This turned out to be a decent riding day. When I started from the house I noticed that my front tire wasn't fully seated in the rim, so I turned around, let the air out, and reseated the beads. That did the trick. I was running a little late, so I took the normal way through the neighborhood and then the fast way to the 4S Target. Saw Paula on the way. I didn't know how many riders to expect, but we ended up with a good turnout: Ray, Perse (for the first part), Arnold, Jed, Fritz, Nel, Paula, Charlie, Cam, and Kamal. Several riders were late (naturally). I'd planned the route, so I led for much of the way, often hanging back to make sure everybody made the right turns, then pushing to get back to near the front of the pack. To RB Rd and then through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd, turning left on Cabela Dr to get to Duenda Rd and then to W Bernardo Dr. I'd worn a light jacket to the meet-up spot but left it in Nel's car, didn't need it on this ride. We rode down the hill and then across the pedestrian bridge, taking the route through the mall parking lot, Beethoven Dr, and the path through Kit Carson Park to get to El Ku Ave (Romeo met us around here). Then it was up to Escondido Blvd and over to Centre City Pkwy at Brotherton Rd. We rode through Escondido and up to El Norte Pkwy, turning left there and stopping for a coffee break at Starbucks. Romeo. Nel bought coffee for me and Perse, so it's my turn next time. We kept riding (exited the parking lot from behind Von's and had to carry our bikes over the grassy median, Kamal said we looked like deer crossing the highway) up to Country Club Ln, turning left there. Romeo and Fritz took off at this point, I tried to chase them down to no avail, got stuck in no man's land between them and the rest of the group. We all reconnected at the right turn onto El Norte Pkwy, which soon turned into Borden Rd. I was hanging back with Paula on this section, we met up with the others as they were getting ready to turn onto Twin Oaks Valley Rd. I let them know that the route had us going up to Las Posas Rd, so we climbed that gentle climb behind Palomar College. Left turn onto Las Posas Rd, where a kid on an e-bike zipped through us and was mouthing off. Romeo fast-paced up to him and gave him the what-for. Was kinda hilarious in retrospect. We rode up to San Marcos Blvd, turned right, and took it up to Discovery St, where we took a left. We were riding as a group on this section, pretty much stayed together onto Barham Dr, then started to spread out with the little climbs past CSUSM. Ray stayed back with Paula, while I tried to make sure we stayed on route. Over to Mission Rd, right turn there and then another right after the little climb on Citracado Pkwy, with the sharper climb that followed. Cam and Fritz attacked that climb pretty well, I hung back, not wanting to burn too many matches while knowing that more climbing was coming. There was a long, gradual descent after that, followed by the little climb up to Valley Pkwy, where we turned left. I let the others continue while I waited for Paula, who was obviously slowing down by this point. We rode to Avenida del Diablo, turned right, then took a left onto Del Dios Rd to get to 11th Ave, where we took a right. There is a sharp climb just after the turn, followed by more gradual climbing, and I worked hard to catch up to the leaders (Fritz, Cam, Arnold), so that we avoided wrong turns. Another nice gradual descent to the gate, then the next short, sharp climb up Bernardo Ave followed by the rapid descent. We stayed on this road as it climbed into the neighborhood just north of Via Rancho Pkwy, this climb wasn't as hard as I had remembered it. A left turn onto Bernardo Ln, then a thrilling, fun descent to Via Rancho Pkwy, where Jed was in the lead and I was following his line. We gathered back up at the stop sign, turned right and rode over to the gas station past the freeway for a quick break (Fritz bought water, I ate a couple of dates and drank some water). After the break (Paula felt refreshed after eating something and having a rest) we retraced our route back over Lake Hodges and by the park, turning right on Aguamiel Rd and riding up by our house. From there, we followed the same route I had taken to get to the meet-up spot earlier, albeit more slowly. I knew that Paula knew the route, so I pushed and tried to catch up to the other riders. Was partly successful, as Jed and Arnold kept clear all the way to the turn onto Paseo del Sur. The temperature on this ride didn't get too high, was actually really pleasant riding weather for me. I stayed around for just a bit, then rode home the new normal way, more slowly than usual but feeling good that my legs held out without cramping.
Avg speed = 15.3 mph. Total mileage = 50.3 mi
Avg power = 137 W. Weighted avg power = 166 W
Total elevation gain = 2970'
Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 91
Training Load = 226
Intensity = 75%
https://www.strava.com/activities/18443140520
Got home, I wasn't hungry but really needed a shower. Cleaned off and then had some cheese & crackers for lunch. Afternoon was quiet. I finished a book, Henning Mankell's Faceless Killers, the first installation of the Kurt Wallander series. It was okay, very factual without a lot of color to some of the scenes. I might read future books but not right away. I have also finished The Smartest Guys in the Room, which was quite excellent and thorough in describing the ascent and rapid demise of Enron. Ann and I watched some TV in the evening, otherwise it was quiet there as well. I started reading The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes. So far, it is extremely well written but quite long.
