Bike Path X Two Populaire

Older shot of Bruce Tipton on his Kestrel racer

Usually start this route well before 0600 and most times on a Thursday. Why? If I time things right, I can hook up with the OFR riders from Magee Park in Carlsbad at 0830. Today they are riding south somewhere. They will regroup @ Swami's in Encinitas for the final decision. Time for the Madison SS. See what I can hurt today. Also looking for the elusive chain oil this trip.

Felt a little stiff as I climbed up Centre City Pkwy. The nice long downhill on Champagne Blvd. is always nice to stretch out on. Had some rhythm on Camino Del Rey crusing at 18mph.  Did my normal stop at the Bonsall McDonald's, where I refilled my solo bottle with ice. Got a 40 cent sweet for a receipt. Riding past the freshly replanted tomato fields along Hwy. 76, passed through a radar trap. Officer said I was going 17mph. I told him "I'm cooked!". He laughed at that.No buddy system on the SLR today. No headwind either. I did turn off onto Benet Street and took Hwy. 76 to Canyon Dr. Nasty uphill for my gearing, but I finally made it up. Cruised on Bush St. and stopped by Bussey's Auto. Had to drop off some WD-40 Dry Chain lube packet to Dan. Didn't stay long as he was busy and it was 0810 by now. Took the lite traffic route through Oceanside downtown. Arrived at Magee Park at 0826. Only Kiwi Stuart and this new girl Lisa were there.

Lisa was pumping her tires and getting ready. Left a little late and thus missed the pickup on Poinsettia Lane too. Finally cranked er up and arrived at Swami's. I stretched out some and chatted with Bruce Tipton. Troy said they were going via Manchester to Rancho Bernardo somewhere. I figured I would ride with them and then hook up with the route somewhere. I drifted back from the main group and rode with Bruce on his carbon Dura/Ace Focus. He had a flat, so I yelled at the back of the group. Held his bike in a sandy roadside spot as he made the change. The D/A Cassette and chain were a greasy mess! Soon, Steve Ring came up and stopped. He got a late start and was trying to catch up. We chatted as Bruce was having quite a time getting his wheel off. Finally Steve took off the tire. They couldn't find the cause of the flat. Bruce finally got the tire on the rim and shot it up with a large cartridge. Soon the foldable bead popped off the rim! Didn't blow the tube though! Bruce let out some air and I rolled the tire on the roadway. He tried to refill but his new cartridge and device wouldn't work. Finally, I had enough and ask if I could fix it. Got out my pump/CO2 and got the job done. Wiped down his dirty greasy rim and tire. 20 minutes later he was back on the road. Good job Bruce!

A few things at Nytro this trip. Chain oil ampules on bottom.

I decided to reverse course and go back to Nytro. Got some WD-40 Dry Lube and chatted to Joe about the Cygolite specs. He'll see if he can swing a deal on one of those lights. Got a few other goodies and a handful of samples and away I went, eating my carry-along sandwich. Not much going on up to Del Mar and around the SR-56 Bike Path. Never did see the OFR Gruppo again, as they were supposed to be out this way somewhere. Finally got back to San Marcos just after high noon.

Lots of things going on on this short ride. Hope Bruce T. learns how to remove and replace his rear tire soon. Also his 700x23 tire was over filled with the full big CO2 cartridge. Got in a nice ride, was able to ride with the ODF Group and picked up some chain lube. Not bad!

Clear skies
Hi: 78   Lo: 63
81 miles

-randorides

Aztec Century...A helping hand

Aztec Century-R Map with Oceanside start

Left the house at 0405 at caught the first Sprinter train to the coast. Got off at Crouch Street station and rode up Canyon Street, then over and down to the start at Benet St & Hwy. 76. Left there at 0500 and headed for the SLR Bike Trail. Had my arm warmers on, but soon took them off as the Garmin temp was 67F! Several dudes in all black jogging the trail in the dark early hours. Be nice if they wore some white or at least had a rear blinkie on! Rode down main street in Oceanside on Coast Hwy. 101. All green lights and no traffic at all. I wasn't in any rhythm at all so far. Tire pressure on the Fuji was lowered for this route. 90/80 psi works good on these sometimes not so smooth roads.

A few commuters were cycling along the coast at this hour. Racer guy with a bright light was trying to chase me down. Caught me at a Encinitas stop light. Followed him southward and caught up at one of the mini hills along the way. Chatted a bit and noticed he had a Niterider rechargeable headlamp. He soon turned off before the Del Mar climb. Did get mixed up with some SD Tri club riders doing hill repeats up Torrey Pines! Big ring at 10mph was enough to start passing them. One tri-guy said he didn't like the repeats at all. I admire their training skills as they turned around at the top. Right A. tendon was bothering me.. must have been the big gear climbing? Chased down a MTB rider and his riding bud on a green cannondale roadie bike. Chatted a bit before they turned off down to LaJolla Shores.

Normal ride through Rose Canyon, Santa Fe Street past Mtn. Bike Shop and the loop up to Morena Blvd. I don't take the usual route through here to Mission Bay Dr. and all the traffic anymore. Jog on India St. and soon a quiet Friars Road. The malls at Fashion Valley were quiet at this hour. Traffic was nill. Even the slog up to SDSU on Monty Road was quiet. Only a few groups in for Fall Orientation and the campus tour as I rode to the McDonald's Control. A little after 0800, so I got some ice for my right tendon and had a parfait yogurt with a gel pak on top! Stayed too long after refilling my bottles with water and ice. Return trip stated with a nice fast downhill into traffic ahead.

2-81mg Aspirin for the guy

Met a couple of SDSU students on older road bike heading to Mission Bay. They tried to amp it up at the turn onto Friars Rd. That didn't last long as they tired out and dropped back real quick. Seems as though I had a tailwind going up Morena Blvd. this trip. Asian couple riding up Rose Canyon Bike Path. Lady was dragging behind and trying to shift on the last climb. Riding with her, I suggested she shift before the steeper climbs. Her chain and drive-line were all rusted on the old MTB. Turned onto Gilman and started the climb. Then it happened!

1-.3mg Nitro to ease the pain

Climbing the curve on Gilman, there was a man lying alongside the road. Another cyclists pulled-up and called 911. I talked to the guy who was winching in pain holding his chest. He said he had a heart attack! I asked him a few questions and calmed him down, then went to my bag and gave him 2 - 81mg aspirin with water from my bottle. Also a Nitro pill for under his tongue. In about 10 minutes the paramedics arrived with a fire truck. They blocked the road off from traffic and attended to him. I explained to one paramedic what had transpired. He said what I gave him might have made a difference. After a bit, I cycled up the hill with the other cyclists who was going to work at Scripps Research Lab on Torrey Pines Road. Good job!

I was feeling good as I was climbing up to Del Mar, that is, until I noticed a racer was closing fast! I amped it up a bit to no avail. This guy was flying. We chatted at the light as he sped away. Hooked up with another rider and rode to Encinitas, where I stopped at Nytro for some chain oil. Joe wasn't there, so I filled my bottle and sat outside. Looked like Jimbo Wisener across the street northbound, so I chased him down. Jim and Bill Stevenson are back from their big Markeville Death Ride last Saturday. Jim outlined the details of their 4 day trip. Jim turned at LaCosta Ave as I soloed back to Oceanside. Stopped at the Transit Center to renew my transit pass and headed to the finish. Then cycled uphill in reverse of earlier route to the station and hopped the Sprinter back to San Marcos.

Weather was nice today, cloudy all day. No riding rhythm all day. Hi-lite was helping the guy by the Gilman roadside. Right achilles tendon was a little off all day. Finished up in good order with all the extra stops today. Leaving earlier made for less traffic and red-lights

Cloudy skies
Hi: 78   Lo: 67
97 miles

-randorides 

Sandia Creek Century (Night Ride)

Basic route map for the Sandia Creek Century

"Supermoon" tonight! That means the moon is full and is closest to earth at only 221,000+ miles. That's 20,000 closer than normal, thus the bright shine on us! We left promptly at 1800 from San Marcos 7-Eleven. I handed Dave Horwitt and Mike Shaw some WD-40 Dry Lube ampules for future carry along on rando rides. Sandy Aniya and Keith Olsen rounded out the group.

Left slowly riding through San Marcos. Busy intersection at Rancho Santa Fe never materialized. Faster tempo as we neared LaCosta Control. In and out in 5 minutes. Sandy & Mike set a fast tempo around 22 mph to the coast. Still cranking 'er up northbound amid some traffic through Carlsbad town. No stopping at Pappy's on Cleveland St. Nice steady 18 mph paceline on the SLR to the College Ave. Park. We filled bottles and "lighted up" there.

Started to get darker as we rode up Mission Rd. toward Bonsall. Heaver traffic along this stretch before the turn on Green Canyon Road. Much more peaceful and quiet here. Still the nasty downhill turn from Reche Road to Oak Park with the presence of a few cars in the area. Dave rode ahead up to Mission Ave., while Mike and I joined up chatting. Keith and Sandy rode together. Old 395 was a similar scenario. Finally had a regroup along Rainbow Canyon Road before the downhill to Temecula. That went smoothly. A wide spread light works very well for those fast, curvy downhills. We opted for the "back way" into the Carl's Jr. in lieu of the Cue Stop at the Shell Station. A whole lot of cars on Hwy. 79 this time of night. Nice to have missed all that while riding through the "neighborhood" and local sidewalks instead!

"Supermoon" brightness lights the way tonight!

Service was poor at Carl's Jr. I opted out for a quick Ice Cream Oreo Sandwich. Too cold inside, so I moved my things outside and sat along the windows. Mike came outside and indicated that Keith wanted to bail out. I chatted with Keith to see what was up. He sort-of-indicated a little of this and that. Maybe he would stay overnight here in Temecula and ride back tomorrow morning. It was almost already morning! Said he was bloated up from overeating OR had bonked OR didn't feel well OR was just tired from "over-training"! Huh? Gave him a Gas-X and told him to "straighten up" while riding to release pressure on the stomach. We overstayed there, but finally left amid a near clear lane for traffic under I-15!

Rolled down Front Street. Keith was asking about where is the Roadway Inn. Others were pointing it out to him as we turned for a "short cut" to miss the Olde Town traffic late at night. Guess Keith had a change of heart as we started up the Ranco California climb. I rode with Keith as the others rode at their own pace. Nice and cool on this climb vs 90's heat a few weeks ago! Regroup at the turn to Sandia Creek Road. Mostly downhill on now with a few shorter climbs. We call Sandy the "Downhill Specialists", as he'll take off when the road goes downward. After the " Private Road Ahead" sign, the road pitches up to 17%. Dave took off ahead as we all followed him up. Regroup at the top with a few words of the real hi-speed downhill ahead with some rough roads. That didn't happen, as the road had been patched and repaired the week before. It's still a dangerous section at night riding at speed. Rolled along the Santa Margarita river bottom. I felt a little cooler here as the temp dropped to 61F. Several cars were parked at the trail-head to the river pool. You could hear them talking as we rode by, separated by trees and bushes. One could only guess what they were doing at the "nudie pool"!

Crashing into this sign woke us up!

Soon enough, we had a regroup before the climb up to Fallbrook. Dave and I rode up together. Group decided not to stop in Fallbrook, but instead stop at the next control in Bonsall. Sandy & Mike set a nice fast pace down Mission Road and through Hellers Bend Rd. Very quiet through there makes an enjoyable ride. Someone rode over a "Wet Floor" sign at the Bonsall AM/PM. The noise woke us up! Had some fun with the lonely teller in there. Hung around outside and gulped the Mountain Dew and Cokes to give us a caffeine charge for the final push to the finish. Dave and Mike set a fast tempo along the quiet Camino del Rey. Dave led out up Champagne Blvd climb. Sandy & Mike rode together. Regrouped at the top. Dave put on his long pants, as it would be a little cooler on the Centre City downhill. At this time of morning, traffic was nil as we cruised through the old Country Club area on our way to the finish. The 7-Eleven was empty, didn't even see a cashier in there. Chatted a bit about the Bonsall 200 Brevet next weekend. Toss up as to whom is going. We'll see. Rode home feeling good.

Decent weather tonight for this ride. The "supermoon" helped with the dark road visibility. Everyone's lights seemed adequate for road illumination and rear visibility. Mikes new RUSA vest bested the rest for rear illumination.Seems like all riders had an agreeable time.

Clear skies
Hi: 73   Lo: 61
99 miles

-randorides

Rainbow 1.24 Permanent +

Mist shrouded Couser Canyon climb today.

Working on a great local ride for RUSA. I think I will call it "San Marcos Century". Wow, that's original? Needed a few pictures to fill in a video to send in with the paperwork. (It's great to make up a route video before the route is approved, that way the "RUSA Perminista" can get a birds eye view of the route before approval. Haven't done it this way in the last 3 routes. In fact, haven't done those route video even after riding the route!) Why not do this ride and jog over and get a few extra pics? Same start and finish routes. Good idea. Right?

65F temp outside this AM. No need for any extra clothing on this ride. Left the house at 0430 and rode over to the start. Real nice to have a route that starts in the same town as you live! Riding the Fuji Stealth today with all the climbing. Mounted up a solo Planet Bike 2W headlight and the PB strong rear blinkie for the first few hours ot this route. Wore my worst set of bibs. These were caught in the washer agitator several years ago and the straps got chewed up. The pad is in good shape, but the spandex is showing through in several butt crack places. I make up for this by wearing a long jersey, large size. It covers the rear stuff real well. Brought along a packet of Chamois Creme. These bibs tuck up and rub in the left crotch area. I usually carry a packet of this creame anyway. Wearing the several year old version of the NCCC jersey. Mostly yellow and white with some shades of blue. Good choice for a warm day of climbing.

One of several neat signs from ride today!

Left the 7-Eleven at 0500 sharp. Headed NE under overcast skies and misty shrouded hills around. No traffic to speak of. Too dark for pictures to reveal much. No signs of the sun till after climbing up Circle R. Finally blew my lungs clear after that climb. I usually keep my front & rear lights on flash through here with the curves. Avocado pickers were out in force on both sides of the Couser Canyon Rd. climb. Avocados lying all along the roadside. More foggy mist at the top and down the other side to Hwy. 76. Just overcast on the climb up Rice Canyon to Rainbow. Nice ride through here and I stopped to take several unusual pictures for the video.

Took a few pics of Rainbow Oaks Market and used the bathroom next door. Rinsed out my rag and wiped my bike down a little. Fun part of the route next. Did some rolling video down Oak Park and Green Canyon Rd. Tried to catch a smooth section for that. Stopped at the Bonsall McDonalds for a Parfeit yogurt. Girl never gave me back my 11 cents in change. She didn't understand English so I let it go. As I was sitting there, Shawn from NCCC club came it. We chatted a bit. He was going over to the church and ride with the Pete Penseyres group today. They leave at 0900.I went over there and chatted a bit. Pete is a Hall Of Fame rider of RAAM and his brother Jim is quite a rider too. Rode with them down Old River Road. They soon turned off as continued on the route.

Pete Penseyres Group meets Wednesday at 9 in Bonsall

SLR was quiet today, with no one to hook up with into the headwind from the coast. Also no detour at Benet street either! Rolled down the coast and stopped at the Carlsbad 7-Eleven for a control check and Smores Ice Cream Sandwich. Rode over to the strand. Sat there and viewed the ocean and lots of joggers, cyclists and surfers. Low tide under clear skies now. Stretched out before riding southward with a slight tailwind. Kept passing this middle age lady cyclist. In retrospect, should have given her a rando card. Stopped at Swami's for a bathroom break. The bathroom there still hasn't been retrofitted with a roof yet. Outside porta-potty was lined up. Forget this as I cycled south to Cardiff Beach. Nice cycling along here with the views and tailwind. Bathroom at Cardiff was a mess! Took a few pics of this for the archives.

Did a zig-zag and took a few pics along Loma Santa Fe for controls. Soon I was back on route headed for UTC. Short stop there and the usual Sorrento Valley traffic/rail/turn mess. Felt OK riding the El Camino Real section and after San Dieguito Road, went up to Ranco Santa Fe town. Took a few "ride through" photos of the turns there before doing the Del Dios ride past the Lake Hodges Dam. Single MTB rider was on the trail there. Full suspension bike. I remember lots of good riding along there in the dirt.

Surfer's Delite: Shit covered toilet at Cardiff State Beach!

Instead of the usual turn on Citracado Pkwy., I opted for a straight ride to the Wendy's new route control at Home Depot Center on Valley Pkwy. Seemed hot there. Didn't have any "outside the counter" cola or ice machines either. Sat outside eating my Frosty. Added a gel pak to make a ice cream sunday! Did the triple Harmony Grove turns and soon I was into a headwind through the fire area in the canyon. Plodded up to San Elijo for the Chevron Control stop. Drinks were really expensive there. Ended up with a 99cent Gatorade from the machine. I snuck in a Cherry Cola sip and filled the bottles with ice.

New route goes reverse and up the San Elijo climb to San Marcos. Bottome starts out a 9% and slowly tapers off to 6% at the top near the fire station. 50-mph downhill on the other side past the CSUSM Campus. Barham Dr. was quiet this time of day. Soon rolled into the 7-Eleven Finish in San Marcos.

Good day on the road. Ended up with 222 pictures and 38 video clips for the new route. Need to put together some time to complete the project. Legs felt sore at times, needed a lot of on-bike stretching, but good on the last 3 mile climb up San Elijo Rd.

Misty overcast early, clear later
Hi: 91  Lo: 65 (In-shade Garmin temps)
125 miles

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's Populaire

After some WD-40 Dry Lube. Nytro was sold out today!

Tour de France 2nd day! Shortie ride to the bike shop and maybe I can catch a little of Stage 2 on NBC this
afternoon? Switched the HB bag over to the SOMA for todays ride. Planned to arrive in Encinitas well after 10:00 for the bike shop replenish of supplies. After a little of this and that, returned home to get my mini backpack and finally arrived at the 7-Eleven START at 7:20. Already warm at 65F with the humidity over 50% this morning. Wore the classic purple-blue and gold NCCC jersey. One of the older and best designs! Large size, so it hung down a lot. Couldn't put bananas in the pockets on this trip! Larger seat bag held the bananas OK.

Heavier bike felt like it this morning! I stretched out some before leaving, but not enough! "Cycling in mud" climbing up Nutmeg and Centre City Pkwy. No traffic to speak of. Picked up the pace some on Camino del Rey. Nice riding through there. Met several cyclists, one looked like Len Nathe! Stopped at the usual McDonalds to refill the solo bottle with ice and get a Reece piece receipt of .40 cents!

Lezyne XL Superdrive Light ,Good package price

No tailwind westward on Hwy. 76 today. Started to pick up the pace a little (of course on the downhills!). As I turned into the Bike Path entrance at No. Santa Fe St. there was a blue jersey rider doing a U-turn back onto the bike path ahead of me. Probably doing a out and back from Oceanside today. I figured I might catch him later. Soon he latched onto a lime-green helmeted rider ahead and they dueled it out past College and westward on the SLR. I figured I would catch up to them if I kept after it. 18mph wouldn't do it. 19 mph I was starting to close the 100 meter gap a little. Blue jersey rider finally passed the other guy. Limey boy kept working hard to remain close. As they were racing it out, I was still hanging back sucking wind. At 20mph the gap remained the same! I was finally closing @ 21mph! Whew. I caught the lime-green helmeted rider after Douglas Street. He was riding a nice new TREK carbon bike. Said he was working hard trying to catch the other rider! Rode up from Del Mar this morning on a round-trip ride. I suggested I pull him up to the other rider. He complied and I took off. I caught the other rider, but TREK couldn't maintain the pace. Blue jersey was a 25 year old on a older Lemond Titanium bike. Younger guy said he was "racing" the other guy. We chatted a bit @ 22mph, before I went back to the TREK rider. We rode together back to Oceanside. Gave him a rando card as he turned off at Surfrider. I continued on to Carlsbad, where I stopped at 7- Eleven for a receipt. Great workout so far at speed!

Took my Smores and sat along the Carlsbad Strand. Busy today just after the 4th. Lots of cyclists and skin around here. After 10 minutes headed south on 101. Soon these 2 racer girls passed me. I latched on and the race was on. Slight tail wind as one jersey-less stud joined in. Tall and thin, I wished I looked like him! One heavy guy on a new bike tried to keep pace. He had all kinds of electronics on board, surprised he didn't have a TV too! The girls couldn't climb well and Leucadia traffic split us up. I stopped at Nytro for some info and goodies.

Cygolite 800. Good specs with extra battery.

July 4th & 5th Nytro had a big BMC demo day. All these super carbon racers were still stacked downstairs. Also on Saturday the 5th, it was WD-40 demo day too! Seems they sold out the store and warehouse of the nice WD-40 Dry Lube! Just what I was after today. Joe gave me a handful of the small samples to get me through the week. I do carry 2 of these ampules along on each ride, just in case. I also picked up a bag of Carbo-Pro, Shot Bloks, a few Carmel-Salt gels and some Fizz Tabs. I needed some info on a HB battery light... hi-lumen, removable battery, rechargeable with extra battery. Lenzyne and Cygolite were the ones of choice. Best bang for the buck! Now to compare the lumens vs run time, etc. I'll check them out this week. Hope to get a deal on one of those. Lenzyne make only quality stuff.. a bit overpriced. The Cygolite 800 packs a lot of lumens for the money. Need something for the shorter night rides where the dyno hub isn't needed. Also for dirt riding at night.  Put the goodies in my string-backpack and off I went.

I hung around a while before taking off for a stop in Solana Beach 7-Eleven. I see they offer the Vitamin Water in cans now. Nice, but too expensive vs the bottle. Picked up a bunch of wanna-be racers heading to Del Mar. Nice fast pace till we hit the climb. I proceeded ahead through the busy Del Mar and turned off at Carmel Valley Rd. SR-56 Bike path was busy over to Camino del Sur. No stop at Circle K as usual. Rode north to Escondido feeling much better than when I started this late morning. Took the usual route through Escondido and hooked up with the Inland Rail Trail at the Transit Center. No Gamble Lane for me today. It's a nice option for this route! After a short stop for a .20 cent Reese Piece at the San Marcos 7-Eleven, rode home to watch stage 2 of the Tour.

Finally a good workout today after a sluggish start. Nice hi-speed (for me) riding on the SOMA along the SLR and down the coast! Stage 2 of the tour was interesting too as the pros climbed a near 33% grade toward the end! Italian Nibali took it at the end, as the other were looking around and not chasing him. Go figure.

Clear skies
Hi:  88F     Lo: 64
82 miles

-randorides

Ursa Minor Permanent

Planet Bike rear blinkie

Day before July 4th! This should be a great beach day! Was planning to hook up with the OFR Ride Gruppo out of Magee Park at 0830. They were riding north. Just right. I designed this route just for that a few years back. Start temp of 61F in San Marcos. Arm warmers only today! Clipped on the rear Planet Bike Blinkie. Rolled out before 0600. Had to get a few things in San Marcos before the ride, then meet up with Zaharah. Busy morning before I even started.

Rode the same bike set-up as the Tuesday ride, with the exception of re-lubed the chain after cleaning the bike. Seemed to be a lot of cars along Coast Hwy. 101 today. Made the meet-up with OFR just before the 0830 leave time. Not many riders there today. Some new lady Lisa on a older blue Cannondale with a HB bag. Bruce, Tom, Al, Dr. Dan and old guys Alan L and Dale P. Took Pacific St. to Harbor Dr. then through the main Pendleton Gate. I noticed a newer sign that said "Las Pulgas Gate closed to outbound traffic from 0600-0800 daily! Probably open both sides up to incoming base personal those hours.

San Onofre Campground on July 4th! Busy place.

Had a nice pace at the start. Soon Bruce and Al took off up ahead. Tom and I chased them down. Tom couldn't hold the 21 mph pace and dropped back. Regrouped anyway at the Las Pulgas fence. Rolled through the San Onofre Campground and stopped at #11 for refuel There was some bar soap and Old Castle liquid soap at the rear sinks! Nice stuff! I scrubbed up my hands good. Hands get filthy easily while cycling with fingerless gloves. Campground wasn't that full yet for the 4th. A few fully loaded motor homes had already set up shop. Surf School had several campsites with and array of big tents. I cruzed over and checked them out... table tennis set up, triple bar-b-que grills and plenty of picnic tables for group meals. No one around the area today. Must be out surfing?  Racer dude on a green C'dale started to pull the gruppo along. I dropped back with Lisa. Big mess turning onto the Trestles Bike Path. Several guys should have got hit by cars when turning! Came up on a guy on a new rando set up Denali bike. Whole thing looked 3 days old. New green and black kit. Chatted with the rider. Said he was doing a long ride but was studying about randonneuring. I mentioned the PCH group up here in OC. Said he wasn't ready to hold up a group yet! Huh? He crept up to San Clemente on that heavy set-up~!

Trestles nude surfers were moved south to Camp Pendleton!

Gruppo regroup after the bike path. I kept going, as I knew they were discussing where to stop for lunch in San Clemente. I was going to San Juan Cap. for a control stop. Took the back neighborhood route. Thought I was lost by not concentrating on the "Bike Path" signs! Not today and soon I was on the bikeway to Dohney State Beach. Some dude was trying to drop me with a 22 mph lead-out. Not today. He finally let me go on by. The State Beach was already packed with campers. Quite a mess through there. Made my way over to Carl's Jr. for the traditional choc shake. Ate my carry along tuna/cheese sandwich. Shake was too sweet for me. Finished it off anyway and headed back. I might just bump into the gruppo on the way back?

Rode with some guy on a older bike carrying a wheel and 2 Conti tires. Seems he was trying to get his Bianchi back on the road. Lives in San Clemente near Carl's Jr. somewhere. Then came across 2 riding surfers. One had a board on a side bike mount. "Not a bad set up" I told him as we rode along. His brother had his board in a bag slung over his shoulder! Not good as he was weaving all over the place. Chatted a bit then I took off. Long way to go yet.

Dohney State Beach was packed even before the 4th of July!

Rode through the SO Campground SB at a steady 18mph. Had a slight tailwind through here. No stop this trip. I wonder if the gruppo is ahead somewhere? Went through Las Pulgas Gate and the guard said a group of riders passed through 10 minutes ago. I cranked it up a notch. Finally caught them on a climb down the road. Did a sneak up and hooked on. After several miles, they realized I was there. We did a loop around and exited through the Del Mar Gate. No traffic there, but several easy to miss turns.

Gruppo stopped at the coffee shop by Magee Park as I kept riding southward. Thought I would check out Nytro for supplies and save a trip later in the week. No Joe today, so I rode to Solana Beach and did a "route reverse" from there. No cyclists around this time of day, esp on Del Dios climb past the Lake Hodges Dam. Rolled back into San Marcos feeling good for a change. Right A. tendon was a little "ache", but that was it. Good hard riding today. Maybe I was up to 65% now?

Partly cloudy to clear
Hi: 88     Lo: 62
129 miles

-randorides
...

Bike Path X Two Populaire

2008-2010 NCCC Club Jersey

No time to squeeze in the regular longish Permanent today, so I'll leave real early and get back quick on this one! Felt a little sluggish on the ride over. Arm warmers and a sleeveless underlayer. Wore the NCCC yellow and white club jersey. Some day I'll pay the yearly club fees!

Started the ride at 4:08 from the San Marcos 7-Eleven as usual. Surprised it was so foggy. Equipped with one Planet Bike rear blinkie, plenty good enough. Planet Bike 2W headlight. Not that great in the fog. Got to a limited visibility start on Centre City Pkwy. You know, finger wipe the glasses, everything is damp type fog. The minute I cleared Deer Springs Road... bingo, clear! Go figure! Nice and warm too. Start temp was 61 and now it was 66F rolling along Camino Del Rey in the dark. No traffic and I was starting to feel it. I was riding the carbon stealth Fuji and was in the twenties along here. Stopped at the AM/PM for a ice reload and receipt.

Been stopping by this 7-Eleven in Carlsbad lately.

Picked up the pace on Hwy. 76 over to the bike path. Locked in a solid 20 along the SLR. Must have been a tailwind or something. Rode through Oceanside and finally stopped at the 7-Eleven in Carlsbad. Got 2 bananas for $1 there. No bikers out along the coast at 0600. No one to hook up with either. Finally found some racers guys to pull me along to Del Mar, where I cut off and hit the SR-56 Bike Path. Felt good there and rolled into the Camino Del Sur Circle K for a blow. Got some ice and added some freebee Powerade to one bottle. Blue stuff. Sat outside for 10 minutes, looking at all the cars go by.

MTB'ers on Lusardi Loop Trail

Nice riding up Camino Del Sur today. No bike going my way, but did see 2 MTB'er on the Lusardi Loop trail! Wish I was there instead. Looked like they were having
fun. More traffic in Rancho Bernardo. Took the back way through and up to the bridge over Lake Hodges. For some fun, took Citracado under I-15, where it becomes Gamble Lane. Did that loop on Saturday. Felt much better today. Grade is around 17% for Citracado and maybe 16% for Gamble Lane. Took the Inland Rail Trail back to San Marcos and finished up at the 7-Eleven. Got 2 more bananas and headed for home. Restocking the fruit bin!

Started off sluggish and rode high tempo the rest of the day. Should have busted 5 hours. We'll get er next time!

Foggy near start, clear later on
Hi:  86  Lo: 61
81 miles

-randorides