A ride on the Pacific Coast Highway

On the cycling newsgroup www.roadbikereview.com, one of the main figures is MB1. He and his wife, although working full-time, manage to log close to 20,000 miles per year on their bike. That's more than 50 miles every day ! Since they live on the east coast, this includes snow storm days, rainy days, every day. This week, Miss M (Mercedes) and MB1 (Mark) decided to come to California... with their bike, of course. On saturday they were going from LAX to Santa Barbara, I joined on part of the ride (80 miles), before going back to Los Angeles. Much to my surprise, Mercedes and Mark were not riding crazy fast. They were going a regular 15-16mph, but we made only a few short stops, no long break. Riding with them was very nice, I hope we can do another ride next week-end. The day was marked by clouds and ashes from forest fires. Temperatures in the mountains were unusually high during all week, so that several huge fires started and were still out of control at the time of the ride. On the coast, though, we had a much cooler day, with fog lasting all morning.

2 bikes - MB1 and Miss M are probably not far	We arranged to meet at a McDonald's close to LAX	Mark's trying my raisin cake	We become pedestrians to access the bike path
The first stop is quite welcome	Santa Monica pier	Mark going under the pier	In Malibu
It's foggy and cool, perfect for cycling	Same shifters setup as Armstrong for Miss M	Did we take nice pictures so far ?	Ready to go - we did 50 miles.
In Point Mugu, we leave the highway	Some flowers for Chihiro	The US Navy base in Point Mugu	strawberry fields.
A huge sign for McDonald's in Oxnard	Tiny white particles everywhere: that's ashes !	Lunch stop at Subway	Was about time ! I was very hungry.
We're in Ventura	Those guys are on a tricycle tandem !	On the bike path	Back to the Pacific coast highway
On the beach, I get distracted	Miss M didn't notice anything	80 miles, I'm going back	Back to the harbor in Ventura
Going towards Santa Monica	Back to the USN base, US government welcomes me	Yum yum, time for a prosciutto sandwich
	Seafood - I'm tempted, but no room for carrying any	The sun's fighting against a cloud of smoke	Back to Malibu
Lanscape from the Apocalypse	Silvio recommended this place but I'm not hungry	Back to the Holiday Inn. 160 miles, 12:30 hours	Riding back the PCH close to LA was hell
But a day spent oudoors is a good day	Mercedes and Mark liked this cake...	and asked for the recipe, here it is