Active Toby's Adventure Blog : Tags : cycling

Orange Curtain 50K Preview

Posted by Active Toby Feb 19, 2009

This weekend I’m racing the Orange Curtain 50K in Cerritos, CA. It’s the first of six ultra marathons on my race schedule from the 2009 SoCal Ultra Grand Prix Series .

I am approaching this particular race more as a tune-up to continue my focus on pace and consistency. The out-and-back course starts adjacent to Liberty Park and travels south for 5K along a flat, paved bike path. There’s an aid station set up at the southern turnaround. Then the course retraces the path back to the north for 5K to the start/finish turnaround aid station and repeats 5 times. Here’s the course .

This will be my third race in less than a month and I have experienced immune system fatigue while my body adapts to the stress. Biomechanically, I am already running faster than last year. Following proper recovery from the OC50K, it will be time to up the mileage by re-introducing run-commuting during the week and long trail runs on the weekends.

On Sunday, the Amgen Tour of California rolls into town for the final stage ending in downtown Escondido. I'm going to sleep in Sunday morning to get as much rest as possible after my race and then hit up Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens for lunch before heading to the finish line to watch the action. My friends and I have been following the tour all week, and the entire San Diego endurance community is stoked that an entire stage was added to the race this year so it finishes here!

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From Sunday at La Jolla Cove

434 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: training, running, cycling, toby-guillette, travel, endurance, ultra-marathon, atoc

Airey's Tow Service

Posted by Active Toby Dec 13, 2007

Last night I was eight miles into my 21-mile bike commute home when my chain broke. My two companions and I did not have a chain tool so I went through my phone calling co-workers who I knew would be passing by the exit where we were located on their drive home. I finally secured a ride and instead of requesting the ride from our location on the north end of Rose Canyon, I asked to be picked up in Pacific Beach on the south side of the canyon. To make use of this time, Steven and I ended up tying our belts together and attaching one end to the head tube of my bike and the other to Airey’s seat post. Please note (see picture): Airey rides a single-speed bike. It’s not a fixed-gear because it has a freewheel but to tow my 215-pounds of flesh, bicycle and backpack behind a single-speed bike is no easy feat—for a mortal.

Airey wins the “Beast of the Day Award” (which I just made up) for selflessly rising to the challenge and expertly leading the tow through the darkness of Rose Canyon. We were 100 percent focused on task as to prevent a crash. My front wheel was less than three feet from his rear wheel with our primitive tow-system. If you’re ever in need of a tow, call Airey’s Tow Service to bail you out (or carry a chain tool).

628 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: cycling, toby-guillette, active_toby, cycle-commute, bike-commute, airey-baringer

Active Videos

Posted by Active Toby Oct 29, 2007

Here is an Active Video from my recent rock climbing trip to Joshua Tree National Park:

Here is an Active video from the bike ride through the Anza-Borrego Desert:

To publish your very own Active Video, click here.

793 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: video, cycling, toby-guillette, climbing, rock-climbing, active_toby, national-parks

A resource for adventure created to inspire. First-hand trip reports, wild stories and ideas for excursions of your own. Questions about gear and trip planning are encouraged. Feel free to offer your stories and suggestions. Active Toby

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