04-07-2026 Mountain Bike Ride/Hike

Slept later than usual, until 6:30 or so. I had gotten up really early, had cereal for breakfast, then gone back to sleep. Leisurely preparation for the mountain bike ride with Andy, who showed up around 8:00. We drove over to the park and rode from there, he on his gravel bike and me on his mountain bike. Across the pedestrian bridge, then heading west, initially to the area by the boat launch, then to Hernandez Hideaway, finally continuing to the Lake Hodges dam. The way out seemed to have more climbing, but that probably wasn't the case. This wasn't a technically difficult ride, but it was challenging at time for me, particularly on the sharp little climbs that came up from time to time. We stopped for a longer break by the damit would be fun to extend the ride sometime down into the riverbed below the dam. Here, we turned around and rode back, including taking the flatter return route. I was working hard to stay with Andy. The mountain bike is harder to get up to speed and keep going at pace. I felt a little more comfortable on the return from the dam. I forgot to bring my Wahoo, so I used the Polar heartrate monitor that Avi has lent me and recorded the workout using Polar Flow.

Avg speed = 8.2 mph. Total mileage = 16.3 mi

Avg power (est.) = 69 W (too low)

Total elevation gain = 730'

Avg heartrate = 104 bpm (Polar)

Relative Effort = 21

https://www.strava.com/activities/18016586320

Got home and had time to shower and get ready to meet earl for lunch at Bros Kabob in South Escondido. Food was decent, falafel was okay but not great. We talked about our Vietnam trip as well as what's going on with Earl's kids, mainly Jenny and Jason. Also discussed some elements of perceiving reality, including a philosophy known as quantum qubism. Had a quiet rest of the afternoon, read a little bit and watched some TV. In the early evening I rode over to Kit Carson Park to meet Emily for a hike, then we went to OtB afterwards. It was a good time to catch up on what's going on with her. She told me about work (generally going well, not as many complaints about Mike) as well as their trip to Las Vegas. I ended up drinking too much Pepsi. Rode home before sunset, no issues there. The rest of the evening was quiet, I watched some more TV while Ann was at bell choir practice.

04-06-2026 Swim/Ride

Slept until about 6:00, woke up refreshed. I got up and had a little time before I needed to get ready for a swim at the WWC with Avi. Had some bread and then ate a banana once I got there. I was the first one there, and it looked like it would be a light day in the pool, even when he showed up. We got adjacent lanes, then others quickly started showing up, so that the pool was pretty full while we swam. I ended up doing 1500 yds without stopping. Avi swam next to me for a fair portion of the swim, but he didn't swim continuously. Still, he was swimming at pace, so his pace helped keep me pushing. I had a couple of times that I needed to pause briefly to empty the water from my goggles. My stroke was decent, 18-19 strokes, for the first 1000 yds, but my form broke down somewhat in the last 500. I was surprised at the times for this swim, I think it's the fastest 1500 I have swum, either ever or in a long time. Here are the splits for the three 500s: 9:04, 9:21, 9:18. I've been aiming for quite a while to be able to swim distances at 1:50 pace, and this was the first time I've gotten close without some kind of swimming aids. Arms felt the effects of this workout later in the day, another good sign. Later in the afternoon I found, with help from Google Gemini, a setting - Turn Auto Lap On - that I hope with re-enable tracking of the lap data that gets imported into Strava.

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

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 27:43 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 172 bpm (no way)

Relative Effort = 93 (no way)

SWOLF =36 (!)

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.46 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/18003950747

I got home and had just a little time before I needed to get ready for a ride with Andy. Headed up to W Bernardo Dr and then took RB Rd to Bernardo Oaks Dr. Andy was already on his gravel bike and ready to roll, so we took Rios Rd to Pomerado Rd and then rode up to Stowe Dr. I dialed back my pace and rode with him, hearing how his gravel ride with his daughter went (hard but a good experience). They also stayed a couple of days in Curry Village and enjoyed Yosemite (we need to go back there soon). We took Stowe Dr up to O'Brien's Boulangerie and stopped for a coffee and a shared pastry (Andy paid, my turn next time). Planned a fall adventure, potentially with Charlie, a mountain bike camping trip out in Canyonlands NP. We rode back from there down to Community Rd, turned right and took it to Twin Peaks Rd, where we turned right again on Espola Rd and rode up to the high school. We took Titan Way to Riparian Rd and headed over to Lake Poway Rd, using it to get to Summer Sage Rd. Left turn, and the usual way from there back to Espola Rd. We rode down to Alondra Dr, turned left to get over to Rios Rd, and then rode back to his place. I rode home the normal way from there via W Bernardo Dr. This was a slow-paced ride but a fun one, no stress and almost perfect temperature. Heartrate was a little elevated from what I hoped for, still work to do for getting back into prime cardio shape.

Avg speed = 13.7 mph. Total mileage = 22.3 mi

Avg power = 109 W. Weighted avg power = 132 W

Total elevation gain = 1290'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 24

Training Load = 66

Intensity = 60%

https://www.strava.com/activities/18004232287

Got home a little later than planned, no problems. I had leftover grilled food for lunch and then had a fairly light afternoon. I did fix a small problem with one of the drip line heads by the peach tree, it was easy once I found the right supplies. Watched some TV, then I spent some time trying to see if I could figure out why Strava isn't recording the laps in my swim workouts. Ann had identified a leak in a drip head by the peach tree, so I fixed that after finding the spares. Later, I patched the sprinkler line I. The front yard that had been chewed through, couldn't get water to flow to it. This is supposed to be line 8, which had a minor spray leak when I turned it on. Tried to fix that and ruptured the line, which necessitated cutting out tubing, removing it from the connectors, and putting a new line of tubing in. Then I traced the issue in the front yard back to an apparent line separation there as well, it was a weird one. After I reconnected the line it cause another line rupture further downstream, again due to old cracking tubing. I cut two more connectors out but turned the sprinklers off. Will splice in new line tomorrow, I was ready to stop for the night. Ann and I watched TV in the evening after that.

04-05-2026 Ride

Woke up after decent sleep. Initially woke up around 4:00 but got back to sleep until 5.50. Got ready for an Easter morning bike ride. It was colder than expected. I rode the extended route through the neighborhood to W Bernardo Dr and then took RB Rd up to Camino San Bernardo. Over to CD, turning left and getting onto the reverse of the time trial route for a while. Stayed on Sabre Springs Pkwy to the end, then took Poway Rd to Oak Knoll Rd, staying on it until I got to Carriage Rd. Left there, then another left on Poway Rd to get to Donutopolis. I stopped there and had a couple of donuts for breakfast. The chocolate iced donut was surprisingly good. Back from there to Pomerado Rd, where I continued the reverse time trial route until staying on RB Rd to W Bernardo Dr. Home from there. Legs were still tired and a little sore from the previous day's ride, so I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 20.9 mi

Avg power = 155 W. Weighted avg power = 174 W

Total elevation gain = 1090'

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 28

Training Load = 84

Intensity = 79%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17988856532

I'd shaved earlier, so I had a shower and then rode to church to meet Ann there. Service wasn't that inspiring, but the Hallelujah Chorus at the end was great. Talked with several folks in the patio afterwards, got our picture taken by the Easter cross, then I rode home in much warmer conditions. The rest of the morning was quiet, I had some rice and beans from way back for lunch. Cleaned the back patio, Ann did a lot of cooking throughout the day. I watched some TV in the afternoon. Started a new book, Number Go Up, by Zeke Faux, about the crypto boom and bust with the downfall of FTX. Ann and I watched an episode of Rooster after dinner, was mildly funny but probably not a keeper for either of us.

04-04-2026 Ride

Slept okay but not my normal hours, since we were out later than usual the night before. Woke up and got up around 6:00. Got ready for the Bisikleta ride.. It was around 50 at the start, so I wore my long-sleeve jersey and my light jacket over to the starting point at the 4S Target. Through the neighborhood and then the new extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. I left early and got there around 7:20. People were already showing up, but we had to wait for James, who was riding from home and had to deal with a flat on the way. We left around 7:45 or so. On this ride, we had the following riders: Ray, Jed, Perse, Arnold, Fritz, Rob T., Nel, James, and Paula. She now has her own Bisikleta jersey, which she bought from My Tran. We headed to Four Gee Rd and did the reverse of the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. I led the way, which was the general pattern for the day. To RB Rd, then down to W Bernardo Dr and around to Pomerado Rd. Sometime around here James got his second flat, but he was behind us and we didn't notice he'd stopped. So we got way out in front of him. Up to Paseo del Verano, turning left there. I waited for James to show up while the others continued up this short climb, but he was still behind, so I texted him to meet us at the coffee stop and continued on. Up and over to the little path that connected us to Old Winery Rd, which we took up to Valle Verde Rd. It was me, Rob, and Fritz in the front, others strung out behind us. We rode to Espola Rd, turned left there and took it up past the high school I got out in front again and stopped at the top to see that James was catching up to us. We all waited for him there, then continued down to Del Poniente Rd, turning right there. A short steep climb got us to Huntington Gate Rd, where we turned left and enjoyed the winding descent through this neighborhood, taking us to Tierra Bonita Rd. To Twin Peaks Rd, turning left there and riding over to Kings Craft Coffee, where we stopped for an extended break. I had a large coffee, and that got me buzzed for the next part of the ride, which was the most challenging. After the break we headed back to Twin Peaks Rd and took it to Community Rd, James and I were in the lead on this stretch. Over to Metate Ln from there, taking it back to Pomerado Rd and turning right. Then to Poway Rd via Oak Knoll Rd, riding to Springhurst Dr and taking it, and Springbrook Dr up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy. We turned on Candy Rose Way just past the light and climbed up to Cypress Canyon Park Dr, me and Fritz leading the way here. Left there and then another left on Cypress Woods Dr, riding down to Swan Canyon Rd and then over to Legacy Rd, which we used to get back to Pomerado Rd. From there we rode up to Stonebridge Pkwy (Paula really likes this road, so do I), and we climbed up to the top. Did the ups and downs initially and then got onto the last 400' climb. I got out front, and apparently Jed wasn't too far behind me, but I didn't notice him. Up to the top, where I stopped and had a pee, during which Jed kept going on the route and got ahead of the rest of us. The others climbed there, we had a short break, then we rode over to Via Santa Pradera and took it down to the fire road leading into Beeler Canyon. Down the steep descent, carefully, and the gate was up across the road, so we all had to stop and carry our bikes around it. Just past the gate James got another flat, so some of us who were in the back waited for him before continuing. Paula and I ended up getting separated from this trailing group, but we caught up to them at the gas station on the corner of Pomerado Rd and Scripps-Poway Pkwy, where the riders were just leaving as we rolled up. Stayed on Pomerado Rd all the way to Camino del Norte, about half of the riders were in this group. The others had ridden ahead, and James had decided to cut his ride short and head directly home via Scripps-Poway Pkwy. I stayed with this trailing group leading the way for them but making sure nobody got separated. We turned on CdN and took it to CdS and back to the starting point. It was about 90 deg by this time, others were complaining about the heat, but I wasn't too fazed by it. Was nice in the shade and not so bad in direct sunlight as long as I was moving. I headed home the new normal way, legs felt strong all the way to the finish. Heartrate is starting to come down as well, which is promising.

Avg speed = 15.3 mph (15.5 mph). Total mileage = 51.5 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 15.6 mph

Avg power = 136 W. Weighted avg power = 166 W

Total elevation gain = 3590' (3460')

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 100 (114)

Training Load = 228

Intensity = 75%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17979300357

Got home and snacked on generally light foods for lunch, stomach wasn't ready for a heavy meal. I watched a little TV and cooled down. Had a quiet afternoon, no nap, surprisingly. In the early evening I talked to Mom, who was in good spirits. Chatter with Ross as well afterwards. Ann and I watched some TV after dinner, then I read some before going to sleep (<>). 

04-03-2026 Run/Swim

Slept well, even after having full-strength coffee the previous morning. Got up around 6:00 and cleaned the kitchen, then got ready for a swim at the WWC. I also ordered some spare parts for the Park bike tool I keep in my saddle bag, and I got a text from Avi checking in. We decided to meet later in the morning for a swim, so I decided to go for a run first. Down by the park and back for the normal 5k route, generally slow-paced. My right ankle was a little tender, will have to keep an eye on that. Kept negative splits for the first three miles.

Avg pace = 8:39.mi

Total distance = 3.18 mi

Elapsed moving time = 27:30

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 10

https://www.strava.com/activities/17963739089

Got home and had some time to kill, so I ate a small breakfast and read the newspaper. Met Avi at the WWC a little before 9:30. We swam a series of laps and chatted about general life topics, including our recent trip to Vietnam. He may go there (Hanoi area) in May. My times were uniformly faster than the last time I did this set of drills, which was not too long after we got back. So, I'm making some progress in getting back to my earlier swimming fitness level. I was pushing hard on the speed drills, so my swimming stroke was ragged and shorter, especially in the 50s.

Warmup 250

    4:36

5 100s at 2:00 intervals

    1:38

    1:41

    1:41 (pause in the middle)

    1:43

    1:38

5 50s at 1:00 intervals

    0:44

    0:46

    0:47

    0:48

    0:45

Cool-down 250 (with pull buoy)

    4:51

Avg pace = 1:44/100 yds (Video, not counting pause)

Total distance = 1250 yds

Elapsed moving time = 21:38 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 156 bpm (not likely)

Relative Effort = ?

SWOLF =38

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.38 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/17965492729

Had some coffee when I got home and a light snack. Didn't do much the rest of the morning, seemed like I looked at the clock and it was already 11:30. I had some lunch, took a short nap, and then Ann and I went to a glass-blowing demonstration at the Escondido Center for the Arts. It was a fundraiser, Ann bought two tickets, which got us each a beer and a decorative glass. The glass-blowing was mildly interesting, but it would have been better with more explanation of what they were doing. Back home, another short nap, then I read for a while before dinner. After dinner we drove down to La Jolla (I really don't like parking there) to see a show at the Athenaeum. The headliner was Wax, a former comedian-turned-rapper, it was his birthday. We came to see Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar, who performed with accompaniment by Jack Katchur. Jimmy Patton and Enrique Platas opened the show. Jefferson Jay and his son sat right in front of us, and that was annoying. Neither one of them could sit still, so I had real trouble seeing the musicians. Had a piece of birthday cake at intermission, that was a concert first. Show was interesting, none of the acts were great, but Wax was more entertaining than I thought he would be. This was quite an eclectic concert crowd, all three acts brought different musical styles. Walked back to the car after the concert and drove home with no issues.

04-02-2026 Ride

Well, this day started out frustrating. I got up and got ready for a ride. Had some cereal before I left, intending to do a longer ride. Through the neighborhood, all the way around Matinal Circle, then up RB Rd. Was feeling pretty good early on. Over to CdS and out to the 56 bike path. Somewhere before PdS my chain ce off and seems to get stuck between the crank and bottom bracket. I got off and put it back on but noticed that my chain was skipping on the cassette, particularly in the lower chainring. Didn't make the connection then, and it seemed okay in the upper chainring, so I kept going. To the 56 bike path and down to the end, still riding pretty well. I got over to CVR and headed towards the coast. This is when the chain really started skipping. I was clueless about the source at this point, stopped by the Mexican food restaurant and tried to use Microadjust to get it to stoop skipping. No luck, so I started heading back home, finding a gear that only skipped a little bit and taking it slow. I got back on the 56 bike path and soon realized that it wasnt going to get better. I didn't want to damage my bike further, so I stopped and called Ann several times. No response. Left her a WhatsApp message and continued on, aiming to get to Pacific Highlands Ranch. I stayed in a single gear, and Ann later called me back. We agreed to meet at the Starbucks, so that's where I rode.

Avg speed = 16.1 mph. Total mileage = 24.4 mi

Avg power = 123 W. Weighted avg power = 150 W

Total elevation gain = 1200'

Avg heartrate = 113 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 23

Training Load = 78

Intensity = 68%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17962853460

Got a coffee to drink while I waited. When she showed up, we decided to have a late breakfast at a nearby Mexican food restaurant. Food was decent, it helped to turn a crappy day into a better one. Then she drove us home. I changed and went I to the garage to figure out what was going on with my bike. By this time I'd made the connection between the chain coming off, and getting damaged, and the gear skipping. So I swapped out the chain, and that solved the problem. Yay! Later, I found the frozen link on the chain and swapped it out with a QuickLink, then cleaned and waxed it so it would be ready when I needed to swap chains again. I the afternoon Ann went to Mah Jongg, and I figured out how to transfer my game settings for Subway Surfer to my new tablet. Yay again! Talked to Blair in the afternoon to catch up, he is still living off his separation benefits, looking for a job while doing a lot of stuff around the house and with friends. I also moved the microSD card to this tablet, so I am ready to retire the old tablet officially. It served me well for over seven years and a ton of use, particularly when we were in Israel. It was a productive day after all (<>). In the evening we drove down to UCSD and saw The War and Treaty at the Epstein Family Amphitheater. No opening act. This is a husband-wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter, both great singers with amazing vocal ranges. Some of the songs were good, it was an energetic concert, but I wasn't a fan of the over-the-top singing that they occasionally got into. Near the end of the show they came down into the audience, and we shook Michael's hand as he passed by. We had fourth-row seats, so we were nice and close. Home by 10:15, which was nice.

04-01-2926 Ride

Slept well again, got up and tried, without success yet to figure out how to copy game settings from my old tablet to my new one. Then I got ready for a ride with John. Weather was a little weird, warmer and more humid than expected. I took the standard route to his place, saw evidence of recent rain, although we hadn't gotten any at home. Jayden and Vivian saw us off as we headed up to the top of Pomerado Rd, taking Candy Rose Way up to Cypress Canyon Park Dr. We turned right on Spring Canyon Rd, enjoyed a nice gradual descent to Scripps Ranch Blvd, where we turned left and had a little climb before the steeper descent. Right turn on Erma Rd and down to the bike path that parallels I-15 to the east. We rode to Scripps-Poway Pkwy and turned left onto Mercy Rd, taking it down to Black Mountain Rd, where we turned left. Up to Adolphia St, turning right there and taking this rather steep neighborhood street up to Salmon River Rd, where we turned left. Another little climb to get to the highway overpass, then down to Paseo Montalban, where we turned right. Down from there to CMR, turning right and riding back under the highway to turn left onto Azuaga St. Short, sharp climb up to the 56 bike path, which we took to Sabre Springs Pkwy. Right turn there, then we stayed on this road all the way to Springhurst Dr. Back to John's house the normal way from there, except that we turned at Alpine Ter. I climbed to the end of the two cul-de-sac near his house, and the smoothies were waiting for us when we got back. General chat about staying active before I left and rode home the normal way via Bernardo Center Dr. Was a fairly low-output day on a route with a lot of climbing.

Avg speed = 14.6 mph. Total mileage = 34.3 mi

Avg power = 130 W. Weighted avg power = 157 W

Total elevation gain = 2480'

Avg heartrate = 115 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 40

Training Load = 137

Intensity = 71%

https://www.strava.com/activities/17939984992

I had some cereal for breakfast when I got home, took a little time to relax before shaving, showering, and getting ready for my volunteer shift. I ended up leaving the house a little late, still with enough time to stop in the cafeteria and have some lunch. Felt refreshed and full after that. The shift was usual, there was a new nurse, Keeley, who was working. Steadily busy but never super busy. The time did seem to go by more slowly that it had in the past. Marissa put the Padres game on TV, which helped to pass the time. A couple of patients who had either dementia or lack of full understanding of their surroundings, which is always the most difficult situation to deal with. Rode home after the shift and had a quiet evening, watching some TV with Ann and then reading.