That College Life

Those May Flowers are fully in bloom as the middle of the fifth month is in full swing. I took last Sunday off from baseball after hitting up a game in the High Desert the night before, so the next two weeks are definitely going to be exciting. While I'll pick up a few 66ers games here and there, my main focus will be my next two Sunday visits to the college campuses for the final time this season. I'm adding on to these experiences some extra fun that will make things that much more thrilling. For today, however, I'm just posting an itinerary for this weekend's plans.

My first adventure is first into LA. I'll jump on the EARLY Metrolink train out of San Bernardino on Sunday to Union Station, bike to Metro Center on 7th, then ride the Blue Line south to Watts. It is here where the Southeast Cities edition of CicLAvia starts. Every few months, CicLAvia puts on event where a stretch of streets are shut down just for bikers and walkers. They've done two in Downtown LA that I have participated in, so this will by my first outside of there. Looking at the map, the course is about ten miles total and weaves through Watts, Florence, South Gate, Lynwood and Huntington Park.

I'm going to shoot for about one to one-and-a-half circuits of the course before calling it quits. I've never been down to this part of Southern California, and I am looking forward to seeing the communities from the best travel mode available to do that. The event is always very well-attended as last time I rode they estimated 10,000 riders and walkers were on the course. It will be slow, but I always have a lot of fun when I do it, and I see no reason why I won't have fun this time around too.

After CicLAVia, I'll jump back on the Blue line in Watts, but instead of going back into LA, I'll continue heading south into Long Beach. I'll get off in Long Beach and pedal the four miles to Blair Field to see Long Beach State play host to Cal Poly.

This will be my second visit to Blair Field in as many years, but I waited longer in the season to go this time around. It is an old park that played host to professional baseball in the past. I remember it being a neat venue that was surprisingly intimate for a college park in Southern California, a distinction that is pretty rare in that group.

After the game, I have some time to kill before heading back up the Blue Line to LA and catching the train to San Bernardino. There is a brewery about a mile and a half from the ballpark on the Belmont Pier in Long Beach that I really want to hit up. After that, I want to take my leisure going back to the Downtown Long Beach Metro Station because Long Beach has a fantastic bike path along the beach. I cannot wait to see the sunset over the beach at that time. Also, that bike path ends at the Catalina Ferry Terminal, so just seeing that will get me giddy for my yearly visit in a few months.

I'm expecting a VERY long day with A LOT of miles on the bike. But, you know what, that's the essence of Baseball Road Trips. I'll probably zonk out on the train back to San Bernardino, but my exhaustion will be totally worth it. And, probably the best part out of all of it is that I get to take all of you along with me!

Watch Social Media for all my travels this weekend!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)