On Aug. 28, 2008, I took on a cycling journey from San Jose, CA to Bakersfield, CA.

This was my first solo multi-day cycling tour covering approximately 500 miles. I took off Thursday and Friday off work to get to Bakersfield and came back to San Jose on Monday Sep 1 on Labor Day.

I wanted to post as soon as possible, but I got busy with work, so here’s a short recap of what happened:

Start of Le Tour. Tony is the commentator.

My Little Giant

Fresh water source?! It was a very hot day on Aug 28, and I was running out of water.

But I found a civilization.

And made some friends.

Priest Valley Station saved my life!

The ride down to Coalinga was beautiful.

The second day started out nice other than my body aching everywhere.

Riding past a vineyard

When did I get to Missouri?!

I started seeing a lot of oilrigs.

I missed a turn and climbed a little hill. By this time, it was around 100F.

Finally made it to Bakes! In my delirious state I texted, “I’m a twice baked potato at Bakes! Judy is fawning over me. It was so hot my cyclometer got fried @ mile 90 but I think it was over 100mile”

My little Giant had to cool down too.

Souvenir from Brown Material Road. Keep it moist!

Brown Material Road is on Hwy 33

I will be cycling from Nor-Cal to Central California and back starting from Thursday 8/28 to Monday 9/1. The trip will be from San Jose, CA to Bakersfield, CA and the distance is about 240 mile one way, 480 miles total. Some may wonder why I picked Bakersfield (or Bakes as the locals call it). What’s there to do in the middle of California besides cow tipping and bake in the sun?

First and foremost, my girlfriend lives there and it’s my turn to visit her. Second, I’ve been planning this trip since I worked at my old job. But I’ve kept making excuses and putting it aside. Now that I’ve finished my first 50K run and my friend Chad had inspired me by taking 38th place in Leadville 100 MTB, I am ready to take on the challenge.

Here’s my route:

Map my bike route

As this is my first bike tour, I will spend a night in Coalinga (mile 140) at a motel. I’m not too comfortable setting up a tent and sleeping on the road yet. May be on the next tour. Here is my tentative itinerary:

8/28 (Thu) Leave in the morning (6am) and start biking. Destination Coalinga. I may stop by my parent’s house in Gilroy (mile 30) and in Hollister (mile 40) to see my friend.

8/29 (Fri) Leave Coalinga and arrive in Bakes in the afternoon.

8/30 (Sat) A day of recuperation.

8/31 (Sun) Leave early morning (sorry, no church service) and bike to Coalinga.

9/1 (Mon) Leave Coalinga and bike back to SJ. I may stop in Gilroy if I'm too tired.

With that said, I have a 12K trail race this Saturday at Mt. Madonna County Park. This race features some of my favorite trails including the 1,100ft climb in the first 1.5 mile on Sprig Lake Trail that really puts your lungs to the test. I’m hoping for a sub-1hr finish.

Other races this year:

Sun 9/28: 1/2 marathon at Quicksilver County Park (my training ground)

Sun 10/26: Full marathon in San Jose (Metro Silicon Valley Marathon)

• I have not registered for this one since I don’t know how my business trip to Japan (10/5-10/11) will affect my training. But, I’m hoping to run a sub-3hr.

Sat 12/6: The North Face Challenge 50 Miler in the Marin Headlands near San Francisco.

• My first 50 miler!

Note to self: change the blog title.