25 Miles

Yesterday, I biked my distance PR during a family biking outing. My youngest brother is in boy scouts, and for one of his requirements, he had to bike 25 miles. My family quickly turned it into a big event (yay bonding!) and planned to bike from Playa del Ray to the end of the strand. For those who don't remember my posts from last summer, the strand is a bike path right on the beach. 

My mom started off the day by making blueberry muffins that were amazing and pretty healthy. They had half whole wheat flour and less oil than normal muffins, but they still included a little oat streusel on top. I may or may not have had three of them (they were pretty small). I think I may try to recreate these later this week since they were so delicious, so get prepared for a possible recipe.

After breakfast, we packed up and drove the car to Playa del Rey to start our bike ride.

Our plan was originally to leave at 10:30, bike for an hour and a half, and then a have a picnic lunch on the beach in Venice. However, in my family's typical fashion, we were running really late and didn't leave until 12:30. By the time we started our bike ride, we were already on the look out for a place to eat, and chasing my dad--who had all the food strapped to his bike.

Biking with baguettes

We ended up biking to Santa Monica (about 6 or 7 miles) before stopping for lunch. Our picnic included baguettes with turkey for sandwiches, string cheese, bananas, peaches, and cookies including homemade oatmeal with white chocolate chips. 

Using a pocket knife to cute the bread haha

Besides a little period where we got lost in the streets of Venice, the whole bike ride went really smoothly. The strand is pretty much as flat as a course gets and we were going at a comfortable pace, so I didn't expect the bike ride to be that hard. Besides the sore butt (why are bike seats made so uncomfortable?), the ride wasn't bad until the 20 mile mark. At that point, my quads definitely started burning which surprised me. Luckily, the last 5 miles went by quickly. 

The best part about the ride was not only looking at the great ocean views, but also looking at all the really modern condos that are right on the edge of the beach. Around Venice beach especially, the condos have spiral staircases, bright colors, and really odd architecture. Sadly I wasn't coordinated enough to get pictures of a few of the most unusual buildings, but I did snap a few photos of the view even though they don't do the ride justice. 

Biking along the Pacific Coast Highway

Police in Venice

Not the best ones of the day, but I wouldn't say no to that house

The Strand

I spent the rest of the night alternating between laying in bed watching Friends and trying to remember if my hand have ever been sunburned before (apparently when biking this is a spot I will have to remember to apply sunscreen). Oh, and I had a small(ish) cheeseburger for dinner in between my laying around. :) 

My little brother actually has to do one more 25 mile bike ride for his badge, so I might go for another bike ride again soon! I'm already thinking of which one of my friends I can coerce into coming :)