played by players who seemed pretty serious about their game – this was no casual volleyball game being played! By now my hunger began to call me back to a restaurant that I had chosen earlier; The Warehouse. So back at Marina del Ray I rode, like a horse going back to the barn. I ate a tasty seafood pasta until the sun was low in the sky (and the plate was empty) and pedaled back to the hotel as the sun set into the haze. Nice to be back in my quiet room for a good nights sleep. Maybe I'll go out again in the morning for breakfast, or for a morning dip in the ocean! Lets see, where would I find a good breakfast place...

38 Miles.

Columbus, Ohio

32 Mile ride on July 6, 2008 along Olentangy River. Ride included the I-670 trail to connect to the river trail. Columbus has plans to complete several bike trails. The I-670 trail looked like a lot of money was being put into it at the north end when I came to an abrupt dead end on the Alum (?) River.

Gig Harbor Narrows Bridge: No Toll!

This 17 mile hometown ride on the 4th of July started in Gig Harbor across the new Narrows bridge connecting Gig Harbor to a Tacoma trail system and beyond - I dont know how far it goes yet. I followed the trail to Snake Lake Park then broke off to do other things.

(Picture coming)

Sioux Falls South Dakota - Bike Ride
Sioux Falls is a great place to go for a biek ride! There is an 18 mile trail around the central part of the city. This trail extends along a somewhat circular river course through several parks. Underpasses were included at most all busy intersections. At one point where the trail goes up a hill the designers actually put switchbacks up the grade! Note: As of the date of this ride the south western section was under construction and requires about a 1 mile ride on gravel.

Washington DC Bike Ride

Washington DC is a great place to ride bike! There are several nice trails including rail to trails taking one to any number of directions to and from our nation’s capital. I was staying very close to Regan National airport. Considering this I chose to join the Mt Vernon trail since it goes right by the airport. The Mt Vernon trail is 18 miles long winding along the Potomac river to George Washington’s famous home with the same name. I had a different destination in mind though. I went the opposite direction with the desire to ride along Capital Creek. In order to do this I crossed the Potomac to the western end of the mall stopping to see a few favorite monuments, and then made my way to Georgetown, where the trail begins. I rode about 8 miles up this trail before I decided it was time to turn around. At the far north end I went through an interesting rail bridge. The Dalecarlia Bridge is a beautiful roman arch bridge made of brick. Within the passage way were 4 “duck ins” that rail workers if they happened to be in the tunnel when “train time” came. Incidentally, this former rail and before that the capital canal were used to transport coal to the capital until gas and electricity became the preferred form of energy.
23 Miles

P.S. I wasnt really in this picture but I was really there. Thank you Photoshop for allowing me be "in" the picture!

Cycling from Boston Logan Airport to... the Beach!

June 16, 2008

It is possible to ride a bike from Boston Logan airport and be at the Atlantic shore within 30 minutes or less. From Logan Airport Eastbound to the Atlantic through Winthrop out to the Deer Island water treatment plant. Riding to a treatment plant does not sound so great, but there is actually a nice trail around the plant along the harbor on one side and ocean on the other. Traffic was not especially pleasant when I got on the road back towards the airport.

Had I riden the other direction (West) from Logan Airport it is possible that I would have ended up in downtown Boston via tunnel but that will have to be determined on another day.

My route is show on the map with yellow highlighter, starting point on the left side.

Sawyer Camp Bike Trail - a ride! SFO

Crystal Springs Reservoir is the location of the Sawyer Camp Bike trail. The Sawyer Camp Trail also includes San Andreas Lake. In a roughly 3 hour time frame, I was able to climb up from the hotel, just south of SFO airport, through Hillsbough via Skyfarm road. There is a killer hill on Skyfarm but the payoff is worth it is the most direct route to the Lake. Additionaly, Hillsbough is a beautiful community with wonderfully landscaped homes and great views of the San Francisco Bay. Among the interesting finds along the Sawyer Bike trail were the second largest Jepsen Laural tree in the state of California! This tree location is not well marked near the water fountain midpoint on the 6 mile trail. What is a laural tree anyway? The camping site of the party who discovered San Franciso Bay. Could this have been the Sawyer party? The exact location of the camp site apparently lies under San Andreas Lake. The most interesting discovery though, was a speed limit sign along the trail (see photo) with warning.


I wonder how they enforce the speed limit? Does the sheriff have radar on bike patrol? Maybe they enforce this by air? If so, do they use ultralights with radar?



After riding up and down the trail I returned the the hotel via Crystal Springs road to San Mateo, then up the bay trail. Total 25 miles.

I have to make a comment about my picture above. Yes that really is Crystal Springs Reservoir, BUT...I dont really look like that! I'm much younger; No, really! It seems that every time I take a picture of myself with my phone camera I have to squint to see the view finder to see if I am in the picture. You'd be surprised at how many times I am not even in the frame! So there you have it, it's not the real me; me= much younger.

American River Sacramento

Another day to ride the American River in Sacramento. The day turned out to be windy and I was a bit run down from the previous day. I spent the day sight seeing via bike. Old town, Discovery Park. The Capital; what beautiful ground this is on!

No pictures (

The Forbidden Drive in Wissahickon Valley

I landed in Philadelphia with an entire afternoon to explore. I found myself in Wissahickon Valley Park riding my bike on the "Forbidden Drive." The ride wanders through a valley once described by Edgar Allen Poe as such beauty that "every bard in England" would want to come to see if they knew about it. The ride from downtown covered 26 miles round trip.





An interesting side note was the Pennsylvania primary was in progress and man the town was full of activity!

27 miles on 13hours at LAX

LAX – Los Angeles

April 16th in LA was a nice sunny day for a ride! Temperatures in the 60’s with winds of about 10 mph out of west were the conditions. I rode from the hotel on the LAX strip around the north side of the airport (Westchester Blvd) to the beach. From there rode 11 miles further on the Marvin Braude bike trail taking me about 10 miles further, all the way to Torrance. Along the way I past El Segundo, which I think consists of nothing but power plants one after another. Then came the real beach communities; Hermosa, Manhattan, and Redondo Beaches. I think it was Manhattan Beach where the most spectacular houses were. One that stood out was all glass with a shiny chromed Harley in the living room! There several others that I swore I'd seen in movies! The bike trail actually goes through a parking garage on the south end of the Redondo Beach Marina! The beach activity didn’t really take off until I was returning. On the way back I observed a wave kayaker, kite surfer both preparing to enter the water, a number of surfers that were not out earlier. I also noted a hang glider port, I think in El Segundo but no hang gliders. My seat nearly fell off as I was approaching the hotel. I did not have an Allen wrench with me to secure the seat to the post. I’ll be doing some tool shopping this week. Total: 27 miles

22 Miles on 25 hours in SFO

SFO - San Francisco,
April 16th was a cold and windy day in SFO! Did a short bike ride to BART Millbrae then took BART to the Embarcadero. From there Rode up The Embarcadero drive to the Wharf, then continued through to the Marina district marina. I ran out of time and had to return to meet a friend downtown. The wind was in my face gusting up to 30 mph, air temp in the 50’s. The return ride would have been real fast if it had not been for all the stop lights! Total: 13 cold mixed up miles

SFO part 2
The next morning I had a few hours before pickup and with the wind down to a normal level I did an exploratory ride through Hillsbourgh in search of a trail that I was on about 15 years ago that follows Crystal lake – I think. This ride (Skyfarm Road) was also short but difficult as it was a steep uphill ride on my little 5 speed. Total: 9 miles

Sorry - no pictures - (

A Day in San Diego on a Bike - 30 miles

Arriving in San Diego at 2pm with no time to waste! Set up the bike, on with the bike gear and off I was heading from downtown towards Pt Loma. Riding down Harbor Drive I stumbled, or more appropriately "rolled" across a Lamborghini car show. I mean this was literally taking place right on the bike trail! After gawking a for a few minutes I was off again to my first destination; Cabrillo National Monument. What a gorgeous day! A friendly passerby shot a quick picture of me, then I was off again.. Oops, they cut off the top of the lighthouse in the picture. Oh well, I can rarely see what is on that cheap phone camera screen either! Off to OB (Ocean Beach) for a check of the surf... It was blown out, but there were plenty of dogs at.. Dog Beach. Then on to PB (Pacific Beach) to visit a friend. Direct shot back to hotel through Old Town. Man that food at Cafe Coyote smelled good - but the wait was too long! Had to get back for an early flight out. 30 mile ride.

Biking in Tucson

The bike (Dahon Curve SL)

A 20 hour layover in Tucson gave ample opportunity on March 29th 2008 to get a glimpse of Tucson via bike. After talking with a very helpful man via telephone from Tucson Bicycles, who briefed me on riding in Tucson, I headed out for a 5 hours ride. The weather was great topping out at about 83 degrees! 33 miles of cycling on my folding bike allowed me to see the Aviation Way bike trail, the Sidewinder Bridge; crosses a major downtown artory and makes a funny sound when entering, hippy like historic 4th Avenue, a 7 miles stretch of the River trail; a dry river bed on this day, Trader Joes, then get re-hydrated at the Nimbus Brewery.

Yes, I made a quick stop at Trader Joes, where the river intersects North Campbell Avenue, for a snack. At the end of the ride I rested at the Nimbus Brewery which is hidden from customers in a warehouse within an industrial district 5 miles south and east of town. Great beer! Service was pretty good, the bar food was not bad either.

Nimbus Brewery

My only regret this day was leaving my bike shorts at the hotel! Oh well, they were getting old anyway!

Next Week: a day in San Diego!

Snakes, Cars, Alligators, or Golf Balls? (run)

The golfer screamed, "I could have killed you!" as I ran past on a golf cart road shortly after his tee off. All I could think about was the killer sidewalk, or the Snake and Alligator filled canal (take your pick) so my response could be nothing less than "It was your golf ball, a car hit, or tumble into a deadly canal!"

It all started out one cool Miami afternoon at a new hotel that I had not previously stayed in. I wanted to go for a run and when I looked out my 8th floor window immediately below me was a canal with a path along it. On the other side of the canal stretching out in front of me laid a not bad looking golf course nestled within a rectangular area that was al least 2 miles in diameter. And was it going to rain? These are things that a runner might think about when going out for an hour run. As I studied the sky I concluded that these were not rain clouds above eastern Miami. Now, where to run to? Do I go around the golf course, or through it? Or, maybe I could take that path along the canal, which looks tempting! The hotel receptionist discouraged me from running the canal, but then she also was concerned that I might get rained on. What does she know? I am a professional pilot, I know what rain clouds look like... She is probably wrong about the snakes too! So off I went along the canal for a hour long run. About 20 yards down the canal path I all but ran into a sign. The sign read, "Poisonous snakes AND alligators present, for your safety please stay away from the rocks!" I thought about this as I continued running down the path, a block pathway that was sloping teasingly towards the rocks - the ones with the alligators and snakes in them. I come upon another snake sign! I decided, "There might be some actual truth to this snake and alligator thing." At this point I made a command decision and headed for option #2; running around the golf course on the street.

No sooner did I get to the sidewalk did I come upon an automobile rear bumper. Up ahead lay several hubcaps, an abandoned shopping cart, broken glass and a sign post chopped off so that if I was to fall at the right time I might be permanently impaled amongst the auto paraphernalia. After safely passing these obsacles I came to the corner, when I arrived there in place of where the sidewalk should be was a lake! Yes, a small lake, and the only way around this lake was to go out into the intersection which was quite busy with vehicular traffic. The golf course is suddenly looking like a great place to run! I turned around and ran 1/2 mile back to the golf course entrance.

There were not many people golfing in the middle of the day so it looked like I had finally made a good choice in places to run. A great choice! No snake or alligator signs present here! After about 15 minutes of golf course running I approached a threesome of golfers teeing off. I considered that I should keep my eyes on the golfer at "bat", and it was a good thing I did, 'cause when he hit the ball he sliced it and it whistled as it whizzed over my head by about 15'. He was apparently embarrassed and needed someone to lay blame. The golfer looked at me running by watching and screamed... you know the rest~