Ever since I moved into my current apartment, I have wanted to take my bike and ride it to Huntington Beach down the Santa Ana River. When I was in the Boy Scouts, we took a ride from Angel's Stadium and rode down the river to the beach and then over to El Dorado Park where we spent the night. The next day we finished the ride by biking all the way back to Arcadia. It was a fairly easy journey (that I remember), and I was eager to retrace at least part of the trip. I figured it wasn't that far - maybe 9 miles or so to Huntington via the river since it is nearby.
So six years later, Daniel and I finally headed for a bike ride. Being out of shape and not having been on the bikes since we rode around the park back in April 2007 (holy cow it has been two years!!) the onset of the ride was a bit tough. Before long, we hit our stride and headed down the river. Of course, I brought the bike pump and a wrench to make sure everything stayed together. I adjusted my seat a few times and Daniel's seat as well. Daniel has a newer Beach Cruiser bike with no gears, so hills were a bit tough for him, but he at least had the Cadillac of seats. My blue mountain bike had a nice concrete seat that became a challenge later on in the day.
It took us an hour to get to the beach proper, and then another 45 minutes or so to make it up to the pier and find some place to have lunch. I wanted to try one of the classic Huntington Beach snack stands, but we opted for Subway instead. I think if we do this again, we will pack a lunch and some drinks in a backpack and make a picnic out of it.
I was suprised how crowded it was for a mild Winter's day near the pier, but the rest of the beach, especially the State Park section were blissfully empty. We also saw a wedding as we rode past.
Heading home, we had a much more pleasant trip since the wind was at our backs, and other than sore parts and a brief stop at the Moon park in Costa Mesa, it was uneventful. As much as I'd like to think we would make this a monthly outing, since it was two years since our last trip, I am not promising anything. The round trip was about 20 miles altogether and thankfully flat!
I'll post a few photos on Flickr soon!
