Tuesday, January 22, 2013

San Luis Rey Revival Permanent

SLR Bike Path along river
Took the 6:44 Sprinter over to Oceanside for this 181km/112mi Permanent. Stopped by my favorite Circle K, just north of the City Hall on Coast Hwy. Usual 15 cent Reese's cup for start receipt. Keep it cheap. Start temp was 46F, much warmer than when I left the house in San Marcos earlier at 39F. No gloves needed as the SLR Bike Path showed a headwind. Great. It was going to be a long day for sure.


Took a long time getting over to Bonsall. Even stopped at a construction Port-A-Potty at Hwy. 76 and Vista Way. Camino del Rey wasn't too bad and I went up Circle R instead of Old Castle Road. Stopped half way up and stripped as a fire truck & ambulance came screaming by. Wandering around Lilac Road, the same truck came back heading west. Must have been a ambulance only call. Waste of money and manpower for the union fireman to go out on every call. Nice contract!

Finally got to Valley Center and my least favorite road. Rough and bumpy all the way to the Rincon downhill. Even that was nasty. Haven't been any resurfacing here in decades and the the only smooth section was just in front of the Harrah's Casino. BIG building addition going on there. We know where the money is. Stopped by the Stagestop Market for water. I ignored the "Out Of Service" sign. The toilet out back was plugged but the water was still working. Left there and starting grinding up Hwy. 76 into a headwind. On the first "S" curve was passed by 3 racers in a nice paceline. I was at a comfortable 8 mph. They must have been around 12 mph and heading for Palomar Mtn. I was already cooked when I got to the downhill toward Henshaw. Ahhhh, finally some easy riding.. NOT.

Headwind was up to maybe 12-15mph as I crawled downhill. Took me almost 4.7 hrs just to get to the Henshaw Restaurant/Store. Bunch of weekend Beemer riders pulled in, having just passed me. I chatted a bit and went to the store. Water and a ice cream bar for under $2. Sat down in the shade and listened to cow men discussing the local news. Hit the potty and had a real fire in the stream. Dehydrated for sure. Gulped down the rest of the cool bottled water and headed back..

Lake Henshaw- Low level duck pond in January
Ahhh. nice big tailwind! Guess I didn't suck after all, it was the headwind!? Climbed up 76 to So. Grade Rd. at 14mph. Feelin' good on the big downhill. Didn't see any cyclists. Went by Martha's Market and to Cole Grade Road. I see Nate Harrison Grade Road has a brand new street sign now. Nice! Now we know where to turn for the Nate's Way Permanent. Some trucks blocking Cole Grade, so I decided to go on Hwy. 76 instead. Haven't been that was in a long time. Be nice to see whats up on the road.

The Hwy. wasn't as bad as I remembered. Just one 8% climb with no shoulder. Nice downhill into Pala. Narrow bike lane over to Rice Canyon and then a few tight curves before it opens up well before going over I-15. Headwind was stronger, making riding in the drops mandatory. Traffic wasn't too bad rolling into Bonsall. Time for a yogurt stop at McD's. Took a shot of Cola, filled the bottles and rolled out. Followed Hwy. 76 till turning onto the SLR near Guajome Park. Nine miles of path to Oceanside as the headwind was diminishing with the cloud cover. Turned off and stopped by Bussey Automotive to see Dan Phillips. He rode the Rainbow 200 on Saturday while recovering from the flu. Tough dude. He finished up OK. He was feeling better.

Took the back way to Circle K for final receipt and a Reese's Cup. Then raced over to the Sprinter Station to catch the 4:33 train back to San Marcos. Didn't matter, train was 10 minutes late and packed with bikes. Oh well stack em up! Got home before needing to use head or tail lights. I carried the smallist "Froggie" lights, just in case. I was beat after fighting the winds most of the day. Sure couldn't have followed those racers up toward Palomar.

-randorides

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