Sunday, December 27, 2020

Ride Report: Santa Ana River Trail & PCH

December 26, 2020.  For the final weekend group ride of the year, a few of the Windbreaker lads gathered at the Anaheim Regional Transportation Center for an off-site ride south on the Santa Ana River Trail south to PCH, then south to Laguna Beach.  The return route featured a few bonus miles on the Balboa Island ferry; it was a beautiful 50-mile Saturday morning ride to finish out a challenging 2020.  Looking forward to great cycling adventures in 2021.

L to R: Mapboy, Silver Bullet, Ridemaster, Hammer, and Rabbit
gather for the ferry ride to the peninsula. Ride On!


Sunday, December 6, 2020

Ride On!

December 6, 2020.  Two of our intrepid road warriors, Rabbit and Hammer, recently finished an epic, 3-day adventure taking on the California coast from Ragged Point south to Ventura.  Congratulations and well done chums!

Day 1 at Morro Rock


Thursday, November 26, 2020

Happy Cranksgiving 2020

 


Hammer & Silver Bullet fly the Windbreaker
flag on Thanksgiving morning.  Ride On!

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Weekend Ride Report: Tour de Craft Breweries VIII


November 22, 2020
.  Continuing one of the finest of Windbreaker traditions, the lads gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning to visit the craft breweries in Redlands, CA, for Tour de Craft Breweries VIII.  Following meet-up and wheels down at 9:00 am in Upland, our route took us along the base of the foothills through Rancho Cucamonga, and Fontana, before encountering stiff and gusty headwinds through Nealy's Corner and Devore.  

At Cajon Boulevard, we turned southeast enjoying a tailwind into San Bernardino and Redlands, before arriving at our first stop at Hangar 24.  


Following a rest and a couple of cold ones, we departed for our next stop at Escape Brewing, for more cold ones, paired with cheeseburgers, fries, and onion rings. Muy Bueno!  Then to our final stop at Ritual Brewing Co, before our final leg to the historic San Bernardino train depot as the sun started to set.


Preferred Parking at Ritual Brewing











Then it was all aboard Metrolink for the return train ride to Upland.  60 miles and good times...Ride On!





Monday, October 19, 2020

Weekend Ride Report


The Windbreakers gathered for an early Fall Saturday morning ride to Lytle Creek Canyon.  

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall" - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ride On!

Friday, August 7, 2020

Ride Report; San Diego North County

August 7, 2020.  A beautiful early morning ride from Carlsbad, through Encinitas, Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe.  Ride On!

On El Camino Real

At the famous Swami's Cafe - Coast Hwy



Saturday, July 18, 2020

Vacation Ride Report

July 18, 2020.  Two beautiful morning rides while on a short vacation this past week on Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California.  Ride On!
Sunrise on the Santa Ana River Trail
Pacific Coast Highway - Crystal Cove State Park



Sunday, June 28, 2020

Ride Report: Special Edition Ride - San Gabriel River Trail

June 27, 2020.  The Windbreakers gathered on a cool overcast morning near the top of the San Gabriel River Trail for a spirited ride to the coast.  
Nitro and Silver Bullet roll out
Rolling out at Santa Fe Dam



It was wheels down at Encanto Park in Duarte, over the San Fe Dam and then south through the Whittier Narrows and along the river edge to Downtown Seal Beach for coffee at Bogart's.  A slight tailwind helped us back north following the coffee break then over the dam and back to the park for lunch and laughs.  73 miles round trip and good times. A few of the guys had to miss the ride but we'll catch them on the next one.  Ride On!
End of the trail at Seal Beach

Monday, May 25, 2020

Riding with Care #3; Memorial Day 2020

May 25, 2020.  
Some of our "herd' on Puddingstone Pass; Memorial Day 2020
As the State of California and County of San Bernardino began lifting restrictions and eased into reopening of business in Windbreaker Country, we lads gathered for some beautiful morning rides over the Memorial Day weekend.  Still a ways to go before we return to "normal", we will continue to Ride On!

The earliest "social distancing" 

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Riding with Care #2

April 19, 2020.  
California, the U.S., and the world at large continue to deal with the massive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. For us in Windbreaker country, this has meant illness for at least one of our club family members, stay at home orders, business closures, and social distancing.  In order to keep some measure of normal and to preserve sanity, we have continued with our weekend group rides, but with proper social distancing and extra care. Now entering Week #5 of the stay at home order, early signs indicate we may be turning a corner in a much hoped for return to normal sometime soon.  Ride On!

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Riding With Care

March 21, 2020.  The Windbreakers gathered this weekend for rides on both Saturday and Sunday under a cloud of concern following the Stay at Home order issued by the California Governor just 3 days prior.  The order was issued to slow the spread of COVID-19, the highly contagious and dangerous virus wreaking havoc in California, the U.S. and the world.  We did our best to ride carefully, while employing "social distancing" practices all the while. Ride On and stay healthy all!
The lads gather at Nealy's Corner

Sunday, March 1, 2020

A Profile in Courage

Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor
(November 26, 1878-June 21, 1932)

As we close the books on February 2020 and pause to take note of this past month as Black History Month, we recognize the courage and accomplishments of American professional cyclist Major Taylor, nicknamed the "Worcester Whirlwind".  As Taylor gained notoriety as an amateur and professional in the late 1800s, he did not escape racial segregation and discrimination.  His career as a professional cyclist came at a time when the League of American Wheelmen changed its bylaws to exclude blacks from membership; however it did permit them to compete in its races.  Many of Taylor's fellow racers refused to compete with him, others resorted to intimidation, verbal insults, and threats of physical harm.  Despite these many challenges, he persevered and succeeded as a celebrated champion in the sport.  His major wins included the LAW Sprint Championship in 1899 and the National Sprint Championship in 1900.  A true champion in every sense.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Windbreakers on the Road

Carpinteria State Beach
February 2, 2020.  Ridemaster Joe and yours truly recently returned from a weekend trip with friends to Santa Barbara to attend family wedding festivities for a longtime family friend. 




While there, we squeezed in a beautiful Saturday morning ride to Carpinteria and back through the Montecito Hills to Downtown Santa Barbara and State Street, finishing with coffee at Handlebars Coffee Roasters.  Ride On!

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy New Year 2020

Lots of miles and smiles planned for 2020.
Happy New Year and Ride On!