San Luis Rey River Revival...April Fool's Windfest

San Luis Rey River Revival modified route

Initially, I wanted to do Palomar Mtn. today, but with the early forecast @36F there, I figured maybe that would be an option when I get to So. Grade Road. Still cool at the start and was supposed to be a high wind warning after noon today. Woolie cap, long glove liners, long sleeve Arctic Guard underlayer, wind vest and carried along some arm warmers just in case. Also prepped up the new Giro "Feature" helmet  with some velcro, mirror and SDrando logos. Riding the heavier SOMA for some climbing build-up.

Started the route in San Marcos instead of Oceanside. Routes goes north of here anyway and it would save me the ride over and back. Followed the "Training Ride To Palomar" route through Escondido and up Valley Center Road instead of Lake Wohlford Road. The bottom mile of that road is sheer close with the no bike lane, fence and trash on the road. After that the road is good. Stopped on the long climb to Valley Center to strip off stuff. Clear skies and warming up! Big chain-ring climb under duress today. Took Woods Valley Road for some nice quiet riding. Lost some trash on the fast, bumpy downhill on Rincon Grade to Harrah's Casino. That road is getting worse every year. Next trip I'll go down Cole Grade instead, with the death ride along Hwy. 76 through Pauma.

Bike lane past Harrah's is awful. Getting worse each month. Wonder why they don't force the state to fix it and ante up some help funds from the Casino. Road construction along there today, but not where they need it. Looks like they are adding a turn lane southbound near the Casino instead. Re-arranged my clothing on the front HB bag at a bus stop bench. Started the climb past Stage Stop Market and noticed discarded tubes along Hwy. 76. I used to stop and pick up the tubes, check them out and either keep them OR take them to the nearest trash. Counted 7 roadside tubes up to So. Grade Road.

Roadie trash: CRAFT PB Rain Jacket

I was climbing along at a blistering 8 mph when something caught my eye in the road side bushes. Looked
like a white towel. I kept riding and then remembering towels don't have C...R...A...F on them. I turned around a went back downhill to check it out. I was a CRAFT Rain Jacket! Kind of damp and crumpled in the bushes. I shook it out, folded it and put in with my other clothes on the front bag. I'll check it out later on.

That 5 minute stop interrupted my nice pace I had earlier on the climb. Usually takes me 45 minutes to get to the So. Grade turn. Can't get my pacing down on the first section, but feel good on the switchbacks later on. Same thing today. Kept motoring at the top in the big ring. Real nice ride over to Lake Henshaw today as I soon discovered there was a tailwind! Saw some turkeys along the road in the LaJolla Reservation. Got a small Gatorade at the Henshaw Store and sat outside with my sandwich. Several hunters walking around. Turkey season is the last Saturday in March for 37 days. Hunters looked overweight in their camos. Time to head to Oceanside.

Headwind.. that's the word. Easy ride out, headwind ride back. Saw a 3 rider bunch and a trailer approaching So. Grade Road. Looks like they were surprised to see me! Easy ride down the hill. Full size motor home pulling a trailer just had to pass. Almost run me off the road! I was really cookin' past Stage Stop Market. Almost rolled all the way to the Pauma Market. Decided with this nice tailwind to opt out of the Cole Grade climb and head to Bonsall instead. I luv the Cole Grade climb, but am not fond of the Lilac/Old Castle section. Nice push to Pala, even over the 2 short climbs with no bike lanes!

Stopped at Pala gas station and ate my banana. Tighter going now even with lite traffic. Started to feel the onshore headwind as I passed over I-15. Sucked in my breath and rode the 76 to Bonsall. Still about 3 places with no bike lanes and it's still "iffy" at best with moderate traffic. Hit the McDonalds for a headwind breather before the slog to the coast. Still no ice cream there, broken machine, so I opted for a yogurt to eat with my 1/2 tuna sandwich. After icing up, I jumped Highway 76 and then the SLR Bike Path.

Added SDRando logo, mirror and velcro to new Giro helmet

Finally caught up to some young stud on a MTB crankin' it up on the Path. He seemed a little surprised to see me riding along side. I commented that he was riding strong and if he had a road bike I couldn't keep up. He finally ran out of gas and I waived "adios". Stopped at the Circle K in Oceanside for a Ice Cream Sandwich before heading back to San Marcos and finish up. Nice to have the tailwind all the way home. Cut through Vista and took Santa Fe back still under partly cloudy skies.

Supposed to rain tonight. Looks like the forecast was spot-one with the wind. Should have started earlier, since the temps were in the 50's early. Picked up a nice medium size CRAFT PB Rain Jacket and got in some climbing. Felt good when I got home.

-randorides.

Coffee At Peet's Populaire: Freebee Ride

Replacement Giro "Feature" Helmet. Need to add SDRando logos.

Needed to get over to Nytro today to check some things out. Why not include a route in there somewhere?

For one reason or another got a later start, around 8:30. Weather was nice with good road conditions and lite breeze along the SLR. Tailwind along the coast southward and east along the SR-56 Bike Path. Winds picked up from the west as afternoon arrived. Tri riders all over the place. Hot bodies chicks galore!

Vendor freebee giveaways from Nytro on big Tri weekend!

Stopped by Nytro to see Joe M. Giro "Feature" MTB helmet came in. That replaces the one that was ripped off with my bikepacking bike in late December, 2013. Weight of helmet is around 285, so it is lighter than my back-up cracked helmet. At least I got a helmet now! Need to add the SD Rando logos and glue on a mirror and other stuff. Picked up a whole bunch of give-aways from the vendors there. Big Tri weekend with the Oceanside Triathlon!

Quite a feat packing it all in my mini-string backpack!  Actually the strings cut into my shoulders and  inhibited circulation some while riding. Maybe should have chucked the box?

-randorides

Rainbow Prelude Permanent: Drizzle route

Drizzly, damp Rainbow welcomes you!

Slight chance of drizzle in the early AM, followed by partly cloudy skies and a high of 70F today. Wouldn't that be nice? Start at 8:00 and miss the wet roads and then dress light for the nice 70 degree weather with sun in the after noon. WRONG!

SOMA time with woolie cap, gloves, wind vest and  long sleeve under-layer to go with the wool rando SS jersey! All set. I was starting this route at the San Marcos Control. Rode over under light drizzle and got a receipt just before 7:00 AM. I figured to put up with the slightly wet roads a bit as I rode northward. Temp was around 57F, so it didn't feel too cold on the long damp downhill on Champagne Blvd. I figured it would be clearing up in a few hours, so not to worry. Water was dripping from my helmet as I turned onto Circle R for the climb into the hills. I don't do Old Castle Road anymore do to the heavy traffic there and spotty minimal bike lanes. It's the only direct road from I-15 to Valley Center in this area and randos get hammered during certain times of the day.

Road construction ahead up the hill. Looks like they are patching holes in the road. Short wait before they let me through along with 6 cars. I was huffing and puffing already and the steeper stuff was still ahead! Drizzle was picking up as I turned onto the winding Lilac Road . Slowed up for the downhill corners as they were laced with a mud glaze. Even worn Gatorskins won't stick to those surfaces! I dropped into the 34T chainring and the 24 cog for the 14% sections up Cooser Canyon. I followed near the center of the double yellow lines to the top under drying out skies! As I zipped up at the top, it started a heavy drizzle again! This continued all the way to Rainbow. Seems I made a good slo time slogging up Rice Canyon. Not one of my favorite roads to climb as I never have got into the "rhythm" on that section.

I bought a $1.29 dark choclate Milky Way bar a the market there. Hit the bathroom and was soon blasting down Old 395 toward Fallbrook under overcast skies and occasional drizzle. All the roads were wet from Fallbrook toward Bonsall. I stopped at McDonalds in Bonsall for a yogurt and a break. I neatly folded my vest, long gloves and woolie cap together and put it on the front of my handlebar bag. Slight headwind on Hwy. 76 over to the SLR Bike Path. One I hit the Bike Path, it started to drizzle again! Almost raining, I stopped under Douglas Street and put my stuff back on again. Doing so, the vest zipper pull came off, so I tied the vest halves together with a ruber strip I always carry. It kept the bottom together, but of course the top ballooned out with the bicycle forward speed. Puddles on the Bike Path as I finally rolled into Oceanside.

All muddy and damp, I motored southward to Magee and refueled with plain water. Out of Carbo Pro at home, so I added a scoop of Sustained Energy instead the morning. It works Ok, but I pass a little gas from the protein content. Roads were drying out along the coast, with a few spots of drizzle. Got into Nytro early afternoon. Picked up a 2# bag of Carbo Pro and some Shot Bloks. Also got a few safety pins to hold my vest together. Packed stuff in a white Nytro bag and strapped it on the top of my handlebar bag. Went over to Swami's for "lunch".

Sat overlooking the ocean and ate my carry-along tuna sandwich. Watching the surfers catch the small waves, I noticed a sudden heat wave roll through. Really weird! I checked the Garmin temp and it had soared to 74 F. Must have been that pineapple express from Hawaii coming through? Drying out now as I proceeded southbound up and around to UCSD. Dried off around here, so I darted through the parking lot route and stopped at the McDonalds by the mall. Still had my pinned vest on and the weather seemed warm enough. Followed the route onto El Camino Real and San Dieguito Road. A few cyclists were out now as the overcast didn't look so threatening. Socks were still wet as I went up Del Dios and over through Harmony Grove. Too bad about the new housing development there to clog that pristine ride through the valley. Picked up 3 cookies to take home from the 7-Eleven finish.

They missed the forecast again. Guess next time I'll pack for the bad stuff and store what I don't need! Just more weight to keep me in shape!

-randorides

Ursa Minor Permanent In Lieu Of SC-200 Brevet

Ursa Minor Route to Dana Tutors & Spunky's Deli

Surprisingly, John Mestemacher was doing the route with me today. Thought we would leave earlier and see or hook up with the randos doing the San Clemente 200 Brevet today. They would be leaving Sea World and following the coast highway up to Dana Point and return.

I was to meet up with John en-route at Rancho Santa Fe. He could ride from his house in Carlsbad, go the back way and not have to ride over to San Marcos for the start and then back home after the ride too! Good idea and it worked well. I started at the 7-Eleven in San Marcos per route and was overdressed, for sure. It wasn't long and I stopped to zip up my zest for the downhill by Lake Hodges. The zip-pull fell off! I tried to put it back on, but that didn't work. I just neatly folded it up and put it on the front of my handlbar bag! Hopefully, I could fix it at home lateron. Shucks, they should make those illuminite vests to last longer than 7 years! Thanks Performance Bikes!

John was waiting at Rancho Santa Fe town at 6:00 for me. He was blazed out in his reflective stuff and had a new usb handlebar light, which he quickly demo'd for me. Looks good for shorter rando night sections. Only way to rechage is via USB port. Should work OK for a 400K too. I was using a single Blaze 2W headlight and my helmet mounted 135 lumen spotlight. By the time we got to Solana Beach, the sun was just starting to come up in the east. Nice and quiet along the coast, with a few riders starting to appear riding southward.

Tutor & Spunky's Deli Brevet Control

We stopped at Magee Park in Carlsbad for a bathroom break and to take off some clothes. Felt much better with only the wool rando jersey and a long sleeve underlayer. We opted for the Harbor Drive route past the Oceanside Pier and the I-5 route northward. No wind to speak of through the San Onofre Campground and we took a stop at Bathroom #1. A few more cyclists now as the overcast skies were breaking up a bit. We took the Brevet route through San Clemente and along the ocean up to the turn around point at Tutor & Spunky's Deli. Got a overpriced drink there and ate the carry along tuna sandwich. Waited around for 20 minutes and headed out. I noticed a park on the left and did a U-Turn. Great little overlook of the Dana Point Harbor and ocean view from this little park at the end of Blue Lantern. Have to ride there again!

Return trip met the first group of Brevet riders in San Clemente town downhill and another group with Jimbo Wiesner at a stoplight. Did manage to see Keith Olsen pulling a group northbound near Trestles Bike Path. Rode with a group from Anaheim who were going to San Diego Amtrak Station. John cranked 'er up for the wind aided pull through the Campground. Saw Greg Olmstead riding solo. Stopped at the fence opening and chatted with a confused looking rando Bill Schffler. Said his Garmin wasn't working. Several randos behind him, including William Volk and his boxed out recumbant.

Ride hi-lite: Sampson's Gazebo Overlook on Blue Lantern

Took a fast I-5 southbound as John set the pace. I paced us up the last little hill and into Oceanside Harbor rest stop. Next up was the wind aided San Luis Rey Bike Path. We rode that at around 18mph all the way to our final stop at the Bonsall McDonalds. John had a vanilla shake and I opted for the one-dollar yogurt with frozen fruit. Bathroom were plugged up so we would wait for a later bush along Camino Del Rey. Still a nice tailwind along that road to Old Hwy. 395. John was dreading the Champagne climb, but it wasn't bad as I paced us up at a slow pace. My legs weren't feeling that great either, as 3-200's in 4 days was a lot on a bike that wasn't set up correctly yet. I only adjusted my seat 1X during today's ride. We fought the headwind to the finish at 7-Eleven. Sitting there in the sun, John noticed his seat was low. Yep! It was slowly dropping down and was now down 1/4 inch from his perfect mark. OUCH! I picked up a pak of CC Cookies for the wife and we departed at San Marcos Blvd., as John headed back to Carlsbad and me homeward.

Interesting ride with great tailwinds. My legs were a little tired near the end and I guess I didn't overdress, as it was much cooler inland than expected with the overcast skies returning. In fact, we mentioned several times it looked like rain! Wouldn't that be nice? Supposed to rain mid-week.

-randorides

University Loop Permanent

Some dude on the San Luis Rey Bike Path to Oceanside

Time for some back-to-back-to-back 200K stuff. Needed to stop by Nytro today AND meet up with the OFR gruppo out of Magee Park in Carlsbad. Why not jump on the Uni-Loop Permanent?

Left home well before 6:00 for an early start and co-ordinate the meet up in Carlsbad. My woolie cap, arm warmers, fingerless gloves and single under-layer weren't enough! After getting a start receipt, I went back home and added a vest and long gloves! Gee whiz, that Twin Oaks Valley is real cool in the early morning.

Felt comfortable enough till I got to the Bike Path extension off Hwy. 76. Another temp drop along there. The sun way trying to come up on the SLR, but some high clouds were blocking those much needed rays! Picked up a single speed guy riding a chrome Bianchi Pista on the SLR. Did an straight cut on one of the loops under the roadway above and got ahead of him. He passed me and I followed him to Benet Street. Bike Path was closed here. Pista rider didn't know what to do , so I passed around and headed over to Hwy. 76 for the super fast ride in to Oceanside. Must have been a huge tailwind as I was crankin' along at 27mph. With my 50x13 gears, that's moving along!

Stopped at Circle K and tried to get 2 bananas for a buck! No deal. They wanted $1.50. I kept riding and stopped at a 7-Eleven where I did get 2 for a buck! Raced over to Magee Park to meet the OFR boys at 8:30. We chit chatted a bit and then all 7 of us rolled southward at a fast 18mph pace set by Kiwi Stuart! Shut him down on the little climb south of Carlsbad. Bruce and Troy joined up along the way south. Then Salton Sea Ben joined up near Encinitas! Good to see him after his "explosion" on the Salton Sea ride.

Lots of chit chat during the stop at Swami's Park. I stripped down and neatly folded my clothing before putting it on the front on my bar bag. Group of 15 headed south and up Torrey climb. I went straight through Del Mar and got ahead of the gruppo. Met 2 women riders pacing up Torrey and rode with them. Both were out of gears and struggling a bit. Looks like they had compacts with 11-25 on the back. No wonder. One on a carbon and the other rode a Titanium bike. Waited at the top for the Gruppo to show up.

A few turned around at the top, the rest were riding to the Cabrillo Monument. Rode together till Santa Fe Street, where I kept going straight for the sidewalk cut up to Morena Blvd. They headed over to Mission Bay and points beyond. Rolled down Morena into a slight headwind under partly cloudy skies and nice temps. Not much traffic through Friars and Mission Valley. Traffic increase up Montezuma Road. Lots of tour buses around now, due to the Final Four tourney kicking off at SDSU on Friday. No action at McDonald's, as I got a burger and a ice cream cone. Didn't pack a sandwich today.

"March Madness" hits this week at SDSU Areana

Turned around into a headwind to the coast, but a nice push up Morena Blvd., Santa Fe St. and the Rose Canyon Bike Path. Went through the UCSD campus with little traffic and down Torrey Pines. Passed a "fat tire bike" creeping up to Del Mar. Wow! Nice looking black bike with hyd. disc brakes and 3x10 gearing. This dude just bought it and I don't know if he ever made it up to the top! Jumped through a group of young riders heading north. One leader said they were going camping at the San Elijo Campground.  Picked up a slick racer guy on a TREK with a PowerHub. Drafted him for several miles before he kicked my ass from Chesterfield to Encinitas! He was gone and so was I! Stopped at Nytro for stuff. Joe Morgan had the next 4 days off! Nice. Left empty handed. Rode northward and got into a group for relief. Turned at Carlsbad and finished up over in San Marcos. Route done. Back of my shoulders hurt off and on all day. Must be the bike set up. Need to do something about that... somehow.

Looks like a day off tomorrow (Friday) for bike cleaning and set up. Suppose to ride with John M. on Saturday for our Ursa Minor 200+ Permanent. Maybe we'll see the San Clemente 200 Brevet riders along the route somewhere. Might meet them at the Dana Point Deli too!

-randorides

Crusin' The OC

Peters Bike Path along channel

Time to head north. Took the earliest train over to Oceanside for a near 5:00 AM start. Still working on the fit for the SOMA. Arm warmers, woolie cap and RUSA jersey with cut-off shirt underlayer. Still too cool at the start, as winds were 12mph from the east. Rode I-5 northward, with one Blaze headlight and the small, but powerful Dorcy helmet light. Strong Planet Bike rear blinkie, with extra rubber band to secure it on the seat bag.

Once riding along I-5, it seemed to warm up. From Las Pulgas north through the campground, no bikers, either way. Too early. Got to San Clemente around 6:20 for a refill at Carl's Jr. A little too much early traffic in spots northward on Hwy. 1 and I couldn't wait to get off of that and onto some bike paths at Newport Beach. Stopped at the Chevron on Bayside Street for a receipt. Followed some big guy with a sign on the back of his carbon seatpost "Iggy". Dropped him on the short steep climb at the end of the Bay bike path. Looped around and joined the San Diego Bike Path eastward. Lots more bike traffic on this on. Looked like workers and students use this a lot early in the AM. Also many Asians walking along this route with their dogs!

Fiber One Chocolate Bar packs power!

Peters Bike Path would be real great, if they would connect both parts up together. Instead, we need to go out on Harvard for a mile and then rejoin the Bike Path northward. Saw 2 riders ahead on Jamboree, but needed to hit the bushes first and by then they were long gone. Stopped at the Orange Control Chevron at Chapman. Got 2 Fiber One bars for $1.20, ate a banana and hit the road.

Deceiving climb right away on Santiago Cyn. Rd. before the long downhill. Plodded up the few climbs into a breezy headwind. Did see a few riders riding northward. Also encountered a truck pulled off to the side on the road. Their dog was running loose among traffic. Real nice looking dog too! The dog disappeared through the trees and into a downhill field. Lone gone and scared!

Aliso Creek Bike Path route

I opted for the Aliso Bike Path instead of the Live Oak Canyon/Antonio Parkway route. This Bike Path is the
last part of the Santiago Peak Trail Permanent. I needed to check it out anyway. It takes you through Lake Forest and past Laguna Hill High School before you're back on the roads for a bit. Then it's another bike path through the Mission Viejo Train Station before you're on Camino Capistrano heading for San Juan Capistrano. All looked well for a short stop at SJC before heading to San Clemente Carl's Jr. and the bike paths and I-5 again to Oceanside.

Sunny day out after a cool start to the route. Turned out the mileage was the same doing the Aliso Bike Path way.

-randorides

Busted In DeLuz Popularie...goodies on the road!

Modified "Busted" route with heat and wind added.

Last minute climbing route on a Saturday. Left before 8:00 and rode over to OCCR and checked out the North County boys. Robert A. commented on his OC 400 last week. Ben H. was there and explained what happened on the Salton Sea ride a few weeks back. How he was done after the turn-around, but plodded along with some encouragement from the group and after several more stops, finished up their century in Calipatria. I left there and took Palomar Airport Road over to El Camino, with a quick downhill to the "official" start at the Circle K at LaCosta Ave. Loaded with water and ice before heading out to the coast.

Picked up a group of racers with a different jersey: "San Diego Downhillers" All lean looking tall guys cranking out at 18mph. I fell in behind them for several miles. Later hooked up with a older guy riding north. He lifts weights 5 days a week in the gym, then opts out on Saturday for a 30 mile coastal ride. Said "adios" near the Oceanside Pier and turned onto the SLR Bike Path off Harbor Dr. Not many riders along there today. Slight headwind as I drifted along saving energy for later on. Hwy. 76 was fast as usual and I made good time to McDonalds in Bonsall. Loaded with riders as the North County long riders were there. I iced up, hit the bathrooms and was off in 5 minutes!

Climbing starts going up Mission Road toward Fallbrook. I moderated my pace and the turn onto Green Canyon offered more climbing. Felt good enough to lower the gears for the long haul up Oak Canyon. Used some big chainring gear combos to Mission Road and enjoyed the downhill to the Hwy. 395 crossover. The turn north to Rainbow was a shocko headwind. I geared down and finally dropped in into the 34 chainring and the wind increased. I saw 2 riders ahead were also fighting the headwind like me. I was closing on them slowly and by the time I got to Rainbow, one had turned off and the other had his wife loading his bike into their SUV! No more headwind for him. I continued plodding northward into a stiff breeze. Several riders were coming downhill from Temecula. Nice! Finally made it to the top for a stretch-out downhill into Temecula and a break at Carl's Jr. Already 50 miles in and needed a ice-cream sandwich to go with my tuna sandwich I brought along. Iced up the bottles and headed out after 15 minutes.

Warming up now for the climbing ahead. I took the back-way over to Rancho California Road, eliminating the Old Town traffic experience. I dropped some gears and paced up the climb. Stopped to pick up a Lance type plastic bracelet. The turn onto Sandia Creek Road was welcome, as my Garmin noted 101F! No wind now as I climbed that first 12% grade. Next was a series of downhills and some rollers. Finally, the big 14% climb near the end. I dropped to my 30T cog. It slipped one time when I got out of the saddle. Nursed it along up and over. The downhill on the other side is really fast and I braked a lot. Noticed the top speed today was 52mph... must have been right here! Nice riding along the Margarita River, with lots of hikers out today and a few swimmers soaking in the river pool. 9% climb up to Fallbrook wasn't too bad using low gears either. Rolled through Fallbrook and later stopped at the McDonalds in Bonsall again. Ice cream cone with some Coke/water in one bottle for a little "kick".

"Road goodies" I picked up today!

I changed the route at this point. With a massive headwind going westward, I opted for more climbing. I turned left on Camino del Rey and hit the Champagne climb instead! Great tailwind along Camino del Rey which make cruising relaxing for a change. I saw something in the bike lane and did a ride around. Looked like some "road goodies" as I put the neat small seat baggie into my handlebar bag. The turn onto Old Hwy. 395 has some headwind, as I noticed a rider approaching from behind. I pulled over to put some "Chinese Medicine" on my ailing right knee. Stopped to pick up a "bike wallet" lying in the bike lane. I figured it would be nice to ride up the Champagne climb with someone, or at least follow him. He never came up fast enough, so I pulled out ahead. Figured I could pace him up the windy climb. Temps dropped to 94F by now as I paced up the climb. I was slowly pulling away, so figured "no way he was going around me now". I used the various gear combos as I was in and out of the saddle the whole way up. Racer guy dropped back around 200 meters by the top. I got a green light and was off like a flash down Centre City. Feeling good, I soon heard the tragic "click, click, click" from the back tire. OH, ya. A 4d nail in there!

I never figured how a nail gets straight into your tire. I pulled over, walked a bit to find some shade. I stomped down some roadside grass for a snake check and proceeded to methodically put in a new tube. Using my frame pump, I tried to pump with the wheel down on the grass. Broke that stem off! Got out another tube and changed it quick. This time I pumped it up on the bike! Stiffer than a board by now, I started to loosen up with the ride through the Escondido Country Club area,  San Marcos and over to the start.

Interesting late start, last minute ride today. Had to see if the lowered seat on the SOMA would make a difference or not. Jury is still out on that now. Lots of climbing today for a 100 mile ride, in heat and wind. Picked up a few "road goodies" too!

- randorides