Beach Bikin' Away

I've not been lacking in the busy department these days, but I've found some time here and there to escape the hectic-ness of my Monday-Friday lifestyle and get outside Philly to enjoy other outdoor activities.  A couple weeks back, a bunch of us shot down to Rehoboth for a weekend, and I made sure to sneak in a few rides here and there.  Biggest difference, no one on the road, not even in the bike lane:

Except for that one car off in the distance...

Thanks to a tip from an old friend, I parked my car outside the immediate downtown area for the weekend and rode in:

They're going the wrong way

That sign was actually part of the impetus to do what I did this past weekend, when my Mom, stepdad and I trekked down to OCMD to join up with yet another old friend to enjoy some beachy-ness and the like.  It's been awhile since I've added to my Sunday Cycling Series, and I did it in quite epic fashion this week.  I crossed another adventure off this Summer's to-do list, namely biking 20 miles of the Coastal Highway from OCMD up to Rehoboth:

Everyone's happy at the start...

We set a pretty good pace, and I didn't take many pictures along the ride.  By we, I mean my intrepid good buddy Amy, who was just crazy enough to join me:

Selfie game on point at Indian River Inlet

This was a little past halfway, and the ride was actually pretty easy.  At least for me.  The views weren't bad either:

I mean, if you're into beautiful, sunny days at the beach...

We reached our (my) true halfway point after a nearly 2-hour sojourn:

And now you see the real motive

That includes a few small detours to water breaks.  Not too shabby.

It wouldn't be a true Sunday Cycling Series ride without a nice beer at the end, right?  I've become somewhat of a regular at the Dogfish Head Brewpub, so it wasn't a NEW bar per se, but they always have some unique new brews to try, and these were all great:

Beware of the Baton. Evil.

Except it wasn't the end.  Sadly, Amy was not feeling up to completing the full 44-mile round trip with me.  I don't blame her.  It's not like she does this for a living...haha.  My stepdad came to pick her up and they went back to OCMD to get some more beachin' in while I prepared to finish the round trip.

So, after a short rest on the beach at Rehoboth, I chugged southward, and I use the term literally.  I wasn't expecting it, but I faced a 10-15 mph wind the entire ride back.  Several times, I thought about calling back and hitching a ride, but I kept it together.  I guess I should have expected this, as it happened last year, too.  I did some quick number crunching on Strava later that evening, and I was slowed by about 5 mph on the ride back.  It took me a little over 2 hours.  Not that I'm training or anything, but that's pretty crazy, right?

Anywho, the next morning, actually the next couple days, were uneventful for the most part.  Lots of beach time, a couple short rides, most notably this ride to see the sunrise on Monday morning:

I don't recommend riding a commuter bike on the beach

And just for some additional fodder, check out this cruiser that was left unlocked outside our condo:

I wouldn't steal it anyway because of that hideous paint scheme

It truly is a different world at the beach.  I can't wait to go back.  Ya know, other than a gig Friday, I do have the weekend sort of free...