Coffee At Peet's

SOMA rando bike. Still waiting for Open Pro rims for rebuild.

After New Year's ride. Finally got going at 9:30 after two trips back home to get stuff... like correct glasses and Garmin 500. Ended up being a warm day today. Wore sleevless underlayer with Arctic Guard long sleeve underlayer and NCCC jersey. Rode the SOMA rando bike with the same 'ol Gatorskin Hardshell tires. Nice riding at this time of day. Very little traffic up old Hwy. 395 and even Camino Del Rey. One super smash-up accident at the intersection of Del Rey and Mission Road(Hwy. 76). It was on the bridge side and looks like a massive rear-ender. Looked like 1 totaled and one rear end smash to me. Both were being towed away.

Short stop at AM/PM for ice and a 40 cent treat for receipt and off I went. No wind to speak of so I made good time to the SLR Bike Path. Averaged a solid 17 mph into a headwind, stiffening the further west you go.  Slowly pulled up on a tri guy. He had a mirror and kept moving his head to check on my closing the gap. He picked up the pace as I hooked up. Holding at 21mph off his wheel into the usual stronger headwind.. SOMA was rollin' good! He couldn't drop me, so he gave up and we chatted a bit. I said he had a loud clicking noise from the rear cassette, like the chain isn't all the way over. He said it was "dirty". OK? He peeled off to Harbor Drive on his sleek tri bike. I motored over to Circle K for receipt.

Headed down Coast Hwy. through Oceanside to Magee Park. Chatted with some dog lovers there and was hoping to hook up with riders down the coast. No to be, as they were all going northward. Saw Frank Quan from NCCC. He lives just next to the Angelos Burgers on Eaton Street turn. He'll probably ride the Rainbow 200 next week. Good rider.

I cruised down the coast with no headwind! A few rider passed me as I strolled into Nytro to check things out. Not much going on in there after New Year's Day. No rims came in yet for the SOMA replacement lost in the rear-ender. OH,  I did see a new bike shop in Oceanside called "Endurance something?". Just across from the Civic Center on Coast Hwy. 101. Had some new hi-tec carbon bikes outside. Don't know what's up with them.

After chatting a while with Harvey and Joe, I hit the road when a hi-end customer strolled in with a old Cervelo TT Bike, looking to upgrade into a hi-end ride. Just need a few of those riders per week to make things go real good. Stopped over for tuna-cracker snack at Swami's. Nice and warm. The older lady was there with her 20 plastic shopping bags filled with her belongings. She been there for years and doesn't say a word!

Time for an option, so I turned off on Loma Santa Fe and rode up to Rancho Santa Fe, Del Dios and Harmony Grove road. I clicked over by the hospital where I picked up a new trail off Citracado after the new Escondido Hospital. I've seen that trail for years and wondered where it went. I chatted with some overweight walker from Palomar Hospital and asked him where this trail went. He didn't know anything after it passes behind the hospital. I took off and hit a near walk hill or two on the way. It comes out at the corner of Andreasen and Citracado Pkwy.  Right at the light. Never seen that before. Took the inland rail trail to the finish and then rode home with a 3 pak of cookies for a treat!

Weather was nice with the usual on shore breeze as you get close to the ocean.

-randorides.

The next day my front tire was flat! I checked it out and had one thorn in there! So much for dirt riding on 28mm tires! Quick fix, chain clean and lube and the SOMA is good to go again.