Getting out for the weekend, and spending some dough!

So the plans for this weekend were as follows:

Friday Night - Three Musketeers at the Theatricum Botanicum
Saturday - Surfing in the morning, then some cheese festival in the afternoon
Sunday - Mountain biking on Fullerton Loop

In reality this is what transpired:

Friday
Kiefer and I headed to Costco to pick up 2 extra elite surf boards (the $99 special you know!), and then threw on our gear to ride up to Topenga Canyon on the GSXR.  Boy was that a nerve wracking ride!  For Kiefer it was because we took every turn up Topenga Canyon Road nice and wide due to my added weight on the back.  For me it was the fact that 75% of the road on the way up has what seems to be a trench for some kind of plumbing most likely, that has been filled in with asphalt that has been "smoothed out" with several men with shovels.  It was very bumpy, and very scary through a turn in the dark....  We eventually made it to the play (20 min late), but it was fantastic.  I happen to love the story behind the Three Musketeers, so I really got into it very quickly.  The actors were very good =).  Our ride home was MUCH MUCH better, as the downhill side was totally smooth, so we enjoyed a brisk drive through the canyon, and then a nice zippy ride down the fwy (pronounced FWEEEEE) home.  We hit the hay right away, as surfing was booked for 8am sharp!

Saturday
So I wake up at the crack of dawn (as always), it's like I don't even need an alarm clock anymore or anything!  I prep a tasty breakfast of Cream of Wheat and scrambled eggs + egg whites with salsa (yum!), and we get ready for the salt water.  Now, admittedly I was not really looking forward to getting into the water yesterday.  It was the first day of shark week, and cold water just sounded really uncomfortable.  Plus we didn't have wetsuits...you know? So first we headed to a local surf shop to check out wetsuits.  Those fit us okay, but were not really in our price range.  Well let me rephrase:  Crab didn't like the color (orange), Kiefer was meh (color and fit), and I was not amused by the price ($230).  So we convened and decided instead of actually surfing we'd go shop for suits.

We dropped the boards back at our house, and headed out.  Sharky Ryzzie was getting grumpy due to lack of food, so when Kiefer suggested going to Sports Authority I was very whiny about them probably not having any, or not having any in the guy's sizes.  (Crab needed a LS, Kiefer an MT, I just needed a men's L, so easy there).  They had plenty of $100 or less suits, but none of them fit right.  I tried some ladies ones on and ended up totally shredding my fingers in the process.  I guess the way my fingers were rubbing on the material was just rubbing them raw =(  I have those on both hands too.  We gave up on SA, and headed out.

Earlier I had mentioned Spyder Surf, but they had been closed.  Well it was like 10:30 so they were definitely open now!  Crab navigated us there, and we were pleased to see they said "500 wetsuits in stock now!" and something to the effect of "BIG SALE."  So the boys piled right in, and I followed along moping because I had booboos.  I walked right up to the desk with a sad face and asked if they had bandaids.  They guy felt SO sorry for me, and went into the back and got out the first aid kit and got me a couple.  After that, he proceeded to help us out big time!

Chris and I ended up getting AWESOME deals on these suits:

Both DEEPLY discounted, and both perfect fits.  The guys at Spyder Surf on PCH were SO helpful, and SUPER SUPER nice, so I would recommend going there to ANYONE.  They even brought us water while we were trying on our suits, and it was tasty water too.  I'm not one to post stickers or promote shamelessly, but they were so helpful, and so nice, and friendly that I KNOW I will do all my surf shopping there from now on.  Oh and Crab even got a suit for about $100 which was nice too (also rip curl, but I don't know what brand).

So we headed home for our next event.  Well it turns out our buddy, who had selected this event had totally forgotten about it.  We were NOT offended at all, considering it's been 100+F all weekend inland, so Kiefer and I decided to stay home.  we tried this great pizza place in South Redondo Beach, and it was indeed fancy pants gourmet pizza.  The crust even had a tasty flavor and everything!  Yum!  We also did a fun motorcycle/bike ride (I rode the GSXR, and Kiefer rode his road bike) over to the local Motorsports store, and BevMo! to check out moto-X gear for the season, and pick up some beer to go with the pizza we'd be ordering later.  Yum!

We finished up the evening with the end of Seven Samurai.  Phew!  Long day!

Sunday
My friend from work came over by 8am as planned, so we headed for Fullerton.  We pulled up to the Ralphs at 8:58 am, in plenty of time.  Everyone showed up on time, and we slathered up with sunscreen, and finished up our last minute adjustments before heading out.  Everyone had a great time, even though Crab fell down several times (new clipless + shoes, he just needs more practice).  I even took a dive trying to get up a curb.  I went up a couple smaller ones before that, but hadn't attempted anything so large before, but I figured I'd give it a go.  Well I misjudged and/or was going to slow, so I pulled up (WAAAAAAYYY) too early, and smashed right into the curb instead.  Fun times!  Didn't fall on my but, but my hands touched the ground nice and solid for sure.  I count that as down.

Sean had fun flying down a few hills by skidding sideways, and Crab even took a nice steep hill we were all certain he was going to die on, and did fine (I have videographical proof!).  We were hot, Crab tried to pass out from carb crash, and a little over doing it, and I tried to get too hot, but stuck my head in a sink at a bathroom we passed, so we were having fun (despite my complaints, hey someone had to do it!).

Well I was having a BLAST with my new bike.  It was great that it has disc brakes, non-twist shifters, front suspension, actually fit me, everything about it was great.

OLD:

NEW:

You can just SEE the awesomeness abound!  I love my Cannondale F5.  Kiefer was saddened by my GT Palomar, so he showered me with this gift.  I asked him to not literally shower me, as I felt the bruising would be very apparent.

Anyhoo!!  We're riding along, having a great time, and at about mile 9 I go to shift (on some nice, flat ground) and all of a sudden I hear this sickening CRUNCH as my pedals seize up.  Now I figure something's gotten stuck, or the chain's popped off.  This kind of thing happens.  NONONO.  I look down to see that my rear derailleur has completely snapped off.

Yes, that's right, on the inaugural ride of my brand new bike, it broke.  Completely snapped off the hanger assembly.  I found a nice shaded parking lot to hang out at until they finished the ride, and came to pick me up.  After a tasty lunch at Daphne's in Fullerton, we headed home (so my friend from work could take off), and then to Helen's Cycles to see what they could do for my new baby.

They were completely dumbfounded by this break.  The guy that sold me my bike was not happy to see me unhappy, and the mechanics were just like WTH how does that happen!?!?!  They are going to keep her for the week, and get SRAM to replace it on warranty.  They are hoping SRAM will send an upgrade for my troubles.  I'm glad to get a free upgrade, but I would have rather finished my ride you know?  Le Sigh, oh well, she'll be back soon and I can have more adventures.

I just wanted to ride my damned bike!

Lets go surfin' now, everybody's learnin' now....

So today was another surfing fun adventure day.  Our friend showed up at like 830 and we threw our lunches together and hopped in the car and headed to the beach.  Pier Surf had excellent board rentals, and decent wetsuit rentals.  it was $44 for Kiefer and I to share a board, and rent 2 suits for 2 hours, and $32 for our friend for his suit & board.  All in all we did really well.  We all caught waves, and Kiefer got more and more comfortable with navigating the waves as the day went on.  I'm really proud of how he's come along, because i remember a few months ago he had no interest in surfing.  Now I got him to buy a volley ball, so maybe we can give that a try sometime!  The real goal is to get him to go snorkeling with me.  If we're going to go to New Zealand next year, you can bet I'm going to want to do some snorkeling (there is some to do there right?).  Heck, I'd love to snorkel out in Catalina, there is a beautiful dive park there, which is open to snorkelers as well.

He said he is getting more and more comfortable with the ocean, and that really makes me happy, because we live right by it!

Tomorrow we're going to meet up with a local cycling club and go for a beginner ride with them.  I am excited to learn the ways of the road, and I just hope there are some people our age there (you know, more friends is always exciting!).  We're supposed to meet up with them at 845 for the ride, I think we'll show up a little extra early, just so we can be sure not to miss everyone.

Oh!  I forgot to mention, today, I got my feet on the board for the first time!  Yes, I stood up!  I am super proud of myself, because I'd never done it before, and today I did it!  The waves weren't the best, but I caught them again and again.  I'm getting a lot better, and it's very encouraging!  I just picked waves that would catch me, and I'm finding that I'm less and less afraid they're going to KILL me, and more and more just ready for the ride!  That's what I've been waiting for, is that level of acceptance, that the wave is going to do something, and that I KNOW what it's probably going to be, and that now I can get on it.  Now to make it a regular thing.  Kiefer, our friend and myself (and even my sister!) has agreed that we shall do this again next month.  this makes me really happy, because that means that it would be worth my while to get a board of my own!  I think wetsuits are first in order, and it will be tough for Kiefer to get one since he's super long and lean.

I'm open to suggestions to good places to find wetsuits for surf, and what brands/styles to get etc!

Yesterday Kiefer took me to see Volbeat at the House of Blues in Anaheim.  They were great, played a tribute to the Misfits (a guilty pleasure of mine since the age of 14), and one of the openers did a tribute to Nirvana.  We were down in the front, and people kept moshing.  I think Kiefer was worried he'd have to drag me out of there to keep myself from being hurt.  HAH!  I've been the wall of the pit before, you just shove the shovers back 2xs as hard, and they go away.  I was expecting it.  If there is a pit at a Juliana Theory concert....there could be a pit anywhere.  They even did a "wall of death" I held my own, and enjoyed the show a lot.  Thank you for the date Kiefer!

I want to hear stories on Monday, about how you got out this weekend!

PS, look for something new next weekend.  I plan to start a "Sunday Dinner" weekly post where I post a tasty and healthy recipe for you to try!

Surfing 101

Living within 2 miles of the beach for the last four years, you would think, according to Southern California stereotypes, that I'd be going surfing every morning.  I don't even own my own board (or corresponding wetsuit for the chilly California coastal waters)!

I'm always excited to try new sports, and Surfing is no exception.  Sure I've rented a board before and tried on my own, I've been out with friends that have boards and tried and tried again.  At least I'm persistent right??  Do I at least get an A for effort?

When I learned that our friend from England was sending her daughter to visit for a couple of weeks, I felt that was the PERFECT opportunity to get in on a surfing lesson, so at the last minute on Friday  I called around to a few places, and found Learn to Surf LA which does group lessons for $75 per person including board and wetsuit rental for the lesson (nearly 2 full hours!).  I managed to round up a few more friends (one a fellow blogger on Get Out!) who were excited about learning to surf.

After leaving the South Bay area an hour before our 2:15 lesson was to start.....we finally arrived at Santa Monica guard tower 18.....at 2:30 PM.  It was a miserable drive up the 1, you'd think I would know better than to try to drive up PCH to get anywhere......at all......after all this time!

The four of us poured into our wetsuits, the process of which takes the "pants dance" to a whole 'nutha level, as quickly as we could.  I helped our guest and one of my friends into their suits after securing mine on me.  My suit fit really nice, a little big in the bum and legs though, as is typical of mens suits....oh well.  We did the whole pushup-pop-up routine on the beach, and finally the instructor declared we were ready to get in the water.  The guys got up right away, but never got up again.  We all caught a few waves, I think we even all got up on our knees!

After 2 hours of being tossed around on the waves Kiefer Coleslaw joined us (after a 20 mile bike ride up the strand!) to meander around 3rd Street.  We walked through in a daze, and finally ended up getting Pizza for dinner.  We briskly walked through the newly rennovated Santa Monica Mall before returning to our car.  Then the 6 of us crammed into my frontier (eep!) and headed home.  After unloading the truck of beach gear and a road bike Kiefer and our other poster (yet without a handle) tinkered with my road bike (which is currently havign trouble handling the triple front chainrings.....it really wants there to only be 2).

Finally to round out the evening we headed to Menchie's to fill up on fro-yo, YUM!  The bonus is they charge by weight, so i can get very little yogurt, and some toppings, and Kiefer can FILL his yogurt bowl to over flowing!


All in all a great adventure.  I love trying new things, what did you try this weekend?