A Warm Welcome...to a World of Pain

This is my first official post to a brand spanking new blog!  Here, I will chronicle my journey as I bike/hitch a ride on Lindsay's back across America with Bike & Build (http://www.bikeandbuild.org/).  It is sure to be an exciting time in my life and I'm determined to share my experience with you all.  I am very confident that I will conquer this great country one beautiful state at a time....and you'll all be able to witness the greatness that is Babycakes. 

So I welcome my loyal readers with my open fuzzy arms! And with that I will start my tale....

Me and my sweet pimped out ride

Sunday, May 2
With a little over 2 weeks before Bike & Build trip begins, we needed to get a long ride under our belt.  So we went on a leisurely little 70 mile ride around Los Angeles.  We started out at Marina Del Rey at the crack of dawn (10 a.m.) and eased into the ride through Culver City.  Lindsay had an unfortunate accident and fell over at a traffic light.  Luckily I was there to ease her fall and help her get back up again.  I made sure her spirit wasn't broken and urged her to continue the challenge. 

After a few missed turns, we decided to travel along the scenic Slauson Ave which goes through the heart of Inglewood.  I will admit that we got a lot of stares while on Slauson which I blame on Zach's stylish outfit.  We finally hit the beginning of the LA River (if you could call it a river), we took a break at a charming park that smelled like urine. 

Refueling with a Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar

Chillaxing with Zach--I was totally jealous of his outfit

Hydrating with the Camelbak

After our much needed break, we followed the LA River all the way down to Palos Verdes.  By this point, we were a little over 40 miles into the trip.  Lindsay's legs were in pain and felt like jello mostly because the path that ran along the LA River was basically a wind tunnel.  I coached her through the pain and she was doing pretty well untill we reached the HILLS of PV.  The more experienced cyclist, Zach, made it through the first few hills pretty easily.  When we sat at the bottom of the most monstrous hill I have seen in a while, Zach even said that it was going to be tough for him.  So Lindsay let him go ahead and she kicked it to her lowest gears to try to granny bike it up the monster.  Unfortunately, Lindsay's legs weren't up to the challenge so we walked up the last hill to meet Zach at the top. 

Embarrassment set in.....

But once the shame passed, we finished up the trip (another 30 miles) with a gorgeous route around PV and up the Strand.  The Strand was a wake up call for biking through sand.  Here's what you should know: don't do it.  It was a struggle getting through it and Lindsay nearly fell over in the middle of a sand pit.  Thankfully she didn't--she had enough falling and failure for the day. 

Finally, at 7 p.m. (9 hours after we started) we made it back to Marina Del Rey.  We were all so happy to accomplish 70 miles and even happier that the ride was over.  Lindsay's body was not as happy, however.  She found herself in a world of pain and exhaustion.  I reminded her that this was only the beginning to which she responded with a long sigh.  Poor girl.   

We finished the long weekend with dinner at El Torito.  Lindsay shoved massive amounts of food into her mouth and stomach which she deeply regretted later.  I tried to keep my figure in tact by drinking some water and eating ice cubes.  I seriously think Lindsay could use some of my dietary help.

And that was the recap of our first 70 mile ride.  There will definitely be more of those to come this summer.  Hopefully Lindsay will handle them a bit more gracefully.  That's it for now.  Check in for more posts.

Love and Chamois Butter,
   Your Favorite Otter Babycakes

P.S.  Go to http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/3747 if you haven't donated yet!  Lindsay's THIS close to reaching her goal of $4000!