Yesterday, Sept. 10, I attempted something that I never thought I would be able to do, a Double Century! This ride was something else, and finishing at 203 miles it was quite the adventure. I had spent the whole week prepping myself for this ride, which included a full century, two 50 mile rides, and a run. The two days before I had dedicated as rest days, however some personal things came up and caused my rest days to be very rest free. I had issues sleeping and I was dealing with my depression again. Despite this I maintained my dedication to this ride.
Waking up Saturday morning I was exhausted and had lost most of my motivation, but I knew I had worked to hard to give up now. Riding my bike has always been a form of therapy for me, and I knew that once I got started everything would work itself out. I headed out at 6am sharp. I watched the sun rise in Azusa Canyon. Once I hit the Rio Hondo River Trail it was a strait shot to Long Beach. This is where the therapeutics of cycling came into play. These trails are very simple in the sense that once you’re on them you can escape from what you’re doing and really release yourself from your body. It’s absolutely amazing to me that I can figure out so much more about myself during a two hour segment of a bike ride than I can over two full days at work and home. I started to work past what was holding me back, and began to regain much of my motivation for the ride, and for life in general.
Once I hit Long Beach for the first time I was feeling pretty good, so I stopped for a quick snack and headed towards Palos Verdes. This is what I thought would be the most difficult part of my route as it is the only segment that had any climbing. Little did I know I was going to make a wrong turn and have to do much more than I thought. It was ok however because I’ve been doing much more climbing lately and was able to make it over the hill with little issue. There is a nice turn off towards the end of the peninsula that oversees much of the Los Angeles coast where I stopped and took a break. I love this spot because it is so beautiful, and I only ever go there when I do really long rides.
Cruising along the coast is always enjoyable, but what really got me excited was when I left the Santa Monica pier and headed inland towards downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles has been working on improving their public transportation recently, and extended the Expo Line to the pier. What I didn’t know until yesterday is that when they did this they also added a bike path that follows the line all the way to downtown. About 70% of the line had the path, and the last 30% had a clearly marked bike lane along the streets. I am very happy to see Los Angeles making these changes, and really hope they continue to do these kinds of things in the future.
Riding through downtown was a mess as usual, and after some rough roads and almost getting hit by two cars I made it down to the Los Angeles River Trail and started my trip back to Long Beach. By this point in the trip I had been I was starting to come to terms with the issues that have been stressing me, and began to feel a lot better about what was going on. I started to focus on what I can do to make my life better in the future, and try to look at my past as less of a mistake and more of a learning experience. It is important to try and stay positive and remember that life is what you make of it, and not to dwell on the past and the mistakes you’ve made.
I eventually made it to Seal Beach at about 6pm. I’ve been riding almost non stop by this point and was about to start my dreaded ride up the San Gabriel River Trail towards home. This is the segment that I feared the most because it is the one that I am most familiar with. Having ridden approximately 140 miles by this point I knew it was going to be a challenge. The sun had set and I continued on my way trying desperately to keep a good pace. After making it to the Santa Fe Dam I turned off and started heading to the In ‘N Out in Glendora where I was to meet my friend Jose.
By the time I had gotten to In ‘n Out I was feeling exhausted. I was so hungry I could barely see, and when I got off my bike I could barely stand. Jose convinced me to finally check my mileage and I was at 183 miles. So I ate a massive meal, and then we headed out to do the last 17 miles together. I am very grateful for him riding with me for this last segment as I was so tired and really needed that motivation to keep pedaling. We did a lap around Bonelli Park and then zig-zagged through San Dimas finally hitting 200 miles as we pulled up to his house at 11:24pm
In summery this was an amazing adventure that showed me that I can really push myself to accomplish something as long as I put my mind and body into it. If you had told me a year ago that I would be doing a 200 mile ride I would have probably doubted it. I worked through a lot of issues during the ride, and came out of it feeling positive about life again. Cycling has done so much for me, and I will be forever grateful for it.
