...ouch. Yesterday's trip didn't go nearly as well as last time.

Last month, a group of folks from work on the Tri team rode the 83.8 miles
in fabulous weather, had a great time, finished in ~8 hours(four flats and two
falls, inlcuding one re-clip-in by yours truly at a traffic light stop) with actual
ride time of about 5 3/4 hours. We did stop a lot, fixing four flats, potty
breaks, food/water, so we did spend some time waiting around. The post
ride pizza and beer 'party' before getting on the train back was great.
A great ride, great company, a great experience. Everyone said, "Let's
do that again soon!".

This time, only three of us could go, mostly due to scheduling. So it would
be just myself and my very fast friends Todd and Stuart, who I am partially
convinced were really just waiting to see where I would crack. Last month, I
cramped up big time right as we got to S.B. - it was so bad, I was literally
locked up, could not move my legs at all, blocking traffic after waiting for a
traffic light; my "nemesis"(this corner where I cramped up) would not have
me again, thanks to scrupulous attention to food, hydration and electrolyte
replenishment.

Where things went sort of pear-shaped this trip, was a 10-15mph headwind
after Ventura - we easily lost 5mph of our cruising speed. The first 40 miles
went by quickly, I think we averaged about 19-20mph. We flew through Simi
Valley, Moorpark and Camarillo - once we got near the shore, it was difficult
to maintain even 15-16 at times. The portion of the bike path that puts you
on the 101 freeway was not nearly as pleasant as our October trip; previously,
I sped up the road, enjoying the weird suction effect as the tractor trailers
zoomed by at 80mph - when you're going 25mph, the suction/wake pulls you
up another 5-10mph, sometimes more. Yesterday, as I struggled to maintain
15mph, the trucks were a bit more daunting; I did not stay as close to
traffic as I would have.

In Carpinteria, as we refueled and rehydrated one last time, I remarked how
tired and beat-up I was feeling and there were nods followed by "Ok, let's go!"
Only about 12 miles to go and we were tired but not spent, so we hoofed it
hoping we could make the two 2pm Amtrak. We arrived at the base of
State Street at 1:20pm, almost exactly six hours after we started. Our ride
time was 5 hours and 15 minutes, nearly a half hour faster than last time,
despite the headwinds.

Sadly, there was no Pizza and beer, only Subway. I suppose we could have
loitered in town for a while and enjoyed a leisurely lunch, but I think we were
just happy to have arrived in one piece, with no flats, crashes, cramps or
any lengthy rest stops(Ok, maybe two) and an average speed of 15.8mph.

Ok, so the ride wasn't actually that bad, it was just a lot harder than I was
expecting. Much, much harder. I know how hard a ride really is when my
wife says, "You look like sh1t". This was one of those days. Give me hills
over headwinds any day.

I'll appologize now for the lack of pix, but between the three of us, I don't think
anyone even _thought_ to take a picture this whole ride.