SF - LB Tortuga Tour 500

(photography & commentary by Mark Bixby)

21 Freds, 4 days, 500 miles. Pain, suffering & friendship!

Martin & Brian load the truck. The boys JetBlue and BART to the Phoenix in SF. Pete drives the Howard CDM mobile north, arriving within 5 minutes of our arrival the Phoenix. Cocktails at Phoenix (Thanks Steve, Pam, Chip), great food. Bed time.

DAY 1: San Francisco to Carmel

Ready the bikes, pray. 19 riders leave the Phoenix for a cool cruise through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Highway. Flat 1, 2, 3... The weather is perfect, thread the needle on storms through northern California. The hills start to test the riders. How many miles to Carmel Martin? You're sure it's 89 Ryan? When is lunch??? It's 132 miles! lunch at 2:50, Bixby bonks, refueled at Burger King. Carmel Mission Inn is sweet and so are cold drinks. DAY 2: Carmel to San Luis Obispo
Big Breakfast. Get ready for scenery, Big Sur here we come for 75 miles of winding hills. Perfect weather day 2. Tim pukes (and other things). The entire crew makes it to the aptly named Ragged Point. Keith nurses a sore calf and prays to Mecca. Another 132 mile day with 8,000 plus feet of climbing. We arrive for a welcome Jacuzzi overlooking SLO at the Madonna Inn. Then to the bar and a large meal, a little dancing with the blue hairs, and crash for the night. Happy Birthday Martin!
Day 3: San Luis Obispo to Ventura
The 140 mile odyssey of day 3 begins. Al and Laura join the crew. 21 freds now. Time trialing 101 with Martin and Brian to Gualoupe. Fixie showing his stuff (but he's 21). Gil "the Old Man" is 63 (3X Fixie) and nearly bulletproof. Evan bows out with knee problems. Joel toughs out Achilles heel problems. Everyone else is sore and tired and charging hard. Two big hills, one to get into Lompoc and another 12 mile test to get back out to the coast. After 120 miles to Goleta at a healthy pace, Brian and Martin time trial pull two trains to Ventura, averaging 25 to 30 mph the entire stretch. Riders on the rivet, tapped out, toast, hanging on by their eyelids. Everyone arrives safe, happy, relieved, to the Clock Tower Inn. Jacuzzi doesn't work, so off to Rookees for food. And Martin's birthday, again...
DAY 4: Ventura to Long Beach
The finale, 95 miles to home-sweet-home. Just to make sure no one's asleep at the switch, Brian lays down another killer pull from Malibu to Santa Monica at 23 to 28 mph. Tim snaps in Santa Monica, but the referees call it, no cage fighting this trip. A last meal at La Salsa in Redondo before a final climb across Palos Verdes and a smooth cruise home on PCH to Autrey's. Everyone safe, no crashes, despite a few close calls with Al and Laura this am. Great ride, strong leadership. New appreciation of the body's ability to handle suffering. Thanks Turtle and Martin. I think. I'm hungry...

Estimated totals for LB Freddies:
499 miles
26:55 saddle time
18.5 mph average
20,706 ft of ascent
25,000 ish calories burned