Hemet 202 Permanent... Enter the "HEAT ZONE"

Hemet 202 route. Only one Control stop in Hemet!

Changed the bike over to the Fuji Carbon, that is, moved the HB bag & seat bag over from the Madison SS. Left the 15mm box end wrench at home (for the SS axle nuts!) Need to rest the right achilles tendon and gears are the way to do it! Supposed to have left around 0500, but as things went, started a bit late. Not to worry though, low overcast to Temecula anyway.

Using the Sandy A. spin method today to rest the tendons. 50/34 crankset with 13-30 cogs in the back. Still have the reduced hematomas on the inside of my right shin when I whacked my pedal doing nothing waiting for the randos to come in to the Escondido Control last Saturday. Hardly noticeable until I touch them.

Weather was a mild 60F with overcast in the hills when I left San Marcos and climbed northward toward Rainbow. Lots of traffic crossing the route at Hwy. 76 in Bonsall. Dropped into Temecula and decided to alter the route some and take the Temecula 600 route from there. Started the gentle climb up Rancho California Road and got a rear flat. First one this year on any ride! That's 54 Permanents and a handful of Brevets! Those G'skins Hardshell have seen 2 years on the Fuji already and are really shot. I'll keep using them until I see cord or get too many flats. Flipped my bike over and found the sharp glass piece in the tire. Took that out and tried to match the location on the tube. Took a while but finally found it. Checked the rest of the tire, inside and out and replaced the tube. Packed things away correctly and strapped the spent tube on front of my HB bag. Two riders went by earlier... maybe I'll see them up the road?

Grapes were hanging from the vines all along R'cho California  Rd.

Did finally see one rider ahead, but he turned around at DePortola Road and came back at me. Guess he didn't want any part of Benton climbing over to Sage! That's the nice part of the route. No wind to speak of and Garmin temps were in the low 80's by now. Grapes were hanging on the vines on the vineyards all along Rancho California Road. Climbed up Sage in a easy gear, passed the Fire Station and really enjoyed the fast downhill to Cactus and State Street. Nice wide road into Hemet with the normal westerly wind by now. Stopped at the usual Carl's Jr.

One girl working the counter and I was the only one in line! Of course she had on her headset and was taking drive-thru orders too! Another poor service time at another Carl's Jr. ( Coronado 300 in Alpine was another recent one!). Guess they have the same hiring policy.? Got the cheapest thing they had: Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich. Good thing they had them made up in the freezer already! Iced up my right tendon as I was eating my carry along sandwich. Poured a gel over the Oreo and made a big mess of it! Tasted good though! Hung around about 15 minutes. Put water and ice in one bottle with electrolyte and Cherry Cola and ice in the other! At least I liked the foamy soap in the bathrooms. I Make a point to wash my hands well at each stop anymore as your rando hands get filthy! Stepped outside and put the Garmin on. Hmmm, temp was up to 90F now. Left Hemet southbound with a slight west wind.

Grapefruit time! Workers picking fruit on the Hemet 202 today

 Temp soon increased to the mid 90's as I was climbing up Sage. I kept the gearing low and motored up feeling good. Of course, at the 14% spot, it was big truck time! Sucked some wind at the top and gulped on the ice-CC. The turn onto westbound Benton brought a surprising 15mph headwind! No, not the cool onshore breeze either. Some nice downhill action here as I opted for another route change. Turned back onto Rancho California into Temecula. Hadn't been this way in 2 years. Temps soared as I approached Temecula. At least the headwind made you think it was cooler. No wonder Sam left! Made a stop at the usual Carl's Jr on Bedford Ct. Filled my bottles with ice and refilled one with Cherry Cola again. That stuff works good with one electrolyte tab.

Met one rider as I was climbing up Rainbow Canyon. He was going the right way. Stronger headwind the further
south I went. Not much wind climbing up Day-Lilly Hill but the sun was blasting down from clear skies now. Hot slog up Champagne. too. I took Mission Road over to Las Posas and finished up with a 40 cent Reece's Cup! Reversed course and rode around and back home.

OK ride. I always liked that route, esp. if you get a real early start to get into Hemet at 0900 (which I didn't). A. tendon felt a whole lot better with gears to ease the load. Still a little "tingle" there and I took one Tylenol en route today. If I recover as normal, I'll plug in a Permanent day after tomorrow.

HI: 102F    Lo: 60 Garmin
Overcast to clear at mid-morning
133 miles

-randorides