The Wedge

Marty and I went for my first bike ride in 2 years today. He's been waiting for this day for a few weeks now but I was so nervous- I didn't tell him, but I couldn't really remember how to switch gears properly on my bike since it had been so long since I'd ridden it, and I was afraid I'd fall down or do something else embarrassing. Well- of course I didn't fall and within a matter of minutes everything came flooding back. Right away I was loving life and enjoying a FABULOUS evening ride in Southern California. Have I mentioned I love my life in California? Have I mentioned that I was in Denver this morning commuting back to CA and it was 20 degrees and FREEZING and when I got off the plane in So Cal it was 63 degrees? Yeah, tonight was GORGEOUS. Ahhhh....it was bliss. I'm so blessed.

Anyway, we had so much fun tonight! Not only have we not seen each other in over a week so it was really great to catch up and just enjoy each other again, but he also has been secretly planning this trek for us to ride to "the wedge" for awhile now, I just didn't know it. "The wedge" is a spot in Newport Beach (about 10 miles south by bike) that is the entrance to the Balboa Harbor. I guess that's the best way to explain it. I tried to look it up on Wikipedia, and Wikipedia's definition of it is "a world-famous bodyboarding, surfing and bodysurfing spot located at the extreme south end of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California. During a south swell of a particular size and direction, the Wedge can produce huge waves as spectacular and intimidating as any in Hawaii, Tahiti, or Australia." It's an absolutely beautiful spot. Tonight the water was extraordinarily peaceful (no waves). Of course we got there and stopped to enjoy it right at sunset. :) I took some pictures with my camera phone for you to see...now let's see if I can get them uploaded...

Here's one from Google, just so you get an idea of what the land looks like:

And here are a few from my phone:

You can't really see because the clarity sucks, but Marty is in this last one in the distance. There's like a park bench or something kind of blocking him, but he was waiting for me to take the last few pictures.

After we got back to HB, we rode over to the gym so Marty could lift weights. I too started lifting but got distracted by my reflection in those hideous biking shorts and got discouraged. Luckily Marty just kept me laughing and kept chatting with me while he was busting it out on the weights, so I never really got upset enough to leave the gym.

We rode 20 miles! I can't believe my first day back on the bike I rode 20 miles. The really great part too was that the last few miles back into HB, I was challenging Marty to do sprints with me. He kind of grunted that he didn't want to but when the challenge came he took me up on it and we pushed really hard. I really wanted to show him I could be a good/tough rider. We were flying! It was a good thing I did that too because he commented afterwards that he was worried that maybe we could only be social riders; in other words, he wasn't sure he would get a good workout in with me. Now he knows I can ride and I'll push it, so he won't be reluctant in the future. Yayyy for me! I didn't even realize how bad I was sweating until we got to the gym and starting taking off our gear...that's when I touched my hair (to pull my helmet off) and felt how damp everything was. I love it! I'm so thrilled to be back on the bike and back in HB.

Ok folks, I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm tired- it's time for me to call it a night. Keep truckin!

D