So as you know I have been in Canada for a little over a  month and am now back in LA for the past week…as soon as I had the chance I jumped on my bike to catch up on the lost training!! Since Thursday I have been riding everyday for at least 30-40 miles a day (we arent supposed to be going hard right now so Im catching up with less miles over more days rather then more miles over less days like before)…So on Thursday, pretty much it was a nice day and I wanted to ride but not alone..so I sent out a mass text calling out for a riding buddy…My friend Marc replied right away saying he was just heading out for a ride himself and he is on his way over…we decided to go down to marina del rey by the bike path and through culver city wich was a nice little tour through the downtown and around the Sony pictures lot…I must say I was VERY RUSTY in terms of speed..there was also some headwind THE ENTIRE way on the bike path wich didnt help me in that area much…we decided to ride on the beach path a bit and then turned back when it started getting colder and cloudy…the way home was fairly easy I picked up my speed a bit again and the wind was at my back wich helped alot..im still taking the climbs pretty good wich is GREAT NEWS!!! we felt a few rain drops on the way home so we quickened the pace through culver…I swear riding with one wheel bigger then the other at a fast pace is WOBBLY!! but Ive been on it for about three days now and am pretty much used to figuring it out and how to handle  it so its not too bad..lets just pray the side winds arent tooo bad during the lifecycle!!  So we get home after doing about 30 miles to the beach and around town back to my house…I swear no later then ten minutes after I got home it started to storm..like a real storm with lightning and thunder and such..I was shocked because I was told we dont get thunder and lightning storms in LA!! so im sitting there freakin out that Marc is riding home in this!! but turns out that he just beat it as well!! where we left off we planned to meet up again early Friday morning to do a 60-80 mile ride with climbs in the LA national forest or something along those lines…

So…its 9am on Friday morning..ITS COOOOLLLDDD OUTSIDE!!! and I head out with just my arm warmers for warmth (I dont have a jacket!!)…arm warmers only keep you so warm..I WAS COOOLLLDDD..I rode my bike over to Marc's house wich is around the Griffith Park area…I got lost!! adding an extra so many miles to the 5 it takes to get to his house normally…it was not raining when I left my house it was not even that cloudy….about ten-fifteen minutes away from his house it starts to rain…I have never ridden my bike in the rain before and I heard it was scary and dangerous so I'm quickening the pace and getting all freaked out its gonna start to downpour and im gonna be all wet and blah blah blah being my paranoid self..lucky for me it didnt down pour until I got into his  house!! needless to say I was damp and cold…I told him it was raining and he was pissed hahah so we decided to wait it out…a movie and a couple minutes later (what is that like 2.5hrs!!) its still raining  but  just at a drizzle we decide to forgo the ride..BUT!! I STILL HAVE TO GET HOME!! Im at least 30 min away…he offers me a ride home but I figure its just drizzling out and he had things to do so I didnt burden him…So I set out and borrow one of his cycling jackets (WICH I NOW LOOOVVEEEE..you'll soon see why!)..when I set out its just drizzling..he tells me to go down sunset and take highland down to wilshire then across to my place…so I set out to sunset..as soon as I hit sunset it had already started to down pour and I mean like soaked to the bone hard against your eyes and face rain!! Im slippin and sliding all over the place with this defunct wheel and my brakes are all wet and im skiddin..fun times I MUST SAY..like for real it was scary but awesome!!cars going by and drenching you with their puddles they drive through..great times..I was just waiting for my bronchitis to come back with open arms…NOT!! So im riding down sunset in the torential rains (flash flood I think they called it) and I cant see a thing…I MISS HIGHLAND!!! so Im thinking ok I'll just go down to fairfax…fairfax is a huge downhill!! keep going to la cienega!! BIG MISTAKE!! STEEP DOWNHILL!! 30 minutes out of my way later (YES I AM WHINING RIGHT NOW!!) I turn around and go back to highland and down to wilshire to my house..I am SOAKING WET FROM HEAD TO TOE!! I get home I take off the jacket!! COMPLETELY DRY UNDERNEATH IT!! AMAZING!! I was certain I was drenched all over it felt cold and wet..but turned out it was just the cold from the sleeves that made me feel wet under the jacket..my hair that was under the jacket was dry the top was drenched..my shorts that were covered by the jacket were dry the rest SOAKING..and my  shoes and socks were soaked..I have to say…if I didnt have that jacket on I would be very sick right now!! I LOVE CYCLING JACKETS!!!! I was planning later that evening to ride with the pos peds over in Griffith Park again later that evening but the ride was canceled and I Have to say I was sort of relieved although if it wasnt canceled I would have gone back out if it wasnt raining at the time wich I dont think it was…

TODAYS RIDE!!! 25 miles through Griffith Park and around warner bros. studios over to the bike path and back to G Park! the longest most tedious never ending short mile ride EVER!! Not mention I had to ride 15 miles to get there before the ride itself!!it didnt rain today thank God but it was cold..lucky I still have the jacket!! and IT HELPS..ALOT!! So I get there we ride out…its a loooong drawn out ride but fine none the less with nasty headwinds and all that (Wow this week has been a real whiney week for me in terms of ride blogs! my apologies!)…at about the 12 mile mark we are going uphilll and I change gears and the chain falls off..no big deal it happens..my riding buddy Ratesh and I pull over so I can fix it..he stopped a bit up ahead after I stopped and pulled in front of me…I put the chain back on or so I thought and rinsed my hands covered in chain greese and whipe them clean on the grass…I noticed I didnt put the chain on right at the top of the chain ring so I go to fix it again…a group passes us and asks if we are ok we say yes..a mili second later my chain catches my fingers and snaps them between the chain and the ring and the ring cuts through my fingers and I cant get them out..I get them out and throw my bike down and scream…they all stop and come back…Ratesh got off his bike and came over right away when he saw the blood dripping down my hands..I swear EVERYONE that was behind us stopped there was at least 7-9 of us!! IT WAS AMAZING!! they coulda kept going but they waited with me! (theres a bit of sense of the family we have built for this ride)..two people help me clean and dress my cut and we head out..we couldnt get it that clean becuase there was chain greese inside the cut that we couldnt get out with what we had..but we made due and I cleaned it at home…overall it was a good ride at the last stretch from that point on even though it was never ending..it was fun with everyone riding together from that point in a group…at the finish point we had a packing lesson wich had amazing tips and ideas for packing light and well to save time and to protect from mold and germs and such…we got a lot of pointers about camp life and how to make the most of it and briefings on the must see stops along the route! it was a fun gathering with snacks and laughs and "bonding" time with some new riders…Tomorrow I will be riding with my team a short 20 miles on our weekly calabasas ride but cut waaaaayyy down…there will be yoga and stretching in the morning and we get our team kits (jersey, shorts, socks, shirt for camp) as well after the ride and a special team lunch…come back to check out what interesting mishaps go down for tomorrows ride..hopefully nothing..but this week hasnt been the greatest for me with losing wheels, slicing hands and RAIN…

lots of love and thanks for the continued support!

xoxoxoxox