Getting back up, Clearing the way

I have little interest or ability to completely recall the insane amount of experiences and thoughts I have had about them over the last 5 days but I will do the best I can. My day of travel on Thursday was long and had a large level of suck. My flight out of Fort Myers did not leave until a little after noon so it was nice to not have to get out of bed at the crack of dawn to grab a flight. That positive was one of the few for the rest of the day.

My flight out to LA was fine which went from Florida to South Carolina to LA. One of the nice things about American is they have free in flight wifi to connect to their streaming service which includes TV, music and movies. The second flight was very, very long at over 5 hours. I did not splurge and get seats with more legroom which in retrospect was not a great idea on such a long flight. I also was chilled to the bone for a good portion of the flight as my t-shirt and shorts was inadequate for the very cold temperatures on the plane. When I landed I was hoping to warm up a bit in the terminal but again it felt on the cool side. After waiting a very long time for my luggage I emerged outside to wait for my rental car shuttle, yearning for the “hot” temperatures that have been baking the area for a couple weeks. Instead it was 70 degrees outside, wtf?

I rented from Avis this time, hoping to avoid the nearly two hour rental car clusterfck I went through last time I was in LA. It did not start out well as the van to the lot took a long time to roll around. I saw vans from other carriers roll by 10 times until I finally saw a single Avis van. Once I got to their office it was better as I signed up to be a “preferred” member meaning my pick up process was less than 5 minutes. I had rented a Tacoma or equivalent, in this case I got the equivalent, a Jeep truck.

I have seen these around for a few years but I never liked the look of them which is literally like someone welded a truck bed onto the back of a normal Jeep. The driving experience did not change my opinion. It rode like a Jeep with uncomfortable seats and awkward controls. I would never buy one. I headed straight to a nearby area to meet Larry for a meal at a Japanese place.

Again the cool air outside had me chilled. I beat Larry there so I sat down and had a beer and was unhappy to feel it was even colder in the restaurant. I worked on the Japanese beer while I waited for him. We caught up on the latest and greatest even though we communicate on a regular basis thanks to the wonders of the internet. Afterward I pushed eastward towards Riverside where I was staying, it was not a fun drive.

LA traffic is in a word, atrocious. 12 lanes of traffic at a dead stop is commonplace. My drive out there was a slog. I was so tired from the three hour time change as is, driving in that mess for a couple more hours and a couple other things just had me feeling pretty miserable by the time I arrived at the hotel somewhere around 11PM local time. It was not the vibe I would have chosen for my first day in LA however, things improved from there.

I woke up Friday morning after a poor night of sleep to a beautiful sunrise. The main plan for the day was to go ride Mount Baldy, a ride I did two Decembers ago that really beat me up. Dawn, who lives out in the same area my hotel was at, picked me up so we could carpool in to the ride together.

When I met up with Marty and the gang it was like riding a bicycle. There is no awkwardness as we already feel like we know each other well, despite being 3000 miles apart. Even people I never met before greeted me warmly because they feel like they know me via my YouTube channel. It’s a weird thing but in a good way. A common commentary I will get from people that meet me in real life is that I am just as I appear on my videos and that is a positive thing.

I was using Larry’s wheel for the ride, a Veteran Lynx, which I was familiar with from demoing one for a couple weeks a few months back. It’s a fast and powerful wheel with good suspension. It did not take me long into the ride to realize I felt different than before. Twisting mountainous roads are not a thing in Florida and require a very different riding style than what I am accustomed to. When I did this ride before I rode very conservatively and was unsure of myself. This time I did not.

Instead of being the anchor on the group I kept myself right in the middle for most of the ride and felt increasingly comfortable doing so. My leg strength and endurance felt much improved as well and it isn’t because I am riding my wheels at home all that much. I actually think my regimen of pickleball and volleyball the last couple years has made a significant difference. One of the common comments I got from those that last saw me in 2022 was I looked good and stronger, that’s because I am. Back then my weight was in the low 170s. I have now been able to rebound back up to a solid 185lbs. It felt good to have people able to notice the results of my consistent efforts to improve.

We rode up to the Baldy Lodge where the group enjoyed a nice lunch while our wheels charged outside. I talked to a number of people but primarily Marty. It was good to have real conversation with him. There were some silly moments when we were outside where I was demonstrating elbow planches to the group as well as frog stands.

The ride down again went much better than previously. Before I was scared to go very fast down the long twisting descent but this time I was comfortable carrying almost 50% more speed. At the bottom of the mountain we headed to the Cogswell Dam area. Along the way we wound up playing around in two waterfall areas.

I had used up all the water I had packed so it was suggested we just refill using water coming down the falls that was supposedly safe to drink, or so we think. I was very thirsty so I partially filled my bottle and drank away, hoping to not ingest anything particularly harmful. It was a fun diversion where a bunch of us played and explored almost like kids would. We finally reached our last turn around point and headed back towards the area I was parked. I was feeling very pleased that I was able to hold up as well as I had while performing at a higher level. The road back had very narrow to non-existent shoulder with a pretty consistent amount of traffic. I am very used to riding with traffic but I also am used to having a few feet of wiggle room to do so. Then, it happened.

A car passed that felt a little close and I instinctively drifted a bit to the right. As I did I glanced at the abrupt edge of the shoulder and found myself heading that way I was looking which is a thing. In the blink of the eye I dropped off the abrupt shoulder a few inches into soft soil. The wheel spun out and I wound up bouncing off the embankment at somewhere around 20 miles an hour. The video of it looks pretty bad.

When I hit I did a quick physical assessment and determined there were no major injuries. My right side took the impact and the areas that hit were covered by gear. My selfie stick had a 45 degree bend in it but the camera itself seemed ok albeit dirty. All the riders near me of course immediately stopped and made sure I was good, which I was. I dusted myself off and hopped back on the wheel to ride the remaining miles back to cars. The video I made on the ride turned out pretty well and includes the footage that was shot by one of the other riders of my crash.

After the ride Roger, Aaron, Dawn, Jeremy, Dustin and myself went to grab dinner nearby. It was a good meal where we got to chill out, talk and recap the days events. After the meal Dawn suggested we go to a nearby famous donut shop that she used to frequent when she worked close by. We split a strawberry donut that was unique and very good.

On Saturday I spent some time with Dawn riding as well looking at a house she was considering buying. It was a wake up call to just how obscene the housing prices are in California. If you spent what I did on my place you are lucky to get a 40 or 50 year old house that was never updated. It’s sort of nuts and was yet another reason I feel fortunate living where I do.

Saturday night was Larry’s party which was the initial fulcrum for the trip. He has moved since I last saw him. His place was old and interesting with a lot of character. I had a good time enjoying the food and company although most of my time was spent hanging with Dawn and Roger. Near the end of the night this picture was taken of the five of us which I thought turned out well.

Sunday it was back on the wheel, riding a much shorter but much more challenging mostly off road course called the Fullerton Loop. The last time I did this ride I again was physically destroyed even though I took the “easier” path. This time I was willing to try more difficult sections of the trail. Before the ride started i both completed and failed a challenge. There is a very steep hill that a lot of riders will shoot up. I bowed out of trying it before but decided to give it a go this time. To my surprise I made it up without a huge issue. Ironically I fell going back down it which is supposed to be the easier part of the challenge. I braked too much in the loose dirt.

The fall further damaged my recording gear, breaking off the mount for my wireless mic. One of the riders gave me some sports tape which I used to half ass reattach it temporarily.

Dawn was my guide for most of the ride, leading me on the tougher routes on the trail. There were several situations where she told me to go a certain direction where I had little time to think about it which may have been a good thing. I took on many, many challenges I bypassed the first time I went. There were a number of other falls along the way but I just kept getting back up and and trying to push myself.

There was a big drop section later in the ride which looks crazy from the ground. You drop off a nearly vertical face which is probably 7-8 feet tall and land in soft ground below. I was not going to do it but Marty encouraged me to try it. I had already taken on so many challenges I figured whats one more? I did the drop and landed but then spun out in some soft sand as I got a little sideways. It was close enough for me to call it good.

There was a horrible crash that Aaron had where his wheel shot off while he was going over a jump, launching him upside down like a rag doll. He definitely had concussion symptoms and his body was hurting from getting thrown around so violently. His wheel rolled at least 50 yards down the hill and onto a golf course and actually survived with negligible damage. He took the rest of the ride slow and steady.

I had an incident towards the end that had me wondering if I had a concussion as well. I was on a narrow trail with a steep edge. I got too close to the side and the wheel started to slip down it. I tried to correct and point the wheel back up the ledge but in the process wound up falling flat on my back with my head facing down the incline. I banged the top of my head hard, hard enough that my head hurt afterwards. I don’t think I had a concussion but I took it easy the rest of the ride as well.

Overall the ride once again went much better than the first iteration and I felt good about it. The video captures some but not all the crazy moments I encountered along the way.

After the ride we again met up for lunch at a sports bar where I had a couple margaritas to dull any pains I was still feeling. I couldn’t drink too much because we were having my 100th live stream nearby at Roger’s office after lunch.

The live stream went well and I think I did a good job ad-libbing with absolutely no planning going into it other than lets all get together and talk. The stream included myself, Dawn, Marty, Larry, Aaron and Roger. During the nearly two hour long broadcast there were lots of stories and laughs exchanged. I thought it went well, all things considered.

Monday was my last big ride of the trip, a 90 mile ride up into the mountains which would eclipse my longest ride ever by a large margin. The ride was also special because I was going to be the first person in the country to ride the new Sherman L for a long distance. Marty was just sent the wheel to demo the day before. I knew it was going to be a very long day and I was unsure how I would hold up after getting through the first two rides. The other issue was I would have to do the entire ride standing where as the other five riders were able to ride seated which is a big help.

Before the ride we took turns trying out the Sherman L which is a more powerful version of the Sherman S which I already own. The initial impressions were almost all universally positive, it seems like a really good wheel.

The ride was beautiful as we zig zagged up the twisting mountain roads. It was hot for most of the ride but eventually we reached elevation where things cooled off significantly. At it’s peak we were around 8000 feet high. The scenery was breath taking and beautiful. We kept a slower pace than the Baldy ride because of the possibility of the electric outlets at the visitor center being dead.

We reached the visitor center where we rested, charged and talked. Jeremy even packed a hammock that we took turns laying in. Marty had said the visitor center had ice cream which we were all looking forward to. Unfortunately the center was closed so I just relied on my Pop Tarts I had packed for sustenance.

The ride down was equally beautiful and at a much faster clip which I appreciated. Being the only full time standing rider had it’s challenges. The last third or so my legs were definitely getting more tired but I kept grinding it out. The Sherman L was a very enjoyable wheel for the trip. It felt familiar as I already own two Veteran suspension wheels. I can definitely see myself selling my Sherman S and moving to the L in the future.

It felt great to finally return to the parking lot where our vehicles were. I hung out and talked for awhile with Marty both on and off camera. It was really nice, hopefully you will catch the vibe when I post that video. After the long drive back to the hotel I had one more dinner with Dawn where we had some good thai food. She exposed me to a lot of new things while I was there, which is always a good thing.

On Monday morning I woke up early to get all of the stuff packed. My suitcase was stuffed, requiring me to really lean on it to get it closed. Dawn stopped over to enjoy a final free hotel breakfast with me before seeing me off. I told her I overall was very glad how the trip turned out, despite the slow start and she had a large part in that. I appreciate her.

I left for LA around 8 and at first thought I was going to have an issue. With rush hour the GPS was predicting a nearly 2 hour travel time. When I ran the numbers through my head I saw the potential for a scenario where I would be running to get to my departure gate on time. Not only did I have to drive back but I also needed to gas up the rental, return it and then get the shuttle to the airport. I was genuinely concerned. In the end I made it to my gate with time to spare because the return process at Avis was very quick and I was able to catch a very short line at airport security. I was in the boarding area with over an hour to spare.

The flight back went LA to Dallas to Fort Myers. The flight from Dallas was delayed over an hour which pushed my already late arrival in Florida even deeper. By the time I got back to my truck it was after midnight. Despite it being so late I still threw a load of laundry in and did some quick unpacking. I didn’t get to bed until closer to 2AM.

Despite the late bedtime I still woke up without an alarm, knowing I had a bunch to get done. I ran around all morning but still carved out time to play pickleball with my lunch time crew in the blazing heat and humidity. When I got back home most of my time was spent on a marathon editing session where I did all three videos I shot from the trip. I didn’t get to bed until stupid late, once again.

As I look back on the trip I do so with a good vibes. There were challenges overcome, new experiences had, new friends made and lifelong memories created. It’s hard to argue with those results. I return to Florida with realigned focus and an even deeper desire to do what makes me happy in life and worry about the rest as it comes.