THROUGH CRACKS IN THE PAVEMENT

There are times when a bit of a headwind can get you down, but, in Hagen’s case, setting up for this reward wasn’t one of them.

Chris Del Moro
You hear it all the time, but I never really understood how much riding your bike to work, to surf, or down to your local store can help you and your environment. The small choices we make can make immediate positive changes, not just with the whole cutting down of pollution, but with your wallet too. Eight tanks of gas = New bike. Two tanks of gas = Fixing up your bike. One tank of gas = Vintage thrift store bike. Fitness = free.

Dan Malloy
The next morning, you wake up feeling fit and alive and ready to take on the day. You may be a bit sore, but a little bit of physical pain doesn’t stand a chance next to the possibility of having some fun. So off you go. Pedal, pedal, pedal…those first few hours hurt, and your ass could use a break, but soon enough you are back to the basics. What is the tide doing? What does the wind feel like? And so on. And, before you know it, you kind of feel like a kid again, like those first few summers down at the beach with my friends.

Chris Del Moro
Dan’s bike was broken during our whole stretch through Malibu, and he didn’t know it. It was a 60-mile day, and he just couldn’t keep up with us no matter how hard he tried. By the end of the day he was almost dead, and the rest of us were super casual. Finally he just freaked, going, “I can’t do it anymore!” He was having a breakdown. Finally, I got on his bike and realized how screwed up it was, and it was really screwed. You could not ride this thing. His competitive streak pushed him 60 miles on a broken bike he had no business riding. Everyone felt pretty bad, but it was pretty classic all the same. Then we put Keith on the broken bike and he still led for the rest of the day. Like I was saying, he’s a freak.

Sullivan and Hagen heat up some rocks to sooth the muscles before bedtime.