Marmalade

This weekend was very hot.  I left a little early each day to beat the heat.  I learned today that if I want to bike cross country again I will need to train much harder on steeper hills.  On Saturday, I biked my normal route up Sepulveda Blvd heading over to West side of LA.  When I got to the top, the road was closed to traffic, including bikes.  I had to bike down hill and start again.  I knew that Woodcliff Ave was steep at the top so I decided I would try that road.  It was difficult and took an effort I was not used to in a very long time. I was in the lowest gear possible and struggling, but I made it to Mulloland Drive, turned right to a little uphill and made it safely down to an entrance to Sepulveda Blvd past the construction.  I did not feel that good going downhill, but I was able to continue. Once on the West side continued on my normal route and finished up without any additional problems.  55 miles ending. At the end close to 90 degrees.  Sunday morning was my Pasadena ride. This includes a climb up La Tuna.  As this ride was in the valley and I left 1 hour later the ride was hot and sunny.  I was biking a little slowly, but I then decided to count my pedal strokes as I increased my pace. This helped as I did not struggle as much as I thought I would.  Once around the Rose Ball in Pasadena. I stopped for a bathroom break and when I started biking again I felt a little sluggish.  I slowed the pace down through Glendale. arrived as Griffith Park.  A person who I knew from my ex-company and worked on Fear Factor had opened a coffee and gelato shop as well a a restaurant named Red Maple. I wanted to see where it was and biked there. I saw the person I knew sitting on a bench, went up to him and we spoke for about 15 minutes. I got a second wind and continued back home.  45 miles.  At the end close to 90 degrees. It feels strange as I used to bike much longer over a 2 day period, but I guess I can still bike so perhaps I can increase the intensity and see where I stand at the end of the year.

Today I met a former colleague.  We went to Marmalade Cafe which is in Sherman Oaks, CA.



The burger was a little dry.  I would give this a 1 out of 5 and that might be too generous.  The fries were fine,  I would give them a 3.