Coffee At Peet's Permanent + Flu + Bike Shop Stop

Super light Specialized M-2 frame. John's throw-away!

Fulzone HD, 1ml. = FLU SHOT!
Maybe it's just me, but those needles are getting longer and longer each year. Had to be a 2" version yesterday for my annual flu shot. For some reason, I've always gone to Von's Pharmacy each year. Guess it started years ago when I got something in the mail for free flu shots. Nowdays, they charge the insurance the cash price of $57... or maybe more? At least there is no co-pay like the doctor's office.

The RPH there was interested if I rode over? Of course. ( Sometimes I ride the reborn Specialized M-2, 7-speed... down tube shifters with the big crank and it's RED!)
Yes, I ride around town!
"Long rides of 20 miles?" Errr. long rides are a bit longer than that for me, like 100 miles.
"You really ride 100 miles? Etc."
All randos have been through this process before, so it ain't nothin' new!
Arm is sore today.
Thanks!

It's handy when you can include a bike shop stop or a visit with a buddy on a Rando Permanent route. Training mileage + rando documentation + quality time + taking care of business. Maybe this is a different line of Randonneur thinking? Plan a rando route and include some business in there too! Why not? I've been doing it for years so I guess it's not new to me, anyway.

I packed up my Pro Comfort bibs in a bag, rolled it up and attached it to my front handlebar bag with the mini 10" bungee cord. I thought it was a good Joe deal from the listed price of $79 at Nytro. Looked good at first but couldn't find anything online when searching for "Pro Comfort shorts". When I tried them on and rode over to Home Depot the other day, they were super tight and the bottoms looked frayed. Later I learned the stitching seemed flawed and similar on other sizes too.

Left the San Marcos 7-Eleven at 9:00 AM, with my usual 20-cent Reese bit for a receipt.  Riding the Fuji carbon with 28mm G'skin Hardshells on. I deflate to 90/80 for a comfort ride over the crappy roads. A late start for me, but I wanted to miss the extra clothing needed for an earlier start in the 40 degree temp. Another factor was I needed to get to Encinitas in the early afternoon, as Nytro wasn't as busy as they were in the mornings!.

Wasn't cycling worth a shit when I hooked up with a cyclists turning from Jesemond Dene onto Old 395 northbound. We chatted a bit and I found out his name was John Adams, a Encinitas Fire Dept. Captain out for a morning fast ride to Bonsall and back. I think he lives in Escondido? Said he just got divorced after a 23 year marriage. Seems he has 2 bikes of each mantra: dirt, road and touring! Guess his wife couldn't find a place to park in the garage and bailed out! Hehe.

We rode at a fast pace over to Bonsall, where he turned around and I stopped for a receipt at the AM/PM.
That place was quiet, but there was a psychodillic light in the men's bathroom which prompted you to get out for some fresh air! Nice tailwind on Hwy. 76 with mid-20 speeds and light traffic. SLR was quiet with no hook-up for a free-ride to the coast. Rolling down the coast looking for a free pull came to naught. Stopped at Nytro, where 2 racers were outside sitting and saying how fast they were on their light bikes. I said a few words and hustled inside.

Returned the Pro-Comfort bibs

Some older gal was done road testing a Pinarello carbon, and now needed the extras to make her fast: carbon aero wheels, aero-bars and the usual assortment of pricey add-ons. Looked like a $5 grand sale to me. The Velocity and Mavic Open Pro rims hadn't come in yet, but Joe had notice they had shipped. I better save up quick! I told Joe about the "stretchy" bar tape that broke and he gave me 2 more sets of the same for replacement. Also included a set of the nice Fi"zak' tape too. Also got a bottle of Finish Line DRY Lube. It contains Teflon and seems to work good. I've been using it for the last 2 months on all the bikes. It sets real quick and leaves a teflon layer on. We'll see.

Went outside and chatted with the racer guy I met before. Seems his deep dish Zipp wheelset isn't fast enough and he's out for a deal with Joe for some new speed! What a joke, but great for business. Sounds like Sam to me, 3 sets of wheels for every bike! Sun was nice and warm so I headed out to Swami's for lunch. If I had his wheels, I would be home by now!

I usually carry a sandwich or two...either Almond Butter or Turkey and cheese, or both! Sat around in the sun and talked to some guy watering his dog. Ocean was pure flat, but still a few surfers trying to catch a wave. After a bit, headed down to Solana Beach and Del Mar. Southbound bike traffic is almost non-existent  in the afternoon along the coast. I decided to deviate from the same old Peet's route and cut over to rode up Del Dios Highway past the Lake Hodges Dam. Lots more climbing this way and a bit shorter so the overall time is the same. Additional bonus is I can check out the trails to the right and wonder why I'm not on the dirt bike today instead! Picked up the route again in Escondido and took the Inland Rail Trail to San Marcos. Forgot about the control and was riding home, but did a looping backtrack and picked up the receipt at the Finish!

Really great weather today. A little rain is coming in after Thanksgiving Day, maybe early next week?

-randorides

University Loop Permanent

Full University Loop as ridden per Garmin Connect

Inaugural ride for this new route. Ended up just Bill Stevenson and I. Keith was sick, Dan's fathers heart condition got worse and Troy's cold was clearing up. I didn't post up this ride, due to the fact that Bill and Keith wanted to it as a RUSA R-12 qualifier and the extra racers wouldn't add to the completion goal one bit.

After rechecking the weather forecast (60's with chance of showers), I finally decided on the Fuji carbon bike with 700 x 28mm G'skin Hardshell tires. That would be lighter, no fenders needed and I would still have the comfort of a lower air pressure wider tire. I ended putting in 80/90 psi and worked well. Bill had some brand new Conti Grand Prix tires on, 25mm. pumped up hard! Setup worked well.

I wore a under-layer spandex singlet, long sleeve wool shirt and wool SDrando SS jersey with old IP bib shorts. Started out with a woolie stocking cap over the ears, but soon replaced that with a regular cycling head rag. Also I had fingerless gloves with long sleeve liners. That was all I wore all day, even the cooler ride home. I carried along arm warmers and a cycling illuminite wind vest. Lately, my clothing selection has been spot on for the cooler day-night rides. Hurrah for wool!

Bill had on a red wind jacket with leg warmers and a warm stocking cap over his ears. Long sleeve gloves and long sleeve undergarment.  We left at 7:00 on the dot.

The sun was trying to break through as we rode through San Marcos under warming temps. I felt comfortable and it was warmer than expected. A few little climbs kept us plenty warm and the long Champagne downhill wasn't cool at all. We were rolling along at 17+mph and the 28mm tires with lower pressure took out the sting out of those rough road bumps. We upped the pace somewhat along Camino Del Rey and a tailwind pushed us into the Bonsall control. 40 cent candy, bathroom and refill of ice for a 10 minute break. More light tailwind on Hwy. 76 to the SLR Bike Path. Nice!

Not a lot of early bike traffic on the path. New skate park was busy. Nice to see the people use that million dollar park! Stopped at the Circle K Control in Oceanside for a quickie receipt. Uniformed stiff lipped Oceanside officer behind the counter. Don't know what he was doing there. Someone said "security". Probably checking I.D.'s or getting kickbacks.

No riders going our way down the coast. We were hoping to hop on a faster train. Met with Mike Tull after an intersection stop. We stopped and chatted some. He is back from Utah with Cris. Said he would pick up some kids bikes from me for the orphanage in Mexico. For years, I come up with these trashed bikes, fix some up and give them to local kids. Got too many now and new tires cost more than the bikes. Need to clear out the garage too.

After Palomar Road, we did hook up with about 10 San Diego Tri-rider club members. They were going about 26 mph and carried us almost to Encinitas. I dropped off and chatted with one of the tail-enders who said they do an up and back 40 mile route every week from Del Mar. No longer than that. We did start chatting with a Cambodian racer type guy who lived in France and wanted to do the PBP someday. He saw my wool jersey and started asking questions. I put him off to Bill, who I said just got back from a Swiss Alps cycling tour! He was all over that and I didn't hear from him anymore. I did manage to give him a SDrando card for hook-up info and point out my name on my bike. We stopped at Swami's and rode with him to Solana Beach, where he stopped at a coffee house where lots of other riders were lounging about.

San Diego State University- Turnaround point for this route.

Riding up Torrey Pines, we saw Jimbo Wisener racing down the opposite way. We yelled, but he didn't hear us. Heard he got lost on last week's Honey Springs Brevet! Bummer! Nice ride near UCSD and the Rose Canyon Bike Path, where I pointed out the trails to our left in the hills offering alternate rando trail rides. One racer left the trail, came up behind us and passed us on his light cross bike. This guy looked FAST! Off onto Santa Fe street, Bill stopped for a 5 minute cell call. Nasty off ramp traffic near Morena Blvd. before the pleasant downhill over to Friars Road. Of course a tailwind ensued and made pleasant riding up to SDSU. On the way up, there is this "new" green safe bike lane, but every time I ride there, it's like a mad dash to keep from getting hit by crossing cars!

Keith said he might meet us up at SDSU. He didn't. We did, however spend 35 minutes there. I always go and order my yogurt first thing in, then do other stuff. Bill waited around and ended up in line ordering. They seem to be very inefficient there with all the school business. I was stiff when we left, good thing for a fast downhill! I made the short bike path merge and turn in one swipe. Bill caught traffic, red light as I waited for him up the road. Headwind all the way to the India St. turn. We did also have the normal side wind going up Morena Blvd. They have a new "safe green bike lane" now on the Morena Blvd. split.

After the "iffy" loop around from Morena Blvd to Santa Fe street, I hooked up with an old couple riding northward. She liked by wool "retro" jersey. Said they were going north to the Morman Temple off LaJolla Colony Dr. somewhere. Hope they brought good lights for the return ride home!

Side headwinds now from Torrey Pines up the coast. I had on my one front flat spoke wheel, a Velo-Max super smooth hub laced to a 30mm aero wheel. That sucker rolls fast but you will notice any side wind with the flat spokes! The rear was trashed on a night-time race downhill into Pine Valley last spring. Hit a huge hole and had a double flat, crinkled the re-drilled rear rim. I did manage to finally find a similar rim with 20 spokes from Velocity. It's a deep V and is 30mm deep too. Joe ordered me one. That should be in next week. I'll lace it up and have some speed again on the Fuji Carbon. That rim cost the same as a top-notch Mavic Open Pro rim! Go figure.

We limped along up the coast, picking up some riders to help out along the way. Stopped at Swami's for a breather and water. Time looked real good for a sub 10 hour ride here. Rolled up the coast, watching a rider on a old MTB race through one red light after another! We were sitting at a red light watching traffic cross. Someone honked their horn. He took off across the intersection! We waited for the cross traffic to clear, then the turn traffic, then for the green light! He was out of sight by then. We did catch this guy before Carlsbad. Some older guy with earplugs listening to his favorite redneck music. He had a helmet on, which wouldn't help him from a "T-Bone" crash!

Last Control at 7-Eleven in Carlsbad. Quick stop before we took the back streets to Tamarack Ave and
some more climbing before the blistering downhill to El Camino Real. Quite a drag up that hill southbound. I dropped a chain at the intersection too! I was in a low gear and shifted the chain-ring to the 34T without rotating the crank. The chain just drops to the BB. Need to tweak that some or get the long awaited chain keeper. We plugged in our rear blinkies now and encountered one big sewer line construction on Lionheads Ave. before the turn onto Palomar Airport Road.

Picked up a pumpkin pie for Zaharah at the finish!

More traffic now past the new San Marcos High School. This thing must be 4 stories high and with the new football field, looks impressive. Rolling, I put on my front light into "strobe" mode for the rest of the way in. A few more climbs and we took the back way into the finish. Stopping in front of Ralph's, we bid "good ride" as I left to go inside and pick up a pumpkin pie for Zaharah. Always bring something home for the wife after a long one! Ride home wasn't bad with the bagged pie swinging from the handlebars.! I switched the headlight into regular mode now.

Pie filling had too much cinnamon and the crust wasn't cooked . Happy Thanksgiving.

Video link for this route on the right--->

-randorides

SOMA Rando Bike Revival!

SOMA rain ready with fenders and 32mm Panaracers

Finally got the SOMA lined up and back on the road, sans Open Pro rims and decent tires. Joey and Co. re-checked the rear and re-adjusted this with some Park alignment tools. Also re-checked the rear derailleur hanger and adjusted as required with wheel in the bike. When I put it back together again, the rear derailleur was a little off. I got out my home made alignment tool and set it straight. (Correct threaded 8" bolt with 2 nuts and washers on. I thread that through the hanger and nut and washer both sides. I then lay the long side of a framing square on the large chainring, extending back to the rear. I then set the bolt with the 90 degree side of the framing square and forcefully move it perpendicular!) After doing that, the extended short cage derailleur looked square and preformed perfectly!

Sort of miss those Nitti Rando bars. Never liked the spacers required with my stem though. Put on some basic black road bars I traded Joe for... 44mm.

Rode the Coffee @ Peet's with the new set-up. Reset the seat height. Bars didn't seem to track well.. a little off being straight, so I moved them around some. Also pulled the bar tape and moved the brake only hoods back 3/4 ". They looked a little funky, but felt OK. I'll see on tomorrow's "University Loop" permanent. Broke the tape on the re-rap. The tape has a tacky strip on the backside which sometimes peels off the tape with it! Need to get some regular cork tape without the backing.

Added the fenders and 32mm Panaracers to see if all would fit. No problem. I think 40mm would go in there with the long extended brakes. All set if any rain is forecast for tomorrow ride. If it's clear, I'll opt for the Fuji with those Schwalbe's 25mm Luganos I put on. Don't know where I got those.

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's Permanent + Bike Shops Cruzin'

Good tires from Panaracer. Now discontinued?

Put on the Panaracers Urban MAX on the SOMA last night. Weight is 340gm each. I'll try 80psi and see how that works. Good prep for the PIE ride Thursday and Jasper sand loop. Those Forte Metro K 35mm weigh in at 465gm and feel like it. Miss those Nitto Randonneur bars. They were too narrow for hands on the tops, but the drops flared out and were great out of the saddle and climbing. Put on some regular drop bars, 44cm wide. Stretchy bar tape from Joe(Nytro) broke on one side. Tried to cover it up with the brake hood. Weird, but grippy tape! I've also been using a different lube of late on dirt and road bikes. Called Finishline Dry Lube Teflon. Seems to work good. It is real thick and need to be shaken up well. The solvent dries real quick and leaves a telflon coating. I push up and rotate each link when I add a drop.

Cloudy and looks like a drizzly ride for Coffee At Peet's today. Too much bike stuff to do and left at 9:30 instead. Weather looked nasty in the AM, but no rain and dry roads. More rain moving on later in the week. Get riding in while you can! Yah!

Tires still seemed a little stiff at 80psi. Could feel every bump on Old Hwy. 395. Let 5lbs out. No riders at all to Bonsall. Camino del Rey could be really a great rando road if they would just add 2' more to the "bike lane"! McDonalds bathroom in Bonsall had this strong flickering florescent light overhead. Holy crap, I didn't know where I was in there! 40 cent Mounds mini and I was out of there after a ice refill. Even the ice machine was empty! Soon cut off and rode over to Perf. Bike in Oceanside.

Last week I left a purchased 29'er tube on the counter-top. Not to be deterred, I reminded Jason of this and he remembered. Pick up some Haynes organic disk pads for the C'dale trail bike. $12 + a lunchtime discount of 10%. I'm surprised they had those on the shelf! Chatted with mechanic Ed, who liked by SDRando woolie jersey and matching wool socks. He said ex employee Mick was planning to ride the Stagecoach 400. Mick always has these big ideas and buys a new Salsa Fargo. Jason said they moved it back to March instead of April! Riders complained about the heat last year. LOL. Wait till they awake on Mt. Laguna to 30degree temps & snow next year! I could ride that sucker too, but the ride out to Idyllwild is a deal breaker for me.

Using this lately. Works good.

Hit the coast and not many riders there either. Weather was clearing off and starting to warm up a little. Long sleeve under-layer was getting a little hot. Rolled down the coast at a good speed. Must have been a tailwind to help me along. Stopped into Nytro Multisport to see Joe and find out about the Open Pro wheel order. Nothing going on there. Joe, Harvey and Greg were standing around and telling stories about their recent feats. I picked up up some Carbo Pro, a few Shot Blocks and ask Joe for a few of those cable protectors for the C'dale Trail bike. Both cables to the rear were rubbing on the fork crown and now into the Aluminum. He gave me both kinds, some with a slit to easily pop over the cables, some you have to slide on. Hope that helps. No rims

I've been asking about some "special" shorts or bibs. Joe said they came in and I picked up a pair of nice looking bibs with only a small "Nytro" label on the leg. They were made by Pro Comfort with a Nytro logo. Looked good and retail for $79.99. I got a pair to try out for the "demo" price. After I got home and cleaned up, tried them on. Real tight for a medium and the pad was super stiff. Looks like a take back now. I may try them out for a ride and see how they work. Of course my other ones from Pearl Izumi and Performance are 5 years old and probably stretched out. Still have 1 pair left of the Elite Bibs I got years ago during a Performance "Friends and Family Sale". They were under $20!

I loaded up the stuff in my carry along mini back pak and headed out. Sunny and breezy now. Finished up the route before 4:00. I did see a few riders along the path and near San Marcos. Weather was really nice with the tail wind. Don't think it got out of the 60's today. Let another 1 sec. burst out of the tires. Now they are too low...go figure. Should be around 70lbs. SOMA rode only OK. Need to move the brake hoods closer to the rider. Thus rotate the bar down to flat top, or slightly downward. Seat is tipped up too much in the front. Shifted quiet and flawless after I "realigned" the rear derailleur hanger! Wheels...ALX 220 black are a tank. These were take offs from a Performance cross bike. They still hold true after some adjustment.

Need to get finished on the new Stagecoach 200 trail route.

-randorides

Brevet Start & Odo Heinz Memorial Ride

Park Spoke Tension Gauge John brought to the start.

Can't lift my left food even 6 inches! Yesterday morning when I got up, couldn't raise the leg at all. Seems to be a delayed injury from Thursday Ham-Hock crash-slide on dirt. Haven't figured out what happened, the left leg seemed OK, untouched from scratches or bruises. Must have tore the muscle deep inside. Another setback? No way. I left home at 6:00 AM and rode wet roads over to LaCosta for the start of the Honey Springs Brevet. Said hello to a few riders. Lots of new faces. I counted around 18 riders at the start. Didn't see Devin Mortensen. John was there with the Park Tool Spoke Tension Gauge.

Sandy A.was there organizing the ride. They started a little after the 7:00 AM start time. Jimbo Wisener was there along with Steve Elliott and of course chit-chat Elaine Perry, among others. I rode with the group over to Hwy. 101 and then cut off northward with Jimbo's Saturday ride group. I turned off at Palomar Airport Road and headed over to the memorial  ride start near John Air Product office. Lots of cars there and a few riders. Must be too early. I then rode over to OCRR to meet up with the North County Club Ride. I did see 10 long riders westbound on San Marcos Blvd, as I was turning onto Las Posas Street. Rode by Restaurant Row and only saw 3 riders there on there way out. I understand they left at 8:00 AM today to catch the memorial ride en-route.

Rode over to Mission Ave and checked out the Middle School where Zaharah is having a craft sale today. Hope it doesn't rain. Looks to be clearing out now. 20% chance of rain today. No way.

-randorides

Ham-Hock Trail

Modified Ham-Hock Route I rode today

Last minute ride. Thought and thought about doing the Nate Harrison Century Trail instead. After my poor recovery from Tuesday's easier ride, I decided differently.

Left Mule Hill Chevron at 8:00 and proceeded the big climb towards Poway. Sun was up and it got warm real fast. Powerline trail was very rutted going downhill to the bridge-out portage. I did a downhill slide-crash and reddened up things a bit. Needed to find ice quick! Not to be as I re-tried the after bridge climb several times. Almost was good enough today and I followed the route down to the park and the following 7-Eleven. I thought about bailing as I iced down the knee and golf size bump on my right ankle.Filled my bottles with ice and headed out on the Poway Creek Trail.

No respite trying to climb the $5 hill. No way up that except walking, just like the coyotes do! Met 2 lady hikers on the top of Poway Trail. "Good job" was the refrain. Must not be yelling at me. Nice ride over to the Los Penasquitos Preserve Park. Tried to wash up with a paper towel. Had lost my uni-rag along the trail somewhere. Met with man-wife combo riders in the parking lot. Rode with them as we headed westward. Both had nice new carbon full suspension MTB's. Nice! I wanted to do some exploring so I headed up the canyon northward. Wet slippery trail under the elevated SR-56 Bike Path. Hiked up the dead end and proceeded over to the Circle K for water and rest up. Several older roadies there, so we chatted a bit.

Crash slide on this nice easy looking downhill to bridge-out

Proceeded northward on Camino Del Sur and then off on Bryn Glen Way. Back on dirt trails again as the sewer cleaning crew was blocking one trail near the bridge detour route. Took the straight shot up to the Black Mtn. sign trailhead and then off down the sonic Lusardi Loop Trail. Looks like more housing development edging up on the grasslands. Too bad. Followed the Loop over and up to the power lines, then down, cross the water and onto Artesian Road. Note: At the Coast To Crest sign, there is a small trail off to the right, which is supposed to go around the hill and end up at the water crossing. Looks interesting and challenging. If I had the nads, I would have tried it. Maybe next trip.

Next up was the 34 or so downhill switchbacks. Never did figure out how to do those quickly, unless I did the dirt slide around them. Devin says it tears up the trail too much. Correcto. Guess the toe down method will have to work for now. Garmin read mid 90's as I climbed along the Del Dios Gorge Trail to the Lake Hodges Dam. Nice ride along Hodges on the single track trail. It's smoothed out a lot from last spring. Did chat with one rider who was getting ready to try his new hammock in the trees and enjoy his lunch! Nice. Said he got it at Sports Authority instead of the higher priced REI.

Cruised along the Hodges access road trail. Got to John's spot and had the wrong gear for the short climb. Hike-A-Bike in effect. What else is new today. Weed trimming along the trail using correction workers. A few joggers along the trail as I quickly moved along back to the Chevron finish. Not a bad day with the blood loss, crash out and other stuff. Not feeling too bad today, with a few scratches and redness. Also can't raise my left leg to put on socks! Soaked in the Epson Salts, helped a little.

-randorides

Bike Path X Two Permanent Populaire

Recovery ride today... from last Saturday's dirt ride. Started late at 8:00 and rode a reverse route.
Rode the put back together SOMA rando bike with 700x35 street tires on. Still needs some handlebar adjustment and also rear cheapo ALX-200 wheel is out of true. Need to re-center it. Without a real truing stand it's tough to know if it really is centered or not? When I flip the wheel over and tighten it up, it's almost perfectly centered in the rear stays. So... must be the wheel and not the frame. Rear brakes aren't set right also. Keep working on it.

Supposed to warm up, and it looked like it till I hit the coast. Overcast and a bit of headwind from the NW. Stopped by Nytro Multisports to see Joe. He was fitting a new Cervelo TT bike with a lady. Not to disturb, I headed to Swami's for my sandwich and handlebar adjustment. After a brief respite, headed north to Oceanside and over to San Marcos to finish up under overcast skies. Temps in the mid-70's F.

Need to remove the SOMA new bar tape and move the brake hoops back about .75". Which means I'll also rotate the bars down for more level riding in the drops. Bike felt good at the start, but after 60 miles was more of a slug with the set-up.

_randorides

Rock & Road Trail Permanent

Rock & Road Trail route map

John Mestemacher, Dan Phillips and myself rode this route today. Real cool around Twin Oaks Valley at 39F for the short ride over. Supposed to meet Dan at the San Marcos Sprinter Station. Didn't see him, but he later caught up with me on the Inland Rail Trail. Said he had a conflict with the train uniformed guard and bike placement. He threatened to kick the guards butt, so he got to stay on the train. Fog forecast over by John's house in Carlsbad, he confirmed this at the Albertson's start

We rolled out at 7:30 sharp and the traffic along the Inland Rail Trail was light as the temps quickly warmed up by the time we got over to the Ysabel Creek Control. Horses approaching, so after de-hosing, we hi-tailed it out of there quick to get ahead of them. Another rider joined up on the ride up Raptor Ridge. Regrouped at the top by the picnic table, where there were a group of early hikers checking things out. On the ride down westward we met no riders, horses or hikers. Best that way because that trail is narrow! Short regroup before John led out and picked up the pace for the few miles left on Mule Hill Trail over to the Chevron and a refill. Timing was about right... under 2 hours for the first segment.

Leaving the Control, there were lots of runners on the Lake Hodges North Trail. It was a 1/2 marathon run today for the ladies. These gals were super buff and we met and passed some on our way around the lake. Followed two lady riders for the last part of the trail. They were hammering good with their top dollar rides. Need to get a few of those on our trail rides to show us the way! Mmmmm.

Technical switchbacks... 34 in all!

The next part of the route is on Lake Dr. over to Hernandez Hideaway, where we ride up to Del Dios Hwy. This took us mostly downhill to the fruit stand, where we re-joined the Santa Fe section of the trail. This is a super nice section as it single tracks around the golf course and over several small bridges. Next up is the more technical "switchbacks" taking us up to the top near the power lines. I counted these once at 34 total. The first section is a good warm-up for the steeper, sharper ones after the bridge crossing. I found a hold-the-post slingshot approach seems to work well at getting through these easily. The power-line road took us over to Artesian Way and a few rollers before we were back to the dirt of Lusardi Loop Trail.

We passed by some new homes on a jeep road, before crossing a unique bridge and onto single track climbing. A little side-hill action with a finishing sliding downhill run brought us under Camino Del Sur and it's normal mini-water crossing. Now the long slogging climbing started around Lusardi Trail. There are three options here and we chose the shortest, but steepest section. I believe Dan said his Garmin topped out at 23 degrees on the last climb, as I was having shifting problems. After a few screws on the rear derailleur adjustment, I was good to go again. By then, John's seat was "popping" up and hurting his "package"! So he would stop to adjust it... and on and on like this to the finish. Everytime he would hit a big bump... "pop goes the seat"!

Various options on Lusardi Loop Trail. All equal climbing!

After Black Mtn. Park, it was a nice downhill to the Shell Station Control in R.P. for a stretch out and fluids. After a nice break it was only a 5 minute sonic blast to Los Penasquitos Canyon, where Dan hit the head and we were soon off on the South Trail at a "relaxed" pace westward toward Sorrento Valley. At the Wagon Wheel Crossing, we did meet Rando sign-up Mike Schiller and his two friends. There were riding to meet some friends near Camino Del Sur and opted for some advice. We chatted for 10 minutes and were soon off on a nice single track to finish up this dirt section.

A short ride on hard roads brought us to the dirt section of Roselle Street. This dirt road took us back up to UTC for a short ride down Genesee to the Rose Canyon Bike Trail North. This multi mile dirt route contains some full out downhills rollers which were nice. After another seat adjustment for John, we were off on the Rose Canyon Bike Path toward the ocean via Rose Creek Bike Path. Next up was the Mission Bay Bike Path which follows the shoreline around the bay. Riders need to watch out for walkers and youngsters running around as we wandered around and past Fiesta Island. The route follows various bike paths around Seaworld and eventually crossed San Diego River and onto the Ocean Beach Bike Path. Next stop was the 7-Eleven on Bacon Street.

Ocean Beach Bike Path into headwinds

Lots of car traffic along Bacon Street, as we soon turned off onto Sunset Cliffs Blvd. which follows the ocean shoreline. A few groups were out for photo-ops on the cliffs, with the ocean pounding around them. John mentioned this is where people get stranded and have to be rescued often. No wonder!

Last big climb up aptly named Hill Street. Dan's Garmin read 17% as we finally made it to the top. After a big downhill on Talbot Street, we did a sidewalk shift at the detour sign to stop and glance up at the construction to save the houses from falling onto the roadway. Several homes were just inches from sheer disaster. Next up was following the bike path meandering around the waterfront to downtown San Diego. Not long and we were at the Santa Fe Station with enough time to clean-up, get tickets and board the 3:18 Coaster Train northbound.

Another great weather day, good company and lots to see on this Rock & Road Trail route.

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's Permanent

Mish-mash route today. I called it Coffee At Peet's!

Basic ride today, except I stopped by Dale Pfremmer house and gave him some things Zaharah made upfor them. Lap blanket for Dale, matching scarf and hat for Cloys. Very nice chat with Dale and he looks like he is recovering well. Back on the bike next month! Good for him.

Rode around and finally went over to Swami's and met the OFR at 9:15. Chatted a while and rode with them past Del Mar, then returned to Nytro to see Joe Morgan around 10:30. Ordered 2-Mavic Open Pro 32-hole rims for SOMA replacement. Also ordered a Velocity Deep V for the rear Velo-Max hub. If all works out well, I'll have 2 decent sets of wheels for $120. I have to lace them up, but what the heck. Also, Joe is working on getting me a Parks spoke tension guage, used or new. Need one to do wheels. Can't handle the nice Park truing stand. Too expensive, almost $265 now.. just basic stuff.

Rode back south and around to Escondido and then over to San Marcos to finish up the day. Got real warm, mid-80's. Nice November weather around here.

Posted up dirt ride for Saturday.. Last minute... John only let me know late today he was coming. Looks like nice weather for Saturday too! Yip-pee!


-randorides

Rock & Road Trail Permanent

Rock & Road route today. Solo

Mixed surface solo ride. Nice day. Left later at 7:30 AM. Replace new tires with old balding WTB ones. Slower pace and climbed backside of Raptor Ridge out of saddle. Met 3 MTB'er resting on picnic table on trail. Trail notice of run this Saturday from 8:00 to 12:00.

Relaxing ride with Los Penasquitos Canyon detour to north trail. Great weather. Did the full around Sea World bike path. Empty Mission Bay bike path, unlike weekends.

Took the 3:45 Coaster back to O'side. Coaster  was packed after Sorrento Valley stop. Took froggies this trip for late ride back home.

 -randorides

Aztec Century Permanent + Recon

Modified Aztec Century route with added recon miles.

Sort of rode the Aztec Century. I started from San Marcos around 8:00 AM instead and rode over to
Escondido, up to Bonsall and then hooked up with the SLR Bike Path to the actual start of the route off Benet Street in Oceanside. Loads of riders on the SLR, doing a local ride. Met a whole lot of NCCC riders on the path and took a few pics. Numbers on the top tube, I rode with a chubby girl on a new TREK. She had her thinner friend helping her to do the 30 mile route today. Looks like she has a good mentor and also has a positive attitude for their planned 50 mile ride next year in Palm Springs!

Tinker Juarez look-alike on the "Ride The Coast"

All the way down the coast to Carmel Valley Road it was lined with cyclists from the "Ride The Coast" ride today! The largest number I saw was 2704 on Tinker
Juarez look-alike bike. Also only saw 2 or 3 of them actually stop at a red light! Did stop at Nytro Sports to check on Joe and pick up a bottle of cold Vitamin Water for only a dollar bill! Same price as Wal-Mart! Good deal. Continued southward among the racers and felt marginal going up Torrey Pines. Plenty of riders to ride with till the turn to Morena Blvd. Light traffic through Mission Gorge and Fashion Valley. Slog up Montezuma Road to the McDonald's control at SDSU.

Joe Morgan (center) looks real busy at Nytro Mulitsports

Ice cream and cookies at McDonald's, with water refull. Not many students there around 1:00 PM either. Slight tailwind over to Friars Road on the return trip. Very unusual for this route! Not enough batteries along for the photo trip of new route I was working on called "University Loop". Had to cut back on photos. Rolled back up to UCSD and down Torrey Pines. Still lots of riders on the road later in the day. Still a slight tailwind going up the coast to Carlsbad. I stopped in Carlsbad for receipt and hit Tamarack over to El Camino Real. Lots of late day climbing through there. Over to San Marcos for the finish as the sun was setting in the west. Rode over to Sprout's and got some dates for reward. A little tired. Hydration problem. Rode the inland rail trail and took the sidewalk home. Should have carried my little "Froggie" lights, just in case.

Oh well, short on batteries, too late a start at 8:00 AM (or too slow a ride with pic stops) and no lights at
sunset . Not a well planned out day, but managed to finish up around 10 hours. Better planned next time.

see ya next trip,
-randorides