Thank you to the Ontario Cycling Association for a wonderful time down in Oxnard, California. What a sweet time it was!
LA - What Up?!
After an insane travel day - 22 hours - we finally arrived. We didn't even unpack, just straight to bed. The next morning we built the bikes and were off to the races!
On the first couple days we rode along the Pacific Coast Highway and into some of the smaller mountains. California is a beautiful state. Riding along the ocean was breath taking.
On day three of riding we ramped it up a little. Gibraltar was the weapon of choice: a massive climb, situated just in from the coast and venerable to all of the ocean winds. It was a gnarly time. At the top of Gibraltar, after racing up it, we continued to climb a little. After hitting snow at 3600 feet it was time to descend. A tight, windy, steep descent was what awaited us. It was fantastic! It wouldn't have been terrible for the ride to have ended there, but this was not the case. It just so happened that i got into the group with some of the fast U23s, we held 45-55km/h going down the PCH for about 45 minutes. It was ridiculous. Just a fantastic time!
The rest of the camp included more mountain passes, riding through Malibu (seeing some sick cars), battling the head winds in the strawberry fields, and some attempted surfing. I celebrated my birthday while I was in California. Pretty cool to turn 18 in such a cool place. The team organized a Throwback Thursday themed party, equipped with cakes and thrift shop attire. I got an amazing suit out of it.
California is definitely one of my favourite places now. Living on the ocean, riding in the mountains and chilling with movie stars is a lifestyle I could adapt to easily. I look forward to making many more trips there in the future.
