Drove over to Dave's house and picked him and John up, storing the gear in the minivan. Headed up to Julian, Menghini Winery, which is right off of Farmers Rd near Camp Cedar Glen. Registered onsite. It was kinda cool at the beginning, but not bad at all. There were about 200 riders. After the start, headed into Julian, then downhill until the turn onto Pine Hills Rd. By this time, the weather was great. Turned onto Eagle Peak Rd, then later onto Boulder Creek Rd. This part of the ride was rolling hills, with nice scenery. We rode past Camp Winacka. Then we turned on Engineers Rd and things got challenging. This section was about a 4 mile uphill, with the steepest part reserved for the very end. By this time, my lower back was aching, and it was a real chore to get up to the top. Thankfully, there was a rest stop right afterward, so I stretched and waited for the others to catch up. We then headed back toward Julian on the 79, turning right on Sunrise Hwy. There was a sharp rise not too long after the turn, then a gradual uphill. Bypassed the next rest stop, where I found that I had another 11 miles of climbing to go to the summit. None of it was really steep, although there were some long stretches of pretty hard work. The forests as we got higher were really beautiful. There was a crosswind that was partly in my face on the climb. At the rest stop by the turnaround point, I stretched again and waited for Dave and John to show up. I felt good at this point, although the weather was a little blustery at the 6000' level. The ride back downhill was fun, although the tailing crosswind was a little difficult to deal with. There was a moderate climb in the middle of the downhill, and that was slow going. Back on the 79, we headed toward Julian. By this time, the wind was more in our backs, helping push us along. There was an uphill section about 3 miles outside of Julian, but it was no big deal. Dave caught up with me, even though I thought I was riding a good pace. He has more endurance than me. On the final downhill into Julian, my bike was really riding loose, and I found out at the turn onto the main street that I had a flat. Good grief! It was a slow leak, so I pumped it up downtown and figured I would try to ride the last part without fixing it. There is a short, steep section on Farmers Rd that I was dreading, but I motored on up it with no problems at all. My tire held air until the end. At the end of the ride, they were serving warm apple pie and ice cream, and it was delicious. Felt really good at the finish, with tiredness in my legs but no soreness. It did feel good to be done.
Avg. speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 55.3 mi
Avg. heartrate = 152 bpm
Total elevation gain = 3460'
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/julian/422128908461434832
