Ventura Vacation

I’m in the midst of a big training/agility trial trip on the coast in Southern California.  Jeff and the dogs and I rolled into Ventura Friday afternoon after fairly event-free 5-hour drives (the dogs, the luggage and the bicycles all came in the minivan with me, while the husband enjoyed a top-down roadtrip in his convertible). 

It was a wee bit windy when we attempted dinner on the Ventura pier Friday night.

In the end, long drive + wind + beach sounds/scents + kids throwing rocks below us + skateboards + other dogs on the deck + flags whipping = overstimulated dogs and they were happier when I stashed them in their crates in the car while we ate.  I know *I* was definitely happier.

The original purpose of this trip was to cram in one more agility trial (beyond the one I am entered in for next weekend) before training takes over my life.  I managed to talk Jeff into coming down for a little beach fun with slightly cooler temps than home and promised some fun meals/beers/etc.  And the trial schedule worked out perfectly to allow for fitting in my long workouts before I had to be there to run the dogs.

Saturday morning at 6am we headed out for a long ride up the coast from our hotel.  I did some research on the local bike club websites to find ideas and more detailed directions for the route I chose.  It turned out to be a popular one as we saw LOTS of riders headed out as we made our way back into town.

Started out with citrus groves on the way to the coast

Then onto a bike path along the ocean

And then onto Highway 1 paralleling the beach

And then onto Highway 101 for a brief stretch where it’s the only route available (but it has a BIG shoulder)

The only hiccup in our ride came when an RV very carefully passed us, pulled into the bike lane in front of us (WTF, we’re thinking, but we’ll just pass him) and then proceeded to pull a u-turn right in front of us.  I was able to swerve off and slow down at the last second but Jeff didn’t and went down on his bike.  As if the bloody knee, scraped elbow and badly bruised wrist weren’t bad enough, his brand new biking sunglasses fell off and were run over by a car. Booooooo!

Riding sans sunglasses and with blood running down his leg

I was honestly thrilled with how the ride went – I haven’t ridden this long since March so I was a little nervous but it just goes to show how important that big base period I put in was and how much 2 weeks of rest prepared me for the next step!  It was heating up by the time I had my run off the bike but it got done and one more big day was in the books – done by 9am and I was off to spend the rest of the day doing agility with my boys.

Unfortunately Jeff’s day just got worse and worse.  While visiting one of the local beaches (after buying a new pair of sunglasses!), his beloved BABY (the car) was hit in the parking lot and gouged pretty well.  He gave up and went back to the hotel to drown his sorrows in a beer at that point.  And then when we got back from dinner at a brewpub, the power was out at the hotel.  So we sat in a dark hotel room listening to the screams of 30 children in the pool for a couple hours.  You know the kid that yells “Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!” for 3 minutes straight before being acknowledged by parents that learn to tune that shit out?  Yep, we could hear every word of it like it was in our room.  Romance. Killer.

Jeff headed home this morning as planned, so he can enjoy BBQs with friends, while I stay on till the trial ends on the 4th.  I headed out this morning for another brick – short bike/long run – and figured the path along the ocean would be a nice route.  With nearly 50 miles of biking on my legs in the 24 hours before I started the run, I wasn’t quite sure how I’d survive it – but again, I guess all the things I’m doing right (nutrition, rest, hydration, etc etc etc) are working because I had a blast!

And then it was off for another day of agility with some great runs for the boys!  I’ll post about that another day when the videos come.

And so…we end our week tired but happy and excited about what is to come! (And *sniff*sniff* missing Jeff a lot even though we know we’ll see him tomorrow night at home)