20 Miles and still slow....

I did a 20 miler today early this morning and it was glorious. I am trying to pick up the pace though because 8.8 MPH is slow mo fo sure. At that rate I will finish the ride in 4 hours. It's a community ride and not a race, but my concern for this is that we start at 8 am and it seems I will finish at 12 noon. The trouble with this is that the beer garden closes at noon. I need to find a way to pick up the pace between now and then so I can make it to the beer garden in time for a luscious frothing iced coldie.

Today I rode from my house in North Park down to Seaport Village, over to Harbor Island, Through Point Loma and back up to Little Italy. Its so nice to ride the bay in the morning when barely any people are there and the breeze is light. As I approached the airport bridge a man swooped in from behind and said "good morning Mandi" I replied with "oh my goodness I didn't even know that was you" He rode past me very fast and I thought it was my neighbor Omar. I thought to myself "this would be really weird if it was Omar because I have never seen him ride anywhere, ever. I have seen him write a ton of food reviews and if I were to have seen him at the local breakfast spot or lunch eatery, it would have made more sense. Seeing him on a bike trail at 8 am just is a little weird." Minutes after this brain trail, he rode past me again, the other direction and after looking at him in the face I realized this was not Omar my neighbor. It was just a stranger on a bike. How did he know my name? this time when he rode past he said "Hi again darlin'" and he rode past me really fast. I was really creeped out. Then I realized, my name is on the back of my bike. My husband's cousin Sam bought me a "MANDI" liscene plate for Christmas last year. It was very nice, but, now that creepy old men are saying "Mornin' Mandi" and "hey darlin" I may have to take it off to protect my bike riding anonymity. I am sure it was just a nice morning gesture, visualizing that he is just a nice random bike riding dude that just delves out well wishes by the dozens to other morning riders. This is what I am telling myself anyway.
Despite the creepy greeting from the Non Omar, the ride was pretty easy. I ended my ride with brunch in little italy. Instead of riding the final 5 miles home all up hill, I called an UBER SUV who picked me up in 5 minutes flat and loaded my bike into his suburban. Why hadn't I thought of this before? In the past when I ride longer than the training ride and need to get home I hop on the #2 or #6 bus. UBER SUV, way to be.

Mission Bay Bike Path

Today is an excellent day to ride the Mission Bay Bike Path. I found so many new things about it I never knew before. First, I started at DeAnza Cove entrance. The parking lot is free and tons of open spaces. It's easy to get to off Claremont Drive exit off the 5. The trail takes you through the DeAnza Cove trailer park which was actually quite peaceful. I have such a mental block about trailer parks which isn't fair because we live in San Diego and these things cost at least $200K which is a mansion where I am from. They may be onto something. Get something portable and live on the bay. Seems like an open idea I had never explored. Anyway, the trailer owners were nice as I sped through their front yards on my bike. I weaved in and out until I got to the Mike Gotch Bridge which opened in 2008. It's the bridge that goes over Rose Canyon that connects East Mission Bay to West Mission Bay. This dumps you out into Campland By the Bay on the other side of Crown Point. Easy, flat ride from DeAnza Cove to DRAFT is 8.5 miles. Draft is a new eatery attached to Wavehouse that sits right on mission beach. Killer views, great food. I had the pickled vegetables and green salad. Very good portions and priced right for a mid ride lunch. The huge LED screen in the middle splits into 13 little screens. Much to my delight, this is a Ohio State bar as well. Oh what football fun can be had here.  On the way back I think I found a more direct route because I only went 5 miles and ended up back at my car ni record time. In total 13.5 miles for my first time back on the bike. I am sore and need to explore better bike short protection. OUCH. Also, although I wore sunscreen, I have a horrible farmer's tan which will not fare well for my strapless dress I want to wear to date night tonight. Something else I learned is that I am slow as molasses since the last time I went riding. Average speed was 8.72 MPH, OUCH. I have been way faster in the past so unless I want to finish Bike The Bay in just under 5 humors, I need to pick up the pace for sure. A good first training ride down. Next step, protective and bike gear...