Aztec Century, Roadie Crash, BB Failure & Racing Madone 6.2

Aztec Century Route. I did Reverse.

I was dead meat late yesterday (Wed.) and thought I wouldn't ride for sure today (Thursday). You know how it is... got up real early feeling a little rested and figured to give a shortie route a go-go. Ate lite, rubbed up and stretched out good before I left the house. Rode to the 0644 Sprinter headed for Oceanside. I was packed with bikes, about 12 in all. I hung around with mine for no metal to metal contact. Got off at the Couch Street Station and climbed up Canyon St down to Hwy. 76. Played around till 0745, when I started from the Benet St. Chevron. Got a Fiber One Bar for receipt.

Rolled over to the SLR under overcast skies... some call it "marine layer". Bike Path @ Benet St. was open today with no barricades for "Workers Ahead" stuff. Cruised past the O'side Pier and over to Magee Park early. Rode down the coast with Kiwi Stuart and Alan L. Picked up Bruce Tipton at Poinsettia Lane. Arrived for a OFT regroup at Swami' around 0910. They are finally putting a roof on the bathrooms there after 6 months of fencing off the area and stinkie porta potties. Group hung around a while and I finally left early. Group of 12 caught up near Cardiff By The Sea. Had a regroup at the top of Torrey Pines. Porta Potty there was clean as usual. Thursday AM is the usual cleaning day! Water fountain wasn't working. I usually wash things down after a spirited climb up the hill.

Leaving UCSD campus, new guy Cardiff John touched my rear wheel and went down out in the road. While others were attending to him, Tom ask me to check out his front derailleur. Said it was shifting OK earlier today, but now wouldn't go into the big ring. Flipped the bike over and checked things out. Discovered his BB race was separating from the carbon frame. His riding day was over*.

Tom's Bottom Bracket came loose.

* Here is Tom's update on that:
"The bad news from Tom: My bike suffered an irreparable breakdown this morning while riding with the OFR Thursday group to Mt. Soledad.  Briefly, the bottom bracket separated from the carbon fiber frame and started to slide out.  Luckily I stopped to see what was causing a chain ring shifting problem and discovered this serious failure.  I said goodbye to the group of 7 and headed to the Performance Bike shop in Sorrento Valley which meant I had mostly a downhill coast to get there.  They said the problem could not be fixed and suggested I take the bike to a Specialized dealer.  I chose to take it to UTCyclery in La Jolla which was closest to my home in Carmel Valley.

The great news from Tom:  Because I am the original owner of my Specialized Reubaix(sp?), Specialized is giving me a new frame!  It's a silver 2014 X-Works!  They are shipping it from Utah to the bike shop where they will transfer my SRAM components to the new bike.  I should have it by the end of next week."

Cardiff John was soon back on his bike**. I told him to get ice on it quick. He was riding down with the group to LaJolla for a break, then up Mt. Soledad. I parted company with them and hit the Rose Canyon Bike Path on my way to Morena Ave. I don't take the Damon/Mission Bay Drive anymore due to the several heavy merging traffic areas. I soon cruised through Fashion Valley Mall and was heading east when I spotted 2 riders up ahead. Caught one rider at a red light . He soon turned off into the shopping center. The other guy was hammering away. I soon caught his wheel. Silver TREK Madone 6.2 with real deep dish wheels. Probably in his 40's and looked like a racer. Said he was going to the Mesa to finish off the 50 mile ride. He was hitting it hard and I wasn't planning on a high HR day, but what the heck. We were both going up Montezuma Road, so the race was on. I knew he was in distress when he kept shifting around and finally got spinning into his 34T ring. Must have been a tailwind as I was still in my 50T ring up front and feeling good. Kept up the tempo and had at least 100m on him when I turned to McDonald control. I was sucking wind after the extreme heat and high HR. Time for a overpriced choc sundae to get back up to Oceanside. I told the clerk that sundaes cost 80 cents more here and he said that "it's SDSU"!

Hung around sucking water and added some GU Vanilla Gel to the sundae. Filled the bottles with ice and headed down the hill. Didn't need any more races for sure. Stopped at my favorite bike path tree for relief on the headwind way back. Eased a bit up Morena but more headwind on Rose Canyon. Plodded up through UCSD looking for some riders to hook up with for pacing. Nada. The Del Mar climb was less than spectacular to say the least. Thought about stopping at Nytro for some refuel goodies, but passed this trip. No hook ups going up the coast to Oceanside into the normal headwind either. Rolled into the finish for a bottle refill and I was off to climb up Canyon St. and back to the train.

Most riders have no idea how to stack bikes on Sprinter Train

Train was packed again. I had my bike against the seats, where I managed stacking the first bike on mine. I always put the rear derailleur to the inside and hook my helmet on the top of my seat-stays, to form a "barrier" for bikes. First bike up was a hot looking tall blond riding a fixie. She knew what was going on, for sure. Most riders just "throw" their bikes on the stack... pedals in spokes! They were all stacking and yacking. Got off at San Marcos Civic Center, along with the blonde. She took off eastward like she had a date! I limped home with sore legs from inactivity on the train.

Time for recovery drink at home. I mix 2 scoops of Carbo-Pro and 1 scoop of Instant Breakfast in 10 oz on Soy Milk. Add ice and shake the heck out of it. Tastes yummy too. Used to buy Whey Protein, but it seems to cost too much vs other methods. Both seem to work good enough.

Cloudy early with clear skies later
Hi: 86   Lo: 67
96 miles

**Cardiff John Crash Update:

Thanks for checking in. Considering I almost took Kelly with me it could have been worse. Lower back is pretty sore today roadrash on elbows is reassembled and looks sort of better already. Really glad I rode with you the rest of the way thank you all for the concern. Had the tension on my pedals cinched up at Revolution in Solana yesterday, my first time there and it seems to be a great shop. Good luck figuring out your chain problem and I hope Tom has his bike for Thursdays ride I am planning there. Cardiff John

-randorides