09-24-2026 Ride

Woke up around 5:00, got out of bed around 6:00 and got ready for a ride from home with Paula. I emptied the dishwasher and got dressed for the ride. She showed up around 6:45, and she put her gear on the bike while I finished getting my bike ready. She was using my power pedals for the first time, noticed the larger Q factor. We rode down by the park and then up Pomerado Rd to Bernardo Trails Dr, turning there. From here for quite a while, we were either climbing or descending, and some of the climbs were really steep, none of them steep and long. Left on Polvera Dr following it as it turned into Polvera Ave. This is a nice road through a fancy neighborhood, lots of ups and downs. It eventually brought us back to Bernardo Trails Dr, where we turned and took a steep climb up to Aceituno St. A little more climbing before a nice descent through misty fog, where I startled a lady walking in the middle of the street as I was barreling down a descent. Got on Avenida Maribella, which took us to Camino Ramillette, turning left and then left again on Paseo del Verano. We followed this down by the winery and then used the sidewalk path to get over to Old Winery Rd. Up to Valle Verde Rd, turning there for some more climbing before a descent led us to a left turn on Starmont Way. I hadn't been on this street either. We turned left on Saint Andrews Dr, which had some more significant climbing. It turned into Boca Raton Ln, then into Tam O Shanter Dr. We stayed on this road, which had another short steep climb, until we descended to a turn onto Goodeve Dr. This road took us out of the Valle Verde neighborhood. We turned left on Espola Rd and rode up to Old Coach Rd. I didn't think this road allowed public access, but I was wrong. It descended first and then climbed for around two miles, eventually turning into Deer Valley Estates. We rode to the end of the road, stopped there for some pictures and a break, then retraced our way back to Espola Rd. This was a really cool road to ride on, albeit with lots of either descending or climbing. Back to Espola Rd, turning right and then taking a left on Orchard Bend Dr. Through this neighborhood to Rostrata Rd, where we turned right to get to Martincoit Rd. This is, of course, another short, steep climb, which we took up to Stone Canyon Rd, turning right there. The descent to Pomerado Rd was nice. We turned left and then right on Bernardo Heights Pkwy. My legs were tiring from all of the climbing by this time, but luckily the hard parts were over once we got to Paseo Lucido. We used it to get over to CdN, turning there and following the time trial route home from that point. Once we got to our house, there were only a few more feet needed to get past 2500', so we rode up Azucar Way to cross this threshold before turning around and returning. This was a short ride with serious elevation involved, I'm guessing as Paula planned.

Avg speed = 12.6 mph. Total mileage = 24.0 mi

Avg power = 124 W. Weighted avg power = 162 W.

Total elevation gain = 2550'

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 30

Training Load = 124

Intensity = 74%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20316098865

Got home, made a minor adjustment to Paula's bike to minimize her chain rubbing against the front derailleur cage, then she drove home. Ann was leaving for the gym, so I had some toast and coffee while watched a little TV. Showered and rode over to the Apple building around 11:30 to meet Eric Sweet for lunch. His contract was ending, so he wouldn't be coming into RB for work any more. We walked to the other side of the street and ate at the Apple cafe next to B66. It was the first time for me eating there, and it's a nice vibe. Open only to people with Apple badges, unfortunately. He did most of the talking, primarily about his commute, desired work arrangement, and future plans. After lunch we did a long walk around the buildings by B8 before splitting up a little before 1:00. I was still a little hungry, so I ate some snacks when I got home, watched some TV too. After that I started tackling conversion of a list of WAV music files I had created for the Valentine's Day dance into files with details about the artist, album, and artwork. This is pretty slow going. No real nap on this day, which was good. I watched some TV in the afternoon and kept working on the music files, including after dinner. Then I read for a while before bed.

09-23-2026 Ride/Hike

Slept okay in the night, straight through to 5:00 after getting to bed later than usual. Then I dozed for a bit before getting up a little after 6:00 and getting ready for a ride with John. I left the house a little after 6:40 and took the standard route there, arriving early enough to do the extra bit on Briarleaf Way and Dapple Way. Jayden was out when I got there, and Vivian came out as well to see us off. I'd planned the route, and it was going to have more climbing than usual. We headed over to Springbrook Dr and up to Angelique St, turning left on Candy Rose Way and taking it up to Cypress Canyon Park Dr. John was taking his time on the climbs, and I waited for him to catch up several times during the ride. We rode up to Spring Canyon Rd, turned right, and continued climbing until the gradual descent to Sunset Ridge Dr, where we turned left and rode down, then up Scripps Lake Dr, where we turned right. It was mostly down from there, on pretty bad roads, to Scripps Ranch Blvd, turning left there and staying on Carroll Canyon Rd (also poor road quality) until turning left on Black Mountain Rd. We stayed on this road through the turn and then turned right on Miramar Rd. To Camino Ruiz, turning right there, enjoying a short downhill until we turned left onto another stretch (not connected) of Carroll Canyon Rd. This new road has a nice gradual downhill, and it was fun to ride down to Camino Santa Fe. Right turn there, and a couple of fairly little climbs got us to Calle Cristobal, where we turned right and rode back over to Camino Ruiz. There wasn't too much of a climb here, but I still got ahead of John and waited for him at the turn. We rode to Capricorn Way, turned left there and used it to get back to Black Mountain Rd. Once again, the road quality on Capricorn Way was not good. We turned left on Black Mountain Rd and took it up to the 56 bike path. I put my bike in its lowest gear and chugged up this climb, put in a decent effort. The sun was out, briefly, as we turned on the 56 bike path, then it went behind the clouds and cooled down shortly after. We rode to Rancho Penasquitos Blvd, turned there, and took it to Poway Rd and then over to Sabre Springs Pkwy. Right turn there, following it to Springhurst Dr and climbing back to John's house via Alpine Ter. I had a gap on John, so I re-did the extra bit on Briarleaf Way and Dapple Way before getting back to his place. Vivian made smoothies for us, and we talked about several topics, including more details of her IVF experience with Jayden. John's neighbor Tim came over and chatted with us briefly as well. Then I rode home the normal way via W Bernardo Dr. I kinda ran out of gas just before the turn onto RB Rd, felt like I had burned through my energy reserves. So I slow-pedaled the rest of the way home

Avg speed = 15.0 mph. Total mileage = 42.7 mi

Avg power = 123 W. Weighted avg power = 155 W

Total elevation gain = 2690'

Avg heartrate = 112 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 45

Training Load = 162

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20299988720

I had some food when I got home and immediately started feeling better. Had just a little time to relax before getting ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. Had a quick shave and a shower, packed some fruit, then rode over there. I ate lunch in the cafeteria, made the mistake of buying a Clif bar at an exorbitant price. Won't do that again. The shift was unusually busy throughout, with just a few periods of down time. Lots of patients in the ED with psych issues on this day. After the shift I rode home, changed quickly, then met Emily in the gravel parking lot by the park for a hike. We hiked down the hill, across the pedestrian bridge, and then headed west for a bit before turning around at the 30-minute mark. Was a nice walk and conversation, we talked about shared traits of not wanting to be late and getting stressed about it, among other topics (our recent concert visits). Got back to the scooter and rode home after the hike, where Ann and I had dinner. I watched a little TV after dinner, then read for the rest of the evening before turning in.

09-22-2026 Ride

Slept okay, not great. I got up and got ready for a birthday ride with Jhonar and others. Rode through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd, turned left and took it to W Bernardo Dr, using that road to get to Poblado Rd. I took it up to Calenda Dr, where Jhonar's townhome is. I got there just a little before our scheduled meeting time of 7:00, and nobody was there. I checked to make sure I was at the right place and time, then the others started showing up. We had Andy, Nel, Cam, and Jhonar on this ride. We headed to Capilla Rd, took it up by Gideon's place, where we stopped while he came out and chatted with us for a bit. Then we rode up to Matinal Rd and used it to get to RB Rd. Andy had planned the route, which was straightforward. Over to CdS, taking it to CVR, and not scorching the pace, since Jhonar hadn't ridden in quite a while. We took CVR to the 56 bike path. By the highway entrance, and car pulled right in front of Cam, but he was able to avoid getting hit. Then we took the bike path to its end and then rode over to the other section of CVR, the one taking us to PCH. I was riding back with Andy and Jhonar, and he was complaining about how to suffer through these little climbs. We rode into Del Mar and stayed on PCH through Solana Beach, Cardiff, and into Encinitas. We stopped for breakfast (not just coffee and pastries) at the Encinitas Cafe. I had oatmeal, everybody seemed to enjoy their food, and we stayed there a while. Then we started heading back, following the standard route of VdlV to ECR to San Dieguito Rd. I was slow on the Three Witches climb, intentionally so, to keep from getting too far ahead of Andy and Jhonar. Then we rode back on CdS. Cam split off from us around Babcock St, near where he lives. Nel split from us by CdN, and the three of us left retraced our route back to Jhonar's house. I chatted with them a bit before riding down Poblado Rd to W Bernardo Dr and heading home that way. Not too tired after this ride, which was at an easy pace and not too much climbing other than Three Witches.

Avg speed = 14.1 mph. Total mileage = 47.5 mi

Avg power = 102 W. Weighted avg power = 129 W

Total elevation gain = 2090'

Avg heartrate = 106 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 39

Training Load = 133

Intensity = 59%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20286666544

This ride lasted a long time due to distance, speed, and the long break for breakfast. Ann was starting to get worried about me just as I got home. I had some lunch, avoided a nap, and did a little work on the music file clean-up. I'm basically done with the files other than the ones I copied for a recent Valentine's Dance playlist. Will have to go through them one by one and provide more details about each one. We drove downtown, leaving around 3:45, to park by the Midway, eat sandwiches for dinner at a nearby park, then walk to the Rady Shell to see Brandi Carlile. The opening act was CMAT. Her music is decent, very poppy, and she has a very good voice, perhaps a little shrill for my taste. But her stage presence was annoying to me, to over-the-top for my liking. Concert started promptly at 6:00, and Brandi's band came onstage around 7:15. They ended up playing until just before 10:00, was a great concert. She mixed some good personal stories in with her songs, played a lot of tunes from her latest album, which I'll have to listen to more now. Below is her setlist from the concert. It was crowded getting out of the Rady Shell, they do not have a good way of moving folks out of the seating area or away from the amphitheatre itself. Once we got onto the sidewalk along the waterfront our pace increased, and we didn't have any traffic to contend with on the drive home. The parking lot Ann found is nice that way. Home before 11:10, I read just a little before falling asleep.

Passacaglia for Violin and Cello in G Minor (Johan Halvorsen cover) (played by Sista Strings)

Returning to Myself

Human

Mainstream Kid

A War With Time

A Woman Oversees

Right on Time

Hard Way Home (audience request)

Dreams (audience request from Carly and Happy Birthday to Carly)

Every Time I Hear That Song (audience request)

You Without Me / The Mother

The Story

You and Me on the Rock

No One Knows Us

Church & State

Sinners, Saints and Fools

And So It Goes (Billy Joel cover)

The Joke

Encore:

Hold Out Your Hand

Islands in the Stream (Bee Gees cover) (with CMAT)

Uninvited (Alanis Morissette cover)

A Long Goodbye

09-21-2026 Swim

Slept reasonably well, woke up around 4:30 but was able to doze for a while after that (<!>). I was meeting Avi a little later than usual for a swim at the WWC, so I took some of the time to clean the kitchen and work on updating my music files. I got to the WWC a little early and was able to get a couple of adjacent lanes for us before Avi showed up. Here is the workout I did:

Warmup 250, intentionally trying to keep my pace slower

    4:45

Five 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last, on 2:00 intervals

    1:40

    1:43

    1:41

    1:41

    1:36

Recovery 100

    1:51

Five 50s, on 1:05 intervals

    0:45

    0:45

    0:45

    0:46

    0:43

Cooldown 250, with swim pads

    4:20

I forgot a couple of times to restart my watch, so I only recorded 1000 yds of this workout on Zepp. I felt pretty good during the sprints, and my stroke actually seemed to hold up well.

Avg pace = 1:42/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1350 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 23:01 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 143 bpm (perhaps)

Relative Effort = 29 (maybe)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.42 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20271480923

Got home and was hungry after only having eaten a banana before the swim. I had some toast, coffee, and an orange for breakfast while I watched TV. Then I continued working on the music files for a bit before heading to the garage to take a look at Paula's bike and her chain-drop issue. I looked at my shop manual for some guidance on front derailleur set-up, and her set-up looked pretty good to me. I did make a very minor adjustment to the inner position of the derailleur, not sure if it will make the issue less common for her. I also measured her chain wear, and it is still just fine. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Ann went to Mah-Jongg in the afternoon, I hung around the house and did some more work on the music files. Ann and I watched some TV after dinner, that was about it for the day.

09-20-2026 Run/Swim

Sleep was strangely intermittent. I had some trouble getting to sleep, woke up around 4:00 and read and dozed until getting up a little after 6:00. Got ready for a run at easy pace, stretched before, no discomfort in my legs during or after. Down to and around the park for the standard 5k route. Was faster on the last mile, the first two were slow. Interestingly, as I was running down to the park, I am pretty sure I saw a small lynx running into the brush at the south end of the park. I hadn't seen that before.

Avg pace = 8:55/mi

Total distance = 3:15

Elapsed moving time = 28:09

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 7

https://www.strava.com/activities/20255593728

Got home, had some time before my morning swim, so I did a little more work on the music files. Then I got ready for the swim and headed over to the WWC. I was the only one in the pool at first, but others joined. Swam 2000 yds, first and third 500s with no swimming aids, the second with swim pads, and the last with swim fins. Here are the times for the four 500s: 9:44, 9:33, 9:55, 8:53. My stroke length was shorter than usual without the swim aids, not sure why. More work needed to make my form more consistent, especially as I get tired.

Avg pace = 1:54/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 38:05 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 163 bpm (too high)

Relative Effort = 95 (nope)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 19 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.53 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20258086265

Got home, was hungry, had some cereal for breakfast while I watched a little TV. I worked a little more on my music file updating, did some reading, and generally relaxed, including taking an early afternoon nap. Ann and I headed down to Normal Heights for the Adams Avenue Music Festival. I drove all over the neighborhoods to the south of Adams Ave but couldn't find a parking spot, or even a hint that cars were leaving to create spots. After 10-15 minutes of this we decided to go see Gregory Page in concert at Pilgrim UCC in Carlsbad instead. So we drove up to Carlsbad, got there a little early and chatted with Dick Jay for a while before the show started. The concert was decent, he is generally fun to listen to. He messed up on a couple of songs, but they were minor errors, and it was a forgiving audience.

 After the show we drove to Micheline's Pita House in Solana Beach for dinner. The veggie platter I had was delicious, I was hungry from not having eaten much during the day. Got home before 7:30, and the rest of the evening was quiet. I read for a while before getting to sleep.

09-19-2026 Ride

Slept somewhat fitfully, woke up around 1:00 and read for a while, got back to sleep and woke up again around 4:00, then dozed off and on until after 5:30 or so. I got up, cleaned the kitchen, and got ready for the Bisikleta ride, expecting that it would be a low turnout. I rode through the neighborhood, then took the new extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. I got to the 4S Target early, but James was already there. His flight from Portugal had gotten in the previous evening at 10:00, and he didn't sleep well, so he rode over early. I thought it would be just the two of us, but Jed showed up around 7:20. We left just before 7:30 and headed out CdS. Got to just before San Dieguito Rd and saw a text from Kamal asking where everybody was. So we all stopped and waited for him to catch up, then we rode up to CVR, turning right there. Jed and I waited at the turn for the others, then we rode down to Solterra Vista Pkwy, turning left and taking it under the 56 and then back up to the turnoff to the 56 bike path. We then followed the 56 bike path all the way to its end, turning left and taking the other bike path to Sorrento Valley Rd. We followed this road, which is in terrible shape by the way (I shouldn't include it in any future rides), over to Sorrento Valley Blvd, going under the freeway there and then getting onto the bike path that runs parallel to I-5 on the west side. We rode up to the turn onto Genesee Ave, Jed and I were out front. On this ride Jed pretty much stayed with me on all of the climbs, although he definitely went into the red zone for heartrate a couple of times. We took Genesee Ave west and turned right onto John Jay Hopkins Dr. We followed it to Cray Ct, which is essentially a throughway linking several parking lots, then turned left on Science Park Rd, which got us to Torrey Pines Rd. Up to the top, then the thrilling descent to the beach before we climbed into Del Mar. I was taking it at moderate pace and Jed was right there, even when I pushed the pace toward the end to finish strong. I overshot the place where we stopped for coffee, so we had to backtrack a little bit to get there. While we were there Aaron showed up, he'd caught up with us and knew where we were because of James' live tracking. Kamal split from us before we went to the coffee shop, he needed to get back home earlier, so we never had all five riders together. After the break we rode north to Lomas Santa Fe, turned right there, and climbed the short, steep hill before turning right on Stevens Ave. Then it was a nice descent to VdlV, James leading here, and turning left on that road. We followed it further into RSF than usual, riding up to Via de Santa Fe and turning there to get to El Apajo and thus to the bottom of the Three Witches climb. Aaron turned right and gave us more than a three-minute head start before trying to catch us. I told Jed I wasn't going to go all out, but he stayed with me anyway, and he was working hard, and successfully, to keep up on the last climb. Felt okay on this climb, it was starting to warm up, especially on that last bit. We were able to stay ahead of Aaron, who ended up setting a PR (including Bisikleta rider PR) for this segment. It was impressive. We gathered at the top, then rode back CdS to PdS and took it through the Del Sur neighborhood, turning left on Templeton St to get back to the Target parking lot. James took the originally planned route and arrived a little later. I hung out with the other riders for a bit before heading back home. All four of us rode to the meet-up point, so no cars were involved on this day. I rode home the new normal way, not super fast but also not at easy pace. Legs felt fairly strong throughout, no soreness or tightness during or after the ride.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 49.6 mi

Avg power = 139 W. Weighted avg power = 172 W

Total elevation gain = 2900'

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 93

Training Load = 218

Intensity = 78%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20244857638

Got home, Ann was downtown at the Jacobs Music Center on a tour, so I watched a little football and ate lightly before stopping to catch up on blogging. I talked to Ben for a while as well. Paula came over in the afternoon and left her bike for me to try and adjust the front derailleur to keep it from dropping the chain so frequently. I also installed my power meter pedals on her bike and synced them with her Wahoo, so she can get a feel for the relationship between effort, heartrate, and power output. I then continued to update my music files with the right album covers, am maybe a quarter of the way through. Watched some TV in the late afternoon, then after dinner Ann and I watched some TV together. The rest of the evening was quiet, a little more work on the music files. (<>)

09-18-2026 Swim

Slept until a little after 3:00, then I had to read for a while to get back to sleep, waking up again around 5:30. I read some more, went downstairs and emptied the dishwasher, and watched a little TV before getting ready for a swim at the WWC. I originally intended to swim four 250s, but I ended up swimming two 250s, a 200 (I miscounted my laps and had forgotten to restart my watch), then another two 250s, the last one with a pull buoy. Here are the times: 4:43, 4:29 (with swim pads), 3:41, 4:30, 4:34. Avi was there as well, he swam with me for a while, but we weren't synchronized like usual. The pool was full, we were fortunate to get two adjoining lanes. I think the swim pads can help with both my strength as well as my hand entry into the water to start my catch. Would like to increase their use, but I am wary of causing shoulder pain.

Avg pace = 1:50/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1200 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 21:57 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (maybe)

Relative Effort = 9 (seems a little low)

SWOLF = 36

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.47 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20228724189

Got home and had some cereal for breakfast, I was hungry. It was an uneventful morning. I watched a little TV, then in the early afternoon I rode to Macy's and picked up a new white dress shirt ordered online. I read some in the afternoon after I got home, also started a monumental task of making sure my digital music files are linked properly to the right album art. This is going to take a while. I also ordered a new motorcycle helmet, let's hope this one fits us both. And in the late afternoon I went out in the back yard and cleaned up the gravel path. Watched some TV after that, Ann was napping, uncharacteristically. Evening was quiet. I continued my task of updating music files with correct album art, making modest progress.