Getting Dirty On The Rando Tumbleweed Ride

Supposed to be real cool this morning as I left San Marcos heading for the training ride start at Mule Hill in Escondido. Wind was blowing at my back as the 27.5 x 2.8 tires hummed along on the hard surface. I finally bought a digital tire pressure gauge and my tires were aired down to precisely 25lbs for this ride. Wasn't that cold at all as I caught a little trail dirt before meeting up. Keith Olsen, Troy Buss and Mac Imacsing were the only riders there today. Others said they would show, but too much Christmas OR they were a little shy on the dirt side.

Training route we took today. A few new trails in there

Troy had the only carbon bike today

Mac had the oldest, cracked tires today!

Keith's bright Klein was the oldest bike here today!

Kelly had the newest bike today: Cannondale 27.5

Made our way around Lake Hodges, checking things out before jumping onto Del Dios Hwy. for a short haul. Back onto the trail near the dam, we made good time up the switchbacks. Met two MTB"ers near the power towers and they followed us to Lusardi Loop. The Loop Trail was congested with tumbleweeds. Not the kind you can ride around, but the trail blockage kind. Often times we had to just blast thru! Met a small group of 5 riders after clearing the Black Mtn. Trailhead and the rocky downhill section. They didn't know which way to go and some had turned off trail. After telling them: "The pros go this way", some turned and followed our route uphill!

Kelly, Mac & Keith crusing along Lake Hodges Road Trail

Mac contemplates trail bridge while reading sign

Leaving Lake Hodges, Mac, Troy & Keith climb after crossing the trail bridge.

Lusardi Loop: Under Camino del Sur. Mac called that a "water crossing"! Huh?

Lusardi Loop: After "Cardiac Climb", Mac said his HR was 150. Ya Right!

We managed a few off route miles by taking the long way to Camino del Sur and break time at Circle K. Managed to pick up a free banana at the usual SR-56 Bike Path watering station. Sat around Circle K for a while as several picked up a sandwich. Handy place and good stop here. After a bit, we were off on the Bike Path and a few new trails in McGonigle Canyon.

Mac & Troy chomping down at Circle K break-time.

Troy & Mac took the "magic gate" route while Keith & I did the 41 steps down to the bushes route. Both ended up at the same place. Next time it's thru the gate for us too as the stair-step route was nasty and wet! Further up the trail it was HAB time. I had been this way before and appreciated someone cutting in some toe holds in the dirt. Troy & I scooted up quick, while Mac checked things out and backed up for a run-up. Well he got up about 10 feet and bailed to hiking up too. Keith followed. logically using the toe-holds. After crossing Sundance Street we were onto another trail and finished it off with a HAB thru some bushes and up a small hill to the road.

Stair step Trail: Keith takes alternate route to McGonicle Canyon below.

Keith finishes off Stair-Step Trail with some "bushwacking"

Troy & Mac took the "Secret Gate" trail from up there

Mac contemplates 40% climb. Then backs up and let's 'er rip!

Mac walking up: "If I had a bike like Troy's, I would had made it up!"

"Is that a hole or a trail?" Yep, we have to go in there. Turn your lights on!

Smooth riding now as we rode north on Black Mtn. Road. At mile 26, Keith wasn't feeling well and continued on back to Lake Hodges via roads. The trio took the old loop road down into Lusardi country. All we got was a dead end housing project. After walking around a bit, we hoofed it down some hill, thru new home lots and were soon back on the dirt road riding west.

Troy's old Lusardi Loop route took to a housing development. We trying to get out!

Not to be deterred at the Coast To Crest sign, we by-passed the single-trak uphill and opted for a new single-trak sidehill. Several gnarly spots later we were at the water crossing. Of course, I think we all got a little damp on that crossing.. I know I got wet-footed as my foot slipped off a rock. Downhill switchbacks ahead. I was watching Troy cruising around each turn and managed to nip a post and fall over. A little dirt rash, but my Garmin took a hit from my camera and was now 1/2 blue screen of death! Bummer.

We by-passed Coast-To-Crest segment and took a new trail to Artisan Way

Made good time on Santa Fe Trail over to the dam. This return route we added the single track  to the parking lot. Troy led out making it look easy ( which it was! ) and was soon stopped by a rock hit on his lower fork. I stopped and got caught in the same rocks and we didn't see Mac again for a while. Nice riding along the lake as we took the roadside trail where John went down 2 years ago. Not to be deterred, we all blasted over the drop-off and up the climb this time. Met several riders thru here on some hi-powered rigs in addition to groups of hikers. Breezed thru the rock gardens with the wider tires. Cruised into the finish! Said our good-byes and I was off back to San Marcos after filling my bottle at the handy Chevron Station.

Troy's Garmin stats from today's ride. We did OK considering all the stoppage time.

Clear skies
Hi: 68     Lo: 47
Wind: WNW gusty at times
78 miles

-randorides

Beast Looses Weight: Going Tubeless!

Hard to take off! OH, move them in~!

Always wanted to change a MTB over to tubeless... now is my chance! Didn't quite get to it on the C'dale Trail 29'er and I even thought about it on by SOMA rando bike. Time to study up and I did.. YouTube, blogs, Stans site & Continental website all have ideas on how to change over to tubeless and ease the flat tire hassle in the dirt.

1. Tubeless ready rims have a center trough with air-proof tape laced to the inside of the rim, covering the spoke holes. Regular rims can be converted to "ready" by installing a kit from Stans or making your own "pirate" version. They won't have the center trough for easy MTB tire installation.

2. Tubeless tires:
Tubeless- a UST tubeless tire can be mounted to a TLR rim with no further requirements.
Tubeless-Ready- a Tubeless-Ready tire requires that sealant be added a TubeLess-Ready tire after mounting to a tubeless-compatible rim.

Push valve stem in super tight

Well the Beast came with 45mm rims "tubeless ready".. meaning tape & center trough. I'll need:
2- tubeless valve stems (removable core)
4-2oz bottles of Stan's Sealant (4 oz per big wide 2.8"x27.5" tires
Small tool to remove valve core (I don't like pliers)

A. Remove tires from rim:
Those tires are tough to remove.. Ahhh, if I slide them to the inside trough, they come off easy. I took one side off and pulled the giant tube out. 27.5" x 2.7-3.4". Weighted on my postal scale and it was just over 16oz (1 pound)

B. Wipe down inside of tire with alcohol induced washcloth.

C. Installed Tubeless Valve Stem.

4oz Stans for the 27.5 x 2.8" tires

Really push in the stem as you tighten the outside nut. No pliers on the nut please! Push it super tight!


D. Put tire back on rim and slide it as far toward bead as possible. That sucker is tight, but the tape is slick.

E. Aired it up with floor pump. Easy! It "popped" into place. I went to 30 lbs pressure. Heck it might work like this!

F. Remove Valve Core. Rotate tire so stem is down.

G. Pour in two bottles of Stans (4oz). Easy with the small bottle tip. Didn't spill a drop. (Shake the crap out of the bottles first!)

H. Rotate tire so valve stem is not on the bottom. Air up tire to 40psi. 

That's not a backpack, its a 1 lb tube!

I. Hold tire horizontal and shake it. Rotate tire horizontally while shaking. Lay tire on bucket on flat surface. 30 minutes
per side and then flip and shake again, etc.

J. You may see some white Stan's sneaking out. It will seal ( No Stan's leak on the WTB's).

K. There is some Stan's in the tire sloshing around, you can hear it if you shake the tire. No to worry.

L. I left mine horizontal overnight and flipped them once or twice.

Beast Diet:
Started at 29.4 lbs.
Took off the reflectors (-4oz)

Letting Stan's do it work in the sunshine

Tubeless (-1.5 lbs) (Tubes weigh 1 lb each. Added 4oz Stans to each tire + stem)

Now at 27.7 lbs

Lighter than my C'dale Trail ever was.

Next up is the dirt test!

- randorides

Cannondale Beast Of The East-3 Review

2016 Cannondale Beast Of The East photo-op

Ordered in October,  the 2016 Beast 3 has arrived. "Beast" is a revival of the late 80's-early 90's MTB by Cannondale. Dumping buckets of local blowing rain today, but not deterred, I was off with my backpack full of cycling shoes, helmet, pedals and other nonsense. It was hike, train & bus for me to Nytro Multisport in Encinitas!

2 years ago, I left the rando-MTB thing due to lack of a big tire bike. My other basic C'dale Trail SL4 was ripped off from Fry's Electronics, chain, bag, bottles and all! I was still pissed about the way the whole thing was handled! Back for more dirt, I hurried into Nytro, wet shoes and all.

Beast-3 looked much better than the online photos. Darker grey rather than silver looking and the orange trim didn't blare out. Manager Joe Morgan got a kick out of my matching Crank Bros orange pedals. Big sale at Nashbar! He said  matched it up like a "roadie" would. Pedals on, we wheeled it around to the scale. 29.9 lbs., reflectors and all. (Sans pedals it was 29.4 lbs).

30T SpiderRing on SI crank

Joe took me thru a basic setup with the seat height and also flipped the stem and rotated the bars somewhat. ( At home later I would do the knee plumb-bob thing for final set up). I wasn't very familiar with the thru axle thing and we did some practice with the front 15mm "quick release" thru axle. I thought that was rather neat. Next up the rear with the 12mm axle. I had a little trouble getting that back in. Joe noticed the rear derailleur hanger mini-bolt was loose so he quickly did the Loctite thing and snugged it down. Rear thru-axle also clamps down the hanger so no harm done.

Front shock was a big upgrade from the Trail 29'er, and also of note were the single narrow/wide chain-ring matched with a Shimano "clutch" type rear derailleur. I already liked that concept! Big tires were quite noticeable with the 2.8" width on 45mm 27.5 rims.

2.8" rubber on logo 27.5" 45mm rims

Bike came with various paperwork... Thru axle "quick release, Cannondale book on bike setup and a Suntour DVD on the fork. I hung around a bit and my rando buddy Keith Olsen came in to shop around and check on his Salsa Spearfish status. Chit-chat prevailed as I picked up a few other fuel goodies and then hit the road. Sun was out by now and I was riding north with a load on my back. I soon was snugly warm and dry in the Sprinter train heading for San Marcos and home.

Next up was tubeless... For rando trail work, it seemed a necessity. After my multi-flat experience with my other C'dale Trail 29'er, I knew it was mandatory.

Time to loose some weight!

Complete walk-around video

- randorides

Palomar Mountain Sampler

Palomar Mtn. Sampler route today

Good weather in SoCAL all week and with a rainstorm predicted for Friday, it's off to Palomar Mtn. today. OFR was carpooling out to Henshaw and Troy planned to meet us at So. Grade Road at 10:00. Our rando route would start in San Marcos and hit a few climbs on the way to Palomar Mtn. Palomar Mtn. Sampler, RUSA Route #2380 it was called. A measly 125 miles with only 10,695 feet of climbing. Not bad for a mid December day training ride.

 Albany Sam Thomas was in, as were randos Bill Stevenson, his buddy Mac Imacseng and Keith Olsen (soon to be flying out to Virgina on Saturday). Weather was near 50 as we grouped up for the start at the San Marcos 7-Eleven. Off at 0700 without Sam. Randos always leave on schedule, as the clock is ticking. Surprised Mike Shaw or John Fry didn't make the ride. Maybe we'll see them later?

Mac, Keith & Bill...Woods Vly. Rd

 I felt 60% and thought my brakes were dragging as we sped thru Escondido with only light traffic. Mac had his new Ibis CX e-Bay bike an soon was off the front as we climbed up Valley Center Road @ 7% grade. I was taking photos and catching a few videos on the GoPro handlebar mount. Regroup as we made the turn onto Woods Valley Road. Shady rollers here and soon we were holding up truck traffic. Should have pulled off into a driveway and let them pass. ((I mentioned later to Mac). Past the few remaining stinky chicken farms and the neat looking Middle School.

 Easy motion as we encountered the crappy Rincon Grade downhill. Roads are junk all the way to Harrah's Casino. Pulled in the back way to the great 7-Eleven there a little early at 8:35 AM. Saw someone unloading his bike. I thought it was John Fry, but later learned it was Jim Wisener. Guess he didn't see us as he was quickly off toward So. Grade Road. We refilled our bottles,and grabbed a snack. Ten minutes and we too were off on the bumpy bike lane.

Regroup with OFR at So. Grade Rd.

 Under crank pressure, Mac's new Ibis wouldn't go into a lower gear and he soon stopped on the climb to shift. Not to worry, he's a climber. The turn onto Hwy. 76 brought us 6-8% grades and smoother riding. Bill & I were off front chatting, with Mac and Keith behind. We all had a nice casual pace and 50 minutes later we met the OFR gruppo at the So. Grade Turn.

 WOW! Sam Thomas & John Fry were there too. Troy had another 9 OFR riders. I managed some pics, hit the fence and took off my long-sleeve under-layer. I suggested to Sam to take off his warm jacket, but of course he had a disclaimer ready.

 We were soon off under warming, sunny skies and temps near 65F. A few nice photo-ops on the way up. I soon dropped back with Sam, who by now was cooking under the warm jacket.
"I don't have a place to put it"
"You can put it in the ambulance when they pick you up!"

Full regroup at Mother's Kitchen

We soon pulled off and Sam wrapped his jacket around the handlebars. Keith caught up and said: Don't wait for me. Later I found out it was his first trip up the hill! Bill was waiting for us up the road and we rode to Mother's Kitchen together. Whole group of OFR riders was there, lingering around.

 I hit the Post Office for a receipt and then the neato bathroom for water. I suggested to the randos that we by-pass the traditional Lake Henshaw stop. OK. Where's Keith? After a few photos, most OFR were off for a climb to the Observatory, while Sam, John Fry & Jimbo would be going down East Grade with us. Keith finally arrived and I showed him where to fill his bottles. I mentioned to the group we should stop at the Firefighter Memorial for good riding luck.

Sam, Bill, Mac & Keith on Mesa Grande

Some stopped, some blasted by. Took several nice photos of Keith, Jim & Bill Stevenson there. Hi-speed run down the 12 miles to Henshaw. Managed to get some action video on the way down. Several road sections were real bumpy and you had to change your line often. Over the last few years, they did some patching on the big holes! At the Hwy. 76 turn, Jim said "adios" and was off to So. Grade and back down to Harrah's. Good climbing day for him. Sam stopped at his car parked at the Lake Henshaw Store and dumped his jacket. Now it was Mesa Grande climb!

Riders with Mavic Support on Mesa

Six of us on the move again. Various paces up the steepish climb. Once on top the riding is quite pleasant... shaded curves, no traffic and a bit of speed. We were surprised to meet several groups of riders today. Later on, their Mavic yellow SAG car appeared with more riders! Don't know which training group that was, but they were FAST! Mac & John turned around at Black Cyn. Road and headed back to Henshaw, not wanting to do any more climbing. Good job guys. ( Later John Fry emailed and said he did go up East Grade before returning to his car parked at Henshaw!)

Bill & Mac's balanced diet @ Santa Ysabel

 Fast curvy downhill took us to Hwy. 79. Mac picked up the pace for 2 miles toward Santa Ysabel, dropping riders like sea urchins. We rolled into Don's Market and Mac was cooked! Two Twinkies and some trail mix for him. I grabbed a water refill, added powder and iced it up. Desert was a IC Sandwich & banana for me. Bill hit the big sandwich. Keith was hamming it up with a old guy from Indiana. 20 minutes and we're on the road again. Bill stopped down the road and adjusted his seat bag glove holder. I climbed ahead to set up a video shot.

Slight headwind, but we still made super 30ish time blasting down Old Julian Hwy. into Ramona. More traffic as we didn't stop as usual. High clouds now made it seem cooler. With the light headwind, it was! Good time rotating leads thru the rollers. Short regroup as we put on a layer plus some arm warmers for the Highland Valley downhill ahead. Bill pulled along the valley and then it was a short hop on the pedestrian bridge over Lake Hodges.

Keith & Mac pass "Honey-Jerky"

 We decided to make our last stop at the Circle K on Bernardo Ctr. Dr. instead of at Stumps Market in Rancho Santa Fe town ( Figured the evening traffic would be heavier there). Mac took some time looking for his Go-Power Coconut Water drink.. no have, so he got a V-8 instead! Temp was a nice 59F now, but we still put on our warmer clothing for any downhills ahead. Not quite time to light up yet, but close. I had my Cygolite mounted on the side of my drop bars and the left shifter would just touch it. After a bit of experimenting it worked OK.

Nice quick, group riding on Camino del Sur offered me a chance to do a low-light GoPro run. Later video review showed it worked OK (see video). I was admiring the Christmas decorations along the road. Traffic was backed up on the turn up to Rancho Santa Fe. Route takes S-9 (LaGranada) toward Encinitas. Familiar with this route, I was up front trying to clear the lotion-sweat from my eyes on the climbs.

Bill, Mac & Keith at RB stop

 Made our way to So. Rancho Santa Fe road past John M's house and the climbing seemed easier at night. Maybe it's just the false illusion of speed? Missing his Coconut Water, Mac was toast now. Route takes an unusual path thru the CSUSM campus. Good lights and coeds were hustling around. Keith made his final break-away attempt on Mission Road, but Mac pulled his resources and brought him back at the finish!

 Checking our final time, it was a long day... but didn't feel like it to me. Weather was very nice and in retrospect, maybe a 0600 start would have been in order? We had the last 2 hours in fading light/darkness.

Video route hi-lites.

Clear to light clouds
Hi: 73     Lo: 46
Wind: WSW 7mph
125 miles

-randorides

Eleven City Loop...Rain Delay!

Eleven Cities Loop route

Often times when I submit a route to RUSA (Randonneurs USA), I'll make up a pre-ride route video and send in along with the application, cue, map, etc. I feel it gives the route checker a heads up on what the route is really about. I've done that with several dirt applications and they got a kick out of it, so what the heck.

I was working on a short Populaire of around 65 miles, which did the "square loop" thing, but the furthest north it went was San Marcos and Palomar Airport Road. I checked my old files and found 2 which were close.. one was a short Loop from the faulty "Brevet Week-2015. The other was Steve Elliott's Square Deal. With similar routes already on the books, this should be a no-brainer! Different controls, San Marcos start and a better overall route. With my local trick-shot street knowledge, this was a slam-dunk. Now time to make a pre-ride informational video.

With the route finished on RWGPS (Ride With GPS...online route maker) and all packaged up, I sent it over to Crista Boras at RUSA the other day. Now for the video stuff. The weather has been a little "iffy" of late (for SoCal), so I just decided to go today. Waiting till the early temps were in the hi 40's I was off around 0900 to partly cloudy skies and no rain in the forecast today. One short, one long sleeved underlayer beneath my generic $10 blue Performance Bike jersey tooped off with a pair of arm warmers and my wool knee-hi blue socks. Matched the jersey, of course! Also along was my woolie hat and my back up well worn blue doo-rag.

Old man by the sea

Cycling southward to the start at Ralph's near CSUSM, I figured this day could be along one with the cool headwind from the SE. Took a few shots of Ralph's and hit the route. Had two cameras along this trip: CanonA1100 Power Shot and mounted on the HB was the GoPro. Be taking a lot of video shots this trip.

Made good time the back way via Discovery St to San Marcos Blvd. Then off to the races on Palomar Airport Road. First stop was a the neat Chevron near the Flower Fields. Handy stop with same side location and easy exit. I was flying now  as I crossed over I-5 & the RR Tracks. Made the loop to southbound 101 and picked up a noticeable headwind. Time to stop for a few ocean shots. Also managed to get in most of the State Beaches on the way to Leucadia.

Winner Cadel Evan 2012 tour bike

The route included the normal traffic bypass in Encinitas and today was my usual stop at Nytro to fill up with water. Just in time as the big drop sprinkles were starting to fall. I was soon off to Swami's looking for surfers. No one out today, but lots of dudes watching the water. Never figured out what they were watching, but took some pictures of a few hard-bodies stretching out by the railing.

Proceeded southward under partly cloudy skies now and did manage a photo stop into Revolution Bike, where I tightened my GoPro mount with my handy multi-tool Phillips driver. Took a look at several of their Salsa Fargo bikes too. Can't do business with them with their paltry $10 new bike discount! Time for the Del Mar bypass route. I managed to sneak behind 2 riders and followed them around the alleys and finally back onto Coast Hwy. again. Of course the GoPro was doing it's thing. I cut off onto Carmel Valley while my 2 new buddies were heading for Torrey Pines.

Hard-bodies stretch at Swami's

Turning onto Sorrento Valley Road, the sun was out and it was starting to reach 60 degrees. Control is at Performance Bike, so I stopped and took a few pics. Also did some lookie-loo shopping inside. Not much going on there. After the turn onto Sorrento Valley Blvd., I stopped off at "North Of The Border" Bike Shop. Of course they were closed for Black Friday! Started the 10% climb as the dark clouds were building. That sucker is at least a mile long and eased off a bit after that. Capricorn Way runs thru a residential neighborhood and has speed bumps every 300 meters. By the time I turned onto Black Mtn. Road it was starting to rain.

I pulled off under a big sidewalk tree and put on my arm warmers. Also up to my knees were the woolie socks now. Still light rain as I started the 8% climb up Mercy Road toward Poway. Felt good to warm up. More climbing  in the 3-4% range with the cool reward on a fast downhill to the Chevron Control at Pomerado Road. Rain was starting to thump down good now with the sky getting real dark. Filled my bottle with water, added some powder and after a few shots, off I went. Passing thru Poway town, the car splash was making a mess out of riding. I finally pulled into a roadside park bathroom and rounded up some plastic bags from the trash. One over my HB bag and one inside my jersey. I'm toasty now.

Wet Pomerado Road in Poway

I waited around for 10 minutes till the rain eased a bit. Then northward on Pomorado. Hit one more heavy shower before turning on the Pedestrian bridge over Lake Hodges. Chatted with 2 MTB guys there riding 26". Said they didn't get as wet today as I did! Rode by the North County Mall to lines of cars. A Black Friday thing again? Rain was all gone with my turn off Beethoven onto the Bike Path and up El Ku to Escondido.

At Felicita, a roadie with his 29'er buddy went by at a good clip. I jumped on and away they went. 23 mph with the knobbies singing a song. That dude was strong but I had their number today. My turn was at 5th St. so I said "thanks" and away I went channel hopping on the Bike Path westward. The route does the normal Harmony Grove to Kauana Loa and then Country Club to the Business Park. Light traffic on Barham Dr. took me into the finish as black clouds were building around north Escondido. Pulled into Ralphs, took a few pics of the pies and away I went. No rain caught me on the way home this time.

Casual MTB'ers at Lake Hodges

Checking the 90 pictures and 75 videos, looks like I'll have enough good stuff to make up a Informational Video for YouTube.

Route Video


Partly cloudy to rain
Hi: 69    Lo: 51
Wind: SW 9mph
73 miles

-randorides

Mike's Ride... Coronado XP

Route for Mike's retirement ride today

After decades of hard work at HP, rando and NCCC cyclist Mike Shaw was hanging up his tools. Yep. This was his selected route for the "retirement" ride. Mike not only was on target for his P-12 &R-12 RUSA Cycling Awards this year, he also was stepping into the den of the K-Hound (10,000km + of documented RUSA routes) this week! Nice job Mike.

Daytime weather had been warming up of late, so I rechecked the Underground Weather site and it said 49F leaving San Marcos with hi today along the coast of lo 80's! November in San Diego again. I rolled out before 0530 with just arm warmers and a vest over the RUSA jersey with a sleeveless under-layer.  Camera hanging from my neck and I managed to lock on the GoPro to the handlebars just in time. HB bag stuffed with a few gels and bars, along with my usual banana and half-dozen pretzel crackers laced with cashew butter. A few scoops of Infinit in my bottle and I was good to go.

A few riders at the Oceanside Pier start

A little nippy with the sunscreen cooling off my legs as I made my way toward the coast. Took Palomar Airport Road to miss the colder temps on northern bike path to Oceanside. Blinkie guarding behind and my removable $12 Dorcey headlamp blazing the road ahead. Pulled into a vacant Oceanside at 0640 and rolled over to see Keith Olsen at his "office" in the Transit Station parking lot. We cycled over to Transit bathrooms & then Circle K to "ice up".

Mike Shaw, Sandy Aniya, Dan Phillips, Bill Stevenson, Mel Cutler were waiting for us at the Oceanside Pier. John Fry came rolling in a few minutes later. Hector Maytorena hadn't arrived as Mike lead us out southbound at 0700. Of course, the first few miles were dedicated to stories of rider achievement and great things of late! Pace picked up as we doubled up for the pleasant ride along the coast to Encinitas. Short stop at Swami's added a few more riders.

Banana fest at the top or Torrey Pines!

Phil Auchter and Ken Hartman joined up there. Phil is along time NCCC rider and needs to get his LHTrucker back on the long rides again. Ken is a OFR rider, just back from his Border To Border West Coast ride in September. Southbound in short-order, more riders just ahead. Rando Jim Wisener set up for the Cardiff riders to join up near the Surfer Kook. Group was now approaching 20 riders. PBP rider Mac IMacseng hooked up in Solana Beach and NCCC climber Tony Long was waiting after Del Mar. Torrey Pines climb was interesting as the gruppo stretched out. Banana fest ahead!

Water and bananas at the top for us. In the rando recruiting mode, I handed out a rando card or two there. 10 minutes and our large group was up to pace speed thru UCSD campus. Way ahead of schedule to catch the 1000 ferry to Coronado, we didn't let a few red lights bother us. Boys were crankin' it up down Rose Canyon. Welcome red light at Damon/Mission Bay Dr. brought the group back together again. Hector had hammered hard from Oceanside and was not with the group.

Ferry mate forgot the side panel. Walk-off!

No traffic to speak of on the Mission Bay Dr. mess before we cruised past the kite-flyers near the bay. Old Towne was another welcomed non-traffic event and soon we were in downtown San Diego. Revised route took Hawthorne St. and on to the waterfront in short order. Mike led us right to the ticket booth. $4.75 now for a one-way with bike. Rando guy Dave Horwitt with surfing shorts,  was waiting there for us with his flat tire. Perfect timing for his upcoming on-board tire repair!

I did manage to get a few good shots of riders boarding the ferry. Only a single carbon-orange Orbea and one fat bike on-board. The 300 lb. owner was having a good time chatting with several slim-fit riders on board. With a few strollers and all our bikes, the lower lever was packed now! Good time for some walk-around photos and topside videos.

Rando legend Tim Sullivan in Coronado

I noticed the mate only attached a chain across the port entrance & forgot to lock in the panel. Someone warned the near-by mother with children as I ventured upstairs to tell the captain about his inept crew. Back to normal, I walked around taking a few videos of passing sailboats. Calm bay and approaching Coronado made for some good shots. Once on dry land again, rando legend Tim Sullivan met us as we regrouped by the bathrooms. Tony found the single faucet that had cold water and I waited in line. Bottles filled, we mingled around a bit before Tim led us around his home turf to the Bayshore Bikeway.

Paceline and 20mph were the norm now, as the group split up in three. I was settled in with Dave and Tony, snapping pics as I dodged oncoming riders. One group took off the front wickedly-split like and the rest of us finally made the transverse near the salt ponds. More hi-speed riding along the east-side frontage road, as I hooked up with Sandy, chatting about a hike-a-bike campground in Yuma. Sandy's has ties there with his family and knows the area well. (Good info for a future rando dirt route).

Riders mob Jack-In-The-Box

After several regroups we were all together again before crossing Harbor Dr. The Cardiff boys headed north for their break bayside in San Diego and randos went to the listed JIB Control in National City. Mel, Hector, Tony & I hit the AM/PM, while others mobbed the JIB next door. I opted for a over-priced ice-cream sandwich and filled my bottles with water & ice. Later we went over to JIB to join the mayhem there. Shakes were popular and several had the full meal deal. Finally we were ready to roll. Mike led out on the backway thru Barrio Logan, missing the worse roads along Harbor Drive.

Slight headwind as we crossed the rail-yards to downtown. Mobs of people at the Convention Centre today as we waited patiently at a red light. Ahead, a rear end'er headlined a grey car buried under a SUV! All the police red-lights brought us into single file skirting the accident.

Pedestrian traffic @ Convention Center

Dave Horwitt left us at Washington Street to climb homeward. Rando pace-line developed past SPAWAR with the slight headwind. Sandy decided to drop off at Old Towne and grab a train northward. We made quick work of the packed parking areas around Mission Bay and soon Mike led us to the Rose Creek Bike Path. Lumpy-bumpy time.

This optional way vs the cue sheet is a little longer, but much safer than the merging traffic from right off I-5. The turn onto Santa Fe brought only a tiny headwind and the Cardiff boys again! Seems Randy had a flat and the other stopped to check out his tire-changing technique! Climbers Mac, Bill & Wild Animal Park Tony had ants in their pants on the gentle climb up Rose Canyon at 17mph. Looked like Mac was in PBP race mode now. I was latched-on taking pictures. Gilman Dr. climb brought more speed as calmer heads prevailed with a regroup near the UCSD entrance. Mac & Bill decided to go straight thru campus for a bathroom break. Others followed cue and slugged up Scholars Dr.

Cardiff group helps Randy tire repair

I followed Hector down Torrey and stopped with WAP Tony at the bottom. It was back on the bike path to Poway and home for him. Work tomorrow feeding the cheetahs at the Park. Hector led out thru Del Mar, with Keith, me and Mike in tow. John Fry was wondering where his buddy Ken was and pulled up to wait. Cold water at Nytro was on order now, as Mike, Hector, Keith & I made the stop. Soon, we waived as Ken, John & Mel rode by. We were off on the chase for a regroup now.

If there was a red light, we hit it. Leaving Encinitas, we came upon 2 hard-bodies cruising along at 17mph. These gals had the shorter-shorts on and were returning to Mission Viejo. After chatting a bit, Keith picked up the pace and they followed. We were in hot pursuit of John Fry far ahead. The younger hot-dog gal was doing her thing to drop Keith & I as we sped up the coast. Hector was behind trying to rando-recruit the other gal. The little dip-climb up to Palomar Airport Road brought hard-body out of the saddle one last time trying to drop us for good. Sorry, not to be today as she cracked and sat down as we passed. On Tuesday's ride we encountered the same thing, but with the USD cycling team boys. Practice paid off this time!

Keith, Mel, Mike, Hector & John at finish

More race-pace now as we could see John's yellowish jersey ahead as we caught every red-light. Finally, in downtown Carlsbad, we were together again to the finish. Hard-body was singing away as John was a little puzzled? Keith, John, Mike, & Hector all pulled into the Pier finish nearly together. Mel came in a short time later. Bill was much later, as the UCSD stop with Mac dropped them off pace..

I rolled over to Circle K for a ice-only refill and then sped over to Keith's office in the Transit Parking lot. Keith is our  official supplier of after-ride recovery kicker: Ensure. He poured a bottle over the my ice and after a short chat, I was off to San Marcos with enough daylight left for no-headlamp required.

Good turn out for Mike's retirement route. Got a few of the Cardiff riders in there and some NCCC riders too! I handed out some rando cards so all was well. Weather was perfect with only a light breeze today with temps in the 80's along the coast. Hard to beat a day on the road like this!

Mike enjoys his retirement at Nyto stop!

Mike's Retirement Ride Video


Clear skies all day
Hi: 85     Lo: 49
Wind: WNW @6mph
137 miles

-randorides