05-17-2026 Ride

Woke up early, around 5:00, with just enough sleep to be ready for a ride with Paula, who drove over to the house to start from here. I also cleaned the kitchen before I left, more breakfast dishes waiting for me when I got home. She showed up and we had a quick look at her bike to see what might be causing the chain skipping she occasionally sees. I adjusted the position of the rear derailleur, and we got ready to leave. Down by the park, across the pedestrian bridge, then taking Via Rancho Pkwy west to Bernardo Ln, turning right there. I'd never been up this little climb, and it turned out to be not as steep as I thought it would be. We then rode down Bernardo Ave to Gamble Ln, turning left and riding up into the neighborhood at the top of the hill. This road has a couple of quite steep pitches near the top, but we made it okay. We used Scenic Trail Way to get over to Citracado Pkwy and took that west, past Valley Pkwy and down to Harmony Grove Village Pkwy. Used that to get to Harmony Grove Rd, then enjoyed the general downhill ride to the turn onto Elfin Forest Rd. We stayed together on this stretch, then I got out in front on the climb up toward San Elijo Hills. I waited at the top of the climb for Paula, then we rode together into the village, turning on San Elijo Rd and riding down just past the gas station, stopping there to take a picture by the fountain. We continued on to RSF Rd, turning left and riding up this little climb. Near the top, we turned off onto a gravel path that got us over to Old RSF Rd, which has been turned into a bike and pedestrian path. This got us down to La Costa Ave, where we turned left and rode to Calle Timiteo, turning right and taking it to Camino de Los Coches, where we turned right and got back to RSF Rd. Left turn there and then a right on Calle Barcelona, followed by a right on Paseo Almendro. We then took a bunch of neighborhood streets to get over to ECR, where we turned right at the turn where Catalin had crashed into Eric on a previous ride. We rode up to the entrance to the La Costa Omni resort and turned right, riding through the main resort center to get to Estrella de Mar Rd, which we took through the neighborhood, across Alga Rd, and then to Poinsettia Ln. We stopped briefly before this turn, then continued on up to Melrose Dr, turning left and then taking a right on Rancho Bravado followed by a left on Paseo Valindo to get to Palomar Airport Rd. A right turn there and a short stretch up to White Sands Dr, where we turned left and stopped shortly after for pictures and another break. This road descends, then climbs at 7-8% until a left turn onto Coast Ave, where the climb continues at 8-9% until the summit. Then we descended to Island Dr, which dropped us back onto RSF Rd. We rode up to the right turn on Camino del Arroyo Dr, which took us into the Lake San Marcos neighborhood (a favorite of Paula's). Left on Hermosita Dr and then another left on San Marino Dr to ride over the bridge across the lake to get to San Pablo Dr, where we turned left. A subsequent right turn to stay on San Pablo Dr until we turned left on La Noche Dr to get over to McMahr Rd, where a left turn got us to Discovery St. We took this to Barham Dr, past CSUSM, turning right on La Moree Rd to do the little climb and descent on this road and get back to Barham Dr. We turned right there and took it to Mission Rd, another right turn and then a third right onto Auto Park Way. We climbed up to Citracado Pkwy, turned right there and continued the climb past the hospital, then stayed on this road until turning right onto Valley Pkwy. Paula was slowing down more than I was by this time, so I was creating gaps whenever we were climbing. We turned right and rode down to Via Rancho Pkwy, then rode home from there the normal way via the pedestrian bridge, stopping briefly at the Chevron station for a break where Paula had something to eat before tackling the last two little climbs back to the house. Was a good ride, just about ideal temperature. The sun also basically stayed behind the clouds, which was helpful. Still, I was tired the previous day, so I didn't set many records on this ride.

Avg speed = 13.6 mph. Total mileage = 45.8 mi

Avg power = 116 W. Weighted avg power = 154 W

Total elevation gain = 3720'

Avg heartrate = 109 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 49

Training Load = 185

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18546290655

Got home, had a few little snacks and watched some Giro coverage before using the wet-vacuum to clean the downstairs floors. I also did a second kitchen cleaning. That took me to lunchtime, I was more hungry by this time. Relaxed and had a little nap in the early afternoon, then I went out in the front yard and tracked down three broken drip sprinklers and a fourth non-operational one. I also respliced the electrical wires for sprinkler line 1. That was enough sprinkler maintenance for one day for me. Later, I cleaned and rewaxed chain #2 for my Canyon. Watched more Giro coverage before dinner, then some TV as well. After dinner I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters. I also figured out how to reconnect my electronic shifting to my Wahoo so it displays the selected gear. Had a shower as well, it was about time. The rest of the evening was quiet.

05-16-2026 Ride

Woke up after decent, albeit shortened, sleep. I woke up earlier but got back to sleep until about 6:00. Got ready for a Bisikleta ride where I was the route planner. Through the neighborhood, saw Rob walking near his house (Isabelle is in Canada traveling with Juliette) and stopped to chat with him. He looks washed out and said he was working through health issues, unspecified. I took the Ralph's Ranch Rd route through 4S Ranch, got to Target and Rob T had just arrived. Others started showing up, Kamal was late. On this ride we had the following riders: Jed, Arnold, Rob T, Fritz, Nel, Charlie, and Kamal. So, a decent turnout for a challenging ride. We rode CdS to Dove Canyon Rd, took it to RB Rd, then used Matinal Rd to get to W Bernardo Dr. Down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd, where we turned. We were basically together to the base of the first climb, which separated us. I got to the top first, but Arnold and Jed weren't too far back. We gathered there, then continued. I decided to ride to the normal stopping point from there, Arnold was about two minutes behind me. The others followed, and Charlie commented on the challenge of this climb. Felt okay on this climb, I tried to After everybody got there we rode to the 67, Fritz and I out in front. We turned left and rode into Ramona. I thought my route led us to a coffee shop but it didn't work out. I eventually turned around and led the group back to the liquor store where we had stopped when we did a similar ride in 2024. Break was longer than I wanted. Was near the back when we started retracing our route, but I caught up and got out front to make sure we all made the turn back onto Highland Valley Rd. Charlie was complaining of a cramp, so I hung back with him while the others rode away. Did the gradual climb on the way back, Nel had a chain issue on the last little climb, so I waited as he cleared it up. Four of us - Kamal, Nel, Charlie, and I - were at the back, generally together as we started the descent. I passed them and then waited before Cordiano Winery to make sure all were okay. Then we rode down to the flats, and again I waited for all to show up. I rode with these four riders back to Pomerado Rd, where the others were waiting. Again I hung back to make sure the riders with tired legs were supported. Caught up with the other riders on the climb to the park, where Rob had to stop for a bio break. He and I were in the back of the group as we climbed up W Bernardo Dr and RB Rd. I caught up with Nel, in the lead of the trailing group as we crested that last climb, and I waited at Via del Campo for Charlie and Kamal. When Charlie showed up he and I continued until we saw Rob stopped on the side of the road past Camino San Bernardo. His over layer had fallen out of his jersey and jammed into his rear wheel, and he went over the handlebars. He was banged up but surprisingly not significantly injured. He bike was also basically okay. Kamal had shown up, so he waited with Rob while Charlie and I rode back to Target to pick up Rob's car and bring it back to him. Fritz and Jed also drove back with us to check on Rob. His left shoulder had taken a big hit without breaking his collarbone or causing a separation. No head contact with the pavement, another lucky occurrence. Jed checked him out and gave him the green light to drive. Fritz stayed with Rob for a while to make sure he was okay, while the rest of us split. I rode home slowly, adrenaline rush over.

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 49.2 (+2) mph

Avg power = 139 W. Weighted avg power = 170 W

Total elevation gain = 3490'

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 86

Training Load = 216

Intensity = 77%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18533390144

It's never good when a rider goes down on one of our rides. I'm so glad that this wasn't worse than it ended up. Had a quiet afternoon, including a little nap. In the late afternoon we drove down to Logan Heights to the Logan Multicultural Complex to see a couple of Fringe Festival shows. BTW, this venue had three theaters going, along with free snacks, so it was a winner. The first show, Lady Satan, featured Peyton Ashby, a trans woman who used a mixture of burlesque dancing, narrative, and audio/video clips to state her case about the rights of trans people, focusing on trans women. It was a little amateurish in the dancing, but she warmed up during the show in the message she was conveying, and it was overall an interesting and worthwhile experience. Then we saw GULP!, starring Prith Khalsa. This was a more renowned show, extremely innovative and weird in its presentation of a man who falls in love with a banana, telling their life story through narrative, comedy, and physicality. It had its weird moments, but Mr Khalsa really knows how to work an audience, and they were quite participative (lots of other Fringe Festival performers in the audience). It would be hard to describe to others, but the experience was well worth it. Ann was tired of sitting after this show, and I was ready to go as well, so she drove us home. Didn't take long for me to get to sleep.

05-15-2026 Swim

Slept okay, although I did wake up during the night and read for a bit (<>). Got ready for a swim at the WWC and headed over there. Swam 1500 yds basically without stopping (brief pause after first 500), and here are the splits for the three 500s: 9:16, 9:30, 9:31. I kept my stroke count under 20, was 18 for the first 500 and then 19 for the last two. Tried to keep my form consistent throughout the swim, was modestly successful.

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

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 28:17 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm (could be)

Relative Effort = 35 (possibly)

SWOLF = 36

Avg stroke rate = 19 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.55 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/18519198464

Came home and had some pretzels and yogurt for breakfast. Then I cleaned the kitchen dishes and made some coffee. Did some computer clean-up work in the morning. After lunch I went out in the front yard and trimmed the large bush on the western side of the property. This is never a fun job. I also trimmed the two bushes by the garage. Then I took my Fuji off the trainer, gave it a cleaning, and adjusted the seat height to be more suitable for Mark. Continued some clean-up of Google Photos to reduce the space they are occupying. Had a little nap in mid-afternoon. In the late afternoon we drove down to Mira Mesa to have dinner at a banh mi place. It was just okay, a pale imitation of the places in Vietnam. The French fries were good, too many in the order for one person. Then I drove us downtown to the P!NK Curebound concert. The show started a little late, but there was no opening act, and she hit the ground running. A very fun show. Our seats were partially obstructed, and the stage was quite far away. So we ended up watching the concert mainly from the big screens. Her two acrobatic routines during the show were pretty amazing for a 47 year-old. I recognized nearly all the songs from my listening to her top hits playlist on Spotify. Good show. It was slow getting out of Petco Park because of the crowds, and traffic out of downtown was also congested. We got home around 11:40, didn't take long for me to get to sleep.

05-14-2026 Ride

Planned another longer ride, leaving pretty early (a little before 6:00) in an attempt to get miles in before meeting John and Brooke for coffee. Through the neighborhood and then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, pushing steadily but not super hard. To CdS, which I took to the 56 bike path. Then I followed the bike path down to CVR and then to the coast. On this stretch I was debating whether I would have time to get to the top of Torrey Pines before I needed to turn around. I decided I would, took the outside route and put in a pretty good effort. Still, I was over a minute slower than my fastest time ever, so I am definitely slowing down as I get older. Sobering. Got to the top and turned right around to ride back down and retrace my route all the way back to the turn onto CVR. I made decent time on the flat section, then slowed down as I started climbing up to Black Mountain Rd. I had less energy than I thought I would. Go to the top of this climb and decided to try and ride home instead of meeting them directly at the HP site. Down the hill and up Dove Canyon Rd to get back to RB Rd. I was still slow here, rode back home through the neighborhood and got there around 8:45.

Avg speed = 16.1 mph. Total mileage = 42.3 mph

Avg power = 132 W. Weighted avg power = 164 W

Total elevation gain = 2710'

Avg heartrate = 117 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 51

Training Load = 155

Intensity = 75%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18505783489

Time for a quick change, then I rode my scooter over to the site. Of course, I was early, since the meeting time was 9:30, not 9:00, as I thought. Oh well! I got a coffee and relaxed there until they showed up. John brought donuts, which was a nice little surprise. All of the time was devoted to Brooke giving us updates about the site move and EER (Phil, Paul B., Fereshteh, Tayo, Donna). I am so glad I didn't have to deal with any of that noise. Had lunch and a quiet early afternoon, watching some TV. Then I did some bike maintenance: sorting out and throwing away old worn-out disc brake pads, installing a set of pads on my front disc brakes with a little life left in them (some rubbing), deflating and reinflating my rear tire to seat the tire bead better, taking the aero bars off my Fuji, and charging a derailleur battery. In the evening, after dinner, I reinstalled chain #3 (with two QuickLinks) on the Canyon.Was a quiet evening after that.

05-13-2026 Swim

Slept okay, although I did get up early and read for a while (<!>). Got ready for a swim at the WWC, there were a lot of people waiting to get in, and I ended up swimming in lane 4. I did four 250s at tempo pace, with about a minute of rest between each one. Here are the splits for the 250s: 4:19, 4:21, 4:26, 4:29. Gradually longer, but on the last 250 I felt like I got into a rhythm that I could have continued for a while. This is a workout I need to include more often in my swims.

Avg pace = 1:46/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1000 yds

Elapsed moving time = 17:35 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 145 bpm (could be)

Relative Effort = 27 (possibly)

SWOLF =35 (!)

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm (higher frequency, faster swim)

Avg pull distance = 2.43 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/18492508828

Got home, was planning to go for a short bike ride, but I had a rear tire flat that I needed to change, so I decided to skip the ride and go longer on Thursday instead. Lucky I did because the carpet-cleaning guy showed up early, while Ann was at the gym. I had patched my tube and set it up to dry, and he showed up around 10:15. I got him set up for the job, no real issues there. Shaved and showered, then got ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. I went to Optimum Pharmacy and picked up my skin cream prescription before the shift, still had enough time to eat lunch before getting to the ED. The shift was perhaps a little slower than usual, nothing else remarkable about it. Got home and had dinner, than Ann and I talked to Laura for a while. Lots of stuff about the wedding and work (Joe's job is very tenuous), she's feeling the stress. The rest of the evening was quiet for me, not much TV watched on this day.

 

05-12-2026 Ride/Hike

I'd been thinking about riding up the East Grade of Palomar, so I committed to doing it. Originally planned on waking up at 5:30, but I was awake and up at 5:00, allowing me to get an earlier start. Packed some food and fluids into the car, made coffee and took it with me. I drove to the La Jolla Trading Post, where I had started before. It was foggy on the drive, with even some light mist, until I descended into Funner, where it was clear and stayed that way. Temperature was about right at the start (I forgot to attach my HR monitor to my band, so no HR data), which featured a little descent before flattening out and then gradually climbing. It is longer to the East Grade Rd turnoff than you think, about six miles from this starting point, involving a net elevation gain of about 300'. I got to the turn in about 25 minutes, didn't stop, just started climbing. I spent most of the time in first or second gear, except where it flattened out or descended slightly. The first four miles is a steady climb, then the grade lowers and there's even a small descent before another six-mile climb with little descending and just a small stretch across a valley where the grade is lower. Total official distance for the Strava segment is right at 11 miles. My Wahoo kept track of the climb pretty well, since I didn't stop long enough for it to reset, as it has in the past. During the climb I had an annoying sound coming from my brakes, as if they were occasionally rubbing against the rotors. I got to Mother's Kitchen (closed) in about 1:35, it was only my third-fastest Strava time (out of five attempts) up the East Grade. I thought I would be faster, but I need to work on my fitness after not riding so much on vacation. Still, it was a top-20 time for my age group, hard to see how I can crack the top-10, but perhaps. And my average power for the whole climb was 193 W, not too bad. I didn't stop there, kept going to focus on continuing effort, heading up to Palomar Mountain SP. My time to the park was faster, fifth-fastest in my age group, which felt pretty good. I rode to the base of the road up to Boucher Lookout, wasn't interested in doing this steep little climb. On the return, I stopped a couple of times to take pictures, so my time wasn't anything special. I was a little concerned about the remaining climbs, but they weren't too bad. The little climb just past Mother's Kitchen was less than I expected, then the serious descending began. I hadn't ridden down the East Grade in a long time, and it was thrilling. If you are bold, you don't need to apply the brakes at all, but that wasn't me. I was cautious on the sharper turns as well as the sections of road in shade. I stopped just one time at a vista point to take a picture of Lake Henshaw, then zoomed back down to the 76. It had seemed like I was riding into a headwind on the way to East Grade Rd, but on the return I didn't really feel like I was getting any assistance from the wind. This stretch was generally flat to downhill, but my legs were tired, so the flat sections were more of a chore than they should have been. There was a little climb near the end to get back to the convenience store where I had parked, but again it wasn't as bad as I feared it was going to be. Got back to the car in less than three hours elapsed time, another accomplishment.

Avg speed = 14.8 mph. Total mileage = 41.5 mi

Avg power = 154 W. Weighted avg power = 178 W

Total elevation gain = 3920'

Training Load = 187

Intensity = 81%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18479331225

I stopped at the store after finishing and packing my stuff back in the car, bought a large Coke, and enjoyed it on the drive home. A little traffic on the way back, but I avoided rush hour. Got home, changed, and had a somewhat early light lunch and rested for a bit. My afternoon was quiet, Ann and I went to see Jeff Ross in mid-afternoon, his advice wasn't so helpful or knowledgeable, in my opinion. I got home and had just a little time before riding over to the park to meet Emily for a hike. For a change we walked up by the waterfall and beyond, a little longer than we typically hike. Came home and ate a large dinner, I was hungry from the day's exertions. My right leg was also tender from the bike ride, will have to pay attention to this potential issue. I watched some TV in the evening and read as well before calling it a night.

05-11-2026 Basketball/Swim

Slept well, no caffeine the previous and only a short nap in the early afternoon. Got up and took my time getting ready to go to the WWC. When I got there, Steve told me that he and Vargheez were going to play basketball, so I modified my schedule and played with them first for a little less than an hour. I was rusty but made some shots when my old form peeked out at times. V has a good set shot, and Steve can hit long-range bombs with a flat trajectory. After the basketball workout I went to the pool, where there were only a couple of swimmers, and got my preferred lane 3. Swam, slowly, for 2100 yds (I lost track of the laps near the end) without any aids, for the first time in quite a while. I could tell my arms and legs were tired from the earlier workout, and they got more tired as I swam. Here are the splits for the four 500s and the last 100: 9:45, 10:08, 10:16, 10:03, 1:59. Much more practice needed in longer swims to rebuild my endurance. I stayed around 20 strokes/length for most of the swim, but I just didn't feel like I was putting much power into the strokes.

Avg pace = 2:01/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2100 yds

Elapsed moving time = 42:11 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 168 bpm (nope)

Relative Effort = 124 (again, nope)

SWOLF =38

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.41 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/18466449327

Got home, and I was hungry. I ended up eating an early lunch (didn't eat breakfast) around 10:30. Later in the morning I went out back, intending to check the water line for the beds by the house in the back yard. Before that, I needed to clear out some overgrowth of plants by the magnolia tree. That stuff grows like weeds. Chopped a lot of it back, then checked the water line. I couldn't see any leaks, but there are a lot of spray heads, could probably reduce this number. Had a quiet early afternoon, then I went out and cleaned the garage a little bit. Also put aero bars on my Fuji, probably not a good idea in hindsight, since Mark will be here next week. I switched out bike tools with the Park tool I'd gotten the replacement parts for, after using steel wool to remove some of the rust and discoloration. By the way over the weekend I cleared out all of my old unread emails, using Outlook. Will try to keep it cleaned up moving forward. In the evening Ann and I watched the season finale of The Pitt. Arnold came over to borrow my bleed kit. I packed up my bike and gear into the car in preparation for the early ride the following morning. The rest of the evening was quiet.