Bike Path X Two-R + Tire Time!

Non-reverse Bike Path X Two route

Another late start today for this shortie route to bike shop plus... Finally got my small rear seat bag to stay in place by sewing on a loop underneath to hold the velcro strap in place as I cinched it in place through the seat rails. Seemed to work good this trip. I really don't like stuff banging around when you're in "stealth" mode sneaking up on someone on the bike path.

Left after 10 AM today for a reverse route of the bike path route. I rode over to Lake Hodges and around through Rancho Bernardo. Not many cyclists around on a Monday. Passed 3 buff tri-girls on the way to the SR-56 Bike Path. Later saw them jogging on the Bike Path! Stopped at the AM/PM on Camino del Sur. Sat around for a bit and sucked down some blue stuff. Filled the bottles and headed for the coast into a stiff headwind. Hooked up with a tall rider in black for the ride north. He was really spinning along on his carbon bike. Road construction in Del Mar before the bridge. More sewer line stuff. Chatted with the guy all the way to Encinitas, where he was turning around at Swami's. I stopped at Nytro Multisport.

SOMA Rando Bike loaded with Nytro stuff: Tires, Carbo-Pro, etc.

Looked like restock day at Nytro. Two new tall thin guys working there. One was from B&L Cycles down the street and the other is returning back to Nytro from a big union job up in LA. Seems the travel was killing him slowly.

Joe sent off an email to Shimano after checking my email with pics of the broken shifter parts. Also checked on the Brooks Cambium saddle. Didn't know those things were so expensive. Ex-Nytro manager Danielle is the local distributor for Brooks, maybe she can locate one to check out?

Hardshell Foldables, Carbo-Pro and goodies.

Picked up only 2 HARDSHELL G'skins Foldable this trip. Those are hard to come by now days. Also got some CArbo Pro,some free GU electrolyte tabs and Shot Bloks. Packed up everything on my front HB bag and away I went. Slightly top heavy to finish off the ride home. Wind was from the SW up the coast and had a nice push going inland to finish out the route.

-randorides

Brifter-itis...Finding the cure for a ill STI

Disassembly started on the STI: Photo everything!

Time to check out the ill Brifter that caused me lots of anguish on the SB-400 last weekend. Wasn't shifting to a smaller cog and would get hung up often enough. I managed the Brevet OK locked into a 19T cog with the double chainring on the front... as a 2 speed for the day!

Different people have warned me about opening them up for repair, but me being me, just had to check out the innards first hand. I learned that these Shimano STI units aren't serviceable and you cannot order internal replacement parts. I know SRAM and Campy brifters are serviceable. What most do for repairs is to send them to someone to repair for big money or get hold of another set and cannibalize for parts!

Inside a broken plate and spring!

I would take some photos of the procedure just in case I needed a reference for re-assembly. Proceeding in a orderly manner, I soon discovered that all my de-greasing and cleaning did so good after all! Parts were all nice and clean with a film of Tri-Flow lube on everything. None of the required grease on any of the cogs or parts inside. All gone!

Didn't take long to spot the problem... a broken spring and plate. Now to find some replacement parts to fix it up?

Ursa Minor 209

Ursa Minor Permanent route from San Marcos

Going for a 6:00 AM start from San Marcos today, but missed it! Used the headlamp and the Planet Bike rear blinkie. Didn't really need the headlamp as it was plenty light as I left the 7-Eleven start. Riding the SOMA rando bike today with some wool arm warmers, woolie hat and long fingered gloves. Only choice, as the SL-1 has the brifters removed and I'm checking into repairing them (or at least taking them apart and checking the innards out with borrowed Shimano tools). Wish I could but down-tubes on that one too!

Hoping to meet up with the OFR gruppo and say hello at Magee Park in Carlsbad at 8:30 AM. Usual heavy commute traffic going down Del Dios Hwy. to Rancho Santa Fe. Had the pee-boy thing going as I took some hot blackberry tea this morning. Don't know what that does, but it sure loosened things up for extra stops today. Didn't check the time at all as I motored northward on Coast Highway. No one to ride with as temps warmed up quickly. Got into Carlsbad town at 8:00. Went to the 7-Eleven for a bottle of Vitamin water for a receipt and went over to the Magee Park bathroom. Chatted with a TREK rider there who I see often around the chapel there. Guess he goes there every morning? Had a strong German accent. Rolled over and saw Alan and Stuart just leaving. I cut around and met them on Coast Hwy to say "hello, I'll be riding north today".

Dana Point: Sampson Gazebo overlooking the harbor

Took the I-5 route up to Las Pulgas Road. A few riders on the bike path through the campground. No wind
in that area. Took the neighborhood route through San Clemente and up the coast. Decided to continue on Harbor Drive instead of going on the San Juan Bike Path to SJ Capistrano. There is a big ass climb at the end there, which goes up to Hwy. 1. I dropped down into the 34 chain-ring and plodded up... 14%, 17%... I dropped into the 30T cog and paced up. Some dude was trying to pass me near the top, so I got out of the saddle and the cog slipped a little. Guess I didn't have the DT shifter all the way over OR the cogs are worn out?. Anyway, rode over to the Dana Harbor Overlook overlook for a bit, reading the plaque there about the harbor founding in 1818. After, rode down Hwy. 1 to JIB for a receipt and a shake. Nice option for a change.

Dana Point Plaque Monument

Time to head back. Took the longer "neighborhood route" through San Clemente again. Some tight bodied chick passed by on her tri-bike at Trestles, so I hooked on to the Campground, where I stopped at #1. Also decided to ride through Camp Pendleton instead of the usual noisy I-5 route. Lots of action there, as 3 ships just came in from a 6 month deployment to SE Asia. Stopped at the Harbor Drive bathrooms, where someone had filled up a urinal with shit! Nice. Some older biker and I had several comments to make on that. Gross!

Took the back way through Oceanside in case the Bike Path was closed for spraying again. Didn't stop at Bussey's Auto to see Dan Phillips, but thought about it. Nice tailwind to Bonsall, as expected. Signs along the Camino Del Rey road denoting the "cycling event" this weekend. Must be the San Luis Rey Road Race where I saw AT&T Joe on Tuesday doing practice laps. Rolled back into San Marcos around 3 PM. No cookies to take home today. Weather was good all day.

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's Populaire... Recovery Special

Cleaned-up right brifter that caused me trouble on the SB-400

I packed the Brifters, a few spokes and then went to the garage to replace the wheel skewers on the SOMA. After fumbling around for a bit, I finally got to the 7-Eleven start around 8:30 AM. Thought I might as well get in a rando ride and stop by and see Joe at Nytro for some Brifter "project" work. Weather was overcast and temp in the mid 50's. Arm warmers and woolie cap was it for me, in addition to a T-shirt underlayer over the aged yellow/red NCCC cycling jersey.

Street sweeper on Old Hwy. 395 up toward Deer Springs Road. Good. I did a double wave and sort of thanked him. This road is rough and full of trash. Not a lot of traffic along Camino Del Rey at this time of day. I did greet rider Joe from the North County Cycling Group just before Bonsall. Joe lives off Circle R, is a good rider, has the latest fast stuff and is a long time employee for AT&T. I got a yogurt at Mickie D's and sat around a while.

Slight headwind along Hwy. 76, and it increased on the SLR Bike Path to Oceanside. Stopped at Carlsbad 7-Eleven after riding around the Coast Hwy. detour. They are still building a "traffic circle"  between Carlsbad and Oceanside. A stocky guy on a new Bianchi was playing "tag" with me along coast hwy. southbound. I would cook him on the small rollers and we would join up on the flats. That is until a red light appeared. Then he would run them and I would stop. I would always catch up to him later and he would say he "didn't see the red light because his head was down". I'm sure the police would agree too!

Stopped at Nytro, where Joe worked over the Brifters to no avail. On Sunday, I had pulled the unit from the SL-1, did a heavy degrease and relubed it. It was shiny and worked better, but still got stuck on the downshift. Joe used canned Tri-Flow with a air compressor. Same result. Guess they had a good life from 2003 on different bikes. He is looking for some alternate options... including going to a 10 speed. He didn't like my suggestion to put down-tube shifters on the carbon frame. With a $0 budget for this, we'll see what happens.

The good news is that the G'skin Hardshells came in to the warehouse and I could pick them up later in the week. These are tough to come by... 28mm and foldable. A couple sets of those should keep me riding this year. Also picked up a few 2.0/1.5 Swiss Revolution spokes for the rear wheel project...again.

I checked out of there into sunny skies and an ocean breeze. Nice push inland where I rode over to Del Dios and did some climbing on the way to Escondido instead of the usual route down to the SR-56 Bike Path. Sometimes I add on miles or do a different option to this route. Massive headwind on the loop over to San Marcos. My legs weren't feeling all that great by now anyhow. At least it was sunny inland.!

-randorides

Solana Beach 400... "Kelly Two-Speed"

Solana Beach-400 route map

Just a block from the start it happened! All I wanted to do was shift into a higher gear. NADA. Looks like the 2003 Dura Ace Brifters finally reached their end. I had just re-lubed them earlier that week in anticipation of this ride. For years now, the right hand Brifter had been a little "sitcky" when shifting, but with a little cleaning and lube finesse it was always doable. Looks like my ride is over before a mile in! NOT TO HAPPEN.

Long time rando John Mestemacher was nice enough to pick me up for the drive down. I'd be riding with him today, just like last year on the "cane ride" After starting line accolades, the 22 riders were off!. Several riders were driving in just as were were leaving. Tough way to start a long route. I was grinding up Torrey Pines in a massive gear. Nice way to blow up early. I could shift into a easier gear, but not the other way. Looks like I would be a true 2-speeder today! But which rear cog to choose? I waited for John at the top of Torrey. He had a few ideas from his recent experiences with his own Brifters... he replaced them with down tube shifters! How nice was that? I finally got the 19T cog for the day with the 50/34 up front. A real 2 speed day!

Fuji stealth rando bike with ill brifters

Larry Jindra joined us at the Rose Canyon Bike Path for the ride over to the first control. Matt Cazales rode
by and we chatted a bit. He got there late and forgot his bottles too. His riding partner never stopped for even one red light through Mission Valley! The 7-Eleven was packed with riders. Nothing under two bucks this morning.

Dave Horwitt joined us there for the ride toward Lakeside. He related the full story of his ill-fated Vegas To OC 600K last week. Another one of Willie's specials. We also picked up Bill Stevenson. He was waiting around for Mac Imacseng. I thought Mac was up ahead with Tim's group and he could most likely join up with them at their usual stopping place in Alpine: Starbucks!

In Lakeside, Koji joined in and we all chatted and rode together for a while. Koji  Bill , Mac and Dave slowly pulled away as John and I chugged up to Alpine. We stopped at the Circle K, where Koji and Svetlana were. She was looking for a soft shoulder, and related her story to us while packing away hot dogs. She looked down and out to me. I told her all the nitrates in those dogs would slow her down some more! Nice guy.  We left her there and passed the large gruppo sitting at the east side Starbucks. I waived, as I knew that would fire them up to chase us down. With my gearing, I wandered up the 2 double-digit rollers before Dave rejoined John and I on the windless section on I-8 eastward. Very nice through there. By now, Tim's group was in hot pursuit!

Route goes byLake Cuyamaca

At the exit to Old Hwy. 80, we joined several riders who had started in Rancho San Diego and were going up to Mt. Laguna via Pine Valley with a group of around 30 riders. Nice sunny weather now as John, Dave and I started the climb up 79. Part way up, Tim's group joined up and we rode with them for a while. Tim, Andi, Karin, Mac and Robert. Dave joined with the group as John and I paced up the climb. We saw a rider struggling ahead. It was Mac, who couldn't keep the group pace and dropped back. We chatted a bit as I had to ride by him with my 2-speed gearing. We all joined up later for the nice ride around the lake. I dropped a energy bar on the road and had to wait for traffic to clear before turning around to check it out. We all had a good freewheel down into Julian.

As usual, we did a receipt stop at Cozens Station on the corner in Julian, before blasting down for our designated lunch stop in Santa Ysabel. Tim's gruppo stopped at the corner market and I made sure I waived as we went by! They would be in hot pursuit soon enough.

Great rando stop in Santa Ysabel

Nice stop at Don's Market. It's a rando friendly stop, as they have it all there. Mac looked like he wanted to
rest there for an hour. Another group of 6 pulled in, wearing mostly PCH green jerseys. We all chatted a bit as we refueled in the shade. John shared a tuna sandwich with me to go with my ice cream sandwich. Mac was stretching out and said his hamstrings were bothering him. Three of us left a little ahead of the PCH group.

John was pulling along Hwy. 79 to Warner Springs. Mac would sometimes ride off the front, doing what, I don't know. Didn't help the mini-paceline, for sure. We had a rare tailwind up to Sunshine Summit. The PCH gruppo passed us just before Sunshine Summit. They pulled off at the fire station, looking confused. Tim's group was sitting over at the SS Market. I waived for sure at Dave as we rode by. I knew they would be cutting their break short to catch us! Not like we were riding at any race pace.

Nice ride down from the summit. Mac lost his battery pak on the rough road. He went off the side of the road in the dirt. I immediately saw it in my mirror, yelled at John and turned around. Mac finally found the battery pak and we continued the ride to Aguanga. Just before the last downhill, all the groups joined together for one big, fast erratic paceline. Riders were all over the place, so John and I pulled off for our planned stop at the Aguanga store. I guess Mac didn't remember, for he was attached to the group and kept rolling on the nasty Hwy. 79 section to Sage Road. Just after the store, Bill had a flat and was left on his own.

John and I got some water, a cola and sat down for 10 minutes at the store. We wondered how Mac was going to make it to Hemet without additional water! We left in good spirits, and put the push on over to Sage Road. That section of Hwy. 79 is real dangerous for riders, with no bike lane and heavy weekend traffic. Sage road was nice and quiet. There are 3 climbing sections on this road. Each separated by level/downhill sections. I've always liked climbing in this area and even with 2 speeds, managed to get through it OK. We saw two riders up ahead, and sure enough passed them at the fire station at the top. Bill had joined up with the Mac and stopped for water. Good strategy. John and I continued on to Hemet, looking for food!

Sage Road: 3 climbing sections toward Hemet

Bill joined back up at Stetson Street in Hemet. I told him Tim's group usually stop for a long break at the
Burger King on Flordia Ave. He took off as John and I went over to our usual Carl's Jr. stop on the corner. I was looking for something with potatoes, but settled for a choc malt instead. John woofed down a California Burrito in no time. We sat around and planned our next step. John hooked up his battery pak to his Garmin and we were off, looking for Gary Kanaby near the Walgreens control stop. Mac joined us on Lyons Street. Gary wasn't at the Walgreens but we did see him on the way south. John stopped and chatted with him. Seems someone (Jerry Brown/) in the PCH gruppo was missing or had crashed. We also saw one of their group riding around in Hemet. Different rumors abound on this.

Instead of the Warren/Simpson rough road/no bike lane route, we opted for longer, much safer Sandeson/Domenigoni Parkway. Smooth and wide, both routes had the same headwind. Over onto Newport Road, John saw a rider ahead. "Go get em Kelly". John was up to his old tricks and I didn't fall for that one. Later on, there was a cyclist... dude on a MTB riding our way! Nice.! We made good time over to Lake Elsinore in daylight. The PCH group joined up there, minus 2 riders! We asked them what happened in Hemet and they really didn't know! Jerry Brown disappeared off the back somewhere. That's what camaraderie is all about, knowing where riders are and helping them out! Go figure.

We (Mac, John and I) stopped at the Circle K Market on the north side of Lakeshore Drive. The PCH group went over to the JIB across the street. We lounged around for a while, got our lights ready for the upcoming darkness, put on a few clothes and decided we would do a final clothing stop in Temecula. John led the way down Grand Ave. Never did like this road.. sort of lumpy, spotty sand and no real bike lane. Lots of traffic too. After the turn off Clinton Keith, we slowed for a rando rider ahead. Bill was off to the side and joined up for the ride to the finish. Four of us made a nice group. Lights were on as the sun had long dropped behind the Santa Rosa Mtns to the west.

Stopping at the usual 7-Eleven near the I-15 in Temecula, I put on my knee warmers and helmet light for any long downhills ahead. Chugged a bottle of Vitamin Water and looked for something to eat. I told Mac I had some Cambodian Medicine for his hamstrings. He refused and thought I was joking. Not me. I showed him how to put it directly from the bottle. Soon we were off, will Bill leading the way. I had the right gearing for the short Rainbow climb and waited after the top for the others. I had a hard time spinning away trying to catch up after they blasted by. John missed the light over the I-15 onto Old Hwy. 395, but finally we were all together at the Hwy. 76 red light.

Tough climb up Day Lilly Hill for me. Didn't have the right 2 speed gearing for this one. Mac was feeling real good by now and caught up part way up. I did the "bait & switch" on him and then stopped over at the Shawn Harrison Memorial at Lilac Road. We regrouped at the top and rode together along Champagne Blvd past Lawrence Welk Resort. Mac and Bill rode ahead and we all met up at the Deer Springs AM/PM. Brian McGuire was there, getting ready to leave. I hit the hot chocolate, for I remember year's past the cold downhill to San Marcos ahead. Bill and I put in our paper vest too! We all bundled up good and set a fast pace downhill.

Too fast for my gearing, as I was spinning off the saddle. I welcomed the short hills, so I could keep pace without blowing up. It's 24 miles from the control to the finish. With the darkness, it seemed we were rolling along fast. Only 2 boxes left on the INFO stop. Last year there were 6 there! Rolled into the FINISH together, John, Bill, Mac and me. Finally located room #306, where Dennis and Greg were. Brian was there eating pizza. We grabbed a few goodies, said "adios" and called it a day. Good thing I had a ride back home with John. It was long past my bedtime.

-randorides

Busted In DeLuz...Warm & windy!

Climb up Live Oak Park Road near Fallbrook

Time for a quick ride to acclimatize for Saturday's 400km.. Hemet section. Forecast calls for inland temps in the upper 80'sF with high wind warning. (They missed on both counts) Sounds good to me! Woolie cap and arm warmers with sleeveless base layer under the RUSA red, white & blue jersey. Rode the lighter Fuji carbon black SL-1.

Sore right A. Tendon on the climbing ride over to LaCosta. What else is new? Took a Tylenol and kept rolling. No bike action along the coast. Stopped at Magee Park, where there was a church service or something in the chapel by the bathrooms. Did spot Joe Morgan(nytro) and John Bruce (fireman) riding on Pacific Street and we waived at each other in passing. No forecast headwind on the SLR eastward. Had to detour on Hwy. 76 around the first section to Benet Street. Stopped at College Park for relief. Smooth rolling past Bonsall and up to Green Canyon Road. No traffic and no bikes spotted through Fallbrook area. Monday is a slo day for bikers after the busy weekend!

Saw a rider riding southward near Rainbow. Got hammered by a stiff headwind riding up Rainbow Canyon to Temecula. Took the "neighborhood short cut" around the Hwy. 79 traffic and ended up at the Carl's Jr. for a 15 min break. Had a choc malt, with my cut up banana and a dose of GU gel on top! Yummy! Even the waitress thought it looked good! Washed up my hands and iced up the bottles and my sticky rag.

Took the back way around to Rancho California Rd., skipping the Old Towne traffic. Slow 8 mph climb up the hill with a tailwind. Garmin temp reached 100.4F here. Nice relief with a strong side wind toward the top. Some wind push through Sandia Creek Road. Met a "loaded Tri-Rider" struggling up a climb. He was all over the place, out of the saddle and said something to me. He had a headwind through here and it showed. Tough! Got up the last 14% section using the 27T cog. Near the top, I jumped up when a strong wind gust blew over a mailbox onto the road! Went down to the Santa Margarita River valley real slow with the bad road  in that one sharp corner. Plodded up the 9% grade to Fallbrook with Garmin temp reading a steady 96F on bad road shoulders.

Big tailwind and hot temps on Rancho California Road climb

Blasted down from Fallbrook on Mission Road. As soon as I turned onto Hwy. 76 got nailed with a big
headwind. Stopped at the Bonsall Mickie D's for a yogurt and to refill the bottles. Had a small cup of coke to juice things up. Decided to negate the stiff headwind from the west by riding on Camino Del Rey over to Hwy. 395 and the Champagne climb. Not to disappoint, the wind changed to a headwind and I fought that up the climb too! I used the tactic of 60 strokes out of the saddle and 60 in the saddle, and made it to the top in good order. Temp registered 94F on the Garmin here.

When I got to Escondido the temp had dropped to 84F. Just about right. Rode over through San Marcos into a stiff headwind and on to the finish.

Not a bad day with high temps and fluctuating winds, as predicted! Bingo. Good training ride and felt good when I rode home. Didn't seem that hot to me, guess it was the tailwinds?

-randorides

Montezuma Mesa Express: Roadie crash near UCSD

Bike Lane accident location on NB Gilman Dr., south of UCSD

I started from the north end for this ride. Arm warmers, long gloves and woolie cap, with paper vest under. Foggy and cool in San Clemente. Had a hot choc at 7-Eleven to warm up before heading south to Oceanside. Waited for the Thursday OFR near Magee Park. No shows, so I went to Swami's in Encinitas, where a group of 12 were chatting. Rode with them to Manchester, where they were riding to Lake Hodges for a snack! I carried on  southbound up Torrey Pines and through UCSD campus.

Lo-lite of this ride was coming upon a just-happened bike crash on northbound Gillman Drive, just south of the UCSD campus. I was southbound at the time and did a slo-U-turn and to check out the rider. I chatted with a rider girl who was supposed to be directing traffic. A blue car pulled out from the parallel parking in front of the apartments and hit a cyclist, who was riding with several others in the bike lane. He was lying on his side in the traffic lane, with another lady cyclists in attendance. They had called 911 and I heard the sirens in the distance. I suggested she take some photos of the scene. Later, as I was approaching the Rose Canyon Bike Path, a SD police car was racing northward to the scene.

Rode up to SDSU with a damper on my efforts, after seeing the rider lying there. Took a yogurt break, fueled up and headed north. I stopped by the accident scene later and no marks on the road, only a few pieces of plastic. Uncomfortable headwind all the way of the coast. Jumped the train and headed home!

-randorides

Ursa Minor-R: Roadie Trash Special

Extra miles added to the Ursa Minor-R route today.

Rode this route in reverse. Started earlier to catch the tailwind from Bonsall to the coast. Rode the Madison SS for this trip, as still working on the SOMA rear wheel, with the correct spokes and all. Nice change of pace and felt good on this all day. Next day my knee and right A. Tendon didn't feel so good, however! Typical SS day for me!

Picture essay!

Madison SS set up for long rides. SR series done on this bike.

Nice Camelbak bottles found on road near Trestles Bike Path

Vendor goodies from Nytro today! Nice.

Correct length Swiss DB 2.0/1.5 Revolution Spokes for SOMA

- randorides

Bike Path X Two Populaire

Bike Path X Two route with additions

Needed a shortie route this morning, so this is it. Controled-in just before 8:00 Am with woolie cap and long finger gloves in additon to the long sleeve underlayer and wool SDrando jersey. Saw a few North County riders on my way north around Country Club Drive. They were riding in to the 8:30 start at Old California Restaurant Row. Don't know where their group is riding today.

Hooked up with an older rider on a Surly LHT with one side pannier as he was blasting down from Hidden Meadows onto Champagne. He said he was training for a cross country ride this spring! He'll ride just north of the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier route. Nice ride to Bonsall, where I chatted with 2 guys on a "Blind Stokers" tandem. They ask for directions, so I rode with them on Hwy. 76 for support and they turned off at North Santa Fe on their way back to Escondido. Couldn't talk them into the bike route to Oceanside. SLR was loaded with riders.

Rode with a strong rider on a new Volagi decked out with fenders and 25mm G'skins. Said he was from University City and rode up the coast and over to College Ave. He was on his return route back down the coast for a 80 mile ride. He is joining Andy Hamstead's cycling tour group on June for a cycling trip through southern Italy. Full support and they'll ride around 60 miles per day. Taking his Richey Break-Away Ti bike over there. He indicated around 20 might be going this year. He has ridden with Andy on 3 other tours of Europe! Nice. Left him at the end of the bike path, did the detour on Coast Hwy. over to Magee Park.

Stopped at 7-Eleven in Carlsbad for receipt. Met up with the same Italian tour rider and rode with him down the coast through Del Mar. Went the back way through Del Mar, where a moto cop pulled over 2 cyclists just in front of us who didn't stop for a stop sign. In fact, they never even slowed up as the moto cop pulled by me. Ticket? Don't know as we kept riding. Said "adios" to Volagi as I turned on Carmel Vallley Rd and the SR-56 Bike Path. Rode with some Asian racer guy up to my control stop at Camino Del Sur Circle K. Stayed a while and then headed out to Rancho Bernardo and Escondido before turning westward to San Marcos and the finish.

A little windy today., under partly cloudy skies. Good hammerfest work-out for a short route. Rode the light carbon Fuji bike as the SOMA still has a untured rear wheel. I changed the rear drive side spokes to 2.0/1.5 mm and they didn't true up at all. Still a project in the works.

cheerio... randorides

Aztec Century

7:30 start on this route today. 38F when I left home for this one. SLR was closed at Benet Street again.
Looped over and took Hwy. 76 to Oceanside. Stopped by Pacific Cycles to check out window dressing. Detour for new traffic circle entering Carlsbad. Met with OFR gruppo at Magee Park in Carlsbad. Left with them at 8:30 for the ride south on 101.

Roadie trash: Picked up a tube along the road today

Regroup at Swami's, where I took off layers of warm clothes and packed them neatly on front HB bag. Rode up Torrey at 9mph and waited for gruppo at top. They cut off at LaJolla Shores Drive, I rode straight to Rose Canyon Bike Path. Nice tailwind to SDSU. Stopped at MacDonalds. Empty, with spring break in effect.

Picked up a good looking tube on the shortie bike path off Montezuma Road on the way down. I took it home to check it out. Nasty headwind all the way through UCSD and on to Nytro Cycles in Encinitas. I stopped and picked up some Swiss DB 2.0-1.5, 290mm spokes to replace the 2.0/1.8 I have on the SOMA drive side rear Open Pro wheels. I'll try and switch them tomorrow.
Headwind hammered me on the way up the coast. Detour leaving Carlsbad for the round-about under construction. After the finish, took the train back to San Marcos.

Average day on the road populaire.

-randorides