Tuesday, February 26, 2008

California Dreamin.

I read the Pezcyclingnews.com website pretty often. They have weekly training tips, and some laid-back journalism that is fun to read. The website editor has been enjoying the California experience recently and reporting on his rides along the routes the Tour of Cali takes. He's done the major climbs that the tour went over including Stage 6 as reported here. This was part of a route that Jonny, Poolboy, and I rode around a few times on our Cali trip a couple years ago. Here's one of the routes we took that went up Grimes Canyon road.


The Tour, and Pez's editor did Balcom Canyon Rd, but we never got around to experiencing that climb. Although some other climbs we did were just as tough. Here's the Tour's/Pez's route:

Now as you can see, we did a lot of the same roads. And let me tell you, they were amazing roads. To smell those orange groves while riding and have warm humid air in December and January was surreal. I really miss it and would love to live there. Again, I need to win that Powerball...

Another interesting thing on Pez's report was that apparently, this guy rides a bike:

And apparently he rides it well, being he's a cat 2 racer in frickin California. Oh and he also looks like this now:

So that explains a lot. I guess when you work on a show for a few months during a shows' season, then have all kinds of free time to train between seasons, you can do what he did.

Maybe I should pick up acting instead of holding out for that Powerball?

10 comments:

bryan said...

They had an interview with Zack Morris in Bicycling last year. Looks like he made the upgrade. At the time, he was trying to move up.

munsoned said...

Interesting. Guess that's what happens when you stop getting Bicycling Mag. You lose all touch with reality.

bryan said...

I bet Slater would be a total monster on crits.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike,
I check up on your blog every once in a while to see how things are going in Nebraska. That Oxnard-Ventura-Ojai that you mapped is one of my favorite rides ever. I used to have the pleasure of riding that loop a couple times a week before I moved to NE. Definitely miss that one.
By the way, it's funny that you mentioned Zack Morris from "Saved by the Bell". I actually met him at Valley of the Sun a couple weeks ago. He was out there doing the Cat 2's race. He was a really nice guy. I loved that show growing up so I had to get his autograph. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that I check up on the blog from time to time. Maybe we can meet up and ride this summer when I'm in town. Take it easy, Alex.
('The loved one' as Peter would say)

munsoned said...

Hey thanks for chiming in Alex. Haven't talked to you in a while. How are things nowadays? Going to school? Training like crazy? On the dev team still? If you want to email me directly, send something to munsoned dot here at g mail dot com. You know, not with all the spaces and written out stuff.

We did variations of that loop too. Once, we headed North from Ojai up the HWY 33 climb. A good 10 mile steady grind. That was just downright fun. Hope to hear from you soon.

munsoned said...

Bryan, I feel bad for admitting this, but on VH1, there was a "Celebrities Acting Weird" show with a very feminine male announcer. There was a bit where a paparazzi caught Mario Lopez riding a full-sus mountain bike on a side street. He got off for a block to run with the bike on his shoulders, then hopped back on. All this with some traffic and not wearing a helmet. The announcer guy was pretty enthusiastic since Mario was wearing a tank top. Just weird.

Shim said...

I thought that picture was Peter living large out in California. I hope hes doing well also, one thing Iam sure of he is still PAF.

Shim said...

I thought Peter called him "the beloved one". I stand corrected.

Matthew Pavlovich said...

I saw that in bicycling also. apparently, he is fast as F... He upgraded in one year from 5 to 2.

P.S. Like the look of the new blog. I also did the forshortening effect of the MTB picture. IT makes you look like a midget bunny hopping 5 ft!

Matthew Pavlovich said...

I mean Dig