Tag Archives: cycling

Bonking in Kardashistan


Posted by Patrick Okens

Many celebrities call Calabasas home, which makes it attractive but odd. Stars like the Kardashians, Lady Gaga, Will Smith and Britney Spears all live here IMG_00000199and the trappings of exclusivity and wealth are everywhere. Porsches and Ferraris are common, as are horse ranches.  In nearby Malibu, the shopping plaza featured brands and boutiques we never see in our downmarket world. Most strange to my eyes are the gated communities, beautiful hilltop fortresses (and I even saw one subdivision with a moat) that keep people and their prized possessions safe.

About the bonking – past readers will know the term as being bottle-empty-lights-out calorifically depleted. Happened to me today. We headed away from the mountains for a change and rode the pleasantly flat-to-rolling terrain near the Reagan Presidential Library. However, one wrong turn took us hard, fast and long into a valley from which the only escape was to point our bikes back uphill for hard, slow and long climb. I pedalled the proverbial squares, and was a broken reed thereafter.IMG_00000215

And then my guys dropped me. And then I got a bit lost. After an extra-unnecessary loop I rejoined the group. And then I bonked, head drooping, and tunnel vision to end my five hours in the saddle. But it was ok because I rolled right up to the Jack-in-the-Box across from our hotel and ordered a 1500-calorie nutritional crime, filled a bucket-sized cup with Dr. Pepper, root beer and two flavours of Fanta, and downed it all in five minutes.


California Sampler


Posted by Patrick Okens

Running Malibu BeachIMG_00000191

It wasn’t much of a running performance, but who the heck cared? It easily makes it into my top 5 most scenic+feelgood runs. It was warm, I could smell the salt air and the surf pounded. So of course I stopped on the beach a few times for pictures. And after we were done, we had beachfront fish’n’chips.

Driving Los Angeles

Yes I drove, stylishly, the white minivan on the Ventura Freeway, Sunset Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, Santa Monica Boulevard, and Pacific Coast Highway. Had I been a passenger, I would have more to say about the Hollywood sign, Hollywood hipsters, U-turns in Beverly Hills, gawking at the giant Palm trees on Rodeo drive, an easy drive to the coast, and sun setting on the ocean. But for an L.A. drive-by, I was impressed. Still wouldn’t want to live there. But a great afternoon-evening.

Unintentional Cyclo-Cross

“Gate’s closed, but you can get through”, the guy said.

So we did. And promptly ended up in a dusty, boulder-strewn single-track trail that is heaven for mountain bikers. But for us roadies, shouldering our rides
and picking our way around rocks in cycling shoes, it was awkward and we looked like dorks. We managed some of it on our bikes, though one of us bit it, letting out a howl that echoed through the canyon. Turns out the trail led to the area that was used for the outdoor camp scenes of MASH, but no medical attention was required despite the bloodshed. A beautiful death march of sorts.

Eventually, we got back to business on asphalt and completed our daily mile of vertical without further incident, but with sun and smiles. IMG_00000205

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