07-05-2025 Swim/Ride

Slept pretty well, didn't get up and wander around in the night. When I did get up, I went downstairs and had some cereal and a banana while I watched a little of the TV coverage of the Tour de France. Then I read for a while (<>). Got ready for a swim at the WWC, it was fairly busy at the opening, but I got my preferred swim lane. I can tell that my arm strength has fallen off from not putting enough laps in per week. So, I am noticeably slower than I have been. I swam 1500 yds, pausing briefly a couple of times to adjust my goggles, which kept getting water in them. For the last 500 yds I swam with swim fins. Here are the split times for the three 500s: 9:24, 9:39, 8:33.

Avg pace = 1:50/100 yds (Video, not counting pause after 1000 yds)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 27:36 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 144 bpm (possibly)

Relative Effort = 32 (possibly)

SWOLF = 36

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.46 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/19191760446

Got home and decided to practice my time trial riding on my Fuji, which I had set up earlier with my aero bars. It took a while to get everything set up, since I hadn't raised my seat after Mark borrowed it during his visit. I settled that, adjusted the aero bars a little bit, and was off. Rode down by the park and over to Pomerado Rd, taking it up to Poway Rd before turning around there. I felt like I was struggling in pushing the pedals, but I was fairly comfortable in aero position. Was a little better on the return to RB Rd, I did hit a lot of lights on this ride. I turned there and rode home via W Bernardo Dr. Need to include a ride with aero bars at least once a week if I'm going to be ready for a sprint triathlon this summer. I forgot to wear my HR band, will do that next time. When I looked at the Strava data, I was surprised by the lower than expected average speed. My own cycling analysis agrees more with what I was seeing on my Wahoo as I was riding, so I trust that more in this case.

Avg speed = 17.8 mph (18.3 mph). Total mileage = 16.7 mi

Avg power = 170 W. Weighted avg power = 183 W

Total elevation gain = 790'

Training Load = 68 (80)

Intensity = 83% (89%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19192530474

Got home, had a shower, felt refreshed. Had a light morning after that, then ate lunch and had a nap in the early afternoon. I watched some World Cup football (Brazil vs. Norway), made iced tea, and swapped in a patched inner tube on the front wheel of my Canyon. I have been spending time going back in my blog and updating riding data entries with my own calculated values. I went back to the beginning of 2025, but since I changed my FTP to 220 W in Strava on 2-10-2025, I likely won't go back further to include my own calculations. In the late afternoon we drove down to Old Town and met Rob and Isabelle for dinner at Casa de Reyes. Food was pretty decent, it was nice outdoor seating on a fine evening. We caught up on travels, for the most part. Afterwards we walked over to where there is a speakeasy, hoping to get in without a reservation. No such luck, so we had a drink at the little bar by the restaurant in front of the speakeasy. Will have to try another time and make reservations, as usual. Rob told me that he is dealing with some complications from his rib surgery, that's why he hasn't been riding. I'm hoping that he is eventually able to get back to form and ride again, I know he misses it. We drove home, and it wasn't long before I got to sleep after a somewhat busy day.

07-04-2026 Ride

This was a frustrating morning. Woke up early, but still got enough sleep. Had some cereal, then I got ready for the Bisikleta ride. I saw that my Wahoo was running low on charge, so I decided not to load the planned route for the day. Rode over to the 4S Target through the neighborhood and then the long way through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, several people were already there.. Others started showing up, including several right around 7:30. Urgh! On this day, at the start, there were the following riders: Ray, Perse, Jed, Fritz, Andy, Paula, Charlie, Nel, Rob T., James, and Aaron. I only vaguely remembered what the route was, so others prompted me about the start. We headed over to PdS and took it through the Del Sur neighborhood and down to CdS. James and I were out front. I think the others saw this as a more casual-paced ride, at least at the start. After the turn onto CdS, I rode for just a little bit and then caught a screw (with a washer!) in my front tire, flatting it right away. This was a portent of things to come. I changed the tube, got my tire pumped (slowly) up to about 85 psi, and we were off. I was pumped with adrenaline, so I took off, with James out in front again, and powered up the CdS bump, leaving him behind and continuing to push all the way down to the turn onto Carmel Valley Rd. I got there, several others came in, and then we found that somebody (Rob T.) had had a flat. We waited there for a while, eventually the others showed up without Rob. His tire had been damaged too much, so he had to call for a ride. We headed down to the 56 bike path, James and I again out in front but Ray further in front of us. Around the bend, and we saw Ray by the side of the road. Another flat! He was running tubeless, so he learned how to install a plug, filled the tire with CO2, and was pretty quick with the fix. I waited for Jed to pack his stuff back up, then the two of us rode to catch up with the others. Down to the 56 bike path, taking it to ECR. By that time we had caught up with some other riders, but the group was splintered and would generally stay that way for the rest of the ride, unfortunately. At this turn Perse started riding back, as his knee was really bothering him. So, we were down to 10 riders. I was initially at the back of the group but caught up with some other riders on the shallow climb up to Carmel Mountain Rd, where we turned right and rode down to Sorrento Valley Rd, taking another right. Aaron and I were out in front for a bit on this stretch, I told him about the skin cancer treatment and my blotchy face. Back to Carmel Valley Rd, where we split the group again. Paula and I rode at the back and ended up turning into the parking lot for Torrey Pines SB, since she wanted to get a picture along the coast highway at a particular spot. We rode up a pedestrian path to PCH and continued north until she found the spot. Took the picture, then we turned around and headed toward the Torrey Pines climb. On this section I somehow got another front tire flat, didn't see what caused it, but I had to push hard to catch up to her and let her know. We stopped by the entrance to the other SB parking lot, and I fixed this flat with my second tube. The repair went fairly quickly (Aaron was there at the beginning, but we told him to go ahead), then the two of us rode at Paula's pace up the inside route on Torrey Pines. By this time, I knew I wasn't going to be setting any records, so I dialed my pace back for the most part. Once we got to the top, we heard that Ray had ridden ahead to get back sooner. Over to Genesee Rd, going down the hill and turning to get onto the bike path that runs along the west side of I-5. Charlie thought I had fallen behind again, so he stayed to wait for me until calling me to find out my situation. I was ahead of him, so I waited at the turn, then we rode together down the hill to meet up with the others. This was the last time our reduced group was all together, we really splintered after this. We headed over to Vista Sorrento Pkwy and took it north. The original plan was to ride through a neighborhood, but Fritz and Nel, who were in the lead, didn't have the route loaded, so they ended up riding back to Carmel Mountain Rd. I decided to have the group follow them, and only James stayed on the original route. The rest of us rode up to CMR, turned right, then turned right again to stay on CMR. Andy was falling back by this point, so I sent the others ahead and waited for him, then then two of us rode to the top and over to Carmel Country Rd, where we turned and took the nice downhill back to the 56 bike path. I had hoped to catch up to some of the other riders on this descent but caught an unfortunate red light that slowed me down. Eventually, Andy and I caught up with the tail end of the group, for just a short while, as we got on the 56 bike path and took it all the way back to CdS. Andy's pace was slow, so I dialed my pace back and rode with him to make sure he was okay and could get back to the starting point. Jed, Paula, and Aaron waited to see that we made the turn onto CdS, then they gapped us again. Andy was plugging away, and we stayed pretty much together on the ride back to Target, with me getting out ahead a couple of times during climbs and then waiting for him to catch up. I was running out of energy as well, it had been a hectic ride for me. Back to the starting point, where Nel, Paula, and Jed were still there. I stayed around for just a short while before heading home. It was cloudy but still warm and more humid than usual. I took RB Rd to W Bernardo Dr and followed that route home, very glad to pull into the garage.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph (15.7 mph). Total mileage = 49.4 mi

Avg power = 129 W. Weighted avg power = 158 W

Total elevation gain = 2950' (2960')

Avg heartrate = 132 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 117 (120)

Training Load = 192 (195)

Intensity = 72% (73%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19180262683

Got home had a light lunch, and watched a little World Cup on TV before heading upstairs and taking a nap, after which I felt better. Later I patched the two tubes that I had flatted earlier on the ride. Watched a little more TV in the afternoon. Evening was quiet, I read quite a bit and enjoyed a piece of the peach pie that Ann had made for Independence Day. Turned in fairly early, after the fireworks quit going off.

07-02-2026 Ride

This day had a really early start. Paula and I scheduled a ride, but I wanted to be done before the sun came out, so we agreed to meet around 6:00 at our house. I got up at 5:00, got dressed, and baked a dozen cookies to give some to her when she showed up. I unloaded the dishwasher as well and ate a bowl of cereal. She showed up a little after 6:00, and we headed down by the park and across the pedestrian bridge to BVP, turning right on Beethoven Dr to do some climbing. Got up the first pitch, then turned left on Inspiration Ln for a change. This road seems to be a little longer but also lower gradient than staying on Beethoven Dr. It eventually connected back to this road just before the left turn onto Sierra Linda Dr. We took the enjoyable descent to San Pasqual Rd, then turned left to get back to BVP. Up to Royal Crest Dr, where I suggested we turn to enjoy this fairly steep climb and short descent to Sunset Dr. Left turn there, taking it to Escondido Blvd and turning right. We rode to Felicita Ave, turned right and took it over to San Pasqual Valley Rd, taking the short, steep climb before the following descent. We turned right there, rode through the intersection with BVP, then turned right on Summit Dr and rode up to the intersection with Mary Ln, steeper at the beginning and getting less steep until the top. Then we enjoyed the very cool descent on Summit Dr down to Old San Pasqual Rd, bearing off to the right and descending further back to San Pasqual Rd. A right turn took us to Old Milky Way, where we turned and took it to the 78. On this flat stretch I pushed my pace a bit and gapped Paula before slowing down for her to catch up. We only rode a short distance on the 78 before turning right on Ysabel Creek Rd. I hadn't been on this road in a very long time, and it turned out to be more rideable than I remembered. Still, there was a fair amount of gravel and sand to contend with until we got back to a paved portion. We had a quick break here, I ate a banana, before we rode to Bandy Canyon Rd and turned right. It had also been a long time since I had climbed this road up to Highland Valley Rd. I remember it as being steeper for a longer time, but the steep section is just at the start, then it gets less steep for the rest. I rode to the top and then turned around to ride back to Paula, riding together with her to the intersection. We then descended Highland Valley Rd, I was out in front and rode without putting on the brakes very much, just at the two sharp turns. Down to the flats, where I waited for her to catch up, then we rode back to Pomerado Rd. Home the normal way from there, I dialed my effort back on the last two climbs to stay with her. Was a nice ride with some climbing that we were able to finish fairly quickly, well before the marine layer lifted.

Avg speed = 13.3 mph (13.4 mph). Total mileage = 23.2 mi

Avg power = 123 W. Weighted avg power = 165 W

Total elevation gain = 1910' (1920')

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 33 (35)

Training Load = 104 (97)

Intensity = 75% (72%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19151648781

Got home, Ann was still asleep. I read for a bit until she woke up (<>). Later in the morning, I swapped the tires on my Canyon back to the Enve tires, checked to see if I could patch the inner tube that flatted on the Kitchen Creek ride (no such luck). Talked to Ben about the results of his PET scan, which indicate that his condition can be treated with prescription medicine, which is great news. In the afternoon and early evening I worked on implementing the cycling analysis calculation changes into the database creating routine, and that took longer than expected, including having to go back and clean up some minor issues with the analysis program itself. Talked to Mark at some length in the evening about the situation with Mom and her stated desire to look into assisted living facilities. We agreed that the next step is for me to come to Houston for a sit-down with all five of us to discuss the current state and potential next steps. It was a quiet evening after that. Ann and I watched some TV after dinner.

07-01-2026 Walk

This was a frustrating day. I had another rough night sleeping, got up again in the night to watch TV, eat a bowl of cereal, and let my face settle down before getting back to sleep. I started working on my cycling analysis program, intending to clean up the agreement with Strava for the data used to calculate HR zones and Relative Effort. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the algorithm that Strava uses to determine actual riding time, and this was the stumbling block for me to get a perfect agreement with the times allocated to HR zones. Eventually, I settled on the same (or very similar) data filtering protocol I had used in the past, scrubbing out any data points where my speed was less than 1 mph. I also spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the code and simplifying some of the calculations while ensuring that agreement with Strava was still acceptable. Also looked into why some FIT file analysis wasn't capturing the temperature data from the ride. For some weird reason, sometimes my Wahoo doesn't capture the temperature in the FIT file output. The next step was then to align the calculations between GPX and FIT file processing in the analysis program, and that took some time. I think I got everything synced between these two functions. In the evening, after dinner, I went for a walk just to get some fresh air, felt pretty good to get out of the house. Read some in the evening before turning in.

06-30-2026 Run

Had a rough night sleeping, my face was really irritated and sore, particularly around my nose. I got up in the night and watched some TV to let the irritation subside. Got back to sleep, not great but sufficient. I woke up in the morning and decided to go for an easy-ish run down by the park. Ran four miles, the first three were at slower pace, and the last one I put a little more effort into. Stretched before the run, and that is helping quite a bit with keeping leg soreness away after the run.

Avg pace = 8:41/mi

Total distance = 4.06 mi

Elapsed moving time = 35:19

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 10

https://www.strava.com/activities/19123852403

I had gotten an invitation to join Charlie, Andy, and Perse for a 4-wheeler run in the afternoon. So, in the morning I working on my cycling analysis program, in an effort to validate the Training Load calculation analysis and fix some issues with data capture in the database. I also made some chocolate cookie dough and baked a couple dozen cookies. Charlie showed up a little after 12:30, and we drove to meet the others out in the Pauma Valley, taking Valley Center Rd and Cole Grade Rd out to the 76, then turning on Nate Harrison Grade. I recognized the name of this road but didn't remember from where. We drove on the paved portion for a while until we hooked up with Andy and Perse. Before we got onto the unpaved portion we stopped (I handed out cookies) while they all lowered the air pressure in their tires to make the ride a little smoother over the terrain. I rode with Charlie for most of the uphill section, we chatted about Leslie's trip to Peru (fun but expensive and limiting while traveling in a tour group) and our Hawaii trip. We go up into the forested area and stopped for a break (more cookies handed out), and I rode with Andy after this for a shore while until we popped out on the road in Palomar Mountain SP. That's where I remember Nate Harrison Grade from! We stopped briefly, then drove up to Boucher Lookout, where we got to go up into the fire watch tower and talk to Patty, the volunteer docent ranger on duty. The day was hazy, so visibility wasn't great, but it was fun to chat with her. I rode with Perse on the way down, and we chatted about his Father's Day CPR experience, among other topics. Back down to the paved part of Nate Harrison Grade (the ride down seemed bumpier than the way up), where the guys put air back in their tires, and we decided to have dinner on the way back. I found a place in Valley Center, but it turned out to be a food truck, so we ended up eating at Mendoza's Restaurant in Escondido. It was also fast food, pretty decent and a good choice. Andy drove me home from there, and he was really jazzed about the whole idea of going four-wheeling and camping out in the wilderness. He is also selling his teardrop trailer, hasn't gotten any serious offers yet. Got home after 6:30, and the rest of the evening was quiet. I was pretty tired from the day, and my face was still irritated and sore.

06-29-2026 Hike/Swim

Had a restless night. My face was really sore, and I couldn't easily find a comfortable way to sleep. I got up during the night, watched some TV, ate some cereal, and eventually got some fitful sleep. Woke up around 5:30, eventually got out of bed after reading a little bit, then I got ready for an early morning hike with my backpack. Walked down to the park and got onto the trails, taking them down past the gravel parking lot before turning around and walking back on sidewalks through the park and then back home. Then I got ready for a swim at the WWC. Face was still tender, hurts when I stretch the skin, especially around my nose. I was the first one to the pool, but it got pretty busy quickly. Still, I was able to have my preferred lane to myself. Swam 1500 yds with just a couple of brief pauses. My stroke count was longer, just didn't feel a lot of strength in my arms on this day. Here are the split times for the three 500s: 9:30, 9:39, 9:29.

Avg pace = 1:55/100 yds (Video, not counting brief pauses)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 28:38 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 159 bpm (not likely)

Relative Effort = 60 (not likely)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.37 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/19112178918

Got home, wasn't so hungry, so I just had a little bread for breakfast. Stayed around the house during the day, spent a fair amount of time trying to understand my cycling analysis program and why some of its data are different than Strava and between the two file formats. I also fixed an issue with GPX file processing for power zones and Training Load calculations. Talked to Mom in the early evening, she seems bent on exploring assisted living options. I watched some TV with Ann after dinner.

06-28-2026 Kitchen Creek Ride

Woke up around 4:30 for this ride, since we needed to drive more than an hour to the starting point. Had some cereal for breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, and checked the route out. Then I got dressed, had already packed my gear in my backpack. I also made coffee to drink on the way. Catalin and Paula were late, so I had a little extra time. Loaded up my bike when they got here, then we drove to Pine Valley. It took a while for them to get ready for the ride once we got there. We looped through Pine Valley before getting on Old Hwy 80 and climbing out of this town. We got to the intersection with Sunrise Hwy, turned right to stay on Old Hwy 80, and took a mostly downhill or flat road over to Kitchen Creek Rd, where we turned left. I overshot the turn a little bit but quickly got back on route. As soon as we started climbing I left them behind and tried to follow my own pace. That worked for the first three miles or so, and then I noticed that my rear tire felt squishy. So I stopped and discovered I had a flat. Dang it! This was after I had swapped out my old Enve tires for sturdier Gatorskins the previous day. I swapped out the tube and had the tire seated in the bead before Paula caught up. I told her, and Catalin a little later, to keep going, and I would try to catch up. Filling the tire with air from the Cycplus pump took several minutes to get to 80 psi, where I stopped it and called it good enough. Then it took a bit to pack all my stuff back up and get back on the bike. I put in a little more effort to try and catch up to them, eventually did between mile four and five. Paula had stopped to wait for me, Catalin was still riding. I waited for her to catch up with me, got up to Catalin, then continued on at my pace. Not too long after we came to the gate across the road and had to lift our bikes over it. Then we continued on a road that had weeds growing out of it but was rideable. Stopped a couple of times to take pics or video, not always successfully. I would get ahead of them, then stop to let them catch up before continuing on. Overall, this climb wasn't too bad. It had some initial steeper sections, then the grade lowered a bit. I was able to keep a decent cadence and pace, mostly in first or second gear. Gradient would occasionally get to 7%, but a tailwind was helping us along for the most part. There was some sand on the road and an increasing number of potholes to watch out for. I rode past the second gate and kept going, and the road quality deteriorated. Got into a wooded area, and my right shifter battery finally died, so I stopped to replace it. Got it replaced before they showed up, but we stopped here for a longer break. I had eaten a banana earlier, and at this stop I ate a Clif bar. As we continued, the road quality got worse and stayed that way until we descended to Sunrise Hwy. I waited for the others to get to this intersection, then we turned right and rode several miles up to the little community by Burnt Rancheria Campground. We stopped for a break at the general store there, and I bought us ice cream treats. This was our turnaround point. We had a couple of modest climbs to negotiate before starting the long, continual descent all the way back to Old Hwy 80. I was out in front after the little climbs, and I don't think I touched my brakes during the entire descent after that. Long winding curves and a headwind to slow us down a little bit worked in our favor. This got us back to Old Hwy 80, where I stopped to wait for them. We rode the last mile and a half back into Pine Valley and got back to the car safely.

Avg speed = 13.2 mph (13.4 mph). Total mileage = 35.0 mi

Avg power = 147 W. Weighted avg power = 172 W

Total elevation gain = 3890' (3840')

Avg heartrate = 129 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 103 (103)

Training Load = 193 (173)

Intensity = 78% (79%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19101877163

Here is a breakdown of the Kitchen Creek climb (every 1.17 miles or so), which took me a little over 2 hours of riding time to complete at 11.7 mi and 4.3% average gradient.

Power       Heartrate    Ratio       Gradient

198 W      134 bpm      1.479      4.67%

239 W      153 bpm      1.555      7.79%

181 W      145 bpm      1.249      2.81%

171 W      141 bpm      1.215      7.65%

200 W      141 bpm      1.414      6.33%

200 W      147 bpm      1.362      6.12%

151 W      134 bpm      1.127      2.36%

179 W      142 bpm      1.260      5.34%

120 W      124 bpm      0.966      3.19%

178 W      146 bpm      1.215      5.45%

Loaded our bikes up and then stopped nearby at a picnic table to have some beer (me and Catalin) and cake to celebrate Paula's birthday. Chatted for a while there before getting back in the car and driving home. This was a good day. My face was a little irritated from the skin treatment, but I'd put SPF 100 sunscreen on, so it didn't really bother me on the ride. Got home, and Ann came out to wish Paula a happy birthday as well. Had a refreshing shower when I got home, felt better after that. Then I had some potato salad for lunch, felt good to eat something not sweet. I watched a little TV, then called Ross to talk about tech stuff. I owe him some info on laptop recommendations. In the late afternoon we drove to Lake Poway, parked at the intersection, and walked up to the lake, where we had a picnic dinner and watched a concert by The Jackstones. They were decent, a couple of the singers, including the keyboard player, weren't so great, but the lead guitarist was good. Toward the end of the concert they did a fine cover of White Wedding, and we had to get up and dance. It was an enjoyable evening, I'm glad I wore long pants. Walked back to the car and drove home for a quiet rest of the evening.