Rando Discovers Abandon Impala...just another day on the road!

Still have a slightly sore tendon? from the Saturday hammerfest. Did the usual Epson Salt soak, hot-cold thing over Sunday and Monday. It feels a little better when I walk, but still not 80%. I don't know if it's a tendon or muscle, but I think it's in the area of the Tibilas Anterior Tendon, which runs up from the ankle and goes above the calf muscle up the lower leg. You rub that hard and it is still sore. There are 40+ muscles around the foot and a whole lot of tendons and ligaments in there. If I went to the doc he would just say "tendonitis" as always. With the added sole lugs on my SIDI's, my feet don't rotate much when I cycle now

Didn't know if I would cycle today or not, so I did other things early and finally decided I would give 'er a go and see what happens to my tendons. A little cool this AM, around 54 degrees. I finally left the house after 0700 and started the ride at 0730. I didn't know what to do with the sunny skies at the start! I'm used to dark start. Very nice for a change.

Black Chevy Impala was abandon in the bike lane with doors open!

They have restocked the cheapo Reese Pieces again at the local 7-Eleven so that was a good start. Did the spin-theory riding through San Marcos and decided to go over to Escondido and hook up with Centre City Pkwy. northbound. Near Mesa Rock Rd., I saw a black car on the other side of the road with it's driver door open. I cruised past and then started thinking that this didn't look right. I swung around and checked it out:
Running Chevy Impala in the bike lane with door open fully into the traffic lane, no one around. I looked around in the heavy bushes roadside and saw nothing. I looked far up Mesa Rock Road and saw slight person in a tan shirt walking uphill. He ran out of gas? NO! Car broke down? NO! Mmmm, something not quite right as I parked my SOMA far behind the car. I flagged a landscape driver down and ask him to call 911 and report a running abandon car in the traffic lane on Centre City Pkwy. He did that and drove off.

I waited around a while and witnessed a lot of traffic swinging out and honking at the abandon car as they whizzed by. Another driver pulled up and we chatted. He called 911 earlier and came back to check on me! I was OK, for sure. Soon the CHP came in a SUV with no lights flashing. Officer went over and shut the Impala's door. He had a slight black person in a tan shirt in the front seat. After a short chat, the officer said this guy was a little "crazy" and walking along I-15 when he picked him up. The whole event took around 40 minutes and my tendon didn't feel that great now standing around. Things settled up, I headed up Centre City, back on route. I noticed a moto CHP and a regular CHP car heading to the event location.

Riding down past Lawrence Welk Resort, I came up on a NCCC lady rider. Don't remember her name, but she rides with the other Thursday gruppo out of Magee Park too. We chatted along and she soon turned around to do some hill repeats up Champagne climb! Good for her. I later thought I should have given her a handy Rando Card. I proceeded to spin over to Bonsall, feeling better all the time. Stopped at McDonalds for a receipt. Ended up getting some real healthful CC Cookies for $1.08 to munch on the way. Iced up my one bottle and rode west.

CHP finally arrived at the scene in a SUV

Not much going on the SLR today. It was after 0900 and bike traffic was very light. No one to ride with, but passed several exercising riders while riding at 17mph into the light headwind. Rode past the Oceanside Pier, where the waves looked good for high tide. Stopped at Pacific Coast Cycles and did some "window shopping". Fargo looking blue Salsa Vaya in the window. They open at 1100 on Tuesday. Proceeded down the coast at a moderate pace under perfect skies and a mild tailwind. Stopped at Nytro for a water refill and sat for a banana. Joe was busy showing racers a set of ceramic bearing bottom brackets. What a salesman.

Stopped at Swami's for a re-furbished bathroom break. Rode with some guy down to Solana Beach where I turned inland. Had a spike or two in the tendon during the climb to Rancho Santa Fe. Might be the stress or the tight cleat/pedal contact. Rubbed a little "White Flower" on it and carried on. Got back at the San Marcos well after 1300. Looks like a 3/5 ride for me. With all that was going on and the delay along the route it ended up well. Hit the ice bags and soak after riding home.

Clear skies all day
Hi: 84     Lo: 62
69 miles or so



-randorides

SIDI Shoe Lug Repair

SIDI's, add-ons, templates and cut leather pieces

When the lugs on my SIDI's wear out, I have added on and built them up using hard leather. A while back I took them into the local Shoe Repair place and they wanted around $45 to add on some of the lugs. I could buy some of their hard sole material for $35 a sheet. This stuff was really hard and looked like the original lug material. These shoes are still in nice shape after over 5 years, so I needed to do some repairs.

Out of my price range, so I'll do it myself. Also, I took my MTB PI shoes into a Vista shoe store 4 years ago and wanted some patches put on both shoes, over the small toe area, where it was bulging-out and wearing thin. They did the job and it looked like crap. He glued & sewed a big piece of vinyl over each side. FORGET IT! Awful workmanship for that money!

This stuff will stick anything, even your fingers!

First off had to remove the edges and rough file the lugs. Then I wiped them all down with alcohol. I rounded up some hard leather from several coasters Zaharah had lying around. Made some templates of the worn lugs. Traced them over on the leather. Cut them carefully with a X-Acto Knife. You have to use some really strong glue to hold the pieces on. Not Super Glue for sure. After a tip from Joe Morgan (Nytro Multisport), I used some Goop on both surfaces. Let it dry for 3 minutes. It's like Contact Cement, but thicker. Then it's time for the leather pieces and let it all dry for 24 hours or longer.

They work really well and add height to your soles near the clip-ins. It was quite hard to get them clipped in at first. No leg movement or side-to-side, but they loosened up after a 100 mile ride. After cleaning up the shoes, I polish them with Kiwi Heel & Edge Black Polish. Makes them nice and like-new shiny! Also adds a tough waterproof layer over the leather. This should last till next year! The money I saved will go to my rando bike-packing/dirt bike fund. Ya, right?

-randorides

Fix My Bike Populaire

Fix My Bike route we rode today.

Keith wanted to do a Saturday ride to keep his RUSA P-Series alive, so it's ON. I sent out notes to a few regular rando riders at the last minute (Thursday PM) to keep them in the loop. Looks like Mike Shaw will join up and Dan Phillips might ride in from Oceanside for this one. His buddy Bill Stevenson is riding the Santa Cruz 600 up north today with Mac Imacseng.

Soaked my left ankle in Epson Salts and rubbed it down good. Normally I wouldn't be riding today, but I figured I could manage at a moderate pace and take a few days off later. I packed a bag of electrolyte tabs for Keith and headed out at 0630. Forgot a packet of Chamois Creme, so I turned around and went back to pick one up. Always carry some extra stuff, just in case! Took the north route to Mulberry 7-Eleven. Mike and Dan were there already. Went inside and looked for a Reese Piece for 20 cents. None. Got a duplicate pre-start receipt and chatted with the boys. No Keith yet. We waited till 0700 and rolled out, per schedule. I saw a couple of riders at the Albertson's parking lot and we turned in there, figuring Keith might have parked there as before. Nope, just a couple of "big" guys. Something must have happened, as Keith is usually quite punctual.*

Followed the route through Harmony Grove and down Del Dios with Dan setting the pace as we were talking. Not a lot of traffic for Saturday morning. Rancho Santa Fe town was sleepy as we rode the rollers to the coast. Stopped at the Solana Donut Control and picked up some Red Velvet donuts for receipt. These are supposed to be a baked donut. I threw out the notion of a Yuma ride to the guys. Mike said Sandy wanted to do it. Otherwise the idea was lukewarm. Weather was really good as compared to the last few weeks of HEAT.

Red Velvet donut at Solana Donut Control for receipt Yummy!

Several fast groups along the Coast today sprinkled in with regular riders. Rolled northward past Nytro, where there was the usual gruppo at the feed station for their Saturday morning ride. Further north, I got a rear flat on the well worn-out Gators. Pulled over into a mobile home park and sat down by some garlic flowers! Nice and stinky. Made a standard change and we were soon on our way northward again. Stopped by at Magee Park for water and a bathroom break. Large group at the park church this morning. We talked about the cyclists who was left for dead over on N. River Road last week. I mentioned I wanted to go over and check it out today for it's just off route.

We turned off the SLR onto Douglas, then a left on N. River Road to the end of the cul-de-sac. There was a white bike by the sidewalk for a memorial. We checked the scene: police had tagged evidence locations with green paint numbers. They were scattered along a 75 foot section including tire marks along the curb! Parts were still lying around and we spotted a amber turn bulb under a bush. What a mess.**

Rode over to College and picked up the SLR again. Mike led out on Hwy. 76 over to Bonsall for a control break. We stopped at McDonalds where it was busy. The boys got fries or fish and I opted for HF Sundae. I had to go back several time to remind them of my paltry order. Guess they should be making $13 to $15 per hour soon, that would help the service? NOT!

Cyclists accident scene on N. River Road.

I led out along Camino Del Rey at 16 mph. Mike pulled off at Old Hwy. 395 for a climb up Day Lilly Hill and down Lilac through Bonsall and back home. Nice long ride for him today. Dan & I pulled in behind a racer looking guy heading sourthward toward Escondido. We soon caught him on the first climb. He kept checking us and looked maxed out. He stopped at the Gopher Cyn. light and checked us over up close. A lean mean machine with yellow Pedros jersey riding a Kline and a old dude with a torn RUSA jersey riding a heavy steel bike! We slowly pulled ahead up the little climb and Dan opened it up past Lawrence Welk. This guy was gone now for sure. I mentioned to Dan to start his clock as we passed the Lawrence Welk Village driveway. 12 minutes is a good rando time to the light. Of course Dan ramped it up when he saw some scattered riders ahead. We were both in the big chain-ring and I was holding his wheel but couldn't get out of the saddle due to the tendon pain. 10.7 mph was the norm for the climb today. Dan was on it and I was limping in his draft! I stopped at the top for "medical and a red light". 11 minutes for a good climb today. I applied some "White Flower" to the outside tendon as Dan slo-rolled up the road. We made good time back to the Finish into a cool headwind. Dan got a Gatorade as I opted for the cheapo Reese Piece (yes, they restocked!). It was only 1230 for an early finish today! Dan was riding home, so we rode together over to Vineyard and up Woodward.

Too bad Keith didn't make this ride today. The guys were looking forward to it. Dan had nearly a 100 mile day and Mike rode good too with almost 90 miles. I limped around and ended up doing OK up Champagne. It was a 3 Tylenol day and lots of White Flower to keep moving. I soaked the ankle well in Epson Salts and did my normal muscle rub thing when I got home. Call it overuse or tendonitis, which ever suits your needs? Looked like a 3/5 day to me. 

* Keith later emailed that he "wasn't feeling up to the ride today for various reasons"

** Police traced the Kia car parts later in the week to a San Diego driver and questioned him. The cyclists lay there overnight before being spotted by a plant employee going to work at 0530 the next morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Overcast early, clear later
Hi: 78     Lo: 61
69 miles

-randorides

University Loop (How To Get SPF-50 Out Of Your Eyes!)

This stuff burns the eyes!

Wow, another great day for riding. Heck yes, I can do a route and hook-up for a chit-chat with the OFR along the coast. Sounds good.

I didn't get the SOMA prepped up and on the road till 0630. By the time I got over to the Ralph's start it was nearer 0645. So much for planning. It usually takes 2.5 hours to get over to Magee Park on the route course. I'll just take it easy and get there when I get there. I can keep rolling and meet up down in Encinitas at Swami's where they usually leave around 0930. Wore my arm warmers and found that they were only useful for a few downhills.. after that they had to come off as did the headlamp. Eyes started to water and burn almost from the start. I thought it must be the sunscreen. Stopped on Country Club Lane and wiped them off good, cleaned my glasses and kept going. Centre City was the next stop. Same thing. I used my carry along damp washcloth to wipe everything off real good again. Going down Champagne my eyes started to water and burn a bit. I stopped after the Camino del Rey turn and repeated the exercise. Finally I arrived at the Bonsall AM/PM. The intersection was loaded with traffic, most turning onto Old River Road. Iced the bottle and wiped down with water for the last time. Got a cheapo receipt and went west on Hwy. 76. Eyes were OK by now.

BMC's basic hardtail MTB. Reviews say 2/5 for $1500! Sorry.

It was 0750 by now and I thought it time for me to check out the new 76 surface to the coast. I cranked 'er up a bit and rolled westward with speeds up to 27mph. Went through downtown Oceanside, by-passing my planned stop to see Dan Phillips at Bussey's Automotive. Sparse traffic at best along the coast to Carlsbad so I made good time. Magee Park was empty as I continued southward without hooking up with anyone this trip. Got a sharp pain on the outside of my left achilles tendon for a bit before it went away. Added some Chinese White flower and spin class for the overuse! It was almost 0930 when I passed Swami's. The group had just pulled out and I could see them far ahead. Came upon 2 loaded tourers and chatted with them a bit. They were going to San Diego from LA. They stayed at the San Elijo Campground last night and looked it! Their helmets were strapped to the bags and replaced with caps. A raggy bunch for sure!

Caught the tail-end of the gruppo (14) and chatted with new guy John (the guy who several weeks back touched my rear wheel and went down hard in the middle of Torrey Pines Road) and old guy Dale. At Del Mar, the OFR gruppo took the "neighborhood" route as I went up straight through town, as usual. I dropped to the unusual 34T rings as I spun up Torrey Pines at a steady 10 mph. Pulled into the top parking lot and went over to the water fountain, which was working again! Rinsed things off and filled my bottle. Hit the newly cleaned head and waited for the gruppo to arrive. We chatted a bit before riding on. Several turned around and rode back down the hill, per schedule. I bid "adios" to the group as they turned off down to LaJolla. I kept on Gillman Dr and the Rose Canyon Bike Path. Took my usual route via Morena Blvd to Friars Road and on to SDSU campus. Stopped at the 7-Eleven instead of the packed McDonalds. Sat outside and ate the traditional "Smores" sandwich. Headed back into the usual headwind. In the drops and grinding along.

Surly "Ogre" steel framset for bikepacking. Options galore.

Along Coast Hwy again, I saw this John guy up ahead in his orange jersey. I didn't catch up, but instead stopped off at Nytro and refilled my bottle. Joe was there sitting at his desk, so we chatted a bit about dirt bikes. They're not a dealer for Salsa, but are for Surly. I had him check on a Ogre frameset with fork. Reasonably priced for me. Also prompted to check the BMC TE03 niner. It's BMC's basic 29" hardtail. It spec'd in with some good stuff and has the same geometry as their carbon hardtails, but retails for $1500! (Later, when I got home, I checked the on-line reviews for this model.. not good at 2/5. Seems the rear end is too harsh with the design and the big seatpost.) Out of my price range. Guess the Swiss think their bikes are "all that"! Joe will check into a "demo" version for me to try out for a week. Picked up a few goodies and hit the road after hanging around too long.

Extra weight on the handlebars made riding a little "lopsided". I plodded along with the left tendon spiking up now and then. Finally got over to San Marcos for the final receipt and the welcome ride home. Long day and the left ankle was feeling it! Overall, not that great of day. Got a late start and played "catch up" all morning. With the tendon thing, I'm due for some off the bike rest time. I still made it back OK. I'd call it a 2/5 day, just like the MTB review on Bike Radar!

This route on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/Djf9eohXGws

Overcast early, clear lateron
Hi:81     Lo: 64
125 miles

-randorides

Dog Attack On The Reservation!

Lilac Road enters the Pala Reservation

Hadn't planned any ride for my normal Tuesday jaunt, but woke up and decided to give er a go. Felt like a slo roll day to me. Maybe a little recon stuff with a shortie permanent thrown in. Rode the SOMA over to get a receipt from San Marcos at 0630. Heavy fog was just lifting and the temp was 61F. I had my helmet light and 2 rear blinkies on just in case. Got my usual 20 cent thing and hit the road northward. Borden Road becomes El Norte Parkway entering Escondido. Turned north on Broadway and took Jesmond Dene up the climb. Stopped off on a side road to stuff my mini pak in the seat bag, as something was banging around in there. Racer guy went by so I followed him. He was quick and I figured I could catch him on the climbs. I was gaining as we topped the last 11%'er and on to Centre City Pkwy. He turned around at Deer Springs as the sun was now blasting through. High today was supposed to be only 88F in the inland valleys. Pulled my arm warmers up as I topped 30 mph on the long Champagne downhill with a temp drop to 54F!

Which way now? I finally turned on Circle R and followed the San Marcos Century or Rainbow 1.24 Permanent route. Feeling good enough to tackle Couser climb in a bigger ring, I opted for a little "recon" work and rode straight by on Lilac Road. I hadn't been this way in years. The rando routes come down Lilac Rd not UP! Road turned upward as I stopped and adjusted something banging around in my front bag. Never did find out what is was this trip. Several 9% rollers kept things interesting and a nice run through some dense dark woods before the final 11% climb up past the "Pavement Ends 300' " sign. I'm familiar with the dirt road ahead from the other way and soon found that the pavement section was "wavy" before coming to the dirt stuff. A slow 14% downhill kept me upright and I slowed even more when I hit the dirt.

This is dog country. I don't think the Pala Reservation enforces leash or dog laws around here. Each time I've come up this road from the other side it's usually been in the late day and getting darker. There are always dogs running after you here! Same this trip down in to the valley floor. First it is just dogs barking. So I sort of sneaked-by on the washboard roads. Next up was a little white dog barking and running. Not to worry. A huge black dog was next and he charged out of the driveway and stopped at the road, standing and barking. He sort of followed me for a bit. Too old and too fat. Next up were the attack dogs!

2 "Blue Heelers" turned on each other instead of me!

A pair of mongrel Austrailian Cattle Dogs or "Blue Heeler" wanna-bees. These guys were fast and mean looking.They had the head's up on me as I was trying to negotiate the bumps. One circled around on my right and the killer on my left made a direct charge for me. He was about to jump when I yelled "STOP". He didn't stop, but looked at the other dog, ran around behind me and they attacked each other! Man they were going at it hard, bare teeth and fur flying. I ramped it up and watched them in the mirror Whew, close! Not to be outdone, a little dog behind a fence was yelping away as the beer-gut owner was trying to calm him down by shouting obscenities! The road had just been watered down and graded so was nice and smooth as I clicked into a bigger gear and got the hell out of there! Turned onto Hwy. 76 and stopped at the Pala Casino gas station for a refill break.That's a whole lot of climbing and action before 0900! What's next?

Went inside the station and checked things out. Put some powder from my "dry" bottle into my "active" bottle and iced it up. Looked around for something to purchase. Finally found some yogurt bar for cheap. Went outside and stretched a little before rolling out. Headed west on Hwy. 76 to Rice Canyon. Not much traffic for the narrow, if any, bike lane. Good! Before reaching I-15, I turned left for more recon on Pankey Road. I stopped to ask a guy in a motorized wheelchair for directions. He rolled right by without blinking! Pankey shortly cuts off onto Shearer which then becomes Dulin as it winds through a river bottom community. It comes out on Old Hwy. 395 just before the Day LIlly Hill climb. I spun up the hill in the 34T ring at a steady 8 mph. Turned at the top and went over to the Shawn Harrison cross-memorial alongside the road. My old rando card is still there, bleached out and all. Turned and crossed the road again to Lilac Road headed down towards Bonsall.

Met one rider coming up as I enjoyed the trip downhill. Saw a group of 20 California Conservation Corps clearing out the river bottom before the San Luis Rey Golf Course. They all looked great in their blue helmets and newly pressed brown uniforms. Parked in the shade by a tree alongside McDonalds, ordered out a HF Sundae and laced it up with some GU. Finished off my Cashew Butter WW crackers. Re-iced my bottles and headed west on Hwy. 76 into the normal westerly headwind.

Word has it that Rando Devin M. is building up a Ice Cream Truck!

Turned southward on College Ave by Wal-Mart. Several longish uphill climbs to train on as I headed to Oceanside Performance Bike to check things out. Been a while since I've been there. Rode through the store and straight to the workshop to chat with Mechanic Ed about a cheap dirt bike. Ed knows lots of people and how to spec out MTB's. He showed me what they had there from under $600 27.5 to "better" bikes around $800. I asked him to check out any buddies who wanted to unload their old MTB for cheap. He said most of his riding buddies have $2000 dollar rigs. Next up I chatted with Mgr. Jason Kilroy. He rode the Stagecoach 400 MTB Route a few years back and knows bikes too. He's into moto dirt bike stuff now and has tapered off his bike riding. Caught up on our rando friend Devin Mortenson of late. Guess he had a back injury at work and was off the bike for a month or so. He riding dirt now and is building up a "Fat Tire Bike". Enough said, I rode out and headed up the big climb southward.

Construction on Cannon Road, so I took the sidewalk. Stopped at the park bathroom before riding south on Coast Hwy. Stopped at Nytro to see Joe, but he was out/busy and running around. I sat outside and ate a banana and refilled my bottle. Some TT racer gal pulled in and wanted to put her bike in the stand. She was trying to move another bike to make room, when she dropped her $$ bike onto the curb where it bounced into the street. Nice. Headed south to Swami's and back onto Coast Hwy. Picked up a girl on a carbon racer after she passed me. I kept the heat up as she kept trying to pull away. I called that a good workout for her and a training ride for me!

I was feelin' good after 2 days off the bike and paced up to Rancho Santa Fe town. Saw one rider coming down Del Dios Hwy. past the dam. I cut off on Citracado Pkwy. and made a mental note to make a map with the route up Gamble Lane to send John when he does his evening ride this way next! Did the ol loop-e-doop and finally finished up in San Marcos.

Interesting day with the dog chase, lots of climbing and finally back on course. Maybe a 4/5 today? Looks like the OFR Thursday Gruppo will head south on Thursday, so I might plan a longer ride to SDSU to hook up.

Fog early, clearing mid-morning
Hi: 88     Lo: 55
100 miles

-randorides

Coffee At Peet's... recovery ride?

Recovery ride from what? Sounds good, so I'll use it. I had planned to do a shorter ride today (Saturday) or tomorrow, maybe with Keith Olsen. Things got moved around a bit and I decided to head out today at 0600. By the time I got things in order, the SOMA loaded up and the ride over it was 0620. I had one active bottle on-board and another with only dry powder in it (add water and ice later, if required). Got some new white socks made mostly of acrylic with some spandex and cotton mixed in. They were lower cut than I normally wear, so thus the white ring around the ankles. Packed the SPF-50 on that. 

Revolution Bike: Lite rust on new bikes displayed outside!

Headed north on Mulberry in spin mode to loosen up. Did my lazy stretches at home earlier, but I'm sure this wouldn't hurt either? Met one Rancho Club rider climbing Champagne. Must be riding to their Escondido start on Via Rancho Pkwy at 0800? Temps were really nice for just a jersey and shorts. Pulled into the Bonsall McDonalds to an overflow crowd at 0730. Can't imagine they get their nutritious breakfast there? No ice in the machines, so went next door to the trusty AM/PM for a 40 cent receipt and some crushed ice. Rode westward at a comfortable pace.

New road surface on Hwy. 76 from Melrose in. Too bad they missed the bike lane and left a ridge there instead! Light activity on the SLR as I paced along at my normal 17 mph with what seemed like a tailwind? No riding buddies this trip, but lots of riders around. The Velo gruppo was meeting at the College Ave Park for their weekly Saturday 0800 ride. Rode along Pacific Street among bike surfers hoping to catch the perfect one. Ocean looked choppy today.

NCCC riders regrouped at Swami's today.

Met up with this rider again on a blue 2-year old TREK. Rode with him before. He starts off Melrose in Vista, goes north to the SLR then does his 30 mile loop on Coast Hwy. and back east on Palomar Road. He usually complains about the joggers in the bike lane and the drivers near misses! Rolled down the coast as racer groups blasted by. Heck, I was cruising along at 19 mph too! Stopped at the Encinitas 7-Eleven for a ice refill and a Reese Piece. Getting ready to leave and noticed the NCCC riders coming by. Jumped on the SOMA and joined up for the ride to Swami's.

Chatted with Tony Long and the other NCCC riders, catching up on recent events. They were waiting for Rando Robert Abraham to ride in with the rest of the group. Dee Wells and a bunch of other OFR Thursday riders were there too. They all sort of hang out together. Robert never showed up yet, so I hit the remodeled head and rode south. I missed asking Robert about his HOT Palomar Mtn. Brevet last Saturday. (He later emailed me and said I missed a hot ride! He did fill me in on some details. We did miss the hot Palomar climb by leaving 2 hours earlier! I may be old, but still sharp?

NCCC Wild Animal Park Tony Long

Lots of riders now along the coast. I did stop in at Revolution Bike in Solana Beach to check out their Fargos and MTB/s. This is Keiths fav. place. They had a blue newer Fargo with solid front fork. The one next to it had a rusty cassette and chain! Nice! Guess they must leave them out all day long. Also checked out a few BMC MTB's they had. Tire had weather-checked cracks in them and rusty cassettes! Must have got caught in the rainstorm last week. Maybe you could get them for a "used bike price"? And to think OFR Bruce Tipton just bought his new Focus AG2r Team bike there with full Campy Record 11 spd! Bet that wasn't rusty.

Headed south and over on the SR-56 Bike Path. Lots of action there. Banana and Gatorade set up at Camino Del Sur. I think the Mobil Bike Repair sets that up each Saturday. Real handy and 3-kudoz to them! No riders to hook up with to Rancho Bernardo via the climbs. I chugged along with just enough effort to keep my thighs for burning. Made it around to the Inland RAil Trail for a few miles of headwinds back to the finish. Bought some CC Cookies for finish receipt to take home. Got home before noon to watch some college football, maybe?

Basic ride stuff today. Maybe a 2/5 for the spinning warm up and ride along the SLR. Thought about riding with Keith tomorrow, but decided to take a few days off riding till my normal Tuesday ride somewhere interesting?

cloudy skies all ride,
Hi: 78   Lo: 67
81 miles

-randorides

Ursa Minor - Meet up with OFR Gruppo

Bruce Tiptons new Focus AG2r Campy equipped ride!

64F... what a cool morning after days of blasting heat. Looks like a good day to start Ursa Minor early and catch the OFR Gruppo out of Magee Park at 8:30 for the ride northward. SOMA chain is cleaned via mineral spirits shake-up and a alcohol final rinse. Then topped it off with a generous coating of Beoshield. Add a helmet light and a rear blinkie and I'm good to go. Lite travel carry-along foodstuffs include the regular:
2- Bananas
2- 21oz bottles with 1 scoop INFINIT + 2 scoops Carbo-Pro each
1- Pak of extra powder mix (above)
6- WW cracker sandwiches with Cashew Butter in-between
1- Sandwich bag with:
     2- Electrolyte tabs
     3- GU Gels
     2- Bars of some kind
     1- Pak of Shot Bloks
     Etc.

Started just before 0600 and headed toward Escondido. Temp was 66 degrees now. Did a mod-route and cruised down Del Dios amid heavy early traffic. Only saw one big rock in the bike lane! Walla! Detour signs all over Rancho Santa Fe town. They have a big tent set up and several smaller ones alongside. Special Event signs laced the roadway. I proceeded straight ahead through the rollers at a good pace toward the coast. Felt like about 50% and even passed up my favorite Control stop at Solana Donuts for a "Red Velvet" with choc coating. Bummer.

Rode northward with no riders around. Low overcast at the coast making for cooler riding for a change. Hooked up with some lady on a tri-bike. She looked old and worn out, but had these huge calves! She soon cranked 'er up and dropped me like a "load"! Stopped at Carlsbad 7-Eleven for a Smores IC Sandwich. Rode over to Magee and had that while waiting for the OFR gruppo to assemble. Chatted with several and finally left northward with Jimbo Wisener. Jim just had a good coronary clean-out with 3-stents put in ! That drug-laced blood should be pushing the oxygen through now. Group finally caught up and we raced along Pacific Street past the pier. Entered Camp Pendleton and noticed Bruce Tipton has a new bike again. Focus with full Campy Record components. Tom got his new Specialized S-Works carbon frame with his old components on. At least they put on new cables to replace the old frayed ones. Even the chain is clean! WOW! Short race with Bruce, new carbon guy John (knows Steve Elliott amd Les Medlin) and Tom. I held up well as long as we were climbing!

Regroup at Las Pulgas Gate. Ben Hassell, John and Eric Rix  met us there. Cruised through the campground and stopped at #11. I drafted into a nice headwind up to San Clemente. Big Womens Pro-Championship still on till the 20th. This means cars everywhere with surf-board carrying bikes, skateboards and walkers too! Group split up at San Clemente. We went through the "neighborhood" and on to Doheny State Park. I cut off and went toward San Juan Cap. The others went to Dana Point for lunch.

I didn't wait the normal 50 minutes for a regroup ride back. I turned off the San Juan River Trail and kept on truckin' to San Clemente with a tailwind. Nice climb up through town. I turned off at the Trestles Bike Path and headed for the beach. Dropped a few gears for sand riding and climbed up around a gate to a small hill overlooking the surf. Lot's of people around. No school, no jobs, just surfing I guess? The Championship was much further south on the beach. Nice and cool by the water. Left in 10 minutes and got back on track through the campground with the tailwind. Easy 18-19 mph riding now. No stop at the bathrooms this trip.

Took home a bottle of Solar Flare for the Ms.

Entered solo through Las Pulgas Gate into Pendleton. Still a nice push as I spotted several riders ahead. I cranked er up and caught up soon. Old gal and a younger guy. They soon pulled off and waited! Picked up another guy on the climb to the Main Gate. I mentioned his nice Litespeed with G'skins and lite Mavics. He was so fired up he tried to drop me at the next red light. Not to happen as I pounced quick on the last climb up Harbor Drive. Had a short stop at the bathrooms before heading eastward with the tailwind to help. Did a normal stop at Bonsall McDonalds for a infused IC Sundae. That helped a little enough to get me up Champagne climb and back around to the finish. Still a little warm through there. Filled my clean bottle with that new Mtn. Dew Solar Flare and packed home. Got Zaharah a 20 cent Reese Piece for a treat! Went all out this trip!

Sort of sucked today. Got up too early and to warm to sleep well at night. Rode OK for the OFR gruppo, not for me. Might need another day off the bike to recover more from the 5 HOT rides last week?

Clear inland, low clouds at the coast
Hi:  87     Lo: 64
129 miles

-randorides