Out on the Bike.

The months of cloudy and cold weather had an unwelcome side effect: besides rarely getting significant exercise, there was a lot of snacking and comfort-food consumption. Mercifully, there is no scale here, but judging from my waistband, things were getting a bit out of control.
I've been getting out of the bike much more. It's not "warm" by So Cal standards -perhaps high 50's, maybe low 60's, and I have yet to ride without tights and long sleeves, but it's not bad.
The coast highway, where we are staying, is not really bike-friendly. As in many Verplaces, local governments/lobby groups have gotten road signs posted reminding motorists of bicycles, as well as various designations of bicycle routes, etc.; but that doesn't change the reality that it is a two-lane road with a gravel-littered shoulder. Signs are no protection from a vehicle going 55-plus.
I have formed a routine, however, which involves driving the bike to the intersection of the highway and a good paved inland road (Beaver Creek), which gives access to some really beautiful routes through wetland and rolling, timbered hills.
On these back roads, vehicles are relatively rare, in an hour of riding I might get passed five or six times. And out here in the country, drivers don't take the painted line in the middle of the road too seriously, and will generally completely cross over to give me wide berth.
Unlike city/suburb riding, flats are more common, and I've finally given up the sleek patch-and-CO2 cartridge in favor of a full frame pump and spare tubes. Tree branches and small rocks are continually appearing on the roadway and a pinch flat is only a moment's inattention away.
That said, I've recently had a couple of really nice rides, certainly more pleasant than most I could arrange in L.A. county.