The Green Girl and Lexa's First 40 Mile Ride

Santa Ana River Trail

Sunday morning, the Green Girl and Lexa went on a long ride with a one of the Sole Runners, Kathleen.

In contrast to last week's weather, the marine layer had burned off significantly and though relatively cool, the morning was dry and partially sunny.

We started off south of the Huntington Beach Pier and headed east on the Santa Ana River Trail.

Dry Santa Ana River Trail

To control flooding, the Santa Ana Riverbed has been channelized with cement embankments and is subject to varying water levels.

The Santa Ana river plays a vital role in recharging the groundwater basin. Several retention basins are formed by levees along the river help to replenish the water table.

The Green Girl and Lexa at the Honda Center.

The route took us past residential areas, a golf course, and we even went by Anaheim Angel Stadium and the Honda Center.

After seeing the potential bike muggers last week, we approached each underpass with caution and I told Lexa to cover her eyes so she wouldn't get scared.

If our initial experience wasn't terrifying enough, we quickly realized the bike muggers were also scattered along the trail and using the bushes for camouflage.

Santa Ana River Trail

At one point, there was a single female rider ahead of us and we saw one of the bike muggers come out of the bushes in her direction but when he saw us, he froze and just stared at her as she rode away.

We reached our midway point somewhere in Yorba Linda and we paused to stretch and refuel.

Lexa's first time in a bike rack

I got excited because it was Lexa's first time in a bike rack.

I must admit that I am feeling a lot more confident about Tour DaVita.

My biggest concern was the saddle discomfort but I must admit that the Pearl Izumi Sugar Shorts are amazing.

After some initial chafing, I purchased some Chamois Butt'r from RunJunk.com and that did the trick.

At this point, my main issue is tightness in my lower back. I stopped several times and attempted to stretch but it didn't seem to offer any relief. My core is strong so I am assuming my body just needs to get accustomed to the positioning.

The Green Girl and Lexa's Santa Monica Ride

Lexa at the Santa Monica Pier

The Green Girl and Lexa with her new rear tire headed up to Santa Monica for a long ride Sunday morning.

In an attempt to avoid the saddle pain I experienced on my first long ride, I layered my running shorts over my new padded Pearl Izumi Sugar Shorts.

I parked at a meter just north of Venice Beach and headed south on The Strand.

Dismount & Walk Bikes

The Santa Monica portion of The Strand is approximately 8.5 miles.

I had assumed I would be able to follow The Strand all the way down to Manhattan Beach where I often run after work.

Unfortunately for Lexa and me, bicycle traffic is not allowed on some portions of The Strand and there was no way for us to go that far south without having to go on the street.

Instead, I just opted to go up and down the continuous Santa Monica portion. We were able to go as far north as Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades before we turned around and headed back to Venice Beach.

At one point, I did make a feeble attempt to ride on Pacific Coast Highway but the cars got way too close to me and I quickly changed my mind.

Mr. Green Garmin mounted on Lexa's handlebar

This was our first ride with Mr. Green Garmin attached to the handlebars with the Garmin Forerunner Bicycle Mount.

It was a lot easier to look down to see my speed and distance since I'm not coordinated enough to take my hands off Lexa while I'm riding.

Lexa in the bathroom with me

One advantage to having the world's smallest road bike is that Lexa can fit into a bathroom stall with me.

I must admit the padded shorts made a world of difference. We ended up doing 25 miles and I didn't experience any discomfort.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Green Girl's cycling career.

The Green Girl Won The Big Prize

$20 money card line starts here at the Performance Bikes Long Beach

The Green Girl headed over to the grand opening of the Performance Bikes Long Beach store this morning.

It was advertised that the first hundred customers would receive a $20 money card.

The store opened at 9 am but there was already well over a hundred people in line when I arrived at 8:30 am.

I decided I would stick out the line for a chance to win prizes from spinning the wheel.

$20 off your total purchase today

Us back of the liners were thrilled when they ended up giving every single customer in line a $20 money card.

Some people opted to bypass the wheel spinning line and headed into the store. I was determined to win something cool so I waited patiently in the line that wrapped around the store.

Performance Bikes Long Beach Grand Opening

The right side of the store was covered by a three-tier wall of bikes.

Accessories filled shelves on the left and apparel was featured in the center of the floor.

In the back, there was the Spin Doctor Bike Repair service center with a shiny new pegboard wall and tools with bright blue grips.

Spin Zone virtual ride

In between the racks of bikes, there was a Spin Zone virtual ride station.

I was still waiting in line when Jay from Tri2Thrive arrived.

I got really excited when I saw one of the prizes was a Hurricane HP Micro Mini Pump.

The Green Girl won the Big Prize at the Grand Opening of Performance Bikes Long Beach

When my turn came to spin the big wheel, I kept repeating that I wanted the Big Prize and I squealed when it actually landed on the red Big Prize wedge.

I quickly grabbed the mini pump and Jay snapped a picture of me posing with my prize next to the lucky wheel.

Pearl Izumi Sugar Shorts

After a great deal of deliberation and consideration, I ended up purchasing a pair of chamois padded Pearl Izumi Sugar Shorts.
The shorts were regularly priced $55 but they were on sale for $45. Performance Bike was taking 15% in celebration of the grand opening so combined with my $20 money card, the shorts came to $20.

It was a fruitful grand opening visit for the Green Girl.