Archive for August, 2021
Tuesday, Venice Beach, Final Ride
Now that I’m in the groove, got my bike legs, rides are shorter and flatter, the weather has been spectacular (except for a lot of fog near the beach) and even my gear shifter is working better.
So, time to quit.
Actually, I have to be on Cape Cod for the celebration of life for my sister-in-law, so I had to leave at this point. But it is a nice way to end the ride.
Here’s the trip from Oxnard to Venice Beach.
We stayed at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Venice. It was not quite what I expected. I used to work for the congresswoman from Venice and I remember it as a funky place with interesting people. I never thought of it as unsafe. But, St. Mark’s is like a fortress. Heavy fencing all around. The very nice pastor greeted us warmly. He’s a Dutch man of about 55 years old or so, ordained only a few years ago. He was named pastor two weeks ago. He told me that his previous post was in South Central LA, often considered among the most dangerous neighborhoods in America. He said he never felt threatened there.
“If you’re a white man in South Central,” he said, “You’re either a cop or a priest and they leave you alone. Here, on the other hand, they’re crazy. Nobody’s safe.”
Nice.
As I prepared to snuggle into my sleeping bag for the night in preparation for an early departure at LAX, the team leader invited me to a “circular up” with the other riders for a good by. I got my sticker for this ride, but was also presented with a sticker reflecting my lifetime fundraising achievement of $20,000. That was unexpected. I didn’t know they kept track. A testament more to my generous donors than to me.
And that was that.
THE END.
Monday – In the Groove
It usually takes about a week to fully integrate into the rhythm of a Fuller ride. And today, that’s how it feels. I’ve finally got my bike legs. That, combined with a relatively short (50 miles) flat ride made today a breeze.
Here’s the ride from Santa Barbara to Oxnard.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vQvx1Z9VW9O
One problem that persisted on the ride was my gear shifting. I often found myself in the wrong gear with no way to get out of it. Not a big deal when you’re going downhill but sucks when you’re going up.
This ride also afforded me the opportunity of riding with the pack, at least for a while. I can keep up on the flats.
We stayed at All Saints Episcopal Church in Oxnard and I snared the perfect sleeping area. In a corner next to an electrical outlet. Heaven.
Sunday – Rock and Roll Pastor, Plumbing Problems and a Photo Excursion
The Sunday service at St. Michael’s Church outside Santa Barbara could not have been a greater contrast from the previous Sunday’s service at St. John’s Armenian Church in San Francisco. Frankly, it’s one of the coolest aspects of Fuller Center rides is experiencing the variety of ways Americans worship. That said, what struck me most is that the two pastors we actually so much alike. Both handsome young men in their 30’s. Both avid bikers. Both very much men of the 21st century in their private lives. But they were very different when they took to their respective altars.
The priest at St. John’s wore ancient vestments and conducted the service in Armenian. As noted before, it was an extremely formal ceremony, probably conducted the same way it was in the 15th century. It was so formal that I don’t have a picture. I tried to sneak a picture, but it didn’t come out.
Thing were different at St. Mike’s.
At St. Mike’s we had access to two toilets and one shower for 20 people. We were warned when we arrived that drainage was a problem, so showers had to be spaced 15 minutes apart. Notwithstanding our compliance with that rule, one of the toilets backed up. Fortunately, our team leader, Tim, stepped into the breach and spent the whole day dealing with the crisis. Either up to his elbows in toilet water or on the phone with various plumbing companies. He was promised a service call in 30 minutes, three hours later, nothing. Finally, one of the riders, a tough talking 80 year old commercial real estate agent (that’s right, 80 years old!) called a buddy in New Jersey who “knew a guy.” A plumber finally showed up, snaked the pipes and fixed it.
I spent the afternoon on a photo excursion to Devereaux Slough, a marshy area about a mile from the church. Got some good pictures of egrets and the seashore. Still trying to process the photos so will post later.
