10-31-2026 Ride

Slept okay, waking up early but getting back to sleep with just a little difficulty. Had some anxiety dreams likely related to the trip. Alarm woke me up at 5:30, I unloaded the dishwasher, had a bowl of cereal, and started reviewing voting choices. At 6:30 I started getting ready for my ride, which included swapping out pedals on my Fuji and putting the saddle bag on. I wanted to leave at 7 but ended up rolling around 7:07. Down by the park and over the pedestrian bridge to Via Rancho Pkwy, then up to Felicia Rd. Took it to Hamilton Rd and used that route (via Continental Ln and Calle Cataline) to get to the top of Gamble Ln. I wasn't slacking off on this stretch, generally pushing at above average pace. I rode over to Citracado Pkwy using Scenic Trail Way, then rode down to Harmony Grove Village Pkwy, turning there and taking it to Harmony Grove Rd. Left turn, riding generally down to the bend on to Elfin Forest Rd. Here I pushed some, not a huge effort but not a low one either. I was trying to get into the village with enough time to have a coffee before meeting the others, and I was successful. Stopped at Tidewell Coffee Co (Thalia and Ephraim), at the corner of San Elijo Rd, and had an Americano, sitting inside and relaxing for a bit before continuing on Elfin Forest Rd. This road ends at a kind of a tee, and I was able to pass through the gate on Windemere Dr by following a car in. Here is where I slowed down, taking the initially gentle grade at modest pace and looking for the others coming down the other way. Rode up to Glencrest Dr, turning left and then right on Lighthouse Rd. This road passed by a couple of gates, and it got pretty steep, so I slowed way down here. Eventually got up to the intersection with Schoolhouse Way, and this is where I saw Paula and Ray coming down the hill. I turned around and followed them back down the route I had just taken, all the way to San Elijo Rd, where we turned right and continued down to Melrose Dr, turning right there. We took it over to Boulderridge Dr, then rode up and down to get to RSF Rd. Up the fairly gentle climb toward Lake San Marcos, turning right on Lake San Marcos Dr and taking it to San Marino Dr, turning left there. This got us to the bridge over the lake, where we stopped to take a picture before continuing on San Pablo Dr. We turned left on San Julian Dr, stopping for another picture by a house with extravagant Halloween decorations before connecting back to San Pablo Dr. Right turn on La Noche Dr, then another right on La Sombra Dr followed by a left on Quail Hill Dr. We rode up to Via Vera Cruz, took a left there and then a right on Honeysuckle Dr. This got us to Applewilde Dr, where we turned right, and then left on Poppy Rd. Near the intersection with Foxhall Dr, we stopped for another pic of fancy Halloween decorations before riding over to Discovery Lake and taking several more pictures. Then we took Buckhorn Ave to Iron Horse Dr, turned right and then left on Orchid Ave. Finally we turned right on Santa Barbara Dr and followed it to get out of the neighborhood and to Twin Oaks Valley Rd. Down the hill to Craven Rd, turning right there and then left on Campus View Dr, riding through CSUSM to get to Barham Dr (not the usual East Barham Dr, another one). Paula thought she had a route through this neighborhood, as we took Shelley Dr to a gate. No luck getting through until a car came from the other direction, and we sneaked through after the car had passed and opened the gate. We took Edgewater Dr all the way to its end, hoping to see a bike path that let us out, but no luck. So we backtracked to Saddleback Way, took this road down to its end, and here found a pedestrian gate with an Exit button. This dropped us down onto the main Barham Dr, where we turned right. Took it to Meyers Ave, turned right, then took another right on Corporate Dr, which led us to Country Club Dr via Progress Pl. This road isn't in great shape, but we were generally riding downhill, so it was manageable. We followed it all the way to Harmony Grove Rd, turning right there. We all retraced the earlier route I had taken, almost all of the way back to San Elijo Hills village. Paula was tiring out here, and I rode with her for a while before pushing my pace and catching up to Ray, who was ahead of us. We turned right on Schoolhouse Way, waited for Paula there, then continued on. Ray got ahead of us while Paula made a phone call, then we two rode together up to San Elijo Rd, turning right a continuing the climb up to Double Peak Dr. Again, I rode with Paula for a significant portion of this climb, but I saw Ray in the distance and pushed to catch up to him. He and I turned on Double Peak Dr and continued up this climb. He was tiring by this point, so I got out ahead, riding up to the stop sign by the park entrance. That was far enough, and enough elevation gain, for me. I waited for him, and he continued up to the top, while I turned around and rode to Paula's house on Atherton St. That was the end of my ride, glad to be done, legs felt fine at the end.

Avg speed = 13.4 mph. Total mileage = 40.8 mi

Avg power = 126 W. Weighted avg power = 162 W

Total elevation gain = 3660'

Avg heartrate = 117 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 67

Training Load = 184

Intensity = 74%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20807743464

We actually got back earlier than I thought we would. Catalin was in the back with a number of his mountain biking friends. I chatted with one of them, but they started heading out before the rest of the Bisikleta riders showed up. Andy had driven to the party and was already at Paula's house. Three other riders - Aaron, Cam, and Arnold - had done a gravel ride with a different route, planned by Aaron. They showed up a little before 11:00. Ann got there around 11:15. Maya and Anna also showed up around that time, and eventually Gideon came as well. It was a nice little gathering. I chatted with Maya about Boston, which is where she went to college. Also heard some more from Catalin about his recent trip to the Grecian Isles and back to Bucharest. Food was decent, Ann said the brisket was tasty. I got enough to eat as well, it felt good to be done with this last training ride before the trip. We stayed for a couple of hours, then Ann drove us home. In the afternoon after I got home I gave my Canyon a more thorough cleaning, then I laid out all of the items to be taken on the trip. Will do a final pack-up in the morning. I checked to see if my Canyon can fit on the roof bike rack, and it appears that it can. I'd prefer to put Nel's bike up there if his will fit. I cut out some pieces of insulating foam tube to use to protect my bike frame on the train ride. I ate a fairly big dinner of leftovers, Ann wasn't hungry after her big lunch. Watched some TV after dinner and turned in early, knowing it would be an early next day. 

10-30-2026 Swim

Slept okay, through until after 3:00, then I got back to sleep and had several vivid dream cycles before waking up around 5:30 (<!>). I got ready for a swim at the WWC, no Avi, who is in Hawaii. Swam four 500s with brief pauses in between (a little longer pause before the last one), and using my swim pads for the second 500. Here are the split times: 9:15, 9:16, 9:23, 9:17. My stroke was ragged on the latter part of the last 500, but I sprinted the last bit to try and lower my time.

Avg pace = 1:52/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 37:11 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 145 bpm (Amazfit, maybe)

Relative Effort = 43 (maybe)

SWOLF = 28

Avg stroke rate = 26 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.43 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20810884600

Shoulders were tired at the end of this workout. I had some cereal and coffee for breakfast. The exterminator inspector found evidence of rodents in the attic, so Ann and I headed toward Home Depot. We turned around when I saw the message from Andy that he and Hugo were stranded on I-5 with a flat, after having ridden with James on the first leg of his 300-mile ride to SLO. We headed back home, where I loaded the bike rack in the car and drove to meet them. They were about 3-4 miles north of the entrance to Camp Pendleton. I got there, loaded one bike in the back and the other on the rear bike rack, then drove us north to the Las Pulgas exit, where we turned south and headed to the Solana Beach train station. I dropped them off and then headed home, stopping at Home Depot to pick up some anti-rodent supplies. Got home, was hungry and had some lunch, then took a nap. Throughout the afternoon I gathered some more supplies for the trip. Also recharged my derailleur batteries. Watched some TV in late afternoon, then after dinner I replaced the brake pads on my Canyon and gave it a mild clean. Also watched TV before going to bed.

10-29-2026 Ride

Had a planned early morning meet-up with Paula to ride down in La Jolla, so I got up early, emptied the dishwasher, then got ready for the ride, packing my stuff in my backpack. She showed up before 6:30, we loaded my bike on her bike rack, then she drove us down to the Torrey Pines Gliderport. We unloaded the bikes and got ready for the ride, it was a perfect day for riding: cool but not cold, and clouds to keep the sun at bay. Rode up to Torrey Pines Rd and headed south. My bottle cage was rattling, so I stopped after we turned on Dunaway Dr and tightened it down. We continued on Prestwick Dr to Calle de Oro, taking that thrilling descent down to Camino del Oro, riding by La Jolla Shores. Turned on Avenida de la Playa, stopped there for a couple of pics, then took Calle de la Playa to Paseo Dorado, followed by Spindrift Dr up to Torrey Pines Rd, turning right there and riding up to Prospect St, where we turned right and rode down into the village. Stayed on this street through the village until turning right on Olivetas Ave. Right on Marine St and left on Monte Vista Ave. Right on Fern Glen and right on Neptune Pl to get to the bottom of Neptune St. Then we started the first serious climbing on this ride (definitely not the last). Climbed up to Muirlands Vista Way, turned right there and took it up to Muirlands Dr, more climbing up to a right turn on La Jolla Mesa Dr. Left on Rodeo Dr, then another left on La Jolla Rancho Rd. We were descending to La Jolla Corona  Dr to get to a right turn onto Linda Rosa Ave. This took us to La Jolla Mesa Dr, turned left there, then right on Lamplight Dr and left on Candlelight Dr. We were climbing again, heading up to Rutgers Rd, which took us up to La Jolla Scenic Dr, turning right there. More climbing got us up to Mt Soledad, where we rode to the cross. I stopped there for a bio break, then we walked around the cross and took some pics before starting back down. We turned right on Via Casa Alta, rode to Hillside Dr and turned left and then left again on Caminito Bassano, followed by a right on Caminito Valverde, which turned into Via Valverde. This got us back to Nautilus St, where we turned right and then right shortly after on Muirlands Dr. Nice downhill here. Took us down to Fay Ave, right there and right on Genter St. Left on Girard Ave and right on Pearl St. Left on Cabrillo Ave to Olivet St, we started climbing again. Right on Soledad Ave, then right on Al Bahr Dr, which had an interesting little loop in it to get up to Crespo Dr, a little more climbing to the local summit, where I waited for Paula, including backtracking a little bit so I could see her coming up the grade. Then we had a descent before some more steep climbing to a right turn on Soledad Ave and then another right on Hillside Dr, ultimately climbing to Via Capri. We turned left there and rode down a steep (not the steepest) portion of this road to get to Hidden Valley Rd. My brakes were squeaking at this turn, overheating from frequent use. We rode down to Torrey Pines Rd and then climbed the generally gentle climb up to the left turn to stay on Torrey Pines Rd. This last section was blessedly slightly downhill back to the turn to get to the glider port (Torrey Pines Scenic Dr). Somehow at that previous turn I'd paused my Wahoo, so I missed a mile or so of the total route. My left quad was feeling sore on that last climb, a lot of riding out of the saddle on this day. Bike shifted just great the entire ride.

Avg speed = 11.4 mph. Total mileage = 20.8 mi (actual was 22.2 mi)

Avg power (est.) = 35 W (from Strava?!)

Total elevation gain = 2300'

Avg heartrate = 109 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 29

https://www.strava.com/activities/20780551628

Paula drove us back to our house, and I swapped out her pedals to recover my Assioma pedals. Got home, had some time to chill before Ann and I got ready to meet Leslie and Charlie at Greek Corner Café for lunch. Conversation was good, food was bad (worse falafel I believe I've ever had). Then we drove to Angelika to see You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder's documentary about Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans. It was entertaining and innovative in its extensive use and involvement of Amanda Seyfried, who played Holmes in Hulu's The Dropout. It was also long, almost three hours. I came away with a more nuanced impression of Elizabeth Holmes, a definitely flawed person but flawed in different ways than I'd thought. Chatted about the movie with them a little after the movie, then we drove home. I watched some football in the evening, ate snacks for dinner.

10-28-2026 Ride

Slept pretty well, got up early and got ready for a ride with John. I rode my Fuji bike to avoid having to take the bags off my Canyon. Cleaned the few kitchen dishes before I left around 6:40. I took the usual way over to his house with the exception of turning on Alpine Way and doing the loop in his neighborhood (I was a little early). It was just him outside when I got there, but Jayden and Vivian came out to see us off. I'd planned the route, and we headed up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy and turned right there. The shifting on my Fuji seemed fine on the way over to John's house, but I dropped my chain a couple of times while trying to shift to my lower chainring, and later I was having some chain-skipping issues in my middle gears. It was also a little difficult to shift to the upper chainring. With all that, I got pretty far behind John on the descent to I-15, but eventually we connected back up by that interchange. He then got out in front of me on the continuing descent (I was wearing my light windbreaker, and it was slowing me down) to Black Mountain Rd, where we turned left and started heading up. I dropped my chain again and had to stop, then I pushed a little hard to catch up to him to let him know about the right turn onto Capricorn Way. There was a fair amount of morning traffic on this street, and its quality is poor. John got out ahead again, then he waited for me at the turn onto Camino Ruiz. We took that road to Calle Cristobal and started heading in the direction of Sorrento Valley. John led for a while, then I pushed the pace again and created a little gap between us before we turned left on Camino Santa Fe. Still had my jacket on, so John got out ahead on the descent, while I caught him before we turned right on Mira Mesa Blvd. Took it over to Pacific Heights Blvd and turned left, where we had a pretty steep, fun descent to get to Carroll Canyon Rd. We turned left there and paid for the descent with a climb, initially steeper but leveling off, on Carroll Road that eventually got us to Miramar Rd. We turned left and headed over to Pomerado Rd. There has been road construction, and the bike lane is more choppy than it used to be. We got across the I-15 overpass okay then started up Pomerado Rd. I stayed with John for most of this stretch until we got to the last steeper part, where I created a little bit of separation, not much. Then we took Cypress Canyon Park Dr down to Candy Rose Way and used it to get to Angelique St. Normal way back to his house from there. The weather was pretty great on the ride. It had been a little chilly on the way over, but our ride together was fine. I'd taken my jacket off, I think just after the descent on Pacific Heights Blvd. We had smoothies, and I chatted with them about Halloween plans, and a little bit about my upcoming bikepacking trip. Then I rode home the normal way, bike not shifting well at all by this time, via Bernardo Center Dr.

Avg speed = 14.9 mph. Total mileage = 41.4 mi

Avg power (est.) = 124 W

Total elevation gain = 2950'

Avg heartrate = 111 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 38

https://www.strava.com/activities/20767771941

I got home and had some time to relax, watch a little TV, and eat some cereal before I needed to get ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. I shaved and showered, then headed over there to eat lunch before the shift. It was less busy on this day, perhaps because the CT scanner was down and so patients were being diverted to other hospitals. With that said, I was really busy at the beginning, had a bit of a lull, then another busy stretch before it seemed to lighten up near the end. Rode home after the shift and had a pretty quiet rest of the evening. I did take the time to tune up the shifting on my Fuji for the planned Thursday ride.

I finished reading Ken Liu's All That We See or Seem, about a young Asian woman who is technically savvy and gets pulled into tracking down the missing wife, a dream weaver, of a lawyer. It was definitely suspension-of-disbelief material, even though it was set in the near future. Started reading Claire Stapleton's Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses Fake Promises and My Escape from Big Tech - A Biting Memoir of Twelve Years Inside Google.

10-27-2026 Swim

Ann's 65th birthday (<!>). I slept somewhat poorly, got up after midnight and watched some TV, ate some food, and read before I could get back to sleep. Still woke up a little early, took the opportunity to shave. When Ann got up I made her oatmeal, eggs, and coffee for breakfast. A little later she went to the gym, so I took the opportunity to go for a swim at the WWC. I had the pool to myself initially, but others gradually came as well. Intent was to swim for a longer distance than usual for me, mission accomplished. Earlier in the morning I had watched a swim video short about correct hand and body positioning for streamlined form coming off the wall, and I tried it out. Surprisingly, it made a measurable difference in how far I could glide before starting my stroke. I tried it out for much of this swim, and perhaps it helped my time somewhat. Ended up swimming 2000 yds with very short breaks around the 500 yd marks, last 500 with the pull buoy. I had a fair amount of trouble with my swim goggles leaking, need to try and fix that problem. My water-resistant bone conduction phones worked well again, fingers crossed that they will continue to work. Here are the splits for the four 500s, not including the short breaks: 9:23, 9:24, 9:22, 9:26. My form definitely fell off in the last 500, arms were getting tired, so more endurance swims are needed for me.

Avg pace = 1:53/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 37:35 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (seems too low)

Relative Effort = 13 (again, low)

SWOLF = 28

Avg stroke rate = 26 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.40 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20754244038

Got home, Ann was still out. I looked into places to have an early birthday dinner with Ann, then watched some TV while eating a little lunch. I had a little nap in the afternoon, caught up a bit on sleep, then I went out in the garage and patched a couple of inner tubes. I also replaced the tube on the rear wheel (EliteWheels), since it is really difficult to inflate with the hand pump. Don't want to take my bags off my Canyon, so I got my Fuji ready for a couple of rides before the big trip. I took it off the Kickr trainer, removed the aero bars, and put my SPD pedals on (Paula still has my Assioma pedals). Pumped up the tires, put the saddle bag on, and I think I'm ready to go. In mid-afternoon Ann and I drove down to Convoy St and had an early-bird dinner (with happy hour) at Steamy Piggy. I picked this place because it's supposed to have excellent soup dumplings, and Ann ended up getting the taco flight, since it was a happy-hour special. I had a huge plate of fries with kim chi on top, very spicy and quite filling, not so healthy. After our early dinner I drove us to Common Theory, a typical bar on Convoy St that also has a speakeasy, Realm of the 52 Remedies, behind a door and through a dark hallway. The interior vibe was nice, we had a couple of fancy drinks (mine was supposed to have a banana flavor, but the alcohol content kinda overwhelmed it). Then we drove through moderate traffic (were able to take the carpool lane, which helped) to get to Karl Strauss in 4S Ranch, where a number of Bisikleta riders were celebrating Andy's birthday. They all wished Ann a happy birthday as well, and I think she had a good time. She stayed for a while before she left to go to bell choir practice. I stayed until the end and got a ride home with Andy, who dropped Nel off first (failed geography lesson). I ended up getting home just a little bit after Ann did, and I was tired from a busy day.

10-26-2026 Ride

Slept okay, woke up early enough to have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then I spent a little time (not enough, it turns out) attaching my bags to the bike. I got ready and left the house a little after 7:00. Headed through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd and then took W Bernardo Dr to RB Rd, then to the parking lot in front of Von's. Hugo was already there, and Nel and Andy showed up shortly after. We chatted briefly about preferred routes to the coast and settled on the most common one. Took Bernardo Center Dr over to W Bernardo Dr and then to RB Rd. Up the hill (I had gotten behind the others and had to catch up here) and over to CdS. Around 4S Ranch Andy stopped to troubleshoot a rear tire leak, and that took 10 minutes or so. I had stopped here to tighten up my rear saddle bag, which has a tendency to sway back and forth as I ride. We took a steady pace, not as slow as last Thursday, and I was frequently out front, not super concerned about staying with the others. Instead I wanted to test out the feel of my bike. Over to San Dieguito Rd, down the hill carefully to account for the different geometry and weight distribution. We kept together on the flats over to ECR, took it to VdlV, and rode together over to PCH. There we headed north, ultimately deciding ronridento La Costa Ave before turning around. We rode back into Leucadia and stopped at Bump Coffee (Grace and Olivia) for a delicious pour-over, best coffee I've had out in a while. I tightened up my saddle bag again before we started back. We talked mainly about the trip and decided to stop at the Solana Beach train station on the way back to ask some questions about bringing our bikes on the train. I was getting used to riding with the extra weight. I doesn't seem to have a huge effect on the flats, I am slower when climbing, obviously. On the way back I kept getting out ahead mainly of Andy, who was concentrating on riding at his pace. We retraced our route. Nel and I got ahead of the other two on Three Witches, and Nel hung with me until he couldn't keep up the pace on the last climb. We gathered back at the turn, then I got out ahead of the others on the climb back to Del Sur. Similar result on RB Rd, taking it back to W Bernardo Dr. The others turned right on Duenda to get back to where we had started, and 8 headed directly home. Legs felt good throughout, not putting a lot of stress on them at the pace we were riding. I'm feeling good about my readiness for the trip, hoping we have generally good weather.

Avg speed = 14.7 mph. Total mileage = 50.2 mi

Avg power = 104 W. Weighted avg power = 137 W

Total elevation gain = 2170'

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 49

Training Load = 155

Intensity = 62%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20741630253

Got home a little after 12:30,had some lunch and watched a little TV. Ann went to mah-jongg. I re-sent the routes for the trip to everybody, changed the proposed route for day 5, and sent out information about the two hotel stays I arranged. After some back and forth, I think we are now set for lodging, with the addition of Hugo. I talked to Mom in the early evening, she was in an okay mood but basically didn't ask anything about the wedding. Very depressing. Watched some TV after dinner, then settled down after that.

10-25-2026 Swim

Slept okay after the busy previous day. I got up after 6:00, put the table back in the office, and watched a little TV before getting ready for a swim at the WWC. It was a beautiful morning, a little chilly on the ride over but still really nice. My "waterproof" bone conduction phones appear to be working again (I had also used them, connected to my phone, on the long Thursday ride), which is really great. Hope they keep working. I ended up swimming 1500 yds, using the following protocol:

Initial 500

    9:30

Second 500, with swim pads

    9:22

250, with swim fins

    4:23

Cooldown 250

    4:48

Here are the overall estimated statistics.

Avg pace = 1:52/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1500 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 28:03 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 161 bpm (nope)

Relative Effort = 69 (again, nope)

SWOLF = 28

Avg stroke rate = 24 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.53 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20729414831

Need to find time to put in some longer swims and build up my stamina. I was okay at 1500 yds but could feel my stroke quality degrading later in the workout. Rode home and had some cereal and coffee for breakfast, emptied the dishwasher. I also reserved a car for the Houston trip in November through Expedia (Hertz). Had a quiet early afternoon, then in mid-afternoon we drove down to Pilgrim UCC to see Mohavisoul in concert. We had seen them a year ago, decent fiddle player (not sure it was the same guy as when we saw them last) and great banjo player. Guitar player had a good voice, other vocalist, who played the mandolin, was not good. Show was okay, we don't need to see this band again. After the concert we had ramen in Carlsbad, then drove home. I took some time to gather the gear I'll take on the bikepacking trip and put it in the two bags. With almost everything, the bags weighed a little less than 10 lbs. I put them in the garage, and retired for the evening.