Tour de Heat Stroke

• Date: April 28, 2008
• Distance: 40 miles

The forecast for today was hot and sunny. With the City of Angels Fun Ride bearing down on us and nothing else planned for the day — except perhaps to stay inside and out of the heat, which most sensible people would have done — we decided to head out for another training ride. Jim took the Schwinn-with-a-new-chain, and we had barely left the neighborhood when he was already praising how nicely the bike now shifts. We figured we’d take another 20-mile ride.

We decided to head toward Glendora for a change and ride through the quieter neighborhoods where shade trees abound and traffic is light. Soon we found ourselves in Asuza. Unlike the wild ride through Asuza on the Ride to ‘Joe’s Place’, this time we rode through a new housing development in the foothills, away from traffic. Ahhhhhhh… we’ve finally found a route with wide streets, bike lanes, hills (for training) and little traffic!

We followed the road next to the San Gabriel Bike Trail and decided to ride up to the former El Encanto Restaurant, and then turn around and head home.

On the way back down, we found the end of the bike trail and decided to follow it for a while. Since any sensible person would have stayed out of the heat, we saw very few other cyclists.

We hung a right at the bridge leading to the Encanto Park in the city of Duarte, next to the Duarte Historical Museum, where sensible people were resting in the shade.

After some water and snack, we were still feeling pretty good so we continued down the bike trail toward the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area in the city of Irwindale. On the ride around the dam we met up with a nice young couple on hybrids, training for the Tour Davita in September 2008.

Smoke from the fire behind Sierra Madre can be seen on the far left in the above photo.

After the ride around the dam in the heat and glaring sun, we decided to head back to Encanto Park for another rest stop and to cool off a bit. Hmmm… maybe I can actually get a little color on my legs while I’m at it!

Suddenly a stranger in bike shorts and no shirt emerged from the men’s room looking like he had just poured water over his body. When he saw us, he said “What a crazy hobby!” Clearly, any sensible person would be locked up in an air-conditioned house. With our own clothes and hair now drenched with the cool water from the drinking fountain, we decided to head for home. At the end of the bridge leading away from the park, we found another couple on a pair of bikes. I said “I guess we’re not the only crazy people out in this heat.” The woman replied “That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

As we headed back along the same route, we turned toward the Glendora village for a light meal of substance. We stopped at Frisella’s Roastery and shared a delicious carved turkey sandwich with potato chips and red cabbage salad. And lots and lots of ice cold water.

With our stomachs full and our bodies cool again, we headed for home. As we approached the house, the trip odometer on my bike calculator read exactly 40.00 miles. Yep, I think we’re ready to do 34 miles in 70 degrees in the City of Angels Fun Ride next Sunday.

But the best part of this ride was discovering a new route to Asuza that takes us to the bike trail. At last, a route with many training opportunities and very little traffic.

And, my arms have a tan line!