Group Ride to Downtown

Sunday I was able to join the Cigar Band for their Sunday ride. The weather forecast called for a some rain, but sun was out. I was torn, as I haven’t installed fenders on the Casseroll yet, but I chose to ride the LHT.

I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to keep up with the group on the LHT. It’s pretty heavy, and while I removed one of the panniers and the U-Lock, I left in my tools and some rain gear just in case.

I rode up to the meet spot only to find out that we were heading to Downtown LA for breakfast. Nuts! The route was going to take us right past my house, so I could’ve slept in some. Oh well, I was able to get a little climbing in on the way there, so now I was rewarded with the descent.

We made our way through Pasadena, Alhambra and El Sereno on our way to DTLA.

Our first choice for breakfast wasn’t open yet, so we decided to head to East LA for some breakfast. I suggested we climb Alpine just to get our hearts pumping. Alpine isn’t very long, but it’s steep. I climb it with my loaded bike on my commute to work, so it was fun to ride it without all that extra weight.

We stopped off at the LAPD building and took a picture. One of the regulars of the group works there and I guess we took a pic to brag a little.

After playing around in the hills we headed back east through East LA in search of a mexican breakfast. Mmmmm. As we crossed the freeway I remembered that there are Graff Cats on this overpass. I was able to hang out over the freeway and get a good shot of a couple of the cats.

Once in East LA we headed over to Moles La Tia for breakfast. I’d heard about this place, and was looking forward to try it. The only drawback was that since I was on my bike, I was a little hesitant to eat too much. I stuck with the Chorizo con huevos and it did not disappoint. They include mini quesadillas on the plate with freshly made tortillas. I was able to taste some of the Mole and can’t wait to get back there.

After breakfast, I popped into a panaderia for some fresh pan dulce and then we headed for home. It was nice to have the pannier on the LHT to be able to carry some bread home.

We took Eastern Ave up and over the hill and then rode through Cal State LA. We passed the Dolores Chili bldg.

I was running my GPS and was able to capture the ride with all it’s ups and downs. Click the link to open the map in a larger window. It makes it easier to read.

Group Ride 2/7/10

Map your trip with EveryTrail

I had a great time on this ride and was pretty surprised at how fast the LHT was. I might have been working harder to keep the LHT moving along, but over the bumpy roads it was nice to have the tougher wheels and wider tires. I can feel that my legs are getting stronger every day and they were able to keep the trucker truckin’!

Thanks to the Cigar Band for another great ride!