I rode this ride with John, Dave, and Jim, so I expected to have a fairly slow pace. I used this excuse to not get as many training miles in before the ride, and that turned out to be a mistake. There was rain in the forecast, so I thought the ride would be on the cool side. If only! We headed out from Old Poway Park, so far so good. On the climb up Poway Rd to the 67, I was just slow. Lots of people passed me by, and I had nothing to respond with. Depressing. We gathered together at the top of the hill, then John and I pretty much rode together to the top of the Mt Woodson pass, where we waited again for Dave and Jim. All stayed together on the downhill, and we pushed a pretty fast pace. Near the turn onto Dye Rd, Jim had a flat, and he had to put in two inner tubes before it got fixed. The wait didn't help me. We all stayed together riding around Ramona. On the turn from Hanson Rd onto Ashley Rd, I unknowingly lost my spare tire. Dave, who was fairly close behind me, saw it and slowed down to miss it. Jim didn't really react to Dave's slowing down and ended up crashing and scraping up his knees and legs. John and I didn't realize what had happened, so we rode on to the first sag stop and waited for them. Jim looked pretty messed up, but he said he was okay, and he got some first aid but no bandages. On the downhill, we saw an ambulance by a female rider who had crashed, but she was sitting up, a good sign. This downhill is not for the faint of heart, and it was pretty fast. At the bottom, we all gathered together and rode as a group through the San Pasqual Valley. Jim did a little offroading and got another flat, so we waited while he fixed that one, legs looking kinda gruesome at this point. John and the others got ahead of me after this, and I didn't have much to try and catch up. I figured that I would catch them on the uphill out of the valley, and I did, but John was right there with me at the top. He was having a good ride, me not so much. After this point, John and I rode together, while Dave hung back with Jim, who slowed down significantly (mechanical difficulties, adrenaline let-down, etc.). We connected back at the sag stop by the park. By this time, it was hot and muggy, and I was really feeling it. My upper leg muscles were complaining. On the uphill sections, I would put some distance between me and John, who was also starting to wear down. I knew by this time that it was survival time, and I just gritted it out on the uphill on Carmel Valley Rd. There was another sag stop on Camino Del Sur before San Dieguito Rd, and we waited there for awhile for Dave and Jim to catch up. When we started up again, John and I decided to ride on and not wait for them. This was a better plan for me, since I was tightening up during the waits. I also rode ahead of John, who caught me at the light at Bernardo Center Dr. After this point, I rode away from him, and he didn't catch up. I was feeling tired, had gotten my second wind and worked through it, feeling worn out again. I waited for John after the turn onto Metate Rd, where there was a car crash. My legs were cramping up, and my right hamstring completely seized up at the stoplight onto Community Rd. Luckily, there was a downhill section where I could work the cramp out enough to keep going. I was able to pedal through it. Here was where John's quads cramped up, and that never happens! I didn't know it, so I rode a little ahead and finished the ride, quite glad to be done with it. I actually felt much better after stopping, and my recovery was pretty quick. We waited for Jim and Dave for awhile, then found out that they had cut the ride short by turning onto Poway Rd at Community Rd. We rode over there and had a smoothie at Smoothie King (very cold, a little too sweet for my taste). Next time, gotta prepare better and hope that the weather is not as draining.
Avg speed = 16.5 mph. Total mileage = 61.9 mi
Avg heartrate = 160 bpm (!!!)
Total elevation gain = 3010'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/53658894
