33-18?

Two teams we watched on our recent trip just played one heck of a game. Lake Elsinore outlasted the High Desert Mavericks, 33-18. Box score here.

The game is making national headlines. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in attendance.

In other Cal League news, Manny Ramirez hit a home run while making his rehab appearance for the Inland Empire 66ers.

Bikes and Food

Here is another blogger's take on the relationship between the calories we take in and the miles we put on our bikes - Gnat Likes Bikes.

Beer and Bikes

It wasn't long after I got into cycling that I asked a fellow rider to explain the link between beer and bikes. He laughed and admitted that the joy of riding your bicycle is that you always have extra calories to devote to your favorite brew.

If you are still scratching your head about how cycling fits with breweries, an article just came out that you may find helpful. Bicycling Magazine just released Brews and Bikes: the best bike-related summer beers.

Free stuff from the California League

- Two programs from Lake Elsinore and Rancho Cucamonga
- Five pocket schedules
- Tickets from our trip including our seat upgrade at Lancaster and the complimentary seats we got at Inland Empire

A few quick stats...

Trip length - 5 days
Miles - 338 (Ben), 170 (Tim), 136 (Andrew) = 664
Flat tires - only 1!

Games - 5 (one shortened due to rain)
Teams involved - 6
Ballparks - 5
Innings - 36
Home runs - 5, all in the first game - however we also saw two doubles that hit the top of the wall and bounced back in
Shut outs - 2
Home team record - 3-2

Interviews - 2

Breweries - 3
Beers sampled - 16

Day Five - game review

The fifth and final game was in Rancho Cucamonga at the Epicenter (maybe the best name for a ballpark on this trip). Home to the RC Quakes, it is the centerpiece of the city's athletic complex.


Tonight the Quakes were taking on the Lake Elsinore Storm. Oddly enough, these five games only featured one team from the Northern Division - that being the game on Wednesday which featured the Bakersfield Blaze.


While this stadium wasn't my favorite of the trip, it did offer up a few really cool features including the party patio areas down at the end of each foul line.


My wonderful and supportive wife Meredith met me at the game which was a welcome change. We had a fun time catching up on the details of our weeks apart. She also provided me with a ride home meaning that I didn't have to get back on my bike tonight. I get to let my body rest in my own bed!

The home team pulled out the victory which means that in the five games we attended the home team won three and lost two.

Tonight's game took 3 hours and 44 minutes. It was the latest game on the schedule, starting at 7:30. They also had fireworks planned for after the game. Needless to say I was getting pretty tired near the end and we ducked out after the 7th inning. I'm not one to leave a ballgame before it is over - we waited through the rain in Adelanto - but my body is beat.

What a fantastic week.

I'll be posting more review of the trip over the next few days. Thank you to everyone who made this journey possible and those who followed along on the blog!

Day Five - Review so far...

After the brewery, I headed west from Redlands and connected once again with Route 66. This time the scenery changed from the airport...


to the desolate...


to the downright bizzare...

I met up with Meredith and we're hanging out right now before heading to dinner and then the last game of the trip. I can't believe it has come to an end!

Miles today - 32
Final trip total - 338 (my projection of 317 was not that far off!)

Day Five - Hangar 24 Craft Brewing

As you know, one very important element of this trip was getting a chance to visit and support the local craft brewing scene along the route. This morning I got a chance to visit Hangar 24, a fantastic little brewery that just opened up 15 months ago, but is already brewing some fantastic beer.


They are located in an old hangar at the edge of the Redlands Municipal Airport. They were super busy today when I stopped in due to some issues with their equipment and the fact that they were supposed to be bottling today.


Regardless, I was still able to sample four of their beers. Their fantastic Orange Wheat which is brewed with local oranges, their American style Pale Ale, a German Alt, and finally their outstanding IPA. Just last night we grabbed a pint of their beer at the 66ers game, and it was good to actually see where it was made. Start up breweries like this are an inspiration to me - especially because they are succeeding beyond the odds in this weak economy.

Plus - tap handles in the shape of propellers - how cool is that?

Manny coming to Inland Empire?

I found this article in the local paper after our visit to Inland Empire. I can't imagine the media circus that will be descending on this tiny ballpark - Andrew and I felt like we may have to take a return trip to experience it!

You can click on the pictures for a larger image to read the whole article.

Random Thought...

Why doesn't Pasadena have a minor league team?

It seems to me that it has a suitable population, has multiple locations that might be suitable for a small ballpark (how awesome would it be to have a park near the Rose Bowl or tucked in to Old Town?), has several area college and high school teams that would make it a multi-team facility, and has a history of baseball tradition.

I think this would work especially well if they were able to be a minor league affiliate of the Dodgers or Angels - two teams that certainly have a large fanbase in town.

Maybe I'm way off here...

Thoughts?

Day Four - Ballgame Review

Tonight's game at Arrowhead Credit Union Park (I still can't believe that's what it is called), was a good one. The hometown Inland Empire 66ers took on the High Desert Mavericks and ended up with a 7-4 victory.


The park has an extremely similar layout and design to Lancaster aside from the color scheme. I wonder which one came first.


One thing I haven't touched on yet is the team mascots. All four thus far have had very active mascots - a feature that is certainly appealing to the kids who attend these games. These guys spend a good portion of the game dancing around and trying to get the crowd volume higher. The 66er's mascot is named Bernie... again, I'm not sure why.


This was the second time we had seen the Mavs on this trip, and at our last game we met the team broadcaster who was kind enough to hook us up with some tickets to tonight's game and an invitation to the broadcast booth to see what it was like up there.


Great to meet you Alex, and thanks once again for making our trip that much more fun!

Another great night. Andrew's wife Becca joined us for tonight's game, and Andrew headed home with her after, so I'm on my own for the ride portion of tomorrow. My wife Meredith will meet me for the fifth and final game.

Day Four - so far...

Today's ride took us back up from Lake Elsinore to San Bernardino. Along the way we stopped at an orange grower for the second time on this trip. The reason we stopped in was they had the BEST fresh orange juice for sale that we had ever had. It was a perfect reason to take a break from a hot day of riding.


Andrew snapped off this picture of my loaded bicycle.



One very important stop today was at the Inland Empire Brewing Company. They have only been open since February, but are already establishing themselves in Riverside. Our very welcoming tour guide mentioned that they are breaking new ground because they are the only brewery around. Local lawmakers don't know what to do with them because they aren't a bar, and they aren't a restaurant.


They currently have four beers available and all lean toward the British style of beer - blonde, pale ale, brown, and IPA - they were all great representations of the style. You can pick up a half or full growler of their beer, or you can hang around and talk about starting up a brewery over a sampler.

We arrived at our hotel in plenty of time and were even able to take a swim before hitting up some fantastic Thai food at a local restaurant. So delicious.

Soon we'll be off to the ballpark for the fourth game this week.

Miles today - 45
Trip total - 306

Day Three Recap

What a day. We wound down through the mountain canyons from Victorville down to the San Gabriel Valley. Incredible scenery as you can see from these photos.


The sky was blue and it was perfect day to ride. We expected to spend more time climbing than we actually faced. It was great.


Part of our day included a stretch of the famous Route 66 - including this photo which was taken on a closed section of the road (sky is big in pasadena visitors have already seen this one). We also had to portage around some newly paved stretch of road, and improvise through an area that Google Maps didn't quite have figured out. By the way Google (I know you are reading this), when are you going to develop a bicycle direction feature?

We arrived in Lake Elsinore and didn't take long to find the ballpark - except when we arrived at 5:30, it sounded like the game had already started! We made a quick phone call and discovered that it was family night at the ballpark and the game had an early 6:00 start time. We rushed over to our hotel and showered and got back to the park as quickly as we could. We ended up missing the first inning and a half - a common theme as we had missed the first half of an inning of both previous games.


What a beautiful park. The Lake Elsinore Storm not only have the best selling cap in the minor leagues, but they also have one of the most beautiful places to play.


And our seats were excellent - just past third base, and in the front row - and we only paid $8. You gotta love minor league pricing!


Unfortunately the home team lost, 3-2 Which means that after three games the home team is a dismal 1-2 (one of those games being shortened due to the rain storm). This club seemed much more professionally run with nonstop mascots, music, and video board antics. It is the biggest ballpark of our trip, and will probably be the best attended game of our week. Needless to say we weren't too surprised that we weren't acknowledged like at the previous two games. But we continued to get amazing customer service from the staff of the California League.

We've got a shorter day ahead of us tomorrow, but we will have some hills to climb because L.E. is at a lower elevation than our next stop, San Bernardino.

Miles today - 91
Trip total - 261

Day Two - Final Recap

We had a bit of a grinding bike ride to get out to Stater Bros. Stadium, but in the end we arrived on time to see the Mavs take on the 66ers. The High Desert Mavericks play in Adelanto which is a small town located close to the Southern California Logistics Airport.


You can see from this photo, the team has opening day rosters posted on the white columns which is a really cool tribute to past teams. I selected this one because current Blue Jay, Rod Barajas was listed in the starting lineup way back in 1998. Nice.


The game started out a little rough - the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the first inning - but then settled in to a pitchers dual. Unfortunately, the sky opened up during the 6th inning and a rain delay began.


The grounds crew and umpires stood around for a while after the rain had stopped but eventually decided to call the game. While we were disappointed, we did get to meet Alex Freedman who is the radio voice of the High Desert Mavericks. He invited us to stop by the booth on Thursday night when we watch the Mavs play on the road against the Inland Empire 66ers. Needless to say, we are excited to take him up on his offer!

I can't express how friendly and welcoming every team official has been from the teams that we have visited so far. It really shows how much care and attention is given at the Minor League level compared with the big leagues. Or maybe it's just the California League...?

Tim had to head back home for work, but Andrew has just joined in. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow - pushing 90 miles. I hope my body can keep up with my enthusiasm!

Miles to the game - 8
Trip total - 170

Breaking News!

An article about our story was just posted on the KHTS 1200 website. Check it out!

A second-year divinity student from Pasadena wanted to do something unique during a break in his studies at Fuller Seminary, so he decided to go to a ballgame.

On his bike.

And he wouldn't settle for just any ballgame. Anybody can do Dodger Stadium, he figured. Ben Wideman decided he wanted to see minor league players work, from Lancaster to Lake Elsinore.Remember he only has a week. It would have to be five games in five days.

Click here to read the whole article

Day Two Recap (so far)

Today we had sunshine and blue skies. We followed our directions and didn't have any issues with added mileage, however we did realize that using Google Map's walking directions occasionally takes you on some pretty bad roads. Good to keep in mind for any future bicycle touring.

Sadly we arrived at our lunch destination - Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe - a little after it had closed for the day. So sad.


Some of you may have been wondering about my ride - the above picture is my lovely Salsa Casseroll all decked out to tour.



We found a buffet and got our money's worth, and we now have some down time before we head out to tonight's game. Tim is leaving after tonight's game, and Andrew is joining in on the fun.

Miles so far today - 62
Trip total - 162

Day 1 - Final Recap

Well, after a bit of a tiring day, we were dreading climbing back on our bikes for the 3 mile ride to the stadium, but I'm really glad that we did. I've got to say, the Lancaster JetHawks went out of their way to make our night great. For starters, we got "feed your face Monday" tickets for $10 - a ticket and all you can eat hamburgers, hotdogs, peanuts, and popcorn. Pretty awesome, right?


Well it gets better. My name was called over the PA and when I went to the info booth John Laferny, the Director of Stadium Operations asked where we were sitting and promptly upgraded our seats to behind home plate. He then introduced me to a camera crew from Channel 3 News Time Warner Palmdale, who wanted to do a short interview about our journey. Crazy, right?

What a night. I'll always have good things to say about the JetHawks organization. We had a great time.

By the way, the home team won.

Miles to the ballpark and back - 6
Trip Total - 100 (a century on day one?? We can't keep this pace)

Day 1 - so far...

Well, that could have gone a little better...

We made it to Santa Clarita with no problems, and met up with Carol Rock from KHTS AM 1220 for our interview. She asked us about our trip while we munched on Oggi's pizza and sampled their fine beer. Our spirits were high as we headed into the mountains.

Unfortunately we missed a turn off while we were decending into the High Desert and ended up going about 20 miles out of our way. We faced a brutal headwind once we figured out our error and ended up turning a day that was supposed to be about 75 miles into well over 90. Needless to say we were happy to finally get to our hotel, and although we are exhausted, we are ready for the all you can eat tickets for tonght's game.

More details to follow...

Miles so far today - 94
Trip Total - 94

Lift-off!

Heading out in about an hour. I can't believe the time has arrived! I should have some pictures of today's journey posted online after the first game tonight.

Bon Voyage!

In the Pipeline...

Just received word that a radio station wants to interview us about our journey! Stay tuned. I'll keep you all posted in case anything comes of this...