Coronado Express -2013 + Stolen Rando Bike Sighting

Garmin Stats from the Coronado Express Permanent

Another usual exciting day on one of our rides! We left the Pier at 0700 sharp. Michigan George Freeman, Jeff Clark, Keith Olsen, Mike Shaw, Dave Voss , Arizona Dave Brake and myself. Fire Captain John Bruce started and is interested in joining up. Mac Imacseng joined one block away as we headed down Pacific Street. OFR rider Doug Levy joined up at Carlsbad and Shay and Troy ODR riders joined up at Swami's.

Dave Brake and wife came in from Arizona

Walking the plank to Coronado

A few notes for the day:

Cloudy till Coronado, heated up the rest of the day. Thursday gruppo Troy, Doug and Shay joined up near Encinitas.

Dave Voss, Mac and Dave Brake missed the turn to the Broadway ferry landing and rode the other way around. The rest of us arrived to buy tickets at 9:50! I quickly rode back to Pacific Hwy and looked for the others. We boarded the ferry without them. They had the non R routeslip which we wern't riding today. They ended up riding the regular route and we met with them at end of Frontage Road. They rode more than 100 miles. Dave Horwitt joined us as we boarded the ferry and rode around the Bay back to downtown and home.

Coronado bake path by the golf course:

George: "Hey, look at the golf course!"

Jeff looking: "Wow!"... crashed into a yellow pole splitting the bike path. ( On last year's ride, he also did a stop-crash at UCSD!)

Alt Bike Path back onto the frontage road well after salt pile.
Mike Shaw turned left from the alt. bike path to frontage road.

George rode into him. Both went down. Mike bent his left side crankarm and had a few elbow cuts.

AZ Dave was pulling over to call his wife and bailing at Mission Bay on the way back. I persuaded him him to finish up, since most of the route was done already.

Dave Voss was leaving in Encinitas. Changed his mind and finished up in good order.

There was a hammerfest from Swami's to the finish. I was sucking wind and managed only 2 pulls.

The new rando Mac spent a lot of time in Euroland. He tell stories of riding with Erik Zabel and group! He is small and rides a Colonago.. a climber.

Thats the update.

-randorides

NOTE:

Yep, got on the Sprinter at 4:00 PM Saturday after the rando "Coronado Express" and there it was... San Diego Randonneur stickers still on it and the Ti seatpost still there... pedals and tires changed. Pic attached. Cables were all frayed, brakes done, but the shock rebuild still held and they didn't leak!

Rando Gary Fisher bike stolen in 2010! Rando logo still on!

This was the only bike that ever conquered Santiago Peak riding the ToughRider 166 under time!

SIX cops took the bike and guy out at the station while I described the 5 punch marks I put at the inside of the seatpost, etc. Dude got a little feisty at first and said he borrowed from a "friend". I don't think he was the person that stole it. Didn't look the type. We waited around for an hour and they ran the SN#. It didn't come back stolen, so the dude waited for the next train to Vista, loaded up the bike and left. Cops said unless the wife could call with the SN#, all the other stuff didn't mean squat!

He won't be riding that again with the SDrando stickers, for sure.

I knew I would see that bike again, since it was unusual. Been looking since 2010.

I'm looking around for the SN# now. Got the sold 93 Bianchi SN# and all the other ones, etc. Unfortunately, I just cleaned out all that old paperwork last month. Who knows I may find it yet?

Cheerio!
kellyjay

Coffee At Peet's Permanent

Velocity Deep V rim came in. Rebuild wheel time.

Little rain last week, so cut off the training rides somewhat. Did a mini club ride Saturday and a trip to the local Wal-Mart store. Also, right shoulder rotator-cuff is still on the blink, 2 weeks now after that flu shot made it sore. Can't raise arm much above chest high. Oh well, more rub and Capsian and I'll get over it.

Time for a short training ride on a warm day. Left the house to the start... returned to house to get my correct glasses. Nice. Rode over to start and got receipt. Oh OH. Forgot something at home again. Did a re-route and rode home, dumped my arm warmers and woolie cap and headed out to Bonsall. Already 70 degrees.

Nice ride over, did a quick turnaround at AM/PM and headed toward the coast on the 76. Fast as there was no usual headwind. Clicked into the SLR Bike Path hoping to hook up with some racers. ;Not to be, as they were all heading eastward. Made good time trying to hold a steady 18mph into a slowly building headwind. A bunch of drunks were yelling at the Circle K in Oceanside. I got a 15 cent Reese Piece and got the heck out of there! Lots of riders out today, day before Christmas.

Stopped at Chuck's Bike Shop to check some window shopping. Nice blue Salsa Fargo in the window. Pacific Coast Cycles was closed till around Jan 4. 2014. Rode to Magee Park for some water and then southward with a side wind. Chatted with several riders along the way south. Came across a loaded touring rider from New York riding a black Surly Cross Check, just like the one I had.

Surly Cross-Checkset up for Asian touring rider from "New York"

He seemed to be Asian and didn't know much English. Heading to San Diego for a cheap motel and a few days till his Schwalbe tires come in the mail. He had some Specialized Armadillos on now and he said they were shot from all the "goat heads" he picked up in Arizona and New Mexico. He didn't go the Adventure Cycling Map Northern Route, but instead went more the southern route, due to snow in the high Rockies. Said he left LA several days ago and stayed in San Clemente last night. He said he was going down the west coast of Baja. I suggested the east coast through San Felipe instead. He'll check it out on his computer tonight. Gave him a Rando card and said to email me later on about his adventures. Of all the cards I have given out to touring riders, only Bob and Laura from Michigan ever responded later!

Cheesy logo has to go.

Stopped at Nytro and Joe said my Velocity replacement rim came in. Price was super, but the shipping via FedEx was a joke. We chatted a bit and I finally left, trying to figure out how to carry the rim on my bike without crashing. Over the shoulder didn't work.. around the neck side-saddle didn't work either. I finally figured out to hang it over the bars by the hood and strap it on with a rubber strip. You can't get out of the saddle safely, but your knee clears and it worked good enough to get me back home.

Someone yelled my name as I exited Encinitas. Mike Shaw had family out for lunch. We chatted a bit and he
said he was riding the Coronado Express on Saturday. Good, maybe Sandy will come with him. Looks like a nice small gruppo of 5-10 riders maybe. Not much else exciting on the route. Temps warmed up to 77 degrees by the time I got back to San Marcos. NICE.

Now time to relace the Velocity wheel and get some speed back into the Fuji carbon again! Velocity rim logo is real cheesy and has to go.

cheerio,
randorides
 ===================================================================================
December 26, 2013
Wheel Build Update

Finished up the rear wheel build today and all looks spot-on. The raw VELOCITY Deep V 20H rim had a big flat spot on one side.. around 3/8" dip in the space of 12". That's a massive wheel hop. Also the rim joint will catch your fingernail every time. What a poor finishing job for made in the USA! Rather disappointed.

Took me several hours to get things lined up. Used new brass nipples and stayed with the same straight bladed spokes already attached to the Velo hub. Set the radial side at Park 15 and the drive side at 20 on the tension gauge. Never knew what is was supposed to be, but that "sounded" good. Pre stressed the spokes by whacking in on the floor and bouncing it with my weight on.

Put on a Gatorskin 28mm tire to match the front. Also reset the blade spokes for proper aero flow...whatever that is.  I'll probably use this set on the Coronado Express on Saturday. Keep the air pressure around 80psi for comfort ride. Can't wait for the Mavic Open Pros.. then I can compare the wheel builds.

tada,
kellyjay

Bike Path X Two Populaire

Bike Path X Two route map

Last minute route here to include a stop at Magee Park to meet George Freeman and a additional stop at Nytro in Encinitas to check stuff out. I sent George a email just before starting out, indicating my plans.

I did make Magee Park around 11:00 as planned. Lots of hi speed riding from Escondido to Oceanside. Didn't see George Freeman from Michigan there. He later said he was tied up and did ride some later in the day. Weather was quite warm, Garmin indicating 80F in the afternoon.

Did manage to stop by Nytro and check out some stuff. No rims yet. Velocity 30mm were sent back last week due to receiving a 32 hole version instead of the special 20 hole. No go from Mavic on the Open Pros. Need them for the SOMA rando bike. Nytro Bike was closing at 5 PM for a party! Picked up some Fizz Tabs, 4 Shot Bloks and Finish Line Ceramic Chain Lube-Dry.


Lots of riders out today. Some light rain scheduled for Thursday, this week. Also a 30 degree temp drop! Yikes!

Sandy has nice interest in his "Ursa Minor" he will be riding on Saturday.

Won't be riding that one with them. Just rode that route last week. Need some dirt action soon.

-randorides

"Stagecoach Trail 300" Recon-Last Segment

Proposed route starting from Broadway Ferry Landing to Mule Hill

Stagecoach Trail 300...Stagecoach 200... don't know what I'll name the newest rando kick-butt route yet. This was to be the last of the picture taking recon rides before final packaging of the route. Not to be.

C'dale Trail bike loaded on southbound Coaster Train

Hopped the earliest Coaster down to San Diego. Arrived after 9:30 and rode over to the ferry landing to meet up with Keith Olsen. He was pondering his fender set up on the SOMA when I arrived near the pier. We fiddled around a bit and then decided to locate the other ferry landing behind the Convention Center. Easier said than done.



On the satellite map, it's an easy ride around the bay and over to the other ferry landing via bike path. However, large "No Bicycles" sign nixed this idea. We ended up on Harbor Drive . Took a few pics there. The actual landing is a long distance from the ticket machine. No way you could describe on a cue sheet how to get from there to the SD Bike Way around the Bay. Heck, just go out on Harbor Drive and take a left!

Keith with new fender SOMA at pier.

I fired up the Garmin .tcx course and we rolled along the Bay on the bike path. Once we cleared the downtown area, the pedestrian traffic cleared up on the path. Several buff joggers and lots of walkers out on this nice winter day, with temps in the 70'sF. Keith suggested Cannon Street instead of the daunting climb up Talbot Street. Good idea, as the climb is mild verses the other route. It was after 11 AM as we stopped by his house for a bit. I needed to keep moving, as Keith packed it in for the day. Said he was tired and worn out. He looked it too.

I stopped here to take a pic and put foot in water!

I took some more pics as I approached the Ocean Beach 7-Eleven store on Bacon Street. This place is always busy with the overpriced goods for surfers and Dog Beach lovers. Took the bike path over the bridge and then eastward along the San Diego Channel. New cut off to Mission Bay Bike Path. Not much action along Mission Bay, just a few kids on scooters getting in the way. Rose Creek Bike Path was busier, as meeting oncoming cyclists under a road is real close! Cruised up Santa Fe and onto the Bike Path.



Cut off the Rose Canyon Bike Path around a vehicle gate, crossed the tracks and chatted with a homeless guy on a MTB, carrying a 6-pak of beer,

Crossing the "Rio Grande"

drinking one bottle as he walked. I ask him the way to the east side trail... he mumbled about crossing the concrete channel right here. No thanks as I headed along the RR tracks to the jogging trail. Tall sign showed where to enter the trail. I wandered around and just happen to make the right turns as I ended up at the trailhead along the channel on the east side. A family was trying to climb up the steep concrete sides of the drainage channel. Just like crossing the "Rio Grande" I said! Quickly got ahead of them on the narrow washed out trail along the edge of the channel. One slip there and you're at the bottom, real quick!

Scout Troop on trail

I continued along the trail, now officially called the San Clemente Canyon Hiking-Biking Trail south side. Much nicer than the other side near the RR tracks. A couple of smallish climbs and three bridges, one floating...sort of. This trail winds along the south side of the Canyon. I exited at Genesee Blvd., crossed over and rode north to Eastgate Mall



Then the quick and fun dirt downhill on Roselle St. I went over to Quest Bike Shop to locate some "fender nuts" for Keith's SOMA. That Eric guy there doesn't know much about nuts and bolts, saying his mechanic might know about them, so come back tomorrow. I showed him what I was looking for on one of his bike with fenders. I loosened a nut on the back of the fork and the front brakes fell onto the tire. Wow! Guess that brake mounting bolt wasn't even finger tight! DUH! He said those Planet Bike fenders aren't any good, cause with metal fenders, you can straighten them. OK

Tree over trail...good riding here!

After that pitiful experience, I rode over to the south Los Penasquitos Trail, took pics to the bridges and then back-tracked on the north trail, taking pics while
cruising along. Next up I rode over to Performance Bike to check out fender nuts. None there and today's sale was only for $100 purchases. Leaves me out. Time for a break, so I rode northward to Carmel Valley Road and took a break at the AM/PM. I decided to cut the recon off here, since I wouldn't make it back till after dark. Small blinkies don't do it on the dark trails. I rode up to the Solana Beach Train Station and hopped the Coaster to Oceanside for $2.75. The eastbound Sprinter was waiting for me as I loaded the bike up. Met some old train security guards on the ride back, so we hashed over old stuff and talked mountain bikes until I exited at San Marcos. Blink lights on, I took the sidewalks home.


With a late start, tough day to do everything planned for. Might do Ham-Hock soon and take the rest of the pics on the route back to Mule Hill. The weather was suburb for December.

-randorides

Ursa Minor Permanent

7-Eleven: Starting point for the Ursa Minor Permanent

Keith Olsen and I left the San Marcos 7-Eleven slightly after  6 AM today. Temps were at 38F, but it didn't seem that cool due to me wearing a IP wind jacket, covering the wool SS SDRando wool jersey and long sleeve base layer. Tough call wearing a jacket, as I've always felt they don't layer well... it's either on or off due to the heat buildup. Lower legs were covered with the knee-hi wool compression type socks and knee warmers. Most of those layers came off 33 miles later along the coast, as temps were up +20F by then!

Keith had on his dark blue wool jersey, covering multiply layers under with these new looking white gloves. Had his Ti road bike with gunky looking chain-line. Keith isn't into cleaning components like I am. It's out of necessity for me to prevent the more frequent replacement costs. Keith's cycle computer had a dead battery and once again he forgot to bring his mirror. He always says: "I left it in the car". I wonder if he really has a mirror in there?

Solana Beach Control: Solana Donuts on the right.

A few cold pockets along the downhill past Lake Hodges. Lots of traffic going our way too. This route is best started after 8 AM to miss lots of this. The traffic disappears after Rancho Santa Fe town. Pleasant ride to the coast on the Loma Santa Fe rollers. Not much going on riding up the coast through Solana Beach and Encinitas. A quick stop at Swami's for bathroom break. The water fountain finally has enough pressure to fill a bottle! Several "guitar" dudes there, getting ready to hawk money by playing tunes for the surfers! Haha.

We stumbled upon the OFR gruppo getting ready to ride north from Magee Park. After a quick bathroom break and a repacking of clothes, we all headed northward around 8:35. No drafting here, as we all chatted and rode our own pace. Olympic grade gymnast Eric and Uncle Ben joined up just before the Camp Pendleton Main Gate. The 12 person gruppo split up on the first small hill through the base route, and soon we all regrouped at the Las Pulgas parking lot.

OFR Group meets at Magee Part every Thursday at 8:30 AM

Next up was a stop at bathroom # 11, San Onofre Campground. This one is always open, as the ranger has his trailer parked next to it, with the normal trailer hook-ups installed. After a bit of chit-chat, we all left together for the ride up through San Clemente. Temps were near 60F now and not much wind. We met 3 other OFR gruppo riders going southbound, Paul, Judy and Lance. I think they rode out early from Las Pulgas lot. Keith missed a turn on the residential "neighborhood" route, so I waited a bit for him. This route is longer than the normal cue sheet route, but doesn't have near the through town traffic either. We could see the group riding ahead as we neared the San Juan River Trail turn.

Still a detour on the SJRT, so we rode along Del Obispo a bit, before sort of following signs through a park and onto the River Trail to San Juan Capistrano. Another detour after the old bike bridge, but we finally made it to the control at Carl's Jr. McDonalds is next door, but the service is so slow there, we usually opt for Carl's Jr. The group was taking a break along the harbor at Dana Point. They usually get back on the road after about 50 minutes. We planned our stop long enough to hopefully join up for the ride southward.

Carl's Jr.: San Juan Capistrano Control next to McDonald's

Keith led out along the River Trail westward. We jogged over, did the detour again and saw the gruppo turning onto Park Lantern ahead! Just pure luck or was this perfect timing? Friday the 13th was tomorrow! Everyone rides their own pace on the uphill rollers going back through the "neighborhood".

I later joined up with a big guy on a Specialized hybrid bike riding by San Onofre. We chatted a bit and he said his daughter was a "super" tri-athlete, olympic qualifier and all that. He said his weight was down from 290lbs! He worked for the city of Mission Viejo and lived in Oceanside. He drove out to do a 18 mile ride. Hope his daughter motivates him to loose another 50! Regroup at #11 again. Alan is the senior member of the group at 80. Just got a new Focus Dura Ace equipped last summer. We chatted about his girlfriend "Anita". The old stud!

Group split up at Las Pulgas lot. Eric, Ben, Keith and I took the I-5 route, while the others returned through the base. It's nice to do both routes on a Permanent. Eric set a 22 mph pace on the tailwind ride south. It's really fast on I-5, if you can stand the traffic noise and sometimes debris. You can't draft here. If you do, you're due to hit the planned scattered debris. The bike lane is much cleaner south of the Rest Area. All cyclists must exit through the Rest Area, due to the hazard of merging traffic taking out cyclists if they continue straight on the I-5 wide bike lane. We cranked it up all the way to Oceanside and the turn onto Harbor Drive. Eric and Ben left us there. We stopped at the Harbor bathrooms, before planning our tactics for the last 30 miles of the route.

We were now riding in "rolling recovery" mode. That's a term used to describe a 4-6 mph slower pace. It let's your body recover from a harder previous effort, while still moving along the route. Now a tailwind pushed us along at 17mph on the San Luis Rey Bike Path toward Bonsall.

Country Club Lane: Used to be "golf course" homes here.

Almost a timed stop at Bonsall. Maybe 12 minutes. Enough time for a yogurt and a leg stretch. Camino del Rey offered some more of those tailwinds as we left McDonalds at 3:05. Nice easy pace along this road. What a great area, if they would just add a bike lane, instead of the 10" outside the white line they now have. The turn onto Old 395 offered us a chance to ride our own pace up the 3 climbs ahead. The last one up Champagne Blvd section is the longest and always seems to drag on a bit. Normally takes 12-15 minutes to get up that. I waited for Keith a bit at the top, while putting on my paper vest, long gloves and woolie cap. Lots of sun left as we blasted down Center City Pkwy. and off onto the Nutmeg turn. As we passed the Old Country Club area, we chatted about the many homeowners that paid for the "golf course homes" here. Now there was no more golf course!

Garmin Stats from today's Ursa Minor Permanent

El Norte becomes Borden Road. All nice and new surface as we cruised on to the finish at 7-Eleven. Plenty of daylight left and we didn't need our lights at all. After our finish receipts, we chatted a bit about taking your wife something after a long ride. Good policy! Works for me.

Good day in the saddle and I think Keith had a OK day too with his R-12 now intact for another month. Weather was very nice after a dressed up cooler start. Spot on with the clothing today. Didn't get too hot with the long sleeve under the wool SS jersey in the afternoon. I brought a cookie home to the wife! TA DA!

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's Populaire Bike Shop Route

Stopped by Performance Bike in O'side.

Weather has cleared out with early morning frost this morning. First of the season, thus late start around 9:30 AM. Long wool socks with long sleeve underlayer topped by the new freebie SingletrackSIX.com black T-shirt. Got it from Nytro last trip. No rear pockets for normal stuff, so I squeezed them into the bar bag with a bike cable-lock strapped on the front of the SOMA. Bar tape has to be replaced after it tore on a re-wrap last week. Not happy with the brake hood placement or the bar shape either. Oh, well. Think I'll take the leather like tape off the Fuji carbon and put it on the SOMA. Then the new Fi'zak tape for the Fuji.


Weather was nice with not much of a wind along the route to Bonsall. I took a different route, and ended up taking a little longer to get there than normal. Long line at the AM/PM counter, and a irate gas patron said he had waited too long and left! Mgr. went behind the counter to help out and I got waited on it about one minute! FAST!

Manager bike-packer Jason Kilroy

Nice tailwind to Oceanside for a change. That stretch along the new Hwy. 76 is real fast and smooth. I cut off route and went over to the Performance Bike shop to check arm warmers on sale. No sale and $20 was too much. Chatted with mechanic Ed about crashes, Bob Burgess bad back and other gossip of interest. Stagecoach 400 guy Jason chatted a bit. Only sale deals were on pedals and shoes today... extra 20% off.


Rode over to Wal-Mart next and checked out new eyeglass sport frames from Liberty. I have a pair of grey ones I have used for the last 4 years and now with a new prescription, it's time for a different frame. Those frames are real tough with a big rubber nose piece and strong composite frames. They have the one's I wanted, but have to be ordered. Off I went down the coast with a slight tailwind for a change. Minimal riders riding this time of day, so no fun playing around with them. Got to Nytro in Encinitas around 2 PM.

Super tough Liberty glass frames, off road proven!

Not much going around this time of day. My Velocity rim came in, but it was a 32H instead of the ordered
20H. Joe sent it back the same day it arrived. Nothing from Mavic. Joe's hi- end Mavic rims he sold haven't been replaced either. No shipping from Mavic at all. Joe said he thought they were using inventory for the new bike roll-out for 2014? Doesn't help me with the SOMA wheelset rebuild at all. Met a new employee there from Colorado Springs. His bike was a Surly Orge fully fitted for bikepacking or the Tour Divide ride! All dirty with all the frame bags on. Looks like Devin's Salsa Fargo! Got a few free-bee gels and rolled out to Swami's Park for a restroom break, before heading down the coast. Bar bag was packed, plus the stuff in a mini-tote bag was strapped on the front of that too.

Nytro new guy(Colorado Springs) rides a Surley Ogre like this

Decided to add in some climbing on the way back, and was huffing it as the sun sets real early now in December and with the time change too. Got into Escondido after 4 PM and took the Inland Rail Trail over to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things before heading home. Decided to get the final receipt from there, as I didn't know how long I would be. Didn't bring even my blinkie lights as backup, so the last part I rode on the sidewalk back to the house.

Not a bad day, and right knee, back and twisted ankle felt better after the pre-ride soak and lathering up with my home-made muscle rub. Picked up some Epson Salts, and brown rice crackers, but no rims or glass frames yet. Weather was very nice till sunset, where the temp drops immediately!

-randorides

Ham-Hock Trail Permanent Plus

Ice pack on knee. Bridge-out climb did it again!

Forecast for rain on Saturday, so I'm off to tackle the Ham Hock Trail today. Early temps in the upper 30's F here, so I waited to start at 9:00 AM at Mule Hill Chevron in Escondido. Arctic Guard long sleeve under layer, long sleeve blue jersey, wind vest, wool cap, long finger glove inserts with fingerless gloves and knee warmers over long wool knee-high socks. Plenty warm today in the cool wind. Sun was peeking out off and on behind the heavy clouds as I rolled along the trail eastward. On the ride over from San Marcos, felt like I was riding in mud! I put on the newer Tsalis tires from Forte. Nice tread pattern and some flat protection. But wider and it felt like it on the trail today.

Look back down Five-Dollar Climb.

Mud hole along the ag fields, as their watering system drained over into the Mule Hill Trail along the fence. No action in the Nursery off Highland Valley Road as I plodded up the steep climb. Shifting wasn't quite right, but after a slight adjustment is was just OK. No water in the portage ravine, but the banks were damp and slippery. Almost made it up the steep climb after the bridge out, so went back down and tried it again. Made it to the top this time, but got off track at the top, hit a big mound by the fence and the bike came over on top of me. Both bottles flew out as I landed on my back. OUCH! Had a few scratches on the side of my right knee. Put a glass cleaning wipe(alcohol soaked) under the knee warmer and kept on rolling.

New questionable tagger text under I-15. New rock band name?

Passed a horse rider carefully later down the trail. We chatted a bit and she said her horse isn't "spooky" Stopped at the park to clean up, pack my wind vest and long finger gloves and cleaned the knee. 7-Eleven was just down the street, where ice filled a sandwich bag, tucked under the knee warmer to keep the swelling down. Nice easier riding now down Poway Road and onto the Poway Creek Bike Path. I munched some goodies as the sun was finally starting to warm things up  to 50F.


Back on the Poway Trail, full pea-rock on the lower section again. It looks good but is poor for traction on those climbs. I walked up Five-Dollar Hill, stopped to take a few pics and headed up the trail. Route around the sewer pumping plant was wet, with some new tagging under I-15. The trail was also wet in the heavy undergrowth areas, making sections muddy and slick. I did stop at the Canyonside Park for water and reload my Garmin with a new route.

Bushy ravine crossing on trail to Twin TrailPark

I went off for a recon route on the trail that leads northward up to Twin Trail Park. Not a bad trail as it passes under the SR-56 Bike Path and goes up the canyon. Unfortunately, at the end of the first section, you have to HAB up this steep trail to the roadway. After a cross-over you're on the 2nd section, which was muddy in spots and ends in a bushy ravine! You cross on a 2x10 with metal pipe railings! Nice. After climbing up a steep slope, you're at the Park. I turned westward and eventually hooked up the the SR-56 Bike Path westward to the Control.


I sat in the sun at the Circle K, as the wind seemed a little cool. Installed the ice bag on my knee, had a Powerade for 89 cents as I ate my brought-along turkey/cheese sandwich. Nice there, but time to get back on route.

1/10 scale arrowhead embedded in my tire

Passing under Carmel Valley Rd, had a flat on the trail. It was a 1/10 scale arrowhead stuck in my tire! Unbelievable, but true. I stopped in the sun and changed the tube while sitting on a log. Still no trail under the new Camino del Sur bridge, but it has been graded and looks close to being finished up! The detour takes you across the road. I started to cross the sidewalk and noticed it was wet concrete! I went around. Strange, as the forms had been removed and the dirt packed in. My tire marks may still be there etched in history!


The long downhill on Lusardi Loop is FAST today. Seems it was smoothed out. At the bottom, dozers have cut across the trail in several places. Not a problem, I humped it over the dirt piles. Next trip, we'll need to use the other Loop. Artesian Road is the same climb, but with a stiff WSW wind blowing you along.

Doze-over trail on the outside Lusardi Loop Trail

Switchbacks downhill are a bummer for me. Right-hand are OK, but I never have gone smoothly around the left hand turns well. The rest of the trail was dry with only 2 hikers and 1 biker today. Fortunately the wind was at my back, not so with the other biker who was bundled up real good. Ice cream sandwich at the Chevron finish, before I headed to El Ku Lane for the ride home on the Inland Rail Trail. I jumped a curb 100 yds from home and had a pinch flat! Rode it in. What ever happened to the tubeless set-up I was dreaming about? No Santa Claus for me.


-randorides

Coronado Express Permanent + Bayshore Pics

Basic Coronado Express Route-R

Well, yesterday's Sweetwater recon-ride didn't go as planned, so I'm back for more punishment~! How about throwing in a mid-size permanent AND grab a few pics on the Stagecoach 200 route? Got out the SOMA reborn rando bike with the 6 lb. ALX-200 wheelset! Still a work in progress, but at least it's shiny!

Took the early Sprinter train over to Oceanside, then rode over to see Dan Phillips at his Bussey's Auto shop. His father has had heart problems for years and I wanted to check with Dan on how he was doing. Picked up a 8:00 start receipt for the Coronado Express-R at Circle K and rolled southward under east winds and 50 degree temps. No cycle action along the coast on this Monday ride. Guess they're all burned out from weekend events.

SOMA Rando with fenders

Jumped off the regular busy route and onto the Rose Creek Bike Path to Mission Bay. It's finally cleaned up some along the channel, but still the regular homeless hang around there. Million dollar effort to re-route the path off Santa Fe Street and Damon St. Followed some cycle dude off and on as he blew through one red light after another. After SPAWAR, followed the bike route signs to the alt route around the busy underpass. What a joke! The short Enterprise loop and the long wait at the Pacific Hwy. connection. Next time I'll just wait for the traffic to clear and blast through the underpass!

Recon route trail off Roosevelt St.

I stopped at the Hornblower Cruise kiosk to get a ferry ticket. I forgot what kind of a ticket machine was on the Coronado side, so played it safe. Rolled onto Harbor Drive southbound behind some racing roadies. They couldn't drop me on my 29'er and I passed half of them on the bridge climb over the rail-yard. We all turned onto Cesar Chavez and I hit a right on Main Street, then Roosevelt St. over to the JIB Control. Did the station next door for a ice cream sandwich, sat and watched people hurry about. There was a table set-up selling the "dry" car wash stuff in the parking lot. I tried that sampler before on a bike and it seemed to work OK.

Jose turning into Bayshore Bikeway

Always up for something new, I rode down Roosevelt Street and cut over onto 33rd. After some riding around, there is a unnoticed bike path that hooks up with the Sweetwater Path. A short jaunt westward and soon turned onto the Bayshore Bikeway over the Gordy Shields Bridge. Hooked up with "Jose" in a orange jersey near the salt piles. He was riding to Coronado on a steel yellow lugged framed bike, so I gave him a Rando Card and we talked about long rides all the way to the Ferry Landing. He had never been on the ferry, and nervously opted out of this trip. He turned around and reversed course back to Bonita.

Coronado Ferry landing in December

Bathrooms were closed near the landing, so I had to cross up and get aboard the waiting ferry. There are two ferries now crossing full time; just about every 1/2 hour all day long. Not many on this trip, only 3 bikes. One single speeder and a orange Cannondale hybrid bike with the mini-shock damper above the front fork. Nice day on the water, with stiff winds from the west. I took some ferry video and a few pics of the Midway Museum. Slight headwind riding away from the landing.

Strong ferry rider on Cannondale mono

Passed the Asian rider on Pacific Hwy. Same guy on the ferry with the orange Cannondale! He tried to keep my slow pace till we caught up to a rider with double panniers on a SOMA. It looked like a Groove model with big tires. He was plodding along, long hair and stout build dude! We chatted a bit before we split up at Old Town. I took some pics as I followed the bike path around Mission Bay, Rose Creek and across to the McDonalds on Mission Bay Drive. Long refill there before humming along up Santa Fe Street. Found a hidden steel lugged bike by the Rose Canyon Bike Path. More pics of the trail across the RR tracks to the north side trail along Rose Canyon.

Hidden steel lugged bike. Parts?

Rolled northward through CSUSM and down Torrey Pines. A few surfers were out today, just sitting on the boards as the ocean looked calm to me. Still had the light side-headwind up the coast. Nytro looked quiet as did the other bike shops along the way. Monday must be a slow day for bike business! Sun was getting lower and the temps felt it as I passed through Carlsbad and on to the finish in Oceanside. I stopped for a receipt at a station near the Sprinter and hopped aboard for a ride back to San Marcos. I notice the sunset was a blazing red as it set in the west.

Short route for So. Rose Canyon Trail

No racing on this trip. Took lots of time to find the path to the Sweetwater Bike Trail off 33rd St. and the lower tempo ride with Jose up the Coronado Strand. Weather is
supposed to really cool off later in the week! I got in a permanent and captured the westbound pictures of the Bayshore Bikeway too! BINGO!

-randorides

Sweetwater Recon Revisited

Garmin track show I was searching the route near Willow St.

Sunday recon dirt ride? Are you kidding? What happened to football, lazing and leftover pumpkin pie?

I took the earliest Sunday Coaster down to Santa Fe Depot, among the poor Charger fans hoping for a season with 7 wins! Never happen, not when they can't sell out a Qualcom game and are the leading "blackout" team in the NFL! Coolers aside. I rode over to Harbor Drive to pick up a Coronado Ferry schedule. Today's route was from the steel bridge, southbound through Sweetwater, follow the bike path to the Bayshore Bikeway to Coronado, hop the ferry and head north to Rose Canyon dirt. Busy day?

Hooked up with 30th Street eastbound and cut off on the Sweetwater Bike Path, which took me over to Bonita Road. From there, it was straight riding up to the Reservoir via San Miguel Street. I forgot my shot blocks to suck on, so a quick stop at the Bonita Performance Bike shop on the way solved that. They were overpriced at a sale price of $1.75 each. Chatted with the ranger at the entrance to the park for a bit. He re-enforced my research that there was only one reasonable way through the area and up to the lower Tiki Hut.  Nothing on the north side as of yet. (There is a road/trail on the satellite map from the bridge to the dam. Also verified by a route on Strava !) Next time?

Patch and boot ready to apply on Sweetwater Trail

I'll backtrack on the Stagecoach 200 route I was riding on and hit the trail up to the Tiki Hut. Decided to take a different way at the first trail junction, just after the fence ends, taking the ridge trail up, up and away. After single tracking a while, I heard the dreaded "bang" from the rear tire. Rolling the bike over to a nice level grassy knoll, it was time to get busy in the sun. I flipped the bike, removed the rim and settled in for a cozy repair. Pulled out two small thorns from the tire, replaced the tube and aired it up. I was soon ready to roll when I rechecked the rear tire again. Ooops! Tube bubble through the tire! Duh? Cut tire!

"Sweetwater Steve" said my tires were trash!

Start over again...this time we're real serious. Glue patch time with a boot to cover the 11/2" cut in the tire. No big rocks on that trail, so must have been a mirage. Didn't let the glue get real dry as I put on the patch. Tube in, boot in and time to pump er up. About this time a rider stopped by going westward. I'll call him Sweetwater Steve. Of course, he rides this trail all the time.. in fact several times a week! He rode a TREK full suspension 26"er. Looked a hard-core rider to me. He suggested a low air pressure and for me to turn around real quick or call my wife for a pick up! We chatted a bit about the Stagecoach 400 race in the spring. He hadn't heard about that, so I gave him a card for a later email hook-up. (Note: He did email me and checked out the SDrando site and the Stagecoach website too.) Steve turned around and headed to the steel bridge as I quietly headed back to Sweetwater Park. Short ride.. bummer.

Patch/boot still holding... I'll continue on my recon

Softly tip-toed along the trail. Met several horse riders and they said the Eco-Movement wants to shut down all the trails in the area! They want to classify every mud puddle on the trail a "vernal pool", thus off limits to everyone: hikers, bikers and horses. Steve had said signs were posted up the trail as to the status. What a waste of human effort, building all those trail for naught? Back near the ranger station, I checked the tire and saw that the split hadn't got any wider. This might be working, so I continued on with my trail recon, heading to the bay. I could always stop at Performance Bike and pick up a cheaper tire. Today they had 20% off sale price! (Never did get a tire. Figured to save the $$ and put into some better Conti 2.2 tires.)

Trail where I got looped around 180 degrees. All looks the same.

Followed the route around the golf course. There was a Jack-In-The-Box 30 feet from the trail, so I stopped and used a coupon for 50% off a shake. Near Willow Street I managed to get turned around but finally figured out the path under the roadway. It is all bushes through there and I finally followed some bike tracks in the soft sand. Further on in "horse country", I rode around and did a complete 180 loop back to Willow Street! After that, I followed the Garmin track real close. Met a few horsemen along the path too. Horses really chew up the trail and leave a deep V with side banks to offer an option to cyclists. I finally found the bike path around Plaza Bonita Road and soon was riding along the Sweetwater Channel toward the ocean.

Horse riders near trails end.

No trip around Bayshore Bikeway today for me. I needed to head back north before the whole rear tire erupted! I put in some more air and headed northward on hard roads. Put my blinkies on before long for the nervous ride homeward. I lucked out and happen to catch the Coaster to Oceanside. Garmin showed a long day, but I restarted it 2 times to reset the route. Next time I'll divide the long "Stagecoach 200" route into segments for loading into the Garmin. It will refresh faster and I can follow the route in real time better. I got back to San Marcos after sunset. I wasn't that cold after all. The rear tire held up OK to the end, thank goodness!

I did recycle that cut  tire somewhat... I made up many boots out of the sidewall for future use, road and trail bikes. Also mounted up some newer tires and repacked my seat bag for future emergency.  No tubeless tires yet$ Guess I'll have to wait for some light rims in my dreams. I'll finish up that recon someday soon.

-randorides