Dirt Devotion Recon Training

75km gravel training route

John signed us up for the Nytro sponsored "Dirt Devotion Derby- 100km/60km ride on April 22nd,  so why not a recon training ride thru some of the same gravel? I rode the route earlier and added a few dirt paths and roadside gravel paths. The ride was around 75km and mostly followed the 3D 60km route.

We left the Vista Business Center Dr. 7-Eleven/JIB slightly after 0800.  Dan had his 29'er and brother Bruce his Surly Fat Bike. John Mestemacher rode from home on his new SCOTT Addict 10 Gravel and I my SCOTT MTB-27.5"+. Late to arrive is hard core MTB'er Greg Armstrong with his Ti gravel bike. Off we went!

John, Kelly, Dan, Greg, Bruce at gravel regroup

Riding north on Business Park Dr. we hit a trail over to Melrose with a HAB (hike-a-bike). Then following the 60km route, we added several gravel path sections as we worked our way toward Double Peak. Picked up Troy Buss and his TREK full sus MTB near Poinsettia Ln. Met Rando John Fry jogging on the Melrose gravel path.

Nice trail riding as we rode near Copper Creek, behind San Elijo Albertson's and follow the path up to Questhaven Rd. Instead of following the road upward, we opted for the roadside gravel path to the Double Peak "Y". Then onto the nice, busy path up to Ridgeline Trailhead for a bathroom break. The 13.6 miles we rode seemed like 30! Reload with water, a bike check and off we went.

Troy pushes back!

Lots of downhill now, as Attebury turns into Questhaven, then Seaquest Trail. Having pre-ridden this multi-turn section, I sort of knew where I was going. The Garmin 500 was a little lagging on the turn info, so we often waited for it to relay the correct route. Multiple "neighborhood" paths found us over by John;s house off Levante St. A quick path parallel to El Camino Real took us to another break at LaCosta Circle K-Mile 25.5.

We lingered around a while before some road riding took us to Coast Hwy. 101. Not for long. We were off thru fields of wild flowers and a gravel road alongside the RR tracks before turning on Canon for the longish road ride toward Sage Creek High School.Troy had turned off for home by the rails. Just before the school, it was pleasant riding on the gravel path alongside Canon Rd. Next up was Calavara trails.

Private dirt road thru neighborhood

I wasn't that familiar with Calavara, but Bruce was. The only thing was he was so far behind on his heavy fat bike, so no easy traks for us. Nice bathroom break before the rutted, bumpy climbs found John a bit scratched up. Greg & John had several HAB's here. A few 17% climbs finally found us out of there. Not really a fun gravel bike route there.

Road riding on Shadowridge Dr took us to Buena Vista Park. Nice trail riding thru here, passing by a pond, under roadways and over a bridge. Finally out on Melrose Dr., we were soon heading for the finish. Most of us had 45-47 miles on the Garmins for this ride.

Flower field trail near Coast Hwy. 101

After some chit-chat, the brothers Phillips packed up, as did Greg. John and I headed home for a few more road miles. I managed a stop at McDonald's for a cone reward! I was a dusty mess, as was the MTB! Next up is the Dirt Devotion Derby next Saturday. I've got some better "roadie" type tires ordered: Schwalbe Big ONE 27.5" x 2.8". Hopefully they will come in before the ride. (Never did)

- randorides

Lightly Damp 11-City Loop

Eleven City Loop Route

Mike Shaw organized a rando ride for today and with it's local start, I'm all in. Sam drove down from Sun City, John Mestemacher and John Fry rode in from LaCosta area, Keith Olsen and Mike drove in, Bill Stevenson rode over from home (across the street) and I rode over from north San Marcos. Today was the popular "Eleven City Loop" route. Not a lot of climbing, but a nice little loop route which included the coast and a trip thru Poway on the way back.

John's new SCOTT Addict 10 Gravel

We were off a little early, as riders had a few questions on Keith & John's new bikes. Keith had another fixed gear, this time black vs his other one which was a rust color (burnt orange). John has a top rated gravel bike in his SCOTT Addict 10 Gravel, laced with 36mm Schwalbe Big-One tires. Quick pace under damp/foggy like conditions as we made our was down Palomar Airport Rd. the first check point near the coast. Started to drizzle after leaving the Chevron Station.

"Butt-Crack" jogger near Del Mar

Not many riders out today, mainly due to the dampness. We rolled past the busy Leucadia Donut and made our way down the coast for a short stop at Swami's. Riding past Del Mar Dog Beach, John noticed a jogger wearing a "butt-crack". I managed to get a pic of this, which was quite humorous at the time. A few riders around as we cycled thru Sorrento Valley and our normal bathroom stop near Performance Bike. They were staging for their Saturday AM ride.

Mike was having some front derailleur problems and Sam took a look. We hung around for a while, as they worked it out (or didn't?). Next up was the only real climb of the day, touching at 9%. We all paced up and made our way thru the residential homes at the top. Bill was needing to get back home by 12:30, so he took the alternate route straight up Black Cyn. Road, loop to Dove Cyn. and Rancho Bernardo, cross over Hodges and head back to the start. The rest of us climbed eastward on Mercy Road to the final control at Scripps Poway Pkwy. Chevron.

Sam got "nailed" by Lake Hodges

Sam was on his cell on his "Flip My House" thing as the rest of us talked bikes. Skies had cleared by now and it was heating up quick. More cyclists out now as a large group headed up SPPkwy. We were off northward on Pomerado Road, with Sam off the front. Just before crossing over I-15, Sam picked up a nail in his rear tire. I took a few pics as the group hung around. Prompt tube change and we were winding our way across Lake Hodges, which had water under the bridge ( many years since that happened).

Gruppo at the finish

Sam mentioned he was buying donuts at Peterson's Donuts, so we rode straight up Escondido Ave. and made a stop. Sam, John Fry and I loaded up, while the others were still waiting for Sam to buy! After lingering around watching people line up, we were off for the Bike Path route on the way to the CSUSM Ralph's finish.

No record today as we turned a 5 hr ride into a 51/2 hour jaunt. After a few snapshots and some chatting, John Fry and John M. headed out for the climb up Twin Oaks and on to home. Keith handed out recovery Ensure (Costco Brand) as we parted for home. Nice ride after starting out a bit damp.

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Crusin' The OC/Ursa Minor Option

Big fog advisors didn't amount to much till we rode northward.

A few riders met up early at Mace Buchanan Park along the SLR Bike Path per Sandy's instruction. Sandy, Andi, Sam, Bill and I rolled out at 0618, after waiting for Andi to pack her bags and touch up her makeup! Predicted fog advisory was a non-factor here.
Mike Shaw couldn't make it due to shoulder soreness.

Fast pace over the few miles to O'side Transit Ctr., where Keith Olsen was waiting for us. RBA Dave D. and Ben Hian showed up in due order.
Ben waited a bit for Harper to show, while the rest of the gruppo rolled out @ 0705.
Keith favored the faster I-5 route, so off we went. Later Dave spotted Ben riding thru the Base.

Fog increased the further north we rode. Sam went off on a hammerfest with Dave pushing him along. Shortly, Bill dropped off the from rest of the gruppo and Keith stayed with him. Seems his front tire collected a screw. Dave D. said "He got screwed"! Several of us waited at the NB Rest Area for a regroup. Dave & Sam continued on to meet Ben @ Las Pulgas Rd parking lot. 2 tubes later, Bill and Keith arrived and we were off northbound again.

Back together again with Ben (no Harper) at Las Pulgas, we picked up Troy Buss (NCCC rider) as we were off at a comfortable pace thru San Clemente, meeting increasing groups of cyclists along the way. Weather was starting to slightly clear and warming up a bit by now
I was riding "Ursa Minor-R" route from San Marcos today*, so I bid "adios" and headed eastward on the San Juan River Trail  at Dana Point, while the others cruised north to Newport Beach.

Sam mentioned later that the gruppo held to the inland bike path route up to Chapman Chevron Control. Shortly after the break, the group split up, with Ben, Dave, Andi, Bill & Troy off the front. Sandy, Keith and a flailing Sam next up. Sam missed his early morning Peterson's Donut run and was feeling the effect right now.

Bill "Got Screwed" on I-5 just after leaving O'side start.

After Trubuco Cyn., rando camaraderie was in full effect as Sam was starting to feel better and picking up the pace thru San Clemente to the finish. Troy finished off his ride at Las Pulgas as Keith checked out from the O'side Transit, while Sandy and Sam still had to ride eastward on the SLRey Bike Path back to MB Park.

Everyone finished up in good order with lots of tall tales of riding prowess. (Andi tops the list here!)

*I continued on to San Juan Capistrano, where I endeavored for a breakfast sandwich at Carl's Jr. What a joke. A good reminder to not get solid food at these stops. The dude didn't know which way was up! So much for $15 minimum wage.

Met groups of cyclists on the route back. I decided to take I-5 SB from Las Pulgas, instead of my usual Camp Pendleton trek. A funny decision, as I stopped to pick up a spool of rope along the way. Cars were backing up all the way north from Oceanside to the Rest Area! Don't know why, as no accidents along the route, just one lady parked in the bike lane and taking pics of roadside flowers!

Made my way along the coast with a stop at Nytro to check things out. Good day for business, as the weather warmed up and it started to clear. On my way back to San Marcos, I decided to stop by Best Buy, pick up a 24" computer monitor. The rope came in handy, as I made a few backpak straps and loaded it up for the ride home. Good thing it wasn't a bigger screen! Finished up Ursa Minor with a stop by 7-Eleven and the final receipt.



Quite a day and I was buggered out after hanging around home for a bit.

- randorides
 

SCOTT Addict 10G: Mule Hill To Black Canyon

Today's Route: Mule Hill to Black Canyon

After checking out the Cervelo C-5 gravel bike last June (Mule Hill - Cervelo C5 Test Ride), I felt spry enough for another test ride. After talking to Joe Morgan at Nytro, he suggested the new SCOTT Addict 10 Gravel Bike. I went over to the shop yesterday and he pulled one out of stock. Medium size it was. Took some time to get it set up matching my Fuji seat & stem height. It wasn't perfect, but real close. I'd have to make the final adjustments at home later.

SCOTT Addict 10G ready to roll!

Riding back to San Marcos, I noticed quite a difference in the comfort. Could be the 35mm Schwalbe G-ONE tires, carbon rims, frame geometry or perhaps a combination of all the above? This ride was fast. Yes, even with the mini-knobby tires, I was flying along. Took a few shifts to get used to the SRAM Force 1 vs my Shimano. Also liked the 1x set up with no front derailleur. Carbon rail seat was a bit too hard for me. We added a shortie stem, but it wasn't high enough resulting in a long "reach".


Back home, I added my front bag, a couple of bottle cages from the MTB, seat bag, rear light, GoPro Camera and my 2 bottles. This brought the weight up, but it still was smooth and fast. Monday was Presidents Day and several randos wanted to ride out to Mesa Grande. Can do, let's go.

Dave, Sam & Mike check out SCOTT at JIB

The Mule Hill to Black Canyon route is an interesting randonneur route. There are several sections of dirt in it's 74 miles with about 5000' of climbing, the tough stuff just after the start. Add in the Rail Trail from San Marcos and I'd be hitting close to the century mark today.

Clicked on my Garmin 500 as I rolled away from home and soon found the Inland Rail Trail. Sections of the trail were littered with tree branches and root heaves. No problem for the 35mm G-ONEs at 45/55 psi. Some road travel before I ventured onto the El Ku dirt path and I added a little more dirt by jumping on the San Dieguito River Trail on the way to the start at Mule Hill. Scheduled start time was 0800, but Mike Shaw and Keith Olsen planned on starting early.

Kevin McNulty & Sam on Black Cyn Rd

Met Sam Thomas and we decided to chase down Mike & Keith, who were going via the full Highland Valley Road. As we  looped around under I-15, met up with David Horwitt riding in. Joining up, we kept on a steady course toward HVRd. Following the river bottom, we soon started climbing eastward. It pitches up to double digit here and no grabbing the smaller chain-ring on the SCOTT. There isn't one. Seems the 44T x 44cog was up to the task for this section. Up ahead we spotted Keith and Mike on the 14% climb. Keith bailed part way up on his fixie. Said his gearing wasn't up to this climb. I grabbed the 44 cog and labored up. No problem after that. Easy to reduce the gearing, just add a smaller chain-ring up front!

Dude dries clothes near nudie pool

Sam, Mike, Dave and I made our way over to Ramona. Dave noticed the Hwy. 67 construction sign and kept going straight on Dye Rd., around Ramona. We opted for the "Construction Zone" on Hwy. 67, which amounted to 100 yards of nothing! Regrouped at JIB/7-Eleven. After refueling, noted the ride options from here. Take the dirt up Black Canyon Rd to Mesa Grande OR hard-surfaced via Old Julian Hwy., Santa Ysabel and on to Mesa Grande. We all headed for dirt first.

Last June on the Cervelo C-5, Black Canyon was soft, washboard and dusty. Today it was hard and fairly smooth from the recent rains. This offered multiple stops for the camera: Indian town in the valley, nudie pool and numerous cattle shots. A few mile in, a MTB rider came up and was chatting with us. Kevin McNulty. He used to ride with the randos in the mid-2000's. Also a RAAM 2-Man Team Rider and HooDoo finisher! Kevin has some nerve damage in his feet now and does only short rides. He turned at the old bridge and headed for Sutherland Reservoir.

SCOTT, Sam & Mike at Mesa Grande

Ride was smooth with the lower air pressure and comfy SCOTT carbon frame. After a regroup at the old Store, we were back to a higher speed run on Mesa Grande Road to Hwy. 79. No problem keeping the pace with the roadie bikes. The big, fast, curvy downhill was handled well with the Schwalbe G-ONE tires. We paced-lined into Santa Ysabel for a favorite Rando stop at Don's Market. Busy place today and NO ice cream sandwiches!

The traffic on Hwy. 78 was horrific. We hadn't figured on all the Presidents Day RV traffic from the desert back to the city today. Time to crank it up on the curves down to Old Julian Highway. Once there, it was the usual no traffic ride into Ramona. No stop this time and we paced it up thru town and back onto Highland Valley Road. Dave kept going straight down Hwy. 67 toward Lakeside and the traffic.

Near horse kick on Mule Hill Trail

Only a few steepish rollers on HVR, and the SCOTT gearing made easy work of those. After flying down the last downhill, I turned off onto Mule Hill Trail. The others rode straight on the hard-surfaced HVRd. I hooked up with a rider on a new Yeti Niner. Lots of horse traffic today and it made for careful trail riding. Stopped and let them pass, but still nearly got a kick from a audacious horse! Several mud holes were no problem and the SCOTT handled the soft sand with ease. Dropped the Yeti dude with a 19mph burst and soon rolled into the finish. Handed the Yeti a rando card and soon met the guys at the Chevron Station.

After a few short stories and water refill, I was headed home via the Inland Rail Trail again.

Weather was excellent after a cool start. SCOTT handled well, single chain-ring worked perfectly and the ride was comfy on the dirt and road sections. After fine-tuning the fit, adding a 40T ring and a softer saddle, this bike would be Randos dream!

SCOTT Addict 10 Gravel Walkaround/Test Ride Video

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Lazy Lizard Brevet

Lazy Lizard: Ocotillo to Ranchita

I hadn't said much to my riding buddy, John Mestemacher, since we talked about this ride last month. This is one of his favorites, but due to lack of bike time, he had been a little hesitant about riding a 200 route. He finally emailed me a few days before and we decided on a early depart time from San Marcos. John has a nice, older, little grey/grey Honda Element set up to lock down 2 bikes inside. Used it for years on a whole bunch of rando rides and it works really well. 2 bikes, space for gear and comfy!

0430 rolled around and John arrived for my pick-up right on time. On the 2 hour drive out, we had time to catch up on his job, riding and family stuff too. Didn't get the wrong turn this time and made it to Ocotillo at 0630. Plenty of time to take some pre-ride pictures for the Lazy Lizard Video I was hoping to do of the event. 

Randonneur group at Ocotillo start

After a little chat-chat and pre-ride instruction from the RBA, Dave Danovsky, we were off at 0700 sharp. 18-20 riders on all different rigs, but mostly carbon racer set-ups. I hung around doing GoPro of the last riders and was soon sucking wind to catch up. The racer grouppo was long gone done the straight road, thru the wind farm, as our group of 7 motored along. John had a new PowerTap wheel set and was playing around with the wattage thing. 

Group soon split up as we hit the first double digit climb. Toughest of the route. I did manage to max-out and get up and take pics of other riders climbing. Later, after Box Canyon climb, riders were all over the place. I rode with ex-RBA Mike Berry offering a chance to talk a bit. Soon six of us were at the Stagecoach Trails Store, loading up on water and other goodies. New rider Hanna, had a headache and went hunting for Excedrin. She was riding with Molly Cook today. 

Harley's and beer at RD's Log Cabin

Leaving Shelter Valley was a blast, with a slight tailwind and a mini downhill to Scissor Crossing. Met a team group pace-lining southward in fast mode. Managed a few shots at Scissor Crossing before the long haul up Road S-2 to Ranchita. Climb starts out very nice with a few low grade rollers and slowly increases pitch as you climb to Teofulio Summit. Not much of a summit really, but there is RD's Log Cabin at the pseudo-imaginary town of San Felipe nearby.  RV traffic was horrendous today... all the desert rats heading back to LA with their motor-homes and trailers behind.

Before the summit, met riders on the return leg of this round-trip route. Ben Hain, Dean Dobberteen and Liz Tenuto in the first group. Sergio Sandoval couldn't quit make the bridge to join up. Jerald Cook was in hot pursuit.. I managed to sneak across the road and take some action pics of them. Stopped by DJ's Log Cabin for a few snaps, then staged up near the Summit sign for some video clips. Keith Olsen stopped at the top and was having stomach troubles. After a brief chat, he continued on to Ranchita. I soon rolled down the hill a bit and saw David Nakai stopped in the shade.

Hanna & Sasquatch

Dave said he couldn't keep with the fast riders and didn't eat enough. Looked like a mild bonk to me. RBA David D. soon rolled up southbound and stopped to see if all was well. Off he went, closely followed by David Nicola[, Tim Sullivan and Andi Ramer. I was soon over to Montezuma Road/S-22 and the last few miles to Ranchita. Met Bill Stevenson, Sam Thomas, John Fry and James Robinson on the return trip. Took a few interesting pictures and then followed Keith O. in to the store.

Napa Tom at Ranchita

John, Mike Berry, Hanna, Molly Cook and Tom (guy from Napa, CA) were at the store lazing about. I grabbed a drink, took a few pictures of riders in front of the Sasquatch statue and was ready to go, when Mike noticed his tire was low. As the others rolled out, I waited for Mike to finish up the tube change. 

Real fast leaving Ranchita back to S-2... in fact you don't have to turn the cranks at all! After the short climb up to Teofulio Summit, I rode with Mike back to Scissor Crossing and on to the Stagecoach Trails Store. The ladies had just left, but John and Keith were stretched out there. Water refill, a few pictures and we were on the last leg back to Ocotillo. Weather was super all day. I was dressed perfectly with 2 light layers under by SDrando jersey.

David Nakai looking for shade: "Cooked"

Down the road Mike had his second flat tire. John stayed with him as Keith and I continue on southward at a mild pace. I went on ahead and staged up at the top of Sweeny Pass. When the last three riders went thru, it was only a slight downhill dash to Ocotillo. Road was rough in spots, but we found good riding on the center-line. Reflective vests and lights on, we finally rolled into the finish at Chevron. 

Randos Keith, John & Mike at Alpine Carl's

RBA Dave and buddy Dave Nicolai were there waiting for the card signing. I wasn't riding the official Brevet, but instead opted for the same route as the " Lazy Lizard Lodown" Permanent. John and I usually stop is Alpine at Carl's Jr. for a shake on the way home. Today was no exception. Mike and Keith heard of our endeavor and joined up in Alpine too. Mike & John opted for fries with their shakes (must be the salt?) Keith and I just the shakes. After some small talk, we were off back to San Diego after another great ride.

Lazy Lizard Video



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New: Sam's Donut Loop Permanent

Sam's Donut Loop Route

Sam Thomas has moved up to Sun City now and is taking care of his mother. What a great way for a break than to do a donut run randonneur ride? This route was just approved one day ago, so with a little arm-twisting from Sam, I sent out a few emails about the ride today.


Several riders were riding 11-City Loop today (we had initially planned this ride also), so we met up at Ralph's near CSUSanMarcos Campus. Keith Olsen, Mike Shaw, Sam Thomas and myself rolled out of Ralph's and soon picked up the Donut Loop route at the Inland Rail Trail near Escondido. Soon we were winding our way to the El Ku Bike Path and on to Lake Hodges. Sam and Mike were railing about the Rainbow 200 Brevet... riding together OR not riding together.


Busy place today! Hundreds of joggers/hikers around the Mule Hill Trailhead. Looks like some event today. Long stop at the one porta-potty near the bridge. Finally we were off to some smooth riding southward on Pomarado Road. Racer dude on a Cannondale carbon cut in from a side road and was off to the races. Sam wouldn't commit to chase him down, so fixie Keith and I accepted the challenge. Sort of a mini fun time till the turn onto Ted Williams Pkwy. 

Future randonneur ride at Lake Hodges

We didn't stop at the listed Starbuck's Control, but instead cut south and stopped at the 7-Eleven. The other stripped off the last layers as Keith chomped down a stiff looking donut. Basic route stuff now as we entered the SR-56 Bike Path to the Pacific Ocean. Sam did the pulling here as it was one race after another. My free bananas at Camino del Sur ended up black and mushy. A big rider met us as Keith commented: "There goes all the bananas now"!


Lots of cyclists out on the coast today. Large groups including Swami's and SDBC. Slight headwind as we headed northward along the coast. Stopped at Swami's for a few monents as Sam chatted with some riders he knew. Next stop was the Leucadia Donut House. Yummmm.

Sam checks his camera settings

Siting around, Sam noticed the SDUnion newspaper headlines. Soon he was off into politics. Keith and I added a few tidbits and kept edging him on. Sam finally said he was mad about the election and the Rainbow ride. We all knew he was kidding, or was he? Rolling thru Oceanside the traffic was dense. Not good.


Lots of traffic on Hwy. 76 east, but the wide bike lane and rumble strips kept it at bay. The nice tailwind also helped as we were soon turning into Town Centre North. Close to Mike's house. Sam was on his cell phone, as Mike and Keith got water and receipts at Chevron. I managed to get some soda water in my bottle before I pushed the right water button. Long break before resuming the ride toward Vista.


N. Santa Fe Ave goes straight thru Vista and into San Marcos. It does have a few rollers mixed in. Sam was recanting his cycling route back and forth from Temecula to work in Oceanside every day. Some tough dude. (He didn't ride it every day) Slight regroup entering San Marcos as I pointed out the new Inland Rail Trail section CalTrans was working on. Maybe someday it will be finished and we can ride all the way to Oceanside?

Keith & Mike relax at Swami's Park

A few jogs and we soon passed over Hwy. 78 with little traffic. Grabbing a final receipt at Ralph's, we soon gathered back at the cars. With all the joggers, cycle groups, traffic and our multiple stops, it seems we were riding all day long. Looks like this route is best ridden during the weekdays.


Weather was super and I dressed perfect for it, with no layers to take off all day. Slight headwind up the coast, but real nice push back to the San Marcos finish.

- randorides

 

Mud In The Tank Tunnel?

No mud Pendleton Tank Tunnel today!

With my normal clamshell of Tylenol and Vit-B3, I headed out early today for some miles and a possible hook-up with the OFR leaving Magee Park in Carlsbad. COLD was the word. Temp was 31F as the knee warmers, long wool socks and triple layers only partially blocked the wind-chill factor. I timed it close, as I arrived at Magee before 0830 for a bathroom break and some time in the rising sun.


OFR group was sparse today. After days of rain, they didn't want to get their bikes dirty riding thru the tank tunnel on Camp Pendleton. Pete showed up, as well as Tom, old Dale, Dr. Dan Marks and a few others. Some would drive up to Las Pulgas gate and start there. Pete used to ride with Sam Thomas on the seasoned Wednesday ride out of Bonsall. Said he was hammered and didn't finish the ride yesterday. I updated him on Sam T.  moving up to Sun City.

"James" cycling "Ride For Hope" at I-5 Rest Area

I left the group and took I-5 northward in lieu of going thru the Camp today. Needed to check out the roadway for future rando rides. All clear... fast, dry and noisy. The "No Bike on freeway sign is still there by the on-ramp. Stopped by the Rest Area and met "James" riding for "Ride For Hope". Charity for African kids, AIDS, etc. Chatted with him a while before heading northward to Las Pulgas exit.


Paul Nevin was there, and soon the ladies arrived. Never did see the other OFR gruppo. I heard some turned around. Rode with them to bathroom #1 break. NO mud in the tank tunnel. Dee said she got a new Di2 equipped Obrea carbon bike because she can't use her left wrist much to shift now. Really likes the shifting and I would concur after testing the Cervelo  C-5 last summer.

Animal Kingdom film crew at Trestles Bike Path

Got stopped by Park Rangers entering Trestles path. Animal Kingdom was doing a movie shoot there. Chatted a bit with the staff before riding on. Ladies went to Carl's Jr. I continued on north thru San Clemente.


Later on, came up on a Surly LHTrucker rider. Blue bike with a few in-frame bags on it. Said he was training for a ride across Australia this Fall. Trans Austraila Cycle Stage Race. 3000 miles in 24 days.  We had a nice chat about his training and we parted as I turned off on the San Juan Bike Trail to San Juan Capistrano.

Surfer type panhandler at McDonalds drive thru. $78/hr!

Path was all clear, after years of section work. You can go straight onto the gravel or turn across the bridge to SJCap now. A tie-laden dude had a table set up near the channel. Doing a press release for San Juan Watershed Project. Putting rubber dams across the channel to retain some water. Didn't want to answer my questions, as him hi-end caterer arrived to unload the food for the politicians.


Took my turn-around break at McDonalds, where I watched a young panhandler take in $34 from patrons leaving the drive-thru. Yep, he counted each "donation" before stuffing back into his pocket. At that rate, he'll be good for $75/hr! Left and took the fast was back to the coast.

San Juan Watershed Project display table. No hand-out here!

Slight tailwind now as I rode southward. Came up on the James "Ride For Hope" guy again, as he had collected his buddy and another young fixie rider and were riding to Carlsbad for the night. Had a nice chat and thought about riding the I-5 with them. I said "adios" and paced ahead for the tailwind assisted blast down I-5 to Oceanside.


Nice riding south along the 101, with a short stop at Magee Park bathroom. Another stop in Encinitas for a refill before soon turning inland, up the hills and back to San Marcos.


Managed some good longer miles today and after a roll-out and Epsom Salt soak, felt relaxed and tired. Go figure.


Sam is hawking up doing some riding this weekend around here. We'll see about that.

- randorides