Friendsgiving!

After a long break; I am back with an update from the first major holiday of the season…Thanksgiving!

Now… I know Thanksgiving is spent by a large group of people with their family.  I typically save the “family time” for Christmas and dedicate a large part of Thanksgiving to the folks who help me make through my day to day… My Friends.

It’s not uncommon for my wife and I to spend Thanksgiving with friends, and we often find ourselves in the middle of some crazy exercise adventure, that’s gets completely wrapped in food, drink, and plenty of laughter. So with that… 2 days before Thanksgiving, we packed up the car with our bikes, my kitchen aide mixer, a spatchcocked dry brined bird, and our two little girls (the pups ;) and braved the freeways to head up to Los Angeles.

After packing the car to the gills, we hopped in and were immediately met by the one thing we were hoping to avoid… traffic!  Thankfully, the majority of our traffic was experienced through San Diego, after that it was relatively smooth sailing.

It is customary for us to enjoy some outdoor time prior to getting into the thick of Thanksgiving, and since we are all getting back into the swing of the biking thang, we decided we put in a couple hours on the bike through Griffith Park.  Lubed, hydrated, and packed with snacks, we slid into our spandex gear and headed off into the hills (…And in case you are wondering… Yes! I squeeze my petite frame into spandex. There is certain amount of Gooch padding that comes with bike shorts that I would never do without.)

Our ride took us through Griffith Park, to the wonderful LA River bed where you get to play the game of dodge the used condom, dodge the glass on the path, and dodge the occasional stray dog.  We came across a Chihuahua who looked like he was on the loose.  I tried to stop and see if I could get him to come to me, but after putting my hand out for a sniff, he gave a quick nip at my hand and ran for the hills. So long little buddy! I hope someone else was successful at trying to give you a Thanksgiving dinner.

After a short run down the river bed, we found ourselves climbing through Elysian Park, and winding our way back down the hills, before making a short run over to Dodger stadium.

With stops for photo shoots here and there we found our way back to Griffith Park where we ended our ride.

So, why do I share all of this? I share this because I am thankful for warm Thanksgiving days allow me to take short bike rides through the hills prior to pounding some turkey.  I am thankful for having a loving wife who loves putting in a little hard work before maxing out on mimosas (btw… she’s a 3 drink max).  I am thankful for being given an imperfect physique that is able to handle anything I throw in its path. Most of all, I am thankful for the friends who have stood by our side, and continue to stand by our side, through thick and thin.  The say the secret to success in life is surrounding yourself with good people, Angelie and I have surrounded ourselves with the best!  Love you guys!  Happy Thanksgiving!!