We had a fun and successful 50+ mile cycling trek which capped off our cycling treks in an effort to earn the Cycling Merit Badge. It was a cool, and partly cloudy day, great for a bike ride at the beach!

We met up at 5:45 a.m. and discussed what route we where going to take. Fortunately Mr. Tyndall took his custom bike rack that fit 7 bikes! We left around 6 a.m. in our cars for Will J. Reid Scout camp. There we parked our cars and unloaded the bikes. At 7 a.m. we biked North on the Los Angeles River Bike path. It was a slight uphill ride with no wind, which was easy. When we reached the end of the East side of the path Sean tried to bike through the low water in the river to the other side but slipped. So JR deemed the crossing the water too dangerous and unsanitary. Instead we went South to the nearest bridge and crossed it.

For this Trek Sean lead the entire way through the path and across the streets while J.R. and Mr. Tyndall took the rear. As we progressed through the day it got sunnier and a little bit warmer (around 70 degrees).

When the LA River bike path ended we took the Rio Hondo River path to the Whittier Narrows bike path and then to the San Gabriel River Bike Path. There we headed South. Along the way Sean saw wild rabbits and Walt saw a coyote near a stream. It was downhill and a real nice ride.

We biked until we reached a little over the half way point and stopped at Santa Fe Springs Park for lunch. The Seavers provided us a much appreciated hot lunch, consisting of hot dogs, fruit, ice cold drinks, nuts, etc… It allowed us to easily eat lunch in a mere half hour.

We left to finish the last of the San Gabriel River Path that would bring us to the Pacific Ocean. Due to a strong head wind it was a lot more work to complete the path. Our speed decreased from an average 12 - 10 mph down to 7 - 9 mph.

Once we arrived at the beach we saw a wedding party with two photographers. Then we proceeded West along the beach for about 5 miles along a really beautiful bike path. We took a group photo on the boardwalk in front of the Queen Mary. Then we navigated through city streets as we went by The Aquarium of the Pacific while several conventions where going on with hundreds of people walking on the bike path, which made cycling very challenging

We eventually found the Los Angeles River Bike Path again and headed North for 5 miles. We had a nice tailwind which gave us nice boost for the last leg of our route. We got off the path at Del Amo and took side streets back to our cars parked at Will J. Reid Scout camp

We arrived at First United Methodist Church around 3:10 p.m. and we took our bikes of Mr. Tyndall's bike rack. Mr. Tyndall estimated that we traveled about 56 miles in 6 3/4 hours, fulfilling our 50 mile cycling trek in time!

Leaders: Don Tyndall and Mike Greer

Scouts: Gordon, Jeramie, Matt, Murphy, and Sean

Adults & Family: Oscar Ramirez, Walt Sturrock, JR Renfro

Pit Crew: Brian and Sandie Seaver

Reported by Sean, Troop Historian, 6/8/08