09-14-2026 Swim

Slept kinda poorly, likely because of the nap. I woke up in the night and ended up watching some TV before getting drowsy again and going back to sleep. I still woke up fairly early and lay in bed reading. Then I got up and got ready for a swim at the WWC. It was overcast and cool on the ride over, and so I was surprised to see so few people waiting to get in. It was just me and Cathy in the pool for about the first half of my workout, there were still open lanes when I got out. I did intervals, working on strengthening my shoulders and upper body.

Warmup 250

    4:31

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

    1:39

    1:38

    1:40

    1:41

    1:39

300 with swim pads

    5:24

Two 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    2:00

    2:02

Cooldown 600

    5:36

As usual, my watch didn't count the laps I took where I wasn't rotating my right arm, so Zepp only recorded 1500 yds.

Avg pace = 1:48/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1550 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 27:50 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm (maybe)

Relative Effort = 15 (seems a little low)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.32 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20172564074

Got home, had some coffee and toast, and scheduled my CT scan to test my arteries. Showered and then rode over to Elmisa Café to have lunch with Pat Harnett. We talked about our moms, his kids (Lauren, Emily, and Shane), and the EER process for him. He isn't done with work, so his future will include figuring out that next job. Was an interesting conversation as always. I headed home after that and had a quiet afternoon including taking a nap and watching some TV. In the evening I talked for an hour with Ross. He starts his new job in a week, I'm hoping it goes well. Also sounds like he's on the outs with Terri, whose life is crashing down around her. Rest of the rvening was quiet (<!>).

09-13-2026 Run/Ride

Slept okay, did get up in the early morning and read before falling back to sleep. And I got up around 5:30, hung around the house for a bit before heading out for a run. I took an easy pace and ran the usual 5k route, nothing special to report. I did run negative splits, which was a plus.

Avg pace = 8:41/mi

Total distance = 3.17 mi

Elapsed moving time = 27:33

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 6

https://www.strava.com/activities/20158728831

Got home and cooled down before getting ready for a bike ride. I left a little before 7:30,headed down by the park and then up Pomerado Rd to RB Rd. From there I followed the time trial route. Didn't have a real strong push in my legs and cardio, so I focused on steady effort, and that seemed to work. Also, I found a couple of coins on the road, second day in a row that I picked up money. 😊

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 19.6 mi

Avg power = 153 W. Weighted avg power = 176 W

Total elevation gain = 1040'

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 27

Training Load = 80

Intensity = 80%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20160488819

Got home, showered, and had toast for breakfast before getting ready to ride to church for the 140th anniversary service. The ride over was uneventful, got there in time to sit by Ann, Emily, and Caleb. Service was bilingual, and that was generally a treat. I particularly liked Ruben's mini-sermon, it was humorous, meaningful, and uplifting. Didn't spend much time on the patio after the service, there really weren't many people I was looking to talk to, and Ann was putting the bells up. Rode home after that and watched some TV and, after that, football. Afternoon was quiet, I had a nap (I've been more tired recently) and am re-reading Bowl of Heaven, by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven. It's the first in a trilogy, not sure if I finished it the first time I picked it up. Ann and I watched some TV in the evening before turning in.

09-12-2026 Ride

Slept well, the best in a week. I did wake up early but got back to sleep. Got up around 6:15 and got ready for the Bisikleta ride. I rode through the neighborhood and then took the new extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. Perse was there when I got there, and others started showing up. On this day we had the following riders: Perse, Ray, Jed, Fritz, Paula, Nel, and Cam. I'd planned the route, and we took CdS to RB Rd. We then followed it past the freeway and on Espola Rd up to Bridlewood Rd. We turned there, then Cam and I sprinted up the little climb. He rode strongly throughout the day. He and I rode on Summer Sage Rd to Lake Poway Rd, waited for the others there, then Fritz and I climbed up to the turn onto Riparian Rd. I waited to make sure everybody also made the turn, then we rode to Titan Way and used it to get back to Espola Rd. Up and then down the hill. Around this point I had a turn planned but got it mixed up, which caused Cam and Ray to be on the planned route while the rest of us rode further down the hill and turned right on Los Nietos Ave, taking it to Roberto Rio Rd, turning left and getting to Twin Peaks Rd. We rode to Tierra Bonita Rd and waited for Cam and Ray to catch up with us. We were all together again, riding down to Community Rd and turning there to ride to Metate Ln. It was Poway Days Parade day, and they were lining the floats up on Pomerado Rd. We were able to get through and take Pomerado Rd south. On the climb Ray, Fritz, and Cam rode out ahead, but I kept to my pace and high cadence, picking them off one by one. Cam had gotten ahead quite far, but I caught and passed him near the top. We waited for the others to get to the top before continuing the climb past the light at a shallower gradient. Then it was a gradual downhill to the right turn on Blue Cypress Dr. This is a really nice descent, with a sharp right turn at the bottom onto Cypress Canyon Rd. This took us to the top of Angelique St, and we had another fast descent, to Scripps-Poway Pkwy. Left turn there, some gradual climbing and the steady descent down toward the freeway. We stopped for a break at a Sinclair station, then continued down to the bike path running along the east side of I-15. Around here Jed and Fritz got behind us, for reasons I couldn't figure out. The rest of us took the bike path to Poway Rd, riding up to Sabre Springs Pkwy and turning left. We rode to Evening Creek Dr and turned left there. Then another left turn, on Sabre Hills Dr, and up the short steep climb. Cam and I both pushed hard to the top. Turns out that Jed lives in the subdivision at the top of this climb. Looped around and back down to Evening Creek Dr, then back toward Sabre Springs Pkwy. I turned into the parking lot by the Park n Ride and got us onto the sidewalk to make it to the beginning of the 56 bike path. We ended up taking the bike path all the way to CVR, paying attention to the numerous dicey intersections that we crossed. Started back on CVR, seemed that the pace decreased a little bit here. We rode back to CdS, and I waited after the turn for Paula to catch up while the others kept going. Paula and I rode back via PdS, stopping after the turn for a pic. Back to Target via Templeton St. It was heating up and already muggy, so I didn't stay too long. Rode home the new normal way, and Nel followed me, since he had ridden from home as well. We split at Camino San Bernardo, and I took it fairly easy on the rest of the way home.

Avg speed = 15.7 mph. Total mileage = 50.3 mi

Avg power = 140 W. Weighted avg power = 168 W

Total elevation gain = 3100'

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 87

Training Load = 229

Intensity = 76%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20148235385

Had some lunch and watched college football for a while after I got home. Rest of the afternoon was quiet. I rested and read for a while. In the late afternoon we drove to church for the 140th anniversary dinner. Was fun seeing some folks I hadn't seen in a while, including YAMs, whose table we sat at. Food from Olive Garden was meh as expected, some of the pictures in the slide show brought back good memories. We were home before 8:00, which was another plus, so I watched some TV before going to bed.

09-11-2026 Swim

Slept okay but not as long as usual due to the late previous night. I got ready for a swim with Avi at the WWC. Temperature was really nice on the way over and during the swim, although the pool water was a little too warm. My focus was on swimming distance without pausing. I ended up swimming 2000 yds for the first time in a while, the last 450 yds with a pull buoy. Here are the splits for the four 500s: 9:33, 9:56, 10:03, 9:19. My form was generally okay, but my stroke length was definitely shorter than usual, especially when I was breathing every three strokes. Avi was in and out of the pool switching lanes, pausing, but I just kept swimming at my slower pace. Not so much strength in my arms on this day.

Avg pace = 1:57/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 38:51 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 159 bpm (too high to be believed)

Relative Effort = 80 (nope)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.25 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20132526154

Got home, had some cereal for breakfast, then watched a little TV. We then met Ed and Susan at Ali Baba for lunch. It was great to get caught up with each other on travels, family, and church topics. They were down in San Diego to test drive a Slate truck, which I understand they are going to buy. We drove home after lunch, and I had a little nap. Been more tired than usual lately. I then watched some TV in the late afternoon. In the evening we drove to Escondido to see a free outdoor concert at the CCAE. The opening act was The Lonesome Roses, and they were excellent, as usual, although Rheanna's guitar sounded strange at times, and her playing wasn't perfect. The main act was a band, Daring Greatly, that neither one of us had heard of. However, they had a pretty rabid group of fans show up, most of them middle-aged. We sat next to two big fans, Russ and Glenda, who have followed this band around. Russ told me that there is a connection between a couple of the band members and two of the female singers from the band, Twilight Highway, that we had seen on Thursday. Small music world in San Diego, apparently. We also saw Jeff Berkley wandering around before the show, and his name got mentioned during the concert as well.

09-10-2026 Swim

Slept okay, although I did wake up in the night and read for a bit (<!>). Got out of bed around 6:30 and did a little computer work. No rush on this day, as I was meeting Avi later than usual for a swim. We met up at the WWC at 8:45, had to wait for a bit until a lane opened, as it was quite busy and stayed that way through our swim. We did some intervals after a warmup 500. Here are the times:

Warmup 500

    9:09

Three 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    1:58

    2:02

    2:06

Three 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last

    1:38

    1:40

    1:42

Cooldown 250

    4:39

I forgot to stop my watch during one of the recovery periods, so the Strava time is off. Also, distance is less because it didn't count two of my three 25s when I was alternating arms.

Avg pace = 1:51/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1350 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 24:54 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 136 bpm (maybe these numbers are right)

Relative Effort = 31 (perhaps)

SWOLF = 40

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.37 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20118946379

This workout felt pretty good, although I was gassed at the end of the fast 100s. Nice water temperature and outside temperature as well. I got gas for the scooter before I rode home. Ann had talked to the guy at the credit union who offers premier banking services, and it should be a good deal for us. I'd shaved the night before, so after showering I was ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital, moved to Thursday because of the previous day's Four Amigos Lunch. Ate a healthier lunch there than usual. It was noticeably busier at the start than usual, same staff with whom I have worked. A guy came in with heatstroke, and he got a lot of attention for quite a while. We don't see a lot of truly emergent cases come in, this was one. I left a little late, had to wheel an ornery old guy to his car by the main lobby. Still got home before 5:00. After dinner Ann drove us down to the Belly Up in Solana Beach for a concert. It was the first time at this venue for both of us. It was Jesse Ray Smith and Cassie B, wit Twilight Highway as the opening act. They were forgettable. Cassie B did a set where she mostly sang her original music. It's not relly my style of music, but she has a big voice, and she knows how to use it. Jesse Ray Smith had the longest set, his music is more to my liking. He's got some weird body motions when he sings without his guitar, but his voice is strong and his songs are better. One of the guitarists and the bass player are from his Music by Eras group. Our seats were in the loft above the stage, decent (not great) viewing, but the sound was muddy, since it was directed at the audience in front of the stage. And we had, of course, a group of young people by us who were more interested in socializing than in the music. It got to be annoying as time passed, particularly in the last music set. By the end of the show we were the only ones in the loft, I guess we should have gone down to the floor but didn't. I drove home, taking care on the dark roads, got back before 11:15.

09-09-2026 Ride

This was not the greatest ride. I slept poorly, waking up in the night as well as tossing and turning while I tried to get back to sleep. I got up around 5:30 and had cereal and a banana for breakfast, then got ready to ride over and meet Paula for a bike ride. Left the house a little after 6:10, headlight and taillight flashing to give me more visibility. It was cool on this ride for about 20 minutes, that was all. Down by the park and then over the pedestrian bridge, using the bike path to get over to Via Rancho Pkwy. I took it up to Felicita Rd, climbing was challenging on this day. Then I rode on Felicita Rd up to Hamilton Ln, turned left and then took a right on Bernardo Ave. Up and then down past the gate, then up to 11th Ave. Down to Del Dios Rd, taking a left and then a right on Avenida del Diablo. To Citracado Pkwy, taking it to Harmony Grove Village Rd and then down to Harmony Grove Rd. I took it over to the park where we were supposed to meet and kept riding for a little less than a mile before I met Paula riding the other way. She stopped, and I turned around to ride with her. We rode back to the park, where I stopped and, for some weird reason, couldn't load the route I'd made in Strava the previous evening on my Wahoo. It didn't show up on the list of possible routes, and I couldn't find my routes on Strava either. In retrospect, I think Strava was having a hiccup at the time. Paula eventually sent me an earlier version of the route, which I was able to load on my Wahoo. We continued, and of course the first thing I did was make a wrong turn (first of many routing miscues on my part on this day). I turned on Riding Trail Dr, then took Starry Night Dr, Trail Blazer Ln, and Trail Ridge Dr to get to Country Club Dr, which I should have taken in the first place. Turned left, then I almost missed my second left turn to stay on Country Club Dr. This road is in bad shape, we stayed on it for just a little bit until turning right on Kauana Loa Dr. Just a little more climbing, then a nice little winding descent to Citracado Pkwy. We were riding pretty much into the sun at this point, and my vision wasn't so great. We got over to Andreasen Dr and took it to Harmony Grove Rd, turning right and riding to the bike path, aka the Escondido Creek Trail, along the drainage canal. We followed this all the way to Quince St, including going under a road and having to navigate through a group of unhoused folks and their dogs. I inadvertently took us off the bike path a street early, wasn't reading my map on the Wahoo well. We rode over to Grand Ave and started heading east. At this point, the map really lost track of where we were supposed to go. It gave me indications to get back to Valley Pkwy and follow the Escondido Creek Trail. Maybe I just wasn't following it well. In any case, we took Escondido Blvd over to Valley Pkwy, then used the two-lane bike path there to get to Broadway, where we stopped for a picture, then turned left. Around Woodward Ave we got back on the Escondido Creek Trail, this time on the north side of the canal. The city has done a good job with the bike path here, it's well-paved, well-maintained, and landscaped nicely. But we were way off route, and Strava wasn't giving me clear directions (I wasn't paying enough attention as well) on how to get back. We ended up taking the bike path up to Rose St before getting off it and then riding back the way we came on Valley Pkwy. It was bad traffic and not a good road to ride a bike on. Strava routed us back to Date St, where we headed south. We stopped and tried to figure out where we were relative to the original planned route, and Paula eventually suggested taking 4th Ave to get to Juniper. Unfortunately, that road had a couple of steep little climbs and descents to navigate, but we successfully got to Juniper St. Took that all the way to Sunset Dr, with Strava regularly trying to reroute me away (maybe because it had an older version of the route?). In any case we finally got back on route, turning left on Sunset Dr and then right on Royal Crest Dr. This little climb is short and not too steep for long, then there is a really nice winding descent to BVP. We turned right at the intersection, then right again on Las Palmas Ave, which took us into the north part of Kit Carson Park. A right turn on Castaneda Dr led us through the park, to Park Dr and back to BVP. I was wearing out by this time, not much left in the tank. We rode to Via Rancho Pkwy, and Paula wanted to follow the original route, which had us doing the climb up Via Rancho Pkwy in morning traffic. I was a little concerned about this part of the ride, but there was generally enough bike lane to ride safely, albeit slowly. I rode behind Paula and just pushed the pedals to stay up with her. Up to the top, then down to Eucalyptus Ave, where we turned right, stopped for a short break, then continued on up this nasty little climb. It was only half a mile at 7%, but on tired legs on a hot and humid day it was a workout. This got us to Hamilton Ln, but again my Wahoo wasn't keeping up with my position. It had us continuing, but we made the right decision to turn left on Hamilton Ln and follow it up to Continental Ln, turning there and riding to Calle Catalina to get to the top of Gamble Ln. From there it was the normal way back to the park by Harmony Grove Village. I rode a little past the park before stopping and turning around. Paula still had the huge task of climbing back to her house, I'm not sure I could have done it in my condition. As it was, I turned around and retraced my route to the top of Gamble Ln, then rode down it to Bernardo Ave, turning right there and retracing my morning route back to I-15. I rode over the freeway, no push in my legs left, then slow-pedaled up the last two climbs to get home. I was wiped out at the end of this ride.

Avg speed = 13.6 mph. Total mileage = 39.0 mi

Avg power = 113 W. Weighted avg power = 147 W

Total elevation gain = 2380'

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 78

Training Load = 147

Intensity = 67%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20105124148

Got home and drank a little soda and a lot of water to help me cool down. Then I had a shower, which also helped to cool me down. Late in the morning Ann and I drove to Stone Brewery to meet up with the Four Amigos and their spouses. Karen and kenda didn't make it. Food was good, service was terrible. It was a fun time, I talked mostly with Ross about his situation with Kenda and Alex, as well as their plans to split time between California and Florida. Ross paid for lunch. After the meeting we drove towards home, but Ann got notices saying our house was without power. It was 109 deg outside, so we headed to the mall to walk around and kill some time. I hadn't walked around the mall in a very long time, it's kinda depressing. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, then Ann got an update that our power was restored. So we drove home. I was exhausted from the morning as well as the poor sleep from the night before. Felt much better after a nap. I watched some TV in the late afternoon. Evening was quiet. The power went off a little before bedtime, while I was reading. Thankfully, it didn't stay off long, so we were able to sleep with the fan on.

09-08-2026 Ride

Maybe too much caffeine the previous day, I woke up around 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and watched some TV. After that I was able to sleep, waking up around 6:20. Didn't have a lot of time to get ready for a coffee ride, so I gathered my stuff, prepped my bike, and rode over to Albertson's to meet up with the others. On this coffee ride we had Andy, Nel, Cam, and Cynthia (a rider whom Andy met from an RB retiree's cycling group). We headed north, taking the now normal neighborhood roads to avoid having to ride on Pomerado Rd as much as possible. Down to Pomerado Rd and then over Lake Hodges via the pedestrian bridge. We got to BVP, and Cynthia split up from us, as she didn't want to take the longer way to our coffee spot. Not sure which route she took. We kept on BVP up to Sunset Dr, turning there and riding up to Juniper St. On this stretch Cam, Nel, and I put in a bigger effort than usual, and we waited for Andy to catch up at the turn. We took Juniper St all the way to Grand Ave and turned left there, riding down to A Delight of France, which wasn't open yet. About five minutes later Cynthia showed up, so we were all back together. We got in when they opened at 8:00, had coffee and almond croissants, and sat indoors to enjoy the A/C. Chatted about 9/11 (25th anniversary coming this Friday) and COVID lockdown experiences, among other topics. It had been cloudy on the way over, humid but not too hot yet. When we rode back, the sun was out, so it was noticeably hotter but not yet uncomfortably hot. We rode down to Escondido Blvd and then took it to El Ku Ave to get to Kit Carson Park. Home the normal way through the mall and across the pedestrian bridge. Cam and I split off at W Bernardo Dr, while the others headed up Pomerado Rd. I got home around 9:30, pretty good timing for the expected heat coming during the day. 

Avg speed = 13.9 mph. Total mileage = 19.2 mi

Avg power = 111 W. Weighted avg power = 143 W

Total elevation gain = 980'

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 19

Training Load = 68%

Intensity = 65%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20090321240

Also on a positive note, my brakes didn't squeal after I made the adjustments the previous day, and my shifting was also a lot smoother. So, new wheels are working well. With this knowledge, I switched back to my DT Swiss wheels, using the new rotors. I also swapped out the SPD MTB pedals on my Fuji bike after charging the Assioma pedals. We talked to Jeff Ross about our investments in late morning, made only minor changes. I had a quiet afternoon, read both books in progress, avoided napping. Later in the afternoon I used Claude's assistance to modify my cycling analysis code to display a route map and elevation profile that are linked to display position on the map, distance, and gradient simultaneously. It is actually pretty cool. I watched some TV while Ann was at bells.