Ride from John's house, just him and me. We had planned on a 7:00 start, but the weather was rough that early, so we ended up leaving a little before 9:00. The roads were wet at the start, but we didn't get rained on much. Headed up using the Angelique route to the top of Pomerado, then down onto Miramar Rd. Went all the way to just past the pyramid, turning right on Carroll Rd. Followed this road over to Camino Santa Fe and turned right again. This road is mostly uphill and downhill sections, connecting into Sorrento Valley Blvd. We got a few spits of rain here but not much. We headed down the fast hill and turned right on Vista Sorrento Pkwy, now tracing the 4th of July ride route. A jog on Carmel Mountain Rd, then onto El Camino Real. Here is where the first serious rain began. I put my jacket back on, and we continued on. It didn't last long as a steady rain, turning to light drizzle. We decided to keep going, heading up El Camino Real, then down into the flats, turning right on San Dieguito Rd. The rain was mostly gone by then, and we headed over to Del Dios Hwy using the normal connecting route. While the roads were wet, it wasn't raining as we headed up Del Dios, a nice relief. With the recent rains, the water level at the dam was about a foot and a half below the top of the spillway. I made okay progress up the climb, not going really fast but not running out of gas either. Decent finishing push near the light by Via Rancho Pkwy. Headed over to the I-15 and across Lake Hodges, where I was able to keep up with John. Shortly after we got onto Pomerado Rd, it started to rain, and this squall was the heaviest, and most miserable, of the entire ride. Luckily, it didn't last long in its heavy form. The weather got better as we kept riding south, so that once we got into Poway, the streets were dry, even though there were some spots where it was lightly raining. However, we were riding into a pretty stiff headwind, which wasn't welcome at that point of the ride. To get the distance up beyond 50 mi, we ended up riding to the top of Pomerado, heading back to John's house the same way we came up. I felt fine at the end, even on the last climb, keeping up a pretty steady pace and not gassing out. My back held out okay, although it felt good to stand up and pedal on the last climb.
Avg speed = 16-17 mph. Total mileage = 51.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 147 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2260'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/26591936/
