Rainbow Ramble 200 - Ride Down

Mike & Osvaldo help RBA Dave with tire

Didn't really want to spend the whole day Saturday on a road ride, but had another weird one: start a rando route early from north county and pick up the randos doing the scheduled 0700 start Rainbow Ramble 200 in Pacific Beach/Dog Beach. Had just the route in "Walkin' The Dog".

I was off at 0400 dark to 34F temps under clear cold skies. Long wool socks, knee warmers, arm warmers and my wind reflective home-madie vest should work fine. Also added a neck warmer that I could pull up over my mouth for the super cold valleys. Traffic was the expected nil this early. Double rear blinkies covered my backside as my cygolite worked up front. Felt good as long as I was moving along. Hangin' around was another matter.

Rando gruppo riding eastward on path

All the lights seemed green for me as I rolled along down Coast Hwy. 101. Only saw 1 rider headed northward the whole trip. After the warm climb up Torrey, the Garnett downhill was freezing. A few water puddles were still roadside as I sped onto the Rose Canyon Bike Path. Several mud crossings there, which totally clogged up my brakes against the carbon 60mm rims. No way around them. I sort of picked a little of the mud off, but it was the sticky reddish kind and made a worse mess.

As I crossed the SD River Bridge near Sea World, my watch read 0650. Should I turn on the Ocean Beach Bike Path or take the advertised route in reverse? A little adventure time as I hit Old Town and turned right onto Sports Arena Blvd. I couldn't remember exactly where today's Brevet route went, so after a few turns I ended up on the Bike Path! Duh. A few minutes more and I was pulling into the Bacon St. 7-Eleven. Fortunately, the gruppo hadn't left yet.

"Uncle Zeke" pushing in Poway

Keith Olsen was heading over to the local bathrooms, so I followed in hopes of cleaning off my brakes/wheels. No such luck as the bathroom was closed! After waiting around the group was finally ready to roll. Once on the OB Bike Path heading eastward, RBA Dave D. had a flat. The group waited around as Mike & Osvaldo offered flat tire help (standing around checking things out.

New guy, Roberto, had a carbon BMC racer... no bags, no storage and one bottle. Looks like he was ready for the long ride today. Sandy Aniya was atop his new TREK Domane, as was Mike Shaw. Nice. Lisa Nicholson rode her heavy duty rando bike with fenders and big tires as did Osvaldo. Keith was grinding hard on the fixie climbing up past USD. Hector joined the few riders up front. Looked like a race pak to me.

Lisa compliments Keith on fashion colors

We were soon off to the races, as I joined the 3 riders up front. Route cuts eastward on Miramar Road and then climbs northward on Pomerado Rd. thru Poway. We had several red-light regroups along the way and were treated to the ultimate cart-man at a light stop on Poway Road.  I called him Sandy's uncle Zeke!

I dropped back later and chatted with Keith, who was commenting what happened to the camaraderie of long distance riding? Recent rando rides have been a "race-type" atmosphere I concurred. Big regroup at Chevron just after crossing Lake Hodges. Great photo op there and I got a few. The next climb up Sunset really broke up the group. By north Broadway, they were scattered along.

New rando Roberto on carbon BMC

After a farewell to Keith and Sandy, I turned westward on Country Club Dr. My riding day was soon over. Not quite 90 miles and it wasn't 1100 yet! After a check-in at the San Marcos 7-Eleven, I was finally on my way home. As Keith reminded me earlier, I would be washed up, filled up and watching the SDSU Bowel game and he would still be riding toward Rainbow!
Go figure,


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Prepping The Scott Scale Plus, Rando Style

Tubeless tire kit

1/4 lb of reflectors come off!

Time to start "prepping" the Scott for trail rando fun. First off was to convert the Maxxis tires to tubeless. Loose some weight, lower air pressure, more comfy riding over the rough stuff and enhanced flat protection, esp. from those pesky thorns around here.

8oz Schwalbe tube

First off, I made the garage warm by turning on a floor heater. Warmth is important to "working" the tires and installing the sealant in them. The tires were warm up and I put the little sealant bottles next to the heater.

Alcohol wipe-down first!

Real tubeless type tires are tough to get off the traditional way, you know.. loosen them up,
tire irons, etc.  Just think inwards and it's a breeze. I soon pulled the Schwalbe tubes (lightweight ones @ 8oz/227gms) and wiped down the inside of the tire with a alcohol induced rag. One side of the tire was still sealed to the rim.

Next up was putting in the Stans tubeless stems. Tight, tight, tight is the secret here. The Syncros X-35 / 27.5" rims had tubeless ready tape in them, so the stems slipped right in for a good seal.

Stan's tubeless stem in place

Add 4oz Stans Sealant per tire.

With the tire back on, I aired them up to 40 lbs with a floor pump. No problem with this set-up, they "popped" right into place. Next up was pulling the core using a 4.5mm mini-wrench. Then with valve stem down, I added 2 bottles (4 oz) of Stans Sealant (shake well first). Valve core installed, I rotated the stem to 90 degrees and aired up to 40psi again.

Time to slosh the sealant around inside the tires. Holding the tire horzonital, I sloshed the sealant around, flipped the tire and did the same again. Then laid them on a bucket and periodically repeated the process while working on the next tire.

Tire sitting horizontal to let Stan's coat inner surface

Later on, I reinstalled the wheels and added a bottle cage. Lots of wasted space below the cage. No second cage on the seat tube... hardly any room there for one as I thought of adding one there with Riv-Nuts. Have to do something for more water storage... never did like anything on my back. Under the downtube? Front forks? HB bag? RR seat baggie (tough with a dropper). I'll figure it out

Also removed the "required" bike reflectors. They weighed 4 oz.! Left the plastic saucer on the rear wheel to protect the spokes in the future.

By removing the tubes, changing over to tubeless and removing the reflectors the Scott lost 1 lb!
Now weighs 25.26 lbs.

SCOTT Scale 710+ Walkaround Video


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Pick-Up SCOTT Scale 710+

Nytro Joe making a few 'adjustments to the SCOTT Scale 710+

Been 6 months since I said "adios" to the C'dale Beast 3+ mtb as I shipped it off to Arizona land. During that time, it's been looking, researching and dealing for a replacement Rando mtb. OH, almost forgot the "van ran over my head" crash in September, which took me out for a while too. I settled in on a SCOTT Scale 710, Plus size 27.5" tires again. Slightly lacking on the bottle cage space, but overall a step-up from my last ride.

Walking, train and bus found me down to Encinitas and the Nytro store. After some chit-chat and a transfer of measurements, I was off for a quick spin on some local surfer paths. Long time since I've been on a mtb and I felt like it. Dropper post and 11-speed were something new to me as was the 3-mode fork remote. I played around for 30 minutes, loaded up my backpak and headed back to San Marcos. Didn't get too far before I was hearing a slight "rubbing sound!

Super stock SCOTT on the way home.

Pulled over and flipped the bike. Removed the front wheel. Scott's 110mm front axle removes much more methodical than the Beast 3's quick release did. The front 180mm rotor and calipers were an upgrade too. No rubbing there, so it's time to tackle the rear wheel.

Solid arm on the rear 112mm axle. Just unscrew it. No lock-down or QR there. I noticed removing the axle that the arm brushed the seat tube (which was protected by a heavy plastic "wrap"). Not good. May take some grinding for more clearance. A big plus for tire removal is the "lock button" on the SRAM GX-1rr derailleur. Move the derailleur forward, push the lock and all chain tension is removed for real clean, easy rear wheel removal. The C'dale Beast had the Shimano tension derailleur which just released some tension on the chain and you had to monkey around to get the cassette on the chain and the wheel in.

Cable ferrule jammed in behind the chain guide.

All clear at the rear so I trained my attention to the front SRAM GX-1 30T chain ring. The Scale 710 came with a neato  chain guide, so your chain never comes off the front. Upon further inspection, there was a cable end ferrule jammed in behind the guide, forcing it to rub the chain a bit. AHHHHH!. I removed the ferrule and tightened the guide down with a 4mm hex tool. BINGO all well now. I don't know how that ever got into there, but Joe will soon get the message. Not to be deterred, I was soon off down the road back home.





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Commute To SDSU-R: Early Ride Down...Freeze Zone

Early AM Route down to Mission Valley Brevet start

Yes, another "Odd-Ball" ride in the books. Commute To SDSU-R. A early ride down to hook up with the Newport 300 riders leaving Mission Valley-San Diego.

Keith, Sam, me & John M. rolled  out of San Marcos at 0200. Andi was missing, as her calf was hurting. (Keith said he'll use that excuse next time!).  Official temp was 41 degrees (F). Sam was trying to talk thru his full face burglar mask. Nice. Keith forgot something to cover his ears. Brrrrrr!

I was layered up with long sleeve shirt, rando jersey and wind reflective vest outer. Arm warmers with my knee warmers over long wool skateboard socks. Glove liners under my knitted finger-less gloves. Had woolie skullcap under helmet. Combo worked well.

Garmin temp was down to 31F in the low spots. Nil traffic and nice quiet riding.

Arrived a little early at Mission Valley 7-Eleven Control at 0440. Clerk there was grumpy after he saw Sam lingering outside in his ski mask!

Rode over to the Newport 300 Start at 0515 and chatted around. They had 8 starters and not-tasty donuts. Left on time(0530) and rode/chatted with Kevin Haywood from Valley Ctr. ( who drove down last night and spent the night at the hotel!)
Tim Sullivan, Kerin H., Osvaldo C., Wei Sun, Lisa N. soon blasted by. They dropped Lisa on the climb to UCSD. Chatted with new guy Jonathon Burchmore from Ramona. He was froze with no leg coverings, no long gloves, etc. Rose Canyon was a freeze zone. We soon really welcomed the late arriving sun heat.

Couldn't locate any open bathrooms around Torrey Pines State Beach, so rode over to Solana Donuts for a break. 

Mac

0445   7-Eleven: John, Keith & Sam at Mission Valley Control

met us there and looked cold already. 0715 and the sun was up warming us up quickly. Lingered around while Keith barricaded himself in the bathroom.

Soon left to warmer temps as John led us by Quail Gardens before turning for home at El Camino Real. Mac had turned off for the coast already. Sam, Keith & I stopped to strip off some layers before climbing back to San Marcos.

Rode up on a "racer" guy on a newer Cannondale, recently down from Oregon. He stayed with his mother up there before returning back to San Diego. Been out of work forever, he said.

Nice cruise ride back to the Albertson's finish, where Sam laid on some heavy election talk. His favorite candidate didn't do so well. Sorry. Keith handed out hi-octane goodies as we chatted around and finally left. Keith home to take care of his new dog, Sam to Fallbrook to continue moving and me...well, just basking in the warmth on the ride home.

Might do something like this ride again for the Dec. 3 Brevet in San Diego.

Who knows?

- randorides

"Back In The Saddle Again"?

SUV tire where it rolled over my helmet!

At home I would soon start going over to the "little gym" and spin on their stationary bike. It had a few settings like: Endurance, Climb, Sprint, Long Distance, etc. I would sit there and spin till the program ended. Maybe a couple times a week. Also walk over to a small park across the street and soak up the sun.

Was back on the road bike soon enough, with a ride here and there to get things sorted out. The first real rando Populaire was the easy Coffee @ Peet's on October 4th and that took a while. Legs seemed OK, except the right knee. Right shoulder was the problem, as I couldn't lift it. There goes out of the saddle work.

Mike Trone & Keith Olsen check Madison.

Later that week, also started riding a few more Populaires, including 11-City Loop, Walkin The Dog and a few others. On one ride I was chugging up Torrey Pines and Rando Dave Nocolai pulled up and started chatting. Soon it was "have a good ride" and off he went. I couldn't keep up with my shadow!

First longer 200Km route was University Loop on the 25th. My would ride a a "controlled slo pace".

John & I finally did manage to pick up the Madison from the Sheriff's Substation. Front end was a bit mangled up: Open Pro wheel was bent, headset seemed jammed in there and the hoods and seat were ripped up. The steel held up OK. Took the bike over to Joe @ Nytro to access the damage.


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"The Lights Are Out, The Party Almost Over!"

Kelly in ICU for several days

Writing this in retrospect after I got home, my body was beat up. I had the normal cycling injuries plus a few more: 9 breaks total including the Scapula, ribs, a few vertebrae and several other bones. A couple of jumbo hematoma on my shoulder, hip and side of knee. The SUV tire rolled over my head, fracturing the jaw and eye orbit. The left hand was buggered up also.

I was rushed over to the new Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. In the ER, they stopped the main bleeding by stitching up both eyes, my hand, arm, leg and icing down the hematomas. I managed to get a nurse to call my rando buddy, John Mestemacher at home. He went over and picked up Zaharah (who was doing an outside event at the San Marcos Senior Center).

Busted up left werewolf hand

Several hours later, I was up in Intensive Care Unit. I hung around for 3 days and received great care. Zaharah was there all day and John stopped by after work to check-up. Didn't seem my legs were hurting too bad, so I was anxious to get up moving again. They had enough of me by this time and transferred me down to a regular room (floor 4) They are all "private" rooms in the new hospital and it was nice. Unfortunately it was near the nurse station and sleep was a premium. I finally convinced them to keep the door closed so I could finally get some sleep.

SUV rolled over my Giro Helmet

Doctors were waiting for things to stabilize before jaw surgery. They had to put a plate in there to keep things together. Had surgery in the morning and all was well. Dr was an upbeat LaJolla Plastic Surgeon and liked loud music. Another day of rehab and I was released the next afternoon. Less than a week at Palomar Center.

John picked me up in his Element. We swung by the San Marcos Sheriff's Substation on the way home to see if the Accident Report was available or I could pick up the Madison from evidence. No to both. Once home, I could get out in the sunshine for some exercise again. I managed to set up the bike trainer in the garage and was soon trying to spin that in some semblance of exercising again. 


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North To South Brevet & The Big HIT

San Diego Top To Bottom 200km Route

Sandy had a organized Brevet today... his 200km down to Imperial Beach and back to Oceanside. I didn't like the entry fee or the whole day out, so I opted for a 130km populaire starting in San Marcos. I'd ride the route over to the College Ave. start and join up with them down to Torrey Pines before cutting off and finishing up the route.

I had been riding the Madison SS of late and had just done a new recon out to Pine Valley on the 22nd (Old Barham Town To Pine Valley #3160), several populaires each week & dusted off the Ursa Minor(#2084) & Rainbow 1.24(#2376) this last week on the blue single gear. Feelin' good, I left home early under nice weather and 2 layers up top.

I met Sam near the College Ave. McDonalds in Oceanside around 0600. No one around the big parking lot, so Sam checked the revised start location on his cell. Just down the street near the SLR Bike Path at Mace Buchanan Park. I handed Sam back some Cygolite cables and rolled down the hill ( I had borrowed cables to try to get my Cygolite 720 to work on the fly with external batteries. Sam's model 800 works but my #720 never did ). Sam wasn't riding today.. had to prep for a trip back to Indiana on family things.

I handed out some 10-paks of SDRando Cards to a few riders, chatted around and paid attention to Sandy's route instructions. I rode with Lisa N. and Osvaldo C. as we hammered along the SLR toward Oceanside. Several riders missed the Market control near downtown. I backed off and soon Hector joined up after Oceanside. I left our small group at Carmel Valley and headed Eastward. After a free banana stop near Camino Del Sur, I was pushing good as I arrived back in San Marcos on So. Rancho Santa Fe Ave.

Rolling northward, just after a green light intersection (San Marcos Blvd) and a slight downhill, a SUV abruptly turned
right, crossing the bike lane into the 7-Eleven. No signal, no warning, no chance! I was near 10 feet behind the SUV and couldn't turn left due to traffic flow. I eased the brakes, yelled and thought about jumping the curb. NO. The SUV did a slight curb hop into the driveway, so no chance there either. LIGHTS OUT!

Accident Scene: SUV dragged me some distance from the bike

I quickly realized people were buzzing around me.. a fireman and a off-duty nurse took charge. Ambulance only a few minutes away. Cover me up with something, stabilize my neck, keep me calm. I was lying in a puddle of fresh blood as the SUV driver came over and stated: "Sorry, I didn't see you". A San Marcos Sheriff soon arrived, cleared out the driver and took charge. A few minutes later, I was loaded up and on my way over to Palomar Medical Center in west Escondido.

Then the tough-stuff really began!

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Ursa Minor Rear-Ender, Curb Hop & Brush Fire

Ursa Minor 209km route we rode today.

We'd planned on doing Ursa Minor Permanent with rando George Retseck from Pennsylvania today. George was out in San Diego doing freelance illustration work and needed a 200km to continue his R-12 quest. I wired up the local randos for interest and Keith Olsen from Point Loma along with John Fry (San Marcos) were good to go. George sent me a last minute email indicating his work was piled up and he couldn't squeeze in the ride.

Bill Stevenson showed up at the 7-Eleven start in San Marcos. He'd ride with us over to Carlsbad and then ride home with other morning commitments. Bill is training up for his long awaited 2-week Italian cycling adventure. Keith was riding his new hi-end fixie, John his rando titanium and I on the steel Madison. Recently, Keith and I had upped our one-gear flip-flop training for longer future rides.

Shortly after 0600 we rolled out to overcast skies and temps in the high 60's. Short sleeve weather for sure. I was spinning a good warm-up with a 18T in the rear as we sped over to Del Dios Highway. Lots of traffic moving our way this morning on the way to work in San Diego land. Bill upped the pace on the rollers leaving Rancho Santa Fe town. Right on time, Mac Imacseng met up at Solana Donuts at 0715. After a short bottle reload and some chit-chat, I did a quick flip-flop to a 16T and we were off.

On the bridge pedestrian overpass shortcut, Keith picked up one of my plastic bar end plugs. Made good time chatting up thru Encinitas to Carlsbad, where Bill headed eastward toward home. Soon Mac was feeling hungry so he made his turn-around stop at the Carlsbad Starbucks. Just Keith, John & I making our way thru Oceanside.

Keith made an unannounced stop at a yellow light and me, riding just off his wheel, plowed into him. Buggered up a few right side ribs, skewed left brake lever and dropped a few things on the road. Turning car ran over a gel pack & that loose bar-end plug. After a short band-aid break, we were soon off northbound again. Bikes on I-5 are good-to-go, so we all jumped on that route instead of thru Camp Pendleton. John hadn't been along this way before and seemed to enjoy the pseudo tailwind. A brief water stop at the Rest Area and we were soon into the Las Pulgas turn. I-5 bike shoulders were clean, smooth and fast today.

A few campers out as we rolled thru San Onofre Campground and stopped at the last bathroom (#1). I tried a curb hop and didn't make it. Skewed the rear rim enough that I had to do a quick half-ass re-alignment to eliminate the rear brake rub. Wobble wheel and I joined the others up Old Hwy. 101 to San Clemente. Lite car traffic as we passed thru town and onto the protected bikeway to Doheny State Park.

When we saw this sign it meant one thing: GO CHECK IT OUT!

The last few months, San Juan River Trail  had construction detour signs at the far east end, entering San JuanCapistrano. Today we thought we might see how far we could get along the Trail. Passing around the detour signs, we did manage to get another 1/4 mile up the Trail before being blocked by active heavy equipment. Instead of following the detour signs, we backtracked and ended up at a Dana Point McDonald's for our break. Keith had his usual Kid's Meal Deal, John a gel covered sundae and I hung around sucking my ice cream cone. Had some time to pull the rear brake calipers off & packed them into my bag. No need to worry about the wobble-wheel rubbing the brake pads now.

Easy riding with a half tailwind on the way back to San Clemente. I did manage a decent climb up thru town with the aid of a Tylenol to knock the edge off those sore ribs. Made good time back to the Campground bathroom #1, where I took a few minutes to true the rear wheel a little more. We were all looking forward to the SB I-5 route today.

Not to disappoint, it was smooth and clean to the Rest Area. After which we did dodge a few bits of tire pieces. I was spinning up while sucking John's wheel as Keith was a few meters up the road. At the Harbor Drive regroup, we decided to swing by Dan's Auto Shop for a water break. He was real busy and the parking was full of Marine Corps vehicles waiting to be serviced. 10 minutes later we were back on route heading east with a nice tailwind. Keith was way out ahead as John & I were chatting away sort of enjoying the tailwind on the way toward Bonsall.

At the AM/PM, first thing I did was flip my rear wheel to 18T before refilling the bottles. A little busy there this time of day, so I got the cheapest thing going: 43 cent cookie. I stretched out as John was helping Keith flip his rear wheel. Soon we were off with tailwind riding on Camino del Rey.

Gopher Canyon fire, looking west from above Lawrence Welk Resort

We noticed a lot of fouled traffic above as we passed under I-15 and onto Old Hwy. 395. SMOKE! Large billowing clouds of white smoke ahead as we climbed southbound on 395. Traffic was snarled here, with fire trucks and police cars zipping in and out of traffic. They already closed Gopher Canyon Road and will they close 395 too? A super long detour if they do! We crept along the bank of cars watching the air tankers & helos attacking the white clouds ahead. Passing thru one smokey area, I figured it only could get better ahead. Grinding away up Champagne Blvd. counting passed cars and watching the firefighters doing their thing on the hillside to the west.

Deer Springs regroup at the top. After that smokey stuff, we were more than ready for some downhill easy riding to the finish in San Marcos. Slight headwind didn't deter us as we powered up for the final few miles. John & Keith had their R-12 for August and I had my skewed rear wheel to straighten out*. Keith offered up a Costco Ensure for recovery and I was soon off homeward bound.

Nice of Bill to show up to get in a few miles today with us. Mac is always interesting to ride with as he dreams of retiring someday and entering cycling nirvana! Weather was cloudy the entire day till we headed eastward from Oceanside. Temps were only elevated when we entered the fire/smoke area and started the Champagne Blvd. climb.

-randorides


* Wheel update: After I got home, never did get the wheel to true-up correctly as it had tweaked on the curb hit and left red paint on the tire and rim. I ended up stripping down the wheel and using the clamp-pull method to slightly straighten out the stiff aluminum rim. After a re-lace, I managed to get the wheel spinning true and did a 82 mile rando ride after. Lucked out on saving that OpenPro rim ~!

Mule Hill To Black Canyon - Cervelo C5 Test

Had an opportunity to check out the Cervelo C5 "Endurance" bike for a few days. Joe Morgan @ Encinitas Nytro Multisport set it up as a "test ride" during the week. The C5 is the latest and greatest Endurance bike from Cervelo... loaded with all the Dura Ace Di2 electronic shifting, HED wheels and of course a full carbon spread weighing in at 15.3 lbs! Sounded like a chance to catch some dirt riding and also test out a fast bike.

Cervelo C5 set up rando style

Monday, on the return leg of a Rando route, I stopped off at Nytro in Encinitas to pick up the Cervelo C5. Joe switched over the bottle cages from my Fuji Stealth Carbon ride as I was transferring over the seat bag & Garmin mount. Tires were Conti GrandPrix, same size as my normal Gatorskin Hardshells...28mm, so my repair kit/tubes would work OK, just in case.

Joe took some time to explain how the Di2 "button" shifting worked. Said it would take about 10 minutes on the road to figure it out. The Fuji was stuffed away on a hanging rack in the back of the shop. Forty-minutes after arriving, I was off on the Cervelo C5 to finish the Rando route back to San Marcos. I noticed a few things right away, namely the ease of shifting and the pleasant ride quality, even with higher air pressure in the tires.

I had planned to do a nice long ride on Tuesday, but after checking out the C5 at home, I figured a Tuesday night ride was in order. Being a "Test Bike", it was dirty... the chain still had the factory "cosmoline" and several layers of chain oil on top of that. After several cleaning tries, I opted to get my Park Chain Cleaning Gizmo out of retirement. Easily pulled the wheels with the slick MTb type thru-axles and did a full detail clean job with a final coat of Pledge.

Modified fanny-pak bar bag

Finally satisfied, I now needed to figure out a handlebar bag to carry a few things up front. My regular rando bar bags all had a rigid brace attached or were too big, so I came up with a idea to chop down an old fanny pak and sew on some double sided Velcro! This took me forever with the double leather sewing, but I finally finished up. Next up was mounting the GoPro and Cygolite. I was also testing a new battery pak for the light, which would fit nicely in the new fanny handlebar bag.

I rolled out of San Marcos around 5:00 PM and took the Inland Rail Trail to Escondido. C5 rode great over the root-errupted Bike Trail and I managed to catch several sections of dirt. Temps were on the rise as I checked in at the Mule Hill Chevron Station for a start receipt and a ice fill-up. Time to start the RUSA official "Mule Hill To Black Canyon" route # 1191.

Temps were still hot as I rode fast on the easy Mule Hill Trail. Not many people out this late in the afternoon. C5 handled the lite sand well as I had lowered the air pressure to 70/80 psi. Several patches of deeper, soft sand proved a wider tire would have handled much better than the 28's. Soon I was off the dirt and grinding up Highland Valley Road. Really needed another rear cog or two on the double-digit climbing. 11-28 was doable, but I was hot and cooked by the time I crested the last hill. Good thing for downhills and fading temps. The last miles into Ramona were quick and cool.

Black Canyon sunset selfie

After a short stop at our favorite rando JIB stop, it was full bottles and side streets to miss the downtown evening traffic. Not to worry, as the last turn onto Black Mtn. Road produced less cars and more climbing. Road quickly turned to soft sand laced with washboard riding. C5 seemed to soak up the bumps much better than my carbon Fuji did. I was soon gagging on the dust from a passing pickup. Thanks guys! No place to pull over with the soft shoulders, so I just covered my mouth with a damp rag. Mostly 6% climbing as the road got better toward the top. Nice fast downhill to the bridge while the sun was setting.

Loitering around the Historic 1913 Bridge offered a few nice photos and I was soon "lighting up" for the dark climbing ahead. My USB/Battery Cygolite was plugged into a 16800 mAh battery pak for the night ahead. All my reflective gear in place, time to get serious about this night gravel grinding stuff. Only one truck passed me later on the way to Mesa Grande. I pulled over as it passed slowly with no dust storm. Welcome relief! More washboard as I neared hard surfaced Mesa Grande Road. Spent a few minutes at the mailboxes before smooth riding eastward and down the fast, curvy road to Hwy. 79. Only one car along the way. Construction signs were up denoting "One-Lane Traffic Ahead" into Santa Ysabel. Flashing signboard indicated daylight hours only! Don's Market was a quieter relief.

C5 at Mesa Grande Control

Lots of lights but nary a parked car at this hour. I opted for some 25 cent/gallon water from the machine. Big mistake, as it was awful warm! Nothing turns the body like electrolyte in warm water. Next time it's the outside tap. Temps were now down to mid-70's as I looked up at the star studded sky. I quickly adjusted the Cygolite for a further-out beam for the upcoming speed run toward Ramona.

Whee was all I could say. Only one car passed and maybe I met 6 others on the way. Plenty of light, nice handling bike and super grippy GrandPrixs made those miles a lot of fun. At night, everything seems faster than it really is.

Short stop at Ramona AM/PM. Been thinking about a bottle of Vitamin Water. $2.49 Nope. Gatorade...$1.89 Sorry. Opted for a Big-Gulp Gatorade for $.99. Filled one bottle and drank the rest. Guy at the counter said it's all overpriced. Temps were now hoovering around 75F. Just right.

Mule Hill To Black Canyon route map

I was feeling good now for 24-sleepless hours. Had only one GU Gel and two bananas along the way. A few hours ago, I was crawling up Highland Valley Road in the heat. Now it's time for some cool payback! Nil traffic, smooth riding and just a few little bumps made the end of the route pleasant. I worked those nice hydraulic brakes real good on the downhills, especially the last twisting descent into San Dieguito Valley. Took is easy on the last few miles of dirt trail, as I kept seeing eyes and little critters running about. Guess the coyotes were looking for a late lunch? Pulled into Chevron as the clerk was a little confused why someone was riding this late (early?). Final water fill and I was off to San Marcos via the Inland Rail Trail.

After a good cleaning, I re-lubed the C5 chain with my usual Beoshield T-9. On Thursday, I rode another Rando route and joined up with the OFR Gruppo for a few miles. The next day, I rode the Cervelo C5 back to Nytro, my "Bike Test" complete.

In the few days, I managed a little over 300 miles on the Cervelo C5. Overall, it handled well, took the sting out of the bumps and the shifting was something else. Hydraulic brakes were superb. All said, it was much better than my present carbon rando ride. I could never get the Fizik Antares Saddle to adjust comfortably, but that could be easily remedied with your favorite saddle.

Check out the Route Video for more C5 & route details:


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Crusin' The OC - Bike Path Heat Adventure

Crusin' The OC-Bike Paths route.

66F when I rolled out at 0430 today. Caught the Sprinter train over to Couch St. in Oceanside. Then a few mile warm-up with ample time to check the Pier. Around noon today, the RAAM Teams will set off for their cross country race. Wouldn't that be nice to do some day? That's way out of my reach. Maybe a RandoRAW route would suffice instead?

Chatted with Point Loma Keith in the parking lot, before the group started off. Mel Cutler came down from LA yesterday for the ride. Sam Thomas from Fallbrook, Dan Phillips with ride in from his Oceanside home. Troy Buss from Carlsbad was to meet us up in Dana Point. After lots of chit-chat, we rolled out at 0600, anticipating a warm riding day in inland Orange County, CA.

Passing thru the Marine Base, traffic was nil. Much different than at the same time on a weekday. Stopped off at San Onofre Campground bathroom #1, the last one northward. For some reason, this one is always open year-round. Trestles Path brought the usual multitude of surfers carrying their boards. Watch out for those swinging tail rudders!

San Clemente town was a pleasant ride thru... guess it's still too early for the coffee shop dwellers on the main drag thru town. Temps were really nice as we passed thru Doheny Park parking lot/bike path. Sam pointed out where he went down after hitting a speed bump a while back. OUCH! Troy was waiting at the Golden Lantern intersection. We opted for a Dana Point bathroom break, where Keith took forever. Next up was the short, steep Cove Road.

The gruppo soon made it's way along the overview bike path. Looking down on a few new beach homes under construction. $5mil and up there! After a short loop-around, the route hits Salt Creek Bike Trail. After leaving Sea Terrace Park, this skirts a nice golf course as it climbs inland. If you're not familiar with all these bike paths, it's best to plug the route into your Garmin type computer, or you might miss a turn.

Keith lost one of his lenses somewhere. Maybe you'll find it?

We were soon off on Niguel road for a short downhill run before turning into Irvine Park. They have a lake there called Sulfur Springs. Must be some history there with that name. Soon we were on the Aliso Creek Trail headed northward. Moulton Pkwy. took us to the JIB Control stop. Mel loaded up with a jumbo egg sandwich, while the rest of us were loaded and ready to go. Keith had lost one of his lenses somewhere while putting on his mirror... great photo-op there!

After a slash on roads, we jumped on San Diego Bike Path westward. Not even close to the city of San Diego, so don't know why they named it after the San Diego River Channel? Harvard Ave. took us northward again on Como/Peters Cyn Bike Path. Made a loop over to Irvine Trail, which eventually led us to Jamboree Road. Then it's a climb up to the 1/2-way point at Chapman Chevron/Subway Control.

Several TT cyclists there hanging around in the shade. So did we. Dan wasn't feeling that great and opted to leave early for the long haul down Santiago Cyn. Troy, Sam & I soon followed suit. Keith & Mel left later. Temps were supposed to be real warm today, but with the breeze, didn't feel that hot. We had a lengthy regroup at Cook's Corner. I managed to ride over and get some footage of  "Harley Town".

Aliso Creek Trail is a nice downhill ride, passing over several bridges and lots of shade on our way southeast. We exited the Trail near Laguna Hill High School and after a climb or two, made our way onto Forbes Trail. They have added a new section of smooth Bike Path. This soon leads cyclists to believe that they can miss all the local traffic and the Mission Viejo Station. Not so, as I re-conned the Trail to dirt and a big fence! Regroup at the local shops. where Sam pick up some caffeine/nuts & Dan water to wash away his stomach problems. Keith & Mel rode past on a mission. We soon followed and joined up again on the San Juan River Trail. Next stop was Dana Point.

Dan wasn't feeling it at Cook's Corner, but came on strong later!

Now well over 100 miles, we said our good-byes to Troy at Lantern Park. and soon flew on the Bikeway toward San Clemente. Sam had thoughts about jumping on wheel of a electric bike, but backed off. Group made good time thru the heavy traffic of San Clemente town. The race was on after Trestles, as Dan was getting his legs back again. I chatted with a guy riding a MTB near San Onofre Plant. He used to be really large, but for years I would occasionally meet him riding his bike from San Clemente down to Las Pulgas 3x per week. He since has lost lots of fat and has a new MTB!

Final regroup at Campground bathroom #1. We watered up and told a few stories. Then it was off to the races toward the finish. I rode with Mel as we made our way thru the Camp and back to Oceanside again. He stopped off at the LaQuinta Inn to pick up his bag before hopping the next Metro Train back to LA land. After a little little chat with the Randos in the parking lot, I was off back to San Marcos.

The day wasn't as hot as the forecast predicted. With a light breeze and afternoon clouds, the ride was quite pleasant as temps only reached the mid-90's.

Route Video

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FIX MY BIKE Populaire-RAAM Start

Route map for our Oceanside start, FIX MY BIKE Route today.

Today was rando Sam's birthday AND the start of RAAM/RAW riders from Oceanside on their hard quest to Durango, Colo OR Annapolis, MD. I thought it might be a good idea to combine an early rando route with the RAAM send off. Last year we did a similar ride and managed to just barely make the RAAM start at noon. A little wiser this time, the route was changed and we did a reverse course this year. Arrived back in Oceanside before 11:00, which gave us plenty of time to browse around in the pits.

Rando Sam Thomas had a birthday today... Flag Day too! Joining Sam were Keith Olsen from Point Loma and John Fry from San Marcos. Of course, I was there too, with GoPro & old Canon PowerShot hand-held camera to catch the action.

 The temps were perfect for riding today. Sunshine would have been nice, but overcast followed us the entire route.
Sam set an early birthday tempo, blasting down the coast @ 20mph, leaving a wake of passed riders and ladies on cruiser bikes. Welcome stop at Solana Donuts. They only have Red Velvet on Saturdays now. Bummer. Sam grabbed some donut holes and I a cake donut to eat along the way.

Massive traffic after Rancho Santa Fe. Cars heading to the coast and work in San Diego. Glad we were going the other way today. I rode with Keith up Del Dios and past the dam. Water was all green with springtime algae growth. Not looking good at all. Back way into San Marcos for a stop at our favorite 7-Eleven. Too bad no bathrooms there for randos. Keith managed to dump water on the sidewalk to feed the ants, while he poured a double RedBull into his bottles. Hope that helps!

Managed a few action shots of RAAM riders at the Pier.

We did take the climbing way to Bonsall via N. Twin Oaks Valley Road. That was peaceful enough. Not so with Gopher Cyn. Road and increased traffic. Sam blistered the pace and we were quickly past all that and on the quiet Little Gopher Cyn. Road. Later on we did manage more easy hi-speeds along Hwy. 76 to the San Luis Rey Bike Trailhead. A stop a Mance Buchanan Park for water refill and time for a photo-op of our bikes.

Keith set up the first pull on the Bike Path westward with John doing the latter damage into the finish. I did manage a few nice shots along this section which I included in the route video. After the finish, we went over to the RAAM Start at the Oceanside Pier. The pits are the best place to be pre-race. Riders & crew are buzzing all over the place. At noon, it was over to the starting line to watch a few solos and teams leave the pleasant temps for punishment in the desert. I left a little early to ride down to Encinitas to get a new Shimano 6701 bike chain. (Of course, back-ordered again!)

Sam looked like he had a good ride. Later he was going out to a movie with the Ms. Nice way to spend a birthday! Keith & John hung around for a while, before heading home and prepping for our scheduled hot Permanent ride up thru Orange County on Saturday. (RAAM Team Start Day too!)

Ride Video With A Few RAAM Hi-Lites


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Ranchos, NCCC & Lake Henshaw Randos

Lake Henshaw Century route we rode today.

Weather check before I left home indicated chance of a shower toward the mtns. Like a ding-dong, I strapped on a rain jacket to my HB bag, just in case.  Also the recent cool front indicated a 3-layer top and no leg covers. Arm warmers over my long sleeve layer came off real quick as early skies were threatening but no rain drops for us today.

Posted this route up last week on the SDRando forum and response was lite. Osvaldo came up from San Diego and was on fire most of the day. He brought a new riding friend along, Milton on a red Fuji.  Our Albany friend Sam Thomas... now almost retired...dropped in from Fallbrook and was plagued all day with cassette problems on the steeper climbs. John Fry took a few days off from running to join us and was giving fueling advice to newbie. Usual others were busy or the route had too much climbing for them.

We were off rolling on Mission Ave at 0700. Osvaldo shortly turned around and picked up his buddy Milton, who was a minute too late for the start. They would track us down before Escondido. Easy riding thru town as it's flat and no school today. Saw a large group of riders ahead turn south on Andreason. Never figured out who they were. Might have been from CSUSM.

First climb of the day up Valley Center Road, passed a rider in red. Sam seemed to know him and they chatted a while before he dropped back. Osvaldo, Milton & John cleared the hill in good order while I was sucking wind already. Regroup before the Woods Valley turn.

Decent pace line before the construction zone flagman. Always something going on Woods Valley Rd. Scenic for sure, but traffic makes it sometimes tough riding. Easy blast down Rincon Grade to Harrah's Casino. We took the road and stayed away from the "bike lane". 7-Eleven is a premier rando stop. Even the bathrooms are clean! A few NCCC long riders came in while we were getting ready to leave.

Older pic shows Sam, Bill, Mac & Keith on Mesa Grande climb.

John & I were pacing up Hwy. 76 grade as the others were out ahead. A few of the elite NCCC riders came flying as we approached Henshaw and proceeded to track us up the road. Group of 10 Rancho racers passed as we started the Mesa Grande climb. I was looking for air and John Fry was following close in. We cleared Sam who was doing zig-zags up the steep stuff due to cassette slippage. After the INFO regroup, Sam joined up as we pacelined into Don's Market. The Ranchos, NCCC & us few randos were all together as we fueled in Santa Ysabel before noon.  Had a chat with Robert Abrahim and Tony Long, among others. Ranchos left first and we followed a bit later.

We had just chatted about a nice pace-line into the WSW winds buts Sam was soon on his own off the front. A little coolish at the higher elevations today but that soon changed as we tracked downward toward Ramona via Old Julian Hwy. Another quick trip and a back alley brought us into JIB, where the vagrants hang around counting their coins on the outside tables. Water refill, bathroom break and we were shortly off into the headwinds under warming skies.

Several nice pace-lines till we hit the rollers where Sam & I took off. We know every hill & vale here and soon lost touch with the others. We pulled off before the Highland Valley twisting downhill as John indicated maybe Milton had a flat. Several passing NCCC riders verified this. Ten minutes later, we were back together on the downhill and soon lumbering along HVRoad into the headwind.

We brushed by the Chevron en-route and split at Citracado Ave. with most clinging to the route up steepish Gamble Lane, while I showed Sam (cassette problems) the longer bike path route and finally a regroup on Country Club Dr. for the relaxing ride in to the finish.

Weather displayed clear skies and much warmer after the Highland Valley Road plunge.

With the headwinds, 1 flat tire, shifting problems and multiple stops, 8:31 was a decent time on this route today.

Lake Henshaw Century Video


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Ursa Minor To San Juan Capistrano

Ursa Minor route we rode today

Had a little rando ride today, doing the Ursa Minor ( 209km/130mi) with others in the group. Weather was overcast the whole day and not a bit of sunshine on us. Nice group of eight randos managed to do some damage.

-Sandy Aniya, still concerned about his "Top To Bottom" Brevet being cut from the SDRando Calendar (all others were also dropped from the list - No RBA)!

-John Fry, a few days off from running, was Mr. Steady while riding and climbing today.

-Keith Olsen, laid back from cycling some these days, as his garage cleaning duties surfaced.

-Mac Imacseng, looking for a reason to ride more and retire from his Acupuncture business.

-Greg Armstrong, mixing it up on the road from his normal strong dirt MTB activities

-Ben Hain, always looking for a fast pace and maybe he could log a few more traffic tickets today?

-Greg (lightbelt) Sherman, aero deep-dish wheels & didn't need his lightbelt today

-Kelly DeBoer , had a  decent ride today till the long, back hurting Champagne section

Left in a timely fashion from the friendly 7-Eleven, where they know to give us receipts for the paltry items we buy for "proof of passage". Convenient rando pace leaving San Marcos and the nice short cut over to Del Dios Highway via Country Club Dr. Group stayed together thru the rollers past Rancho Santa Fe town and plenty of vocal warnings about the next control at the bottom of the hill approaching Coast Hwy.

Control Stop Solana Donuts had recent remodel.

1st Control/Donut Shop didn't have any Red Velvet. I think they stopped making them for us. Sandy was nice and bought donuts for most of us. Mac lives close and joined the group for donuts before the ride north. Public bathroom and water at the shop's sink make this a nicer stop now. Ben & the Gregs were mostly off the front as we picked up the pace northward along the coast. Encinitas was quiet this time of morning but we did latch onto several riders as we picked our way to Oceanside.

Entering Oceanside, I made sure I briefed the group on the recent wave of police tickets on cyclists near the pier. Ben had just entered his personal info online for Base entry and was a little worried if they would let him pass. No problem as we passed into Camp Pendleton. I managed a roadside porta-potty stop and joined up with Sandy to later meet up with the group at the San Onofre Campground bathroom for water & stuff.

Decided to follow route thru San Clemente and a few red lights broke up the group. Ben had a flat tire entering Doheny Park. After a chat, the group continued on, as Keith & Sandy would pick him up and show him the way along the San Juan Bike Path to the control in San Juan Capistrano. We rolled into Mickie D's and ordered up. Quite a bit later, the others came in. Ate my banana and had a 79 cent cone as Keith ordered out his fav. Kids Meal Deal! We hung around for a while, checking out a ladies rusted hybrid bike.

Group split with Greg, Ben & Greg leaving SJC earlier, while the rest of us would later stop by to visit our rando, K-Hound buddy, Mike Shaw at his house, just off route before Bonsall. Mac, Keith, John, Sandy & I soon headed west into the normal headwind on the SJC Bike Path. A slight push helped us make good time up thru San Clemente and return via the Camp. Entering Oceanside, Mac wanted to split off route and head home to check his dogs. We talked him out of that idea, as Keith volunteered to give him a ride back to Solana Beach at the finish. A stronger wind moved us right along the San Luis Rey Bike Path. Sandy took over for the lead out to Mike's house.

Sandy snapped smiling Mike at home with the gruppo!

Mike is recovering from his recent shoulder surgery & looked good in his flashy blue plaid shirt! Mike has been doing lite exercising and trying to keep in some cycling shape. Soon we were off for the Bonsall Control.
Mike's Zesty Retirement Ride Video

Longish stop at McDonald's as if no one wanted to leave. Another nice tailwind push along Camino del Rey and no traffic to notice. Shorty climb split the group. On Champagne, I was sucking air as Mac & John easily rode away. No regroup on top as we were trying to beat the hour mark to the finish. That we did by a few minutes. The first group was in almost an hour earlier! 

Good ride and we got to visit Mike Shaw. too!

Ursa Minor Route Video

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I Lost My Beast, Joe Got A Indian!

New owner's picture from Flagstaff ride.

April passed & I've been riding more each week. Most of the month saw me riding 3x Permanents per week... shorter routes from 63 to 100 miles per. Mid April I tapered off some due to selling the C'dale Beast  MTB 27.5+ to someone in Arizona.

The well staged Craiglist Ad brought several calls.. the normal lo-ballers and junk trade stuff. One lady from Arizona showed interest and was coming out on Saturday, April 9th. Couldn't get off work so it was back & forth till she got her PayPal account set up. Finally had Joe Morgan at Nytro ship it out via FedEX the next week. They have double thick boxes that are "oversize". I noted all the wrapped parts got stuffed in good order. Upon arrival, fork & wheels were re-installed and all went well. Beast rode the Whiskey Run in Flagstaff the next weekend. The new owner loves that bike!

Without extras, Joe's new Indian looked like this

Followed up that slo-ride week with a 4-banger week. Weather cleared a bit so I hit the Bike Paths, Peet's, checked out 11-Cities and also Walked The Dog down to Ocean Beach. On one of those shorties, I stopped by Nytro and Joe was all amped up over his new Indian Motorcycle. He and April were planning on lots of cruising now! On the home front, I suggested to Zaharah about making some bike scarfs for them (matching the Indian moto colors, of course). She rounded up some yarn and was off to the races on the design. They worked out good with April getting a matching cap. Good stuff.

Zaharah used "Starry Night" for Joe's scarfs

Weird weather pattern of late, so clearer days dictate the ride schedule. May started out good riding a Permanent  with Sam Thomas & Keith Olsen. Pre-ride, I gave Keith a good book called "Killing Reagan" & a 10 pak of SDRando Cards. Felt OK on the ride, but limited breathing with the mini brace. Took it off part way thru and could get a full breath again before chugging up Champagne climb. Main topic of conservation was the recent RBA quit. Don't know if any of us really understood what was going on or not. My feeling was that there were other home factors involved in this. I'll need to get back the new, full box of SDRando Cards soon or they'll be lost in the maze.

So. Santa Fe, Damon Ave. & Morena Blvd had construction delays.

Followed that Monday ride with a full Permanent around University Loop on Wednesday. Hooked up along the coast with Chris. He recognized me and we rode down to Del Mar Dog Beach, where he did a u-turn back north. Chris works at the Encinitas Animal Shelter and now is remodeling his house close by. I met him years ago down around Claimont Mesa during a rando ride while he was commuting up to work. I think he recognized my RUSA jersey!

Santa Fe Street is a mess with pipeline/steel plate construction as is Morena Blvd. Promised I wouldn't return this way and opted for the inland route via QUALCOMM bike path. Slight headwind past MCAS Miramar, but it was warming up to my liking. Felt good fighting the Black Mtn. Rd. climb and others to finish off the route. Only a 2-Tylenol day.

Some off & on rain for the next few days, so I guess it's time to replace the aging zipper in my home-made reflective vest. Also need to add the front 3-M reflective striping.
Homemade Reflective Vest INFO

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Temecula 600 Flashback

2011 Temecula 600 Route

Lot's of discussion on the SDrando blog of late. Something about some rider not wearing a helmet while riding in Brevets... also the planned 600K this month was changed to the Temecula 600* route of years past. That got me to thinking about the memorable ride I did in 2011. That was the 600 we lost Jim Swarzman on.

Around 11 riders were at the hotel in Temecula for the start. Must have been an early start, because I'm thinking I left San Marcos at 0100 for the ride up Old Hwy. 395 to get there. Way too much climbing on the way, but I did manage to time it with 15 minutes to spare! 3 riders from San Fran Randos there, including my buddy Joseph Maurer. Weather was perfect as we climbed out of Temecula in the dark.

Carl Anderson
Adam Bickett
Kelly DeBoer
Chris Hanson
Nicole Honda
Joseph Maurer
Andi Ramer
Mike Sturgill
Tim Sullivan
Jim Swarzman
Ann Trason

Nicole Honda couldn't wait to find a tree as we turned south on Sage Road. We had a nice little group riding up thru Aguanga as Joseph was really hurting keeping the pace. Jim, Andi, Tim, Nicole, Chris Hanson, Joseph and me were still together at the Stagecoach Control in the desert. Adam Bickett was in race mode and long gone by this time. group broke up as we climbed up Hwy. 8 toward Jacumba in the sun. I was hanging around with Joseph as we made our way along Hwy. 94 to San Diego. Andi was chatting away while riding with Tim out ahead as Nicole, Chris & Jim had their group just ahead of us.

Rando & good guy Jim Swarzman

Riding along the coast  northward in the dark, I was waiting for my riding buddy Joseph at the top of the Del Mar hill. He buzzed by and disappeared off route to the Del Mar Fairgrounds! I later managed to wait around for him entering Encinitas. Riding together, we came upon the crash scene on Hwy. 101, just north of Encinitas Blvd. We waited around as they took Jim away as Nicole went with them. Joseph, Chris & I were in a daze as we later decided to carry on and cut off route around the blocked road and took a nap later in Oceanside.

I think the only words said for the last 130 miles to the finish were when Chris ask: " Anybody have any Chap-Stick?" Cycling in zombie mode we made our way on SART, thru Corona and back to Temecula. We were the last riders to arrive, but we finished! Jim would have wanted that. I stuffed my bike into Josephs little VW for the welcome ride back home. I was done!

Later on I managed to work up a short video on Jim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOfnjLcYf_8

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* Since this writing, the Temecula 600 has been changed back to the Hotel Circle 600... April 23. Go figure?