12-31-2010 Ride

Ride up to Jim's house, meeting up with the other three. It was cold at the start, 34 deg by my thermometer. Headed over Duenda to W Bernardo Dr, then up the hill to Bernardo Center Dr. On the first climb, I got the sense that the others, particularly Dave and John, were going to lag behind. Jim was riding strong the entire day. Headed out Bernardo Center Dr and Carmel Valley Rd to Del Mar Heights Rd. Took this road over to the coast, and I really put distance on them on the short, steep climb just before the last downhill to the coast. On the coast, I generally held my own, particularly on any of the parts with an uphill grade. There was one point where the three of them got out ahead of me after a stop at a light, and I couldn't close the gap. Thankfully, they slowed down to let me catch up. We rode over to Palomar Airport Rd then headed up. This is a long, gradual uphill, with some but not many flat or slight downhill sections, just right for grinding it out. I finished a little ahead of Jim, and the other two were further back. From there, we headed by CSUSM and over Barham to Mission Rd. Took it back to Centre City Pkwy, where it seemed that we hit every other light. We motored down the road to just before the bridge on I-15, gathered up, and headed over. About halfway across, Dave's right pedal separated from its spindle, so I stopped to wait until he got it back in operation. Then we headed home. The climb up Aguamiel to Jim's house is a tough finish, and Dave outrode me to the top. Had a good smoothie at Jim's and rode back home. Finished the year, according to my calculations, with 2782 miles ridden, which is probably close to a record for me. All in all, it was a good riding year, and a good year in general.

Avg. speed = 16.8 mph. Total mileage = 50.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 144 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1580'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26499120

12-30-2010 Ride

Ride from home with John, Jim, and Dave. Headed out Centre City Pkwy to N Iris Ln, which we took over to Village Dr and met up with Joe at his house. The initial part of the ride was at a steady pace but not too fast. We slowed down when Joe joined up. Headed up Centre City Pkwy, and not too long after, Joe got a flat. I gave him a tube to repair it, but the tube apparently wasn't any good, since he had a flat not that long afterward. Three of us had climbed up to Deer Springs, so we turned around and rode back to where he and John were finishing up the repairs. From there, we continued up 395. The ride down the hill by Lawrence Welk was cold. It was chilly at the start of the ride, about 40 deg, and it never really warmed up. I had taken my full-fingered gloves off, and so my fingers got cold on the downhill. I was lagging behind most of the others throughout most of the day, partly to hang by Joe and partly because I was feeling pretty listless. We turned left on Camino del Rey and headed over toward Bonsall. This is a generally flat section of road, with some gradual uphills. We then turned on W Lilac Rd and headed up. This part of the ride was not anywhere near as steep as I had remembered it. It was mostly a gradual uphill for about 5 miles, with just a few breaks. We crossed over the arch bridge, and then it was uphill/downhill on this road until it teed into Old Castle Rd. At this point, it was a gradual, steady uphill for about 1.5 miles. Then we took a downhill section to connect to Valley Center Rd. This part of the ride was okay. I had started to get my second wind, and I wound it up on the climb before the big downhill. Again, the others outpaced me on the downhill, but they slowed enough at the bottom for me and Joe to catch up. Joe split off at El Norte Pkwy, and then we really turned on the jets to get Dave back home as soon as possible. We headed back on BVP. That was a really fast part of the ride, with everybody taking turns to set and push the pace. I held my own for most of this part but couldn't really step away from the others, which left me feeling aggravated, for some reason. I felt okay at the finish, although my lower back was aching during the latter climbing sections.

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 55.0 mi
Average heartrate = 145 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2310'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26471186/

12-28-2010 Ride

Rode over to Dave's house and met up with him, Jim, and John for a ride. We headed down to the freeway and over the bridge, then turned on BVP and headed up, all the way to Citrus Ave. We took this road over to El Norte Pkwy and rode down to Broadway, where we turned right. Then we took Jesmond Dene over to Centre City Pkwy. I really busted it out on the little climb here, feeling pretty good about my effort. Then it was over Deer Springs to Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy, with a right on Buena Creek. There is a small climb here, nothing much, then a great downhill section through a nice wooded neighborhood, where I hammered the pace for a bit. We connected into Santa Fe Ave, heading back toward Escondido. This road, which turned into Mission Ave, is either uphill or gradually uphill for much of the section all the way to the Nordahl intersection. After that, it's mostly downhill and flat until Centre City Pkwy. We turned right and headed back the normal way. I was kinda down for this portion of the ride, hanging on but not feeling great. When we passed Felicita, I started feeling and riding better, and I hung with John on the ride across the bridge. We headed back up Pomerado to Dave's place to get him home, and I rested there for awhile before continuing up Pomerado to Higa Pl and going through the retirement home neighborhood, connecting back to RB Rd via Acena Dr. Then I took this road, slowly, to W Bernardo Dr and back home. At some point in this ride, I tweaked a muscle on my upper left leg, and I was hobbling for a couple of days.

Avg speed = 17.5 mph. Total mileage = 49.9 mi
Avg heartrate = 148 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1510'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26403386/

12-27-2010 Ride

Ride from John's house with all four of us. It was in the low 40's when we started, and I was a little cold. Headed over to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, and the downhill to Pomerado Rd was kinda chilly. Right after than, Jim had a flat, so we fixed that and headed up to the 67. I led out on the primary grade, although Dave was relatively close behind. I wasn't feeling in top shape and was trying to pace myself for the long ride. We headed down the 67 into Lakeside, where the others got ahead of me since my jacket was catching the wind on the downhill. Caught back up with them on Vigilante/Moreno, and we headed over Willow Rd to Ashwood, turning on Mapleview St and heading out to Alpine. Dave and I hung together on the climb up by Lake Jennings and in the first part of the gradual climb up Olde Highway 80. At about the halfway point, I accelerated and he didn't keep pace. Right around then, my jacket fell out of my back pocket, but he saw it and picked it up. Heading into Alpine, I was slow on the 2-mile climb, and my lower back was giving me trouble. Dave and John caught up right at the end. The ride back to the base of the Lakeside grade was relatively fast and uneventful. I knew I was going to have trouble on the climb back up, and I was right. It was slow going, and Dave got a little ahead of me in the first steep section. I caught up with him in the downhill section, and we rode together for much of the second climbing portion. John and Jim weren't all too far back from us. My legs were in decent shape, but my back was making it difficult to keep up a steady cadence in the saddle. I took to shifting up to a higher gear and standing up on the pedals, and that worked okay. With about half a mile to go, I rode past and he was unable to keep up. After that, I was the freshest of the four, and I kept good pressure on them to stay with me on the remaining climbing sections, easily leaving them behind on the last climb up Scripps-Poway Pkwy before the turn onto Springbrook Dr. I felt good at the end, with no real soreness in my legs. My cardio still has a long way to go before I am in decent shape, but I was generally happy with this ride.

Avg. speed = 15.8 mph. Total mileage = 50.6 mi
Avg. heartrate = 149 bpm
Total elevation gain = 3290'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26397742/

12-26-2010 Ride

Morning time trial ride with John, starting from home. The roads were wet from overnight rains, which is why Dave bowed out. I kept a steady pace but never felt like I could really push it. My cardio is still way out of shape, and my muscles will need to get toned back up. Finished in 58:05, could have gone a little harder in a couple of sections on the back end.

Total mileage = 23.1 mi
Average heartrate = 161 bpm
Total elevation gain = 820'
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/san-diego/854917700575

12-24-2010 Ride

Ride from home, through the neighborhood for a couple of miles until heading over to meet up with Jim and Dave at Jim's house. The first part of this ride I did without my helmet, not realizing that I had forgotten to put it on. We headed over to Escondido, using the freeway route to Centre City Pkwy. On this climbing section, I felt okay but ran out of gas pretty quickly. This turned out to be the story of this ride, just not enough energy throughout the ride to push the pace at any sustained level. It was a combination of not getting enough to eat the previous evening and not having ridden much recently. We turned left on Mission Rd and headed over to Barham Dr, then the normal route by CSUSM and over to Discovery St. Go onto San Marcos Blvd briefly, turning left on Rancho Santa Fe Rd. My legs were pretty shot by this time, so I just kept pedaling. We took this road to San Elijo Rd and up into San Elijo Hills. This latter climb was not as steep as I remembered it. Turned on Elfin Forest Rd and rode through this area, which was quite nice after the recent rains. It looked like the road had been heavily flooded, but we didn't have any problems. Connected into Escondido using Harmony Grove Rd, then over Enterprise to Andreesen and to Auto Park Way. Back to 9th Ave. Around this point in the ride, Dave shared a Power Bar with me because I needed an energy boost. It helped. Home via Centre City Pkwy and normal route. Although the temperature was a little cool at the beginning, the weather was really great for a ride, and it was fun to ride without getting wet and dirty.

Avg. speed = 16.7 mph. Total mileage = 37.8 mi
Average heartrate = ?? bpm
Total elevation gain = 1190'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26337520

12-23-2010 Ride

Ride from home over to Dave's house, where I met up with him, John, and Jim. We headed up Pomerado Rd to Camino del Norte, then took Bernardo Center Dr to Carmel Valley Rd. Followed this road to Del Mar Heights Rd, where we turned right and rode over to Carmel Canyon Rd. which we took over to Carmel Country Rd and onto the 56 bike path. Followed this all the way to El Camino Real, where we headed north. Throughout the ride, the roads were still really wet from the recent heavy rains, but it started to dry up a little at this point. I was riding pretty slowly, keeping in mind that I hadn't been on a bike for nearly three weeks. Headed over to San Dieguito Rd, which we took back to Camino del Sur. The Three Witches climb was slow but I was able to keep up with Dave, which was a surprise. Interestingly, I felt pretty good in the latter half of this ride. Headed back to Dave's house via RB Rd, then back home using the normal route. Although I was slow on the ride, I felt good at the end. Cardio is out of shape, but my muscles were in pretty fair condition.

Average speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 39.5 mi
Total elevation gain = 1500'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26337668/

12-4-2010 Ride

Ride with Dave and Jim, riding over to Dave's house and heading north on Pomerado Rd, crossing the lake on the freeway and turning onto BVP. Stayed on this road until Idaho Dr, which we took over to Ash. In the early part of the ride, I kept my pace somewhat easy, since Dave was recovering from a cold and we didn't want to push it too hard. Over to El Camino Norte and then a right on Broadway, which we took out to Jesmond Dene Rd. This climb isn't bad. Dave was not too far behind me, so it seemed that he recovered well. I think I prefer it to the Centre City Pkwy climb that parallels it. Up to Deer Springs Rd, then back via Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy. Left on Barham Dr and over to Mission Dr, which we took down to the normal way of getting over to Valley Pkwy. Over to Quince, then the jog to get onto Centre City Pkwy and back. Dave and Jim headed up to Dave's house after the lake crossing, but I had to be back home to go over to the SDA Church for BW sign-ups, so I headed straight home. On the little climb before the park, my quads were tight for the first time in a long time. They were the same way on the last little climb up to the house. Felt fine at the end, so I'm guessing it was just a matter of more miles being put on them than they had experienced in awhile.

Avg speed = 17.6 mph. Total mileage = 37.4 mi
Avg heartrate = 149 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1090'
http://beta.mapmyride.com/routes/view/25960094/