Tar Balls & Randofried

Sandia Creek Century route in the heat

Days are getting longer & warmer now that it's June. That means early daylight starts and longer rides. Rando Keith Olsen and I have done several full Permanents over the last few weeks, some mixed in with the Thursday OFR Gruppo and some not. Also I've been doing my usual weekly rando rides to keep things loose, changing from my once tempered Tu-Th-Sat routine to a more flexible Mon-Th-Sat one. Including in there the usual trips to Bike Shops & Walley-Mart. Nothing too exciting to write about.

Forecast around San Marcos today was temps approaching 90F and lite winds. Sounded good as I had planned on starting out early, but heavy local fog & a kicked cup of Mr. Lees Green Tea put the dampers on that idea for a while. Maybe green tea has some magical floor cleaning enzymes? Also checking out a new electrolyte powder packet: GU brew. (Mixed a sample last night for Zaharah and it was awful! Tasted like warm sea water. Diluted it by half and added a bit of Gatorade Endurance to help it out.) Added my Garmin soft HR Strap this trip. Put dabs of gel on the contact pads. HR reading of 77, so it must work? Time to clear out.

Thought I would get in some climbing today, so loosely followed the Sandia Creek Century route. Not much going on early along the coast and even the SLR was passive. No normal headwind as I plodded eastward to Bonsall. Stopped at McDonalds, where there is on-going new construction to the parking lot and entrances. Hit the head, iced up my bottle and headed northward to Green Canyon Road. Temps were in the mid 70's as I got into a rhythm under the shady tree lined road. Could only get my HR up to 148. Must be tired? Saw 3 riders crossing ahead on Reche Road. Thought I might have company on Live Oak Park, but they continued on Reche Road. I usually avoid that road since the rando Bobbi Fisher accident years ago.

Met up with a familiar rider on Old Hwy. 395 toward Rainbow. Forgot his name, but he related yesterday (Sunday) he and a buddy drove out early to Pauma store and started the ride up Palomar Mtn. via So. Grade Rd. Buddies rear deraileur hanger broke off, so they coasted back down and went home. Today he was doing the Rice Cyn./Cooser/Lilac loop to make up. Couldn't remember if I had given him a rando card before, but should have passed one on today. He cut off quick at Rainbow... opportunity lost.

GU brew taste like warm sea water, unless you spice it up!

New road surface from north Rainbow to the top of the downhill. Looks like they were getting ready to spray on some lines, as highway workers were milling around and having coffee. Smooth and nice, but still not adequate bike lanes in spots. Bitumen was hard enough to ride on without picking up chunks with the tires. Did the back way sidewalk loop-around to miss all the Hwy. 79 traffic and ended up at the 7-Eleven for a break. Noticed that temps were mid-90's after the plunge down to Temecula. Sat outside and ate a IC Sandwich. This 7-Eleven has a bathroom in the back and handy sink to rinse things off. Filled my bottles and ice'd up for temp increase ahead. Leaving the store, you wait at the light for green to turn left on Hwy. 79 and go under Hwy. 15. This works well, as the Hwy. 79 traffic has a red light and this allows you to avoid dodging cars for the short run to Front Street.

More construction in Old Towne ahead. Following the route on Pujol St., this avoids Old Towne anyway, passing thru commercial business area. Rancho California climb ahead.  What? "Expect Delays Ahead... Construction Sign" Wow, still working on that road for months now. Looks like a small ring climb to me as I pulled up to talk to the safety vest worker holding a "STOP" sign. He was under a canopy in the shade with his buddy. Good idea. Glanced down to my Garmin and read him the temp: "97 degrees".

After some chit-chat, he said I could go ahead, but watch the oncoming traffic as I would be riding in the left lane. Right lane had a thin coat of fresh tar and further ahead the trucks were laying down a 4" bed of hot asphalt. Riding at the edge of the molten fumes, my tires started to pick up tar and bits of bitumen. Man, it was really getting hot now as I grabbed another gear and continued to slow down on the climb. "Just Great. They released the downhill traffic." Nowhere to pull off, so I climbed between the speeding traffic and the steaming asphalt bed. Garmin read 114degrees and my HR was palpitating at 178! As the tar balls built up between my tire and the carbon crowns, I was getting slower and slower. The drag was noticeable and I kept grabbing a lower gear to keep my motion. Finally the balls chunked off and it all started over again.

Like this, Rancho California climb was HOT and dirty!

The grade eased after the last curve as I spotted another blue canopy ahead with a line of traffic waiting for me. How nice! Whew, couldn't wait to clear that mess. I stopped at the turn to Sandia Creek Road and chatted with a Harley rider, who ask me where he was. I pointed to Temecula and mentioned the dirty road ahead. I was sucking energy water and noticed my HR was down to 156 now. Looks like I won't pass out here.

Sandia Creek rollers are lots of fun, especially when it's mostly downhill. Temps remained in the lo-100's with pockets of "heat". Climbing the last 17%'er, noticed a riding coming up behind. Waited at the top while drinking more water. He rode by saying it was a little hot today. Built like Contador and riding a Cannondale Evo 6 racer bike. Met him again just entering Fallbrook. He was riding downhill. Makes you realize how slow you really are!

I was feeling good all day even with the heat and stuff going on. Made a quick stop at Fallbrook JIB for water/ice. Watched a lady outside pick out the bad raspberries from a box and eat the rest! Way to go! Downhill now to Heller's Bend and on to Bonsall. The turn onto Hwy. 76 brought strong, cool headwinds. This calls for a shady stop at McDonalds for a IC Sundae and Sunflower laced crackers. Yummy! Temps were into the 90's now, first time since leaving Temecula.

Nice normal tailwind along Camino Del Rey, where I managed to stretch out and take another B-6 tablet. These work good at preventing cramp when it's hot out. Stopping under I-15 in the shade, I noticed a sign ahead: "Road Work.. Construction Delays Ahead" Nice new asphalt on the climb up past the campground. The fresh tar glistened on the curbside as the temps soared into the 100's again. No lines on this new road yet. Stopped by traffic control just past the campground. New surface ended at Old Castle Road. Actually, I was looking forward to the Champagne climb! 

Decided to drop down into the 34T chain-ring for this climb, as the winds were in my face. Alternating the up-down saddle time, I was feeling good as I made the top. Didn't time this one, but managed to keep it at 9mph with the wind and heat. A whole lot cooler now as I enjoyed the downhill back to San Marcos. HR was under 100 now.

Fog early, Clear mid-morning
Hi: 114     Lo: 59 (Garmin)
Winds: W-10mph

97 miles

-randorides