Don’t Hate Me Cause I’m In Cali

So for those of you not in the know, I have been residing in Hermosa Beach, California, for over two weeks now. Since many of you have told me how much you love my updates, I figured it was time to sit down and start typing.

I arrived on Jan 5^th and immediately took to messing up my cousin’s condo “Tasmanian Devil” style. Before 5 minutes had passed, I had succeeded in dragging in two bikes, and a huge duffle bag full of stuff I would probably not use… though I was minus a coffee grinder which was a HUGE problem. You would think that by now I would have this packing thing down. Then to the chagrin of everyone in the condo complex, I very nicely spread all my bike stuff into the common hallway and took to building my bikes.

The weather here has been less than perfect, but I have managed to overcome this hurdle by riding with arm warmers and a vest. My favorite Sunday ritual is showing up at 7am for the Sunday group ride and listening to all the soft SoCal guys cry about having to ride in 40-50 degree temps. These guys need to toughen up a bit. Maybe I will suggest they come to Boston and ride in sub 20 degree temps. I think they are just upset that they have to cover their bronzed shaved legs with leg warmers.

As for adventures, I have had many. I will try to highlight the best ones for you.

Adventure Highlight #1:

A few days after I got to LA, I set off to do my hill repeats on my favorite road in Palos Verdes, CA. After winding up and over Donald Trump’s golf course, I turned left and headed up the switch backs to the top of the climb. The views were beautiful, though I am sure they would have been even more enjoyable if I wasn’t suffering so badly. On a clear day, it is easy to see the Catalina Islands across the water and the cliffs below. After my fourth time up the climb, I turned left onto Crest View road and began climbing another couple of miles. At the top I came to my favorite locked gate. On the other side of the gate is a cycling nirvana; beautiful empty roads with the occasional Lamborghini whizzing by.

You see, this is the exclusive community of Rolling Hills, and they REALLY do not want any riff raff over there, especially not spandex clad cyclists! The problem, however, was that I had climbed 2 extra miles, and come hell or high water, I was going to find a way over this barbed wire gate. Long story short, I ended up with the bike over my shoulder….climbing down a rocky cliff (with cycling shoes on)….and grappling my way back up to the other side of the fence…voila! I had defeated the barb wire fence….my shoulder surgeon would not have been happy about that one.

Adventure Hightlight #2:

My mountain biking friends in SoCal are crazy. They ride forever, are super strong, and some of their favorite lines are, “Oh this climb isn’t so bad.” (after we have been climbing for 10+ miles) or, “We don’t have that much further.” (that means at least another hour) But, my favorite this year was, “I don’t think there will be that much more snow up here.” (you could imagine that that didn’t end well).

So, I will expand on the last quote about the snow for Adventure #2. In her defense, my friend Tanya did warn there might be snow…maybe I didn’t believe her.

My poor husband Michael flew in Friday and after not riding for 6 months, I decided to drag him into this SoCal mountain biking adventure. “No rest for the wicked”, I say. Tanya got him a beautiful bike to use, and we were off. I was a bit fuzzy with him regarding the specifics (I was afraid he would run away screaming if I was “overly truthful”). I did insist that he bring A LOT of food (including a turkey sandwich stuffed into his jersey) and A LOT of water. Everything was peachy for the first 5 miles of the 11 mile climb up the mountain. There were some spectacular views and some witty banter. By mile 6-8 things got really quiet. We were up at about 3000 ft (we started at sea level), had passed a group of random people parked in the middle of the trail cooking with a camping stove, and now were seeing snow appearing on the sides of the trail. Miles 9-11 got a bit scary. There was now 2 inches of snow on the trail; it was getting pretty cold, Michael was looking less than stellar, and Tanya started in with, “I think we are almost to the top” (remember that is code for, “Maybe we only have another hour of climbing left”).

We did make it to the top (about 4500 ft), where Michael was told to shovel that turkey sandwich in, and I was feeling right at home riding in the snow. The traverse across the top of the mountain got pretty darn cold, and I was wondering if the feeling in my hands and feet would ever come back. After 3 or 4 hours, we found the single track trail down the mountain and it was a blast (except for the parts where we were riding on the side of a cliff and I was clawing the edge of the mountain for dear life). My friend Tanya is fearless and just flew down…I guess 500 ft drops don’t faze her. I wonder how many people fall off the side of the cliff each year. You see, I have a fear of heights and find myself just focusing up the side of the mountain and praying to some sort of god that I don’t fall to my death. After about an hour we were back down in the valley. Ahhh….SoCal mountain biking does not disappoint. Michael endured but was a bit sluggish for the next few days.

Adventure #3:

I had to save the best adventure for last. You see, all biking and no play is not a great combination. After putting in about 650 miles on the bike since my arrival, it was time for an adventure of another sort. This adventure was a trip to Brass Monkey Cafe, THE karaoke bar in LA. Michael and I piled into the car with my cousin, her husband, and another friend, and we were off! Let me just say that after 4 or so (who is really counting) Gin and Tonics, I was belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” AT LEAST as well as Bonnie Tyler ever did, to a packed bar. After a few more Gin and Tonics (again…who is really counting), they had to drag me out of the place before my turn came up to sing Janis Joplin’s “Bobby McGee”. What a disappointment! To Michael’s credit, he sang a great rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and I saw some blond girl yelling about how cute he was…hhhhmmmm……

Well, suffice to say, 6AM Sunday rolled around REALLY quickly and at 6:45 I stumbled off for my 4 hour group ride in the canyons. Again…no rest for the wicked. FYI, there may be some video and pics of the evening traveling around. I am thinking about giving up this cycling gig and moving right into professional Karaoke singing. It probably pays about as well!

Well that is all for now. Gotta get my ride in for the day. I want to send a shout out to my new sponsors for the season; it is going to be a great year: Lynskey Performance, IMA Insurance Company, Ashland Physical Therapy, PlanetShoes.com, Zeal Optics, and US Women’s Cycling Development Program. I also want to send a big thank you out to Landry’s Bicycles for their ongoing help with all of my cycling needs.

Also, I have started a coaching business. Check out my website at www.pedalpowercoaching.com and send anyone you know who may be interested my way. I will be attaching a blog to the site soon so check in to follow my season as well.

Click on these thumbnails to see larger images

Hope this update finds everyone well.
Happy trails

Sara Bresnick-Zocchi