Sandia Creek Century (Night Ride)

Basic route map for the Sandia Creek Century

"Supermoon" tonight! That means the moon is full and is closest to earth at only 221,000+ miles. That's 20,000 closer than normal, thus the bright shine on us! We left promptly at 1800 from San Marcos 7-Eleven. I handed Dave Horwitt and Mike Shaw some WD-40 Dry Lube ampules for future carry along on rando rides. Sandy Aniya and Keith Olsen rounded out the group.

Left slowly riding through San Marcos. Busy intersection at Rancho Santa Fe never materialized. Faster tempo as we neared LaCosta Control. In and out in 5 minutes. Sandy & Mike set a fast tempo around 22 mph to the coast. Still cranking 'er up northbound amid some traffic through Carlsbad town. No stopping at Pappy's on Cleveland St. Nice steady 18 mph paceline on the SLR to the College Ave. Park. We filled bottles and "lighted up" there.

Started to get darker as we rode up Mission Rd. toward Bonsall. Heaver traffic along this stretch before the turn on Green Canyon Road. Much more peaceful and quiet here. Still the nasty downhill turn from Reche Road to Oak Park with the presence of a few cars in the area. Dave rode ahead up to Mission Ave., while Mike and I joined up chatting. Keith and Sandy rode together. Old 395 was a similar scenario. Finally had a regroup along Rainbow Canyon Road before the downhill to Temecula. That went smoothly. A wide spread light works very well for those fast, curvy downhills. We opted for the "back way" into the Carl's Jr. in lieu of the Cue Stop at the Shell Station. A whole lot of cars on Hwy. 79 this time of night. Nice to have missed all that while riding through the "neighborhood" and local sidewalks instead!

"Supermoon" brightness lights the way tonight!

Service was poor at Carl's Jr. I opted out for a quick Ice Cream Oreo Sandwich. Too cold inside, so I moved my things outside and sat along the windows. Mike came outside and indicated that Keith wanted to bail out. I chatted with Keith to see what was up. He sort-of-indicated a little of this and that. Maybe he would stay overnight here in Temecula and ride back tomorrow morning. It was almost already morning! Said he was bloated up from overeating OR had bonked OR didn't feel well OR was just tired from "over-training"! Huh? Gave him a Gas-X and told him to "straighten up" while riding to release pressure on the stomach. We overstayed there, but finally left amid a near clear lane for traffic under I-15!

Rolled down Front Street. Keith was asking about where is the Roadway Inn. Others were pointing it out to him as we turned for a "short cut" to miss the Olde Town traffic late at night. Guess Keith had a change of heart as we started up the Ranco California climb. I rode with Keith as the others rode at their own pace. Nice and cool on this climb vs 90's heat a few weeks ago! Regroup at the turn to Sandia Creek Road. Mostly downhill on now with a few shorter climbs. We call Sandy the "Downhill Specialists", as he'll take off when the road goes downward. After the " Private Road Ahead" sign, the road pitches up to 17%. Dave took off ahead as we all followed him up. Regroup at the top with a few words of the real hi-speed downhill ahead with some rough roads. That didn't happen, as the road had been patched and repaired the week before. It's still a dangerous section at night riding at speed. Rolled along the Santa Margarita river bottom. I felt a little cooler here as the temp dropped to 61F. Several cars were parked at the trail-head to the river pool. You could hear them talking as we rode by, separated by trees and bushes. One could only guess what they were doing at the "nudie pool"!

Crashing into this sign woke us up!

Soon enough, we had a regroup before the climb up to Fallbrook. Dave and I rode up together. Group decided not to stop in Fallbrook, but instead stop at the next control in Bonsall. Sandy & Mike set a nice fast pace down Mission Road and through Hellers Bend Rd. Very quiet through there makes an enjoyable ride. Someone rode over a "Wet Floor" sign at the Bonsall AM/PM. The noise woke us up! Had some fun with the lonely teller in there. Hung around outside and gulped the Mountain Dew and Cokes to give us a caffeine charge for the final push to the finish. Dave and Mike set a fast tempo along the quiet Camino del Rey. Dave led out up Champagne Blvd climb. Sandy & Mike rode together. Regrouped at the top. Dave put on his long pants, as it would be a little cooler on the Centre City downhill. At this time of morning, traffic was nil as we cruised through the old Country Club area on our way to the finish. The 7-Eleven was empty, didn't even see a cashier in there. Chatted a bit about the Bonsall 200 Brevet next weekend. Toss up as to whom is going. We'll see. Rode home feeling good.

Decent weather tonight for this ride. The "supermoon" helped with the dark road visibility. Everyone's lights seemed adequate for road illumination and rear visibility. Mikes new RUSA vest bested the rest for rear illumination.Seems like all riders had an agreeable time.

Clear skies
Hi: 73   Lo: 61
99 miles

-randorides