April 9 - Biking on the Beach!

Friday, April 9
Alt. Mode - Carpooling
Gear - no luon, just jeans and a t-shirt
Points - 2

Andy, my mom, and I were up at 5:00am.  By 6:00am we had driven across town and dropped Andy off for his weekend trip home to Albany.  He wanted to surprise his brother and see his nephew's first birthday.  What a sweet guy.  He's a keeper.

So, what do you do when you find yourself on the other side of town at the crack of dawn? You go to the Omelet Parlor.  Food was ok.  I highly recommend the sun-dried tomato and pesto benedict. Because it was still too early for any of the shops to be open, we drove up the scenic PCH up to Malibu.  I made a point of riding past the newly opened lululemon Showroom before turning around and heading to the Santa Monica Pier.

We were going to hang out on the beach and wait until the shops of the 3rd Street Promenade opened until my mom had the great idea of renting bikes.  Beach Cruisers!  I don't know if I've ever ridden a cruiser before.  I tested a couple to make sure I had the ideal fit.  (This is very important if you're going to be riding for any length of time).  I, also, made sure it had a cute little basket on front so for my giant red sigg bottle (seriously, it holds 1.5 liters), sweater, and keys.  It was so much fun! So leisurely, so freeing! Something both my mom and I enjoyed doing as we rode in the sun with the waves crashing.  It made for great people watching.  I couldn't believe how many people were out walking, running, and participating in group exercises so early in the morning.  I was thoroughly impressed with the guys riding a bike with a surf board strapped to the side.  That's dedication.  Loved it!  I suppose if I lived in that environment, I would be doing exactly the same thing.  Now, to stay in Silverlake or move to Santa Monica?  Tough decision...

The cool thing I learned is that the bike path is called The Stand.  It runs 22 miles starting at Will Rogers State Park, through Santa Monica and Venice Beach, and ends at South Rodando Beach.  I wonder how long it would take to ride the whole thing? And back?