06-06-2026 Ride

Woke up earlier than planned, so I took my time getting ready for the Bisikleta ride. I had some cereal for breakfast and unloaded the dishwasher, also put the few dirty dishes in. Got my food and water gathered up and headed out around 6:50. Didn't put a lot of power into the ride over there, which took me through the neighborhood and then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, including rides up to the top of Camino San Thomas and Four Gee Rd. Andy (new Toyota Four Runner) and Perse were already there, and James and Paula showed up soon after. Rob, Fritz, and Jed A. were there at the start as well. We headed down CdS, and along the way we found Kamal, who must have started before us. Over to Torrey Meadows Dr, where we turned right and took it over the 56 before connecting to Torrey Santa Fe Rd, taking a left there and riding back to CdS. We used that road to get to the 56 bike path, heading west for a while until turning off to get to Rancho Santa Fe Farms Rd, where we turned right and took it into a fancy part of Fairbanks Ranch. I had forgotten that there is a short, sharp climb on this road right after the first descent. Perse and Fritz attacked on this climb, and I didn't have a suitable response right away. I eventually caught Perse but couldn't do the same with Fritz before we turned left onto Rancho Diegueno Rd. There is a little rise at the turn, but it is followed by a great, winding descent that you can take without braking if you are a little brave. This took us down to San Dieguito Rd, where we turned left and rode in a ragged pace line for a while. This might have been Paula's first time in a pace line, certainly the first time with Bisikleta. We rode over to ECR, turning right and taking it to VdlV, where we turned left and headed toward the coast. For a change I had us turn right onto Cedros Ave and take it through Solana Beach until we used Lomas Santa Fe to get to PCH. Once we got onto this road Fritz and Rob were pushing the pace pretty hard. I stayed with them, but it was an effort. We rode through Cardiff and turned right on Chesterfield Dr, then right again on San Elijo Ave. James and I were out front on this stretch. The road connects into Manchester Ave, which we followed through the turn (me and Fritz in the lead, with Jed coming up) and over to RSF Rd. We stopped at the corner and had our break at Champagne Bakery (I bought coffee for Andy and Perse). From there we continued on RSF Rd to La Bajada, where we climbed toward RSF village. Onto Los Morros, where we started a descent. I was in the lead and turned onto San Elijo Ave, others followed, but Kamal missed the turn. He needed to get back home sooner than we did, so we ended up letting him know to continue on this shorter route back. The rest of us rode up to Via de Fortuna, turned left, and took this gradual climb all the way to El Camino del Norte. Rob had gotten out ahead of the rest of us, so Fritz and I tracked him down and passed him. I was hanging with Fritz, but it was an effort. Got to the turn and headed right, taking this road down to Paseo Delicias, where we turned right (sun was starting to come out around this time) and headed back to VdlV. A left turn there, and I waited for everybody to make the turn. Andy had dropped his chain, so I was pretty far back by this time. We rode down to Via de Santa Fe and then took it and El Apajo back to San Dieguito Rd. I had already started passing folks before the Three Witches climb, and I had a tailwind to help me along on this climb. Caught James pretty quickly, then Rob around the second part of the climb, and I saw Fritz in the distance. I closed the gap but couldn't catch him before we got back to CdS. He and I waited after the turn for the others to show up, Andy was last, along with Jed serving as the sweeper. We all rode back from here to Paseo del Sur and used it to get back to the Target parking lot. Fritz was in the lead here, along with me, and Jed was hanging with us as well. We all pushed a pretty brisk pace all the way back to the starting point, and it was an effort for me. I stayed around and waited for everybody to make it back before I headed home the new normal way. Again, I had the benefit of a tailwind coming from the southwest to help me along, otherwise I would have taken the shorter route. Felt good on this ride, legs were still fairly fresh at the end, even though I pushed harder throughout the ride than I've done in a while.

Avg speed = 16.7 mph (16.9 mph). Total mileage = 50.7 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 17.5 mph

Avg power = 143 W. Weighted avg power = 176 W

Total elevation gain = 2890' (2930')

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 85 (98)

Training Load = 232

Intensity = 80%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18814190563

Got home, had some lunch, then Ann and I drove around 1:20 over to Old Poway Park for a San Diego Folk Heritage Society concert by the Gazebo. We saw two acts: The Winter Sisters (a trio of female singer/songwriters - Cathryn Beeks, Bonnie Nichols, and Sande Lollis) and Fast Heart Mart (Martin Stamper, a banjo player). The latter act was better, but neither one was good enough that I would go back to see them. Drove home after the concert and had a quiet rest of the afternoon and evening. Ann and I watched some TV after dinner.

06-05-2026 Run/Swim

Slept pretty well, woke up before 5:00 (<!>). I got up a little after 6:00 and got ready for a run with Heather. Stretched more than usual, will see if it helps. We ran down to the park and then twice around the lower-level figure eight circuit I had mapped out before running back and making the turn onto Aguamiel Rd before we stopped, having gotten to 5k. Was a relaxed pace for me, but we got a little faster after the first mile.

Avg pace = 10:03/mi

Total distance = 3.22 mi

Elapsed moving time = 32:21

Avg heartrate = 112 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 6

https://www.strava.com/activities/18797253732

Got back, had some toast for breakfast and chatted a little bit with Heather, Kathy, and Ann before getting ready for a swim with Avi at the WWC, meeting around 9:00. We got there just in time, had two lanes next to each other before the other lanes filled up. We did a warmup 200, then four 250s at tempo. Here are the times for the 200 and four 250s: 3:45, 4:18. 4:29, 4:24, 4:26. I was really flailing on the last 250, not much energy left, poor style, and lots of strokes. Avi really pushed in the last 250, got close to 4:00 I'm guessing. Then I got out to let Blaine have the lane while Avi swam a cooldown 50. I forgot to set up my camera, so I used the Zepp data downloaded to Strava (pretty decent now that it excludes pauses) to make the split calculations.

Avg pace = 1:47/100 yds (Video, not counting pauses)

Total distance = 1200 yds

Elapsed moving time = 21:22 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 119 bpm (seems low)

Relative Effort = 10 (also low)

SWOLF = 35

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm (more strokes to try and keep a high pace)

Avg pull distance = 2.44 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/18799199013

Had some cereal when I got home, then relaxed for a while. Talked to Ben about Mom and her adverse reaction to a prescription for antibiotics. She was vomiting and having diarrhea. He had calmed down a bit, was a decent conversation, not too dramatic. In the afternoon I went out in the back yard and cut back the sumac and pepper tree shoots, including behind the fence. Never my favorite task, although the sumac bushes that I cut back to stumps aren't throwing any or many shoots off. A bigger problem are the pepper tree roots, which are all over and around the fence. In the late afternoon I rode my scooter to Esco, parked, and met the others to walk through the first Friday of Cruisin' Grand this year. Kathy and Heather love old cars, it was mildly interesting. We walked around for about an hour, then split as they headed for dinner with Kay and I rode home, stopping to pick up a burrito on the way. Watched some TV and read in the evening.

Years that folks passed:

Tommy and Millie - 1990

Doug - 2005

Dad - 2012

06-04-2026 Run/Walk

Woke up during the night and tried to read, but I soon fell back asleep. I woke up for good around 5:00, read for a while, then got up and got ready for a run. Left the house a little after 6:00 and headed down to the park, but I changed my path in the park in an attempt to find a flatter route to run with Heather on Friday. I was successful, but this route is more winding and likely slower. I basically ran this little double loop twice before heading back home and getting to the target 5k distance before climbing back to the house. I did stretch before the run, again it seemed to help loosen up tightness in my legs.

Avg pace = 9:04/mi

Total distance = 3.13 mi

Elapsed moving time = 28:27

Avg heartrate = 115 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 5

https://www.strava.com/activities/18783844986

Got home and had some cereal and a banana for breakfast, then I made some coffee. I talked to Kathy and Heather when they came down, and Ann eventually came down as well. I went upstairs and updated my 2026 events log as well as exploring details of the planned ride up Haleakala that's coming up. Looks like I will take a similar route from Paia up to the top and back, which will add another 10 miles or so, thankfully flat, to the start of the ride from Kihei. That should still work out okay, but it is definitely going to be a challenge. The four of us left the house around 8:15 and drove down to the San Diego Zoo, arriving there right after it opened. As soon as we got in we walked over to the panda exhibit, which opened at 9:30. It was moderately interesting, we haven't seen these animals in many years. After this we walked through other parts of the zoo. The polar bear exhibit was a letdown, they weren't out in the enclosure. Other areas were okay, I was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt, and I could have used a hoodie. We ended up walking around four miles before we got back to the car. Stopped in Mira Mesa and had Chinese food at a restaurant near where Emily works. It was disappointing for me, higher prices than the food quality indicated. I was pretty tired by this point, so I had a nap after we got back home, felt much better after that. Also read in the afternoon. Worked on my cycling analysis code as well, cleaned the code up a bit and improved the display of the elevation profile so that it now shows the smoothed data. The evening was quiet. I watched a little TV and read, then went to sleep.

06/03/2026 Ride

World Bicycle Day. I woke up around 5:00, had gone to sleep early the previous night. Got ready for a ride over to John's house, where I left a little early and took an easier pace on the way. Standard route there, fairly slow and steady up that last little climb. He and Jayden were out, and Vivian came out just before we left. We headed back down the hill to Sabre Springs Pkwy, taking it over to the bike path that leads down to I-15. Then we rode up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy and went down the hill on Mercy Rd to Black Mountain Rd. Climbed from there up to the 56, John was particularly slow on this climb (he'd been doing yard work the previous days), and this was true throughout the ride. We rode to Carmel Mountain Rd and took a left there, enjoying a slight downhill over to CdS, where we turned left. We rode down to Park Village Rd, turned left there, and then headed back to Black Mountain Rd to complete a little loop. Right turn on Black Mountain Rd, taking it into Mira Mesa and up to Miramar Rd. A left turn there got us onto Pomerado Rd, and from there we took the usual way back to John's house. He was quite slow on this stretch, especially the last little climb, so I did some little loops through the neighborhood at the top of the climb while I waited for him. One minor modification to the way back, we turned on Candy Rose Way, which is more of a straight descent that I thought would be better for him. I stayed for smoothies and conversation with him and Vivian after that part of the ride. They showed me the landscaping work they are doing in their back yard., and we talked a little bit about their upcoming trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs. Then I rode home, more slowly than usual, taking the usual way via Bernardo Center Dr.

Avg speed = 14.1 mph (14.3 mph). Total mileage = 40.6 mph

Avg power = 113 W. Weighted avg power = 137 W

Total elevation gain = 2600' (2660')

Avg heartrate = 106 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 31 (31)

Training Load = 128

Intensity = 62%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18772994755

Ann and the others were gone when I got home, I had a little time to relax before shaving, showering, and getting ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. Ate lunch there, as usual. A new med tech, Matthew, came in at 3:00. Other than that, there were the usual nurses and techs. Got busy at the end, so I left a little bit late and got back home around 5:00. Emily and Caleb came over for dinner with us, Kathy, and Heather, and it was a nice dinner and conversation outside, although it got a little chilly. The conversation moved inside, and I listened for a while until they started talking about reality TV shows, at which point I went into the kitchen, finished cleaning, and then went upstairs.

06/02/2026 Ride

Had set my alarm to go off at 4:45, and it woke me up. I dressed for the ride in the dark, went down and loaded up some food and water bottles (Gatorade in one), then drove down to CVR by Torrey Pines SB and parked on the street. Unloaded my bike and kitted up for the ride, then I rode up to PCH and turned left to ride down to the coast and to the base of Torrey Pines Rd. First climb was fine, I rode at moderate pace but tried to keep it smooth and consistent, knowing that there were a lot more to follow. First loop up and then back down took me about 13 minutes, from there it was a series of repeats. I stopped at the top after five climbs and ate a banana, then continued on for another five loops until stopping again and eating a granola bar. By this point I had half convinced myself to ride a total of 16 loops, depending on how I felt as I got closer to the target. I was able to ride up in third gear for the first 13 loops or so, and for the last three I switched down to second gear in the middle of the climb, where it was a little steeper. For the last climb I was in first gear for that same stretch. Legs held out, my back was a little stiff, but the descents helped me stretch a little bit. Had some issue in the latter part of the ride with numb hands, particularly my left hand, but it wasn't too much of a bother. When I got to the top on the last one, I saw that I needed a little more elevation gain to get to 7000'. So I rode down the hill and climbed into Del Mar, getting to the stoplight at Del Mar Heights Rd before taking a U-turn and riding back down to where I'd parked the car. Here are the times, power, and heartrate values for the 16 climbs, from the Strava segment results:

1. 8:59     224 W     142 W
2. 9:05     225 W     144 bpm
3. 9:06     229 W     147 bpm
4. 9:18     223 W     145 bpm
5. 9:35     212 W     141 bpm
6. 9:42     209 W     137 bpm (note how my average heartrate dropped as my times got longer and my average power decreased as well)
7. 9:23     215 W     140 bpm (after warming up, I was able to generate a little more power at the same average heartrate)
8. 9:24     213 W     138 bpm
9. 8:56     225 W     141 bpm (this is probably where a guy passed me at the bottom, and I caught up with him, then he passed me, so I put in a bigger effort and dropped him, this was my highest ratio of power to heartrate)
10. 9:32     205 W     138 bpm
11. 9:12     215 W     143 bpm
12. 9:39     205 W     141 bpm
13. 9:57     200 W     140 bpm (in my last four or so climbs I noticed that my power-to-heartrate efficiency started to drop off)
14. 10:14   193 W     139 bpm
15. 9:52     198 W     139 bpm
16. 9:46     198 W     142 bpm (nice that my last climb wasn't my slowest)

From my analysis, I was more efficient at the start as I was warming up and at my freshest (first two climbs), then I dropped into a steady state for the next two climbs, followed by a higher-efficiency period where my power:heartrate ratio was measurably lower for about six climbs. Then I dropped back to steady-state efficiency for the next five climbs, while my last climb showed another measurable drop-off in this ratio as I started to tire more. By the way, my crank and bottom bracket functioned just fine, it seemed like there was less creaking noise coming from the bottom bracket, so perhaps the lubrication had some beneficial effect.

Avg speed = 14.4 mph (14.4 mph). Total mileage = 55.3 mph

Avg power = 152 W. Weighted avg power = 194 W

Total elevation gain = 7040' (!) (7070')

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 145 (143)

Training Load = 306

Intensity = 88%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18759335261

Drove home after loading up my gear and got there a little after 10:00. Haleakala is definitely going to be a challenge for me. I had the house to myself for a bit until the others returned from a walk down to the park and back. We ended up going to lunch at a new place in RB, Bushfire Kitchen. It was okay, prices were high (of course) for what they served, food was decent but not great. Stopped at Von's after lunch and then headed home. The rest of the afternoon was quiet. I had a little nap and watched some TV, nothing useful done. Evening was also quiet, read a fair amount. I started re-reading The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner after finishing The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

06-01-2026 Basketball

Slept okay, this was intended to be an easy exercise day, given plans for the following day's ride. Had some cereal for breakfast. Around 9:00 I went to the WWC and shot baskets for about a half hour. At one point, I made six straight 3's, which is about as unusual as it gets for me and basketball. Rode home, where Ann was getting ready to drive to San Clemente and SJC with Kathy and Heather. While they were gone I watched a little TV, organized my workbench in the garage, put the aero bars back on my Fuji, and made some adjustments to the sprinklers for the upper bed in the front yard, swapping out some sprayer heads in an attempt to reduce the overall water flow and get better coverage. This line still uses a lot of water, so I limited its minutes. They got home in time for us to have dinner together, and the evening was a quiet one.

05-31-2026 Run/Swim

Slept pretty well, even with the coffee, I think because I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before. I woke up around 5:30, read for a while, then got ready for a run. Went down by the park and did my usual 5k route, walking the rest of the way up the hill to get back home. I stretched before the run and kept my pace steady but not too fast.

Avg pace = 8:19/mi

Total distance = 3.18 mi

Elapsed moving time = 26:29

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm

Relative Effort = 6

https://www.strava.com/activities/18729956772

Got home, did a little work on the computer, then I got ready for a swim at the WWC. It was really busy at the opening, but the pool wasn't too busy to begin with. It got more crowded soon after I started, but I had my preferred lane. I swam the first 1000 yds, took a little pause, then swam another 200, another break, followed by a 300 to get to a total of 1500, with the following split times: 9:23, 9:39, 9:25. I didn't select the right workout type on my watch, so this one wasn't recorded, other than on video.

Avg pace = 1:54/100 yds (Video, not counting pause)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 28:27 (Video)

https://www.strava.com/activities/18732040784

Had some cereal when I got home, then I chilled for a while. Ann, Kathy, and Heather drove down to Coronado, walked around in the afternoon and watched a concert with a Fleetwood Mac cover band at Spreckels Park before heading home in the evening. I stayed home and decided to try and remove my crankset to lubricate the bearings. This turned out to be an adventure. First I removed the Dub cap on the drive side crank using the tool I had bought when I got the cap in the first place (it didn't come with the bike). Then I loosened the 2 mm Allen bolt on the pre-tension wheel on the non-drive side. Next I used an 8 mm Allen wrench to loosen the bolt holding the crank on. Lots of videos said this bolt could be very difficult to loosen, but I didn't have any problems. When I removed it, I couldn't get the crank off. I went back to look at other videos, looked up the serial number for my bike to get the exact model of the crank, still no luck. I went into the garage and out a number of times, resolved to take it into Poway Bikes and have them show me how to remove it. At this point I found another video that mentioned extracting the crank, and I thought about the olden days, when you needed a crank extractor tool to do this job. This other video mentioned the need to have the Dub cap on while loosening the bolt, since this cap then effectively serves as the crank extractor. So I put the crank back on, tightened the bolt somewhat, then put the cap back on. Then, when I loosened the 8 mm bolt again the crank came off. Success! I had figured it out myself, with lots of help from videos. Got the crank off, then a couple of taps with a rubber mallet loosened the other side and allowed me to remove it too. As far as I can tell, I found that the bearings are sealed and can't be opened up. So I applied grease to the areas where the bearings were rotating, in the hope that some of this grease might make it into the bearings. Then I reinstalled the non-drive side arm (it took a couple of times before I could get it to seat), and reattached the spider assembly on the drive side, using a torque wrench to tighten it to specifications. I put the Dub cap back on and manually tightened the pre-tension wheel finger-tight, then backed off a tiny big before tightening the little locking bolt with the 2 mm Allen wrench. Had taken the pedals and chain off for easier access, so I reinstalled them as well, lubricating the pedals before putting them back on. Everything seems to be put back together, may need a shake-out ride to verify proper operation. The rest of the day and evening were fairly quiet, I had leftovers for dinner, nothing major to note (<>).