My college roommate and rowing teammate Brian (he’s also my lawyer) and I have both taken up riding over the past few years. He lives in LA and I live in Boston. I have business in LA on a regular basis these days, and the highlight, kind of, of my trips out west are riding with Brian. Last time he took me up the Pacific Coast Highway, north of Malibu, up a six-mile hill in the canyons called Mulholland. The first time I made it, but had to stop. The last time, I ended in a prone position. I had to turn around a mile from the top, humiliated.
I woke up this morning at my house in Westport, Massachusetts and took two trips to the grocery store, filled propane tanks for our grill, and then got ready for my training ride. I’m headed back to LA in August and determined to beat that hill … and my old pal Brian. S0 I got my iPhone cracked up with “Sympathy for the Devil” (open this link if you want appropriate background music, but just turn down the volume when you get to my live video clips) and saddled up. All images are taken with my phone at full speed.
Getting Ready
(I store my bike next to my surf board so the kids can’t find it)
First Ten Miles
Who Needs France?
The Halfway Point
Big Hill & Junk Yard
Bringing It Home
Post-Stage Interview
You can see all the data on the ride HERE
Good work, Tom. Better start climbing though if you want to beat the hill . . . or me! — Brian
p.s. Why no photos of your crash?!