Surfliner 200 Permanent... ladies in pink!

Surfliner 200 route. Up and down the Pacific Coast!

Last minute planning for this ride, depending on the OFR (Thursday ride group from Magee Park or Swami's regroup) route today. They were going along the coast down to Balboa Park for lunch, so I thought I might hook up with them for the ride down. Riding the SOMA today with a couple of std. rear blinkies and a single Planet Bike light in the front supplemented by a helmet light. Don't need much lighting for this early start.

Started the ride by getting a receipt at the Circle K in Oceanside. Didn't have the usual 20 cent Reese Piece anymore, so I opted for a pack of Belvita for $1.29. These are good "breakfast biscuts", 4 per package. At the counter I spotted some Laura Bars for 25 cents. Got one of those instead. Turned on the lights and I was off at 0500. No Camp Pendleton option this early, so I opted for the I-5 speedway. Traffic wasn't too bad going north and the lane was pretty clean. I was fiddling with my helmet light and separated the light/battery pack from the base. I had to stop to put that back together. Made another short stop at the Rest Stop. All alone on the bike path northward. Campers were still sleeping as I cruised through San Onofre Campground. Rode Avenida Presidente instead of El Camino past Carl's Jr. Nice downhill to the 7-Eleven Control. Got a Tiger Bar. Cheapest thing going. Took a bite and started the climb back through San Clemente. Too dry and was sucking air for a drink to wash it down!

OFR rider Dee Wells from her recent Portugal trip.

Racer guy went by. Giant Carbon with one bottle. I figured I would follow him through town. He was tapering off as we climbed, so I passed him before the downtown section. Of course he resented that and passed me before Carl's again. He turned over I-5 for the short cut. Saw him ahead of me going down Trestles Bike Path. Passed him again on the climb up to Old Pacific Coast Hwy. Away I went. Stopped at the #1 bathroom for water refill and relief. Kept a nice easy pace of 17mph through the campground southbound. Campers were all up now and some were staggering around. Flatiron workers were also working on the RR Tracks further down. Too much traffic going into Pendleton and they don't like early bikers, so I opted for the I-5 route southbound. It was around 0740 now and I needed to meet the group at Magee Park in Carlsbad at 0830! Nice tailwind-type ride to Oceanside. I opted for Coast Highway through town.Rode past Magee Park and stopped at the Oak Street 7-Eleven. Got a Smores IC Sandwich and refilled my bottles with ice. Rode across the street, sat on a bench overlooking the ocean and stretched out. I'll wait for them to ride by here instead!

At 0835 a group of 4 rode by and I hooked up. A couple of ladies and old Alan was with them too. Picked up Dr. Dan and Bruce Tipton at Poinsettia Lane. We rode together down to Swami's, chatting away. Nice group of 12 there. They hung around too long for me. Chatted with some rider named "Bob" who remembered me from a few weeks back on the SLR Bike Path. Gave him a card and hoped he might respond to some Permanent rides. Bob had his bike set up good for rando type riding. He is from Miramar area. Might be a good guy to ride with.

Rode south with around 16 riders. I took the outside route up Torrey Pines and waited at the top, rinsing my rag at the practice tee water fountain. Several riders turned around here and the rest of us headed south. Rode together on the Rose Creek Bike Path, through beer on Santa Fe Street and stopped at Mission Bay bathrooms. Rode to Old Town with them, where I kept going to downtown San Diego. Quick ride with a slight tailwind. I rode through the Convention Center to check out the Comic-Con crowd. Lots of good action there before I u-turned and stopped at JIB for a receipt. Total inept staff as I ended up getting a value drink. They just hand you a cup! Anything else and I would still be there waiting. Filled one bottle with cola-electrolyte mix and iced the other one.

Comic-Con in San Diego! Had to ride by here today.

Fuji-TT rider passed me as I was leaving JIB. He knew the lights, so I followed him. Looked like a Marine on a
training run. He finally turned onto Pacific Hwy. and rode west toward Point Loma. Had a good ride through Mission Bay with some slight headwinds. Was going to stop at McDonald's before the Damon Dr. turn, but opted out. Still had the beer? spill past the brewery's on Santa Fe Street. What a ripe smell! Nice climb up to Torrey. A few cyclists were riding there and I hooked up to several different ones. No stop at Nytro this trip. Rode with a group of 2 other riders to Oceanside. It was after 1400 now, so I treated myself to a Ice Cream Bar for receipt at the Circle K and went to the Pier to enjoy it. Full of people and many asian tourists here. Hopped the Sprinter Train back to San Marcos. Rode home from there.

Felt good today with the easier route after Tuesday's climbing burn fest to Hemet. Nice to ride with a group at a comfortable pace to break up the route some. No flats on my super worn tires, so I'll try another route on them till the "cords shine through"!

Misty skies early, clearing later
Hi: 86   Lo: 60
124 miles

-randorides