Train-n-Tri: Bike the Coast and No Power

My guy and I rode "Bike the Coast" this weekend.

The ride was fabulous, but the weekend was not exactly as we had planned.

I won the Bike the Coast grand prize last year and one of the prizes was two entries into the bike ride.

My guy and I were already signed up, so the organization let me roll the entries over to this year.

We booked a suite at the Oceanside Marina Suites and packed our bags.

After a long day of working (Robert) and lots of driving miles (Robert and me), we made the cut-off time Friday to pick up our event "numbers" and goodie bags.

It was about 7:00 p.m. and we were HUNGRY so we stopped into 333 (without reservations) for dinner. Since it was Halloween AND a Friday night, most people were probably at a Halloween party because there were NOT a lot of people at the restaurant and we were immediately seated.

My guy and I hardly ever go out to eat, so when we do, we tend to splurge....red wine, salad, soup, crab, shrimp and lobster cake, grilled tofu with veggies, a little more red wine, lobster tails, coffee and dessert.

Good thing we were going to ride our bikes 50 miles the next day because we had some calories to burn off!!!

We waddled back to the car and drove to the Oceanside Marina Suites and checked in. Our suite was nice and we had a great view.

It was fun to sit out on the decking and think that I will be swimming in that water in March for Oceanside 70.3.

But we had a bike ride in the morning so we didn't sit out on the deck for too long.

I woke up in the morning with the sound of pelting rain and howling wind. I looked at my watch and it was 3:20 a.m. Not time to get up, but time to go to the bathroom.....and that's when I realized there were NO lights.....anywhere in our place and when I looked out the window - NO lights.

Luckily, my alarm was set on my phone and my phone did have some battery left, so I knew it would last long enough to get me up in the morning - 2 hours later.

I went back to bed with the hopeful thought that the weather would clear and the power would come on.

Two hours later, I was up and it was still dark in our place.

Yes, this is actual picture of the kitchen area of our suite.

Needless to say, I was NOT getting in the shower.

I did manage to get dressed by ipad/iphone light.

I looked out the window and it was windy, but not raining.

By ipad light I brushed my teeth and matched my socks.

But no power meant we couldn't make coffee and that was not a good beginning since I am an almost pot of coffee in the morning person. We had to stop at the Harbor House for coffee - and while we were there - breakfast.

We still made it to the start line.

We were bundled up because it was chilly and the weather man did call for 20 percent chance of rain...better safe than sorry. Of course, I was peeling off clothes at the first SAG stop. SAG stands for Stop and Go - potty, food, drink and get back on your bike and ride.

I peeled off my arm-warmers, jacket, leg warmers and an extra pair of socks. Robert took off his jacket sleeves. We stashed everything in pockets.

It was a gorgeous day.

Lots of sun, a few clouds and....

birds being tossed around by the wind.

I love riding along the coast, especially when there are so many cyclists out pedaling. I am always hopeful that with so many cyclists out riding, drivers will be more mindful.

It was a nice easy bike ride with beautiful scenery.

The ride was not all along the coast. Some if it was inland, but it was still very scenic.

Robert has been spending a lot of time behind a desk, but he is working on getting his bike legs back. I wanted an easy heart rate ride, but still wanted a workout, so I rode a lot in my biggest gear, but didn't jam it.

We stopped along the way a lot and took pictures.

And then we only had about 12 miles to go. It was still a beautiful day - blue skies, fluffy clouds and wind.

Pelicans flying by.

This was the last picture I took before my phone battery ran out. I was happy it lasted this long. Who knows how long it had NOT been charging the night before AND I did use it for light (that great flashlight app) in the morning.

We were in the last 200 yards to the finish line of the bike course when the rain started.

First a couple of little drops as a warning, then a full-on pour down.

We rode right through the finish line...

skipped the valet bike parking....

which did NOT look like this when we rode by it...but then again, I couldn't see a whole lot with the rain in my eyes.

and rode our bikes back to the car where we continued to be pelted by cold rain.

Then as quick as it the rain came, it stopped.

We took "OUR" finish picture....

Windblown (look at the flag in the background) and rained on

....and went back to the expo to collect our finisher medals and free food coupons.

We gave the free food coupons to a couple of homeless people hanging around the expo (there were lots, but we just picked the first two we saw and gave them our food tickets) and headed to "Hello Betty" for some non-fried food and non-dixie cup sized beers.

Driving back to the Oceanside Marina Suites, we said to each other that surely the power was back on by now...

Only it wasn't.

This is what it looked like AFTER I threw away the chocolate milk and a few other items that had been sitting in there for too long not refrigerated. The light is from my flash, not from the refrigerator.

After a long bike ride, I really like to take a nice HOT shower, but since there was NO power, I ended up with a COLD shower in a semi-dark bathroom.

Robert went down to the manager's office and they said a transformer blew and hopefully the power would be back on by 6 p.m.

I waited by enjoying the view.

Again, I imagined my 70.3 swim in March.

Then I laid on the couch and listened to the breeze and the foghorn and I was slowly lulled into a nap.

I woke up to someone outside saying something about watching the sunset. I opened my eyes and the power still was not on. Robert went to get flashlights and I started packing.

NO WAY was I staying there another night without power.

Just a little too scary considering it was the

Day of the Dead.