1-25-2012 Ride

Ride in the afternoon from work, after having changed my front brake pads.  Headed out Via del Campo to RB Rd, then over to Camino del Sur.  It was windy and warm, and that seemed to make the ride more challenging.  Turned on Carmel Valley Rd, where the flat to downhill section was something of a relief.  Turned on Del Mar Heights Rd.  The little climbs were tough.  Went down to El Camino Real, which I took over to the 56 bike trail.  I felt pretty good going up the first part of the bike trail, following this quick guy on a mountain bike.  Things got significantly slower past Carmel Valley Rd.  Headed back on Camino del Mar, turning on Carmel Valley Rd.  I was really slow on this little climb, laboring more than I should have.  Down to Dove Canyon Rd, and I felt okay on the first part of this climb, slowing down after the turn onto Camino San Bernardo.  From this point back to work, it was slow going., as I was worn out.  I later found out that my front brake pads were rubbing, causing me to work harder than I needed to.  Oh well, it was a good workout.

Avg speed = 16.3 mph. Total mileage =29.6 mi
Avg heartrate = 148 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1150'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/67872048/

1-21-2012 Ride

Ride, starting from home and riding through the neighborhood over to Poblado Rd, then back to W Bernardo Dr and down to Aguamiel Dr, back up home.  This is a little 3-mile loop, pretty easy.  I was warmed up, and I met up with John.  At the start, the weather was overcast but looked like the rain might hold out.  We headed up Azucar Way to Duenda, then down to W Bernardo Dr.  Over to RB Rd, then up and over to Camino del Sur.  Going down this road, it started to mist, then sprinkle, quickly turning to rain.  We stayed with it, and I asked John whether he was okay with riding after we turned onto San Dieguito Rd.  He said yes, so we kept on going, and now the rain started getting heavy on the downhill section.  It lightened up as we were riding in the flats, but it was still drizzling, and the roads were wet.  My clothes were soaked through by this time, but we kept on.  Headed over to El Camino Real, seeing a group of cyclists going the other way, most of them wearing better rain protection.  Headed up the hill here, and it was a tough slog in the rain.  At the top, I put on my jacket because I was getting chilled.  This part of the ride got really wet again, with fairly heavy rain.  We got onto the 56 bike trail and headed back towards home, dealing throughout the rest of the ride with light to moderate rain.  It was slow going for this reason.  Back home by taking Camino del Sur to RB Rd and cutting through the neighborhood.  Toward the latter part of the ride, I was having to wait for John on the little uphill sections, as I think the rain was wearing him out too.  At the end, we were both completely soaked and really dirty.  It was a ride I needed to have for the training miles, but no fun at all after the first 20 min or so.

Avg speed = 16 mph. Total mileage = 36.9 mi
Total elevation gain = 1380'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/65362782

1-16-2012 Ride

Ride from home, and it was wet on the roads when I left.  It had been raining in the evening, but I was hoping that the rain was done and we'd just have overcast skies.  I headed over to the church using the normal yoga route, keeping the pace down because of the planned riding distance for the day.  The rain stayed away for this portion, but the roads got me pretty wet.  Met up with Joe, and we headed over to Centre City Pkwy via 5th Ave.  Down to 9th Ave, then over to Auto Pkwy.  That little hill before the car dealerships was fun as always.  Stayed on 9th Ave, then turned left on Del Dios Hwy and headed over to Valley Pkwy via Avenida del Diablo.  The weather was cooperating to this point, with little spits but no rain.  Down to Del Dios Hwy, taking this all the way into Rancho Santa Fe.  Joe was riding well, basically keeping up with me as I lowered my normal pace a little.  Through RSF and on Linea del Cielo, lots of little ups and downs.  Turns into Lomas Santa Fe Dr, and we took this down to the Coast Hwy.  We were starting to get little bits of drizzle, and it kept up like this throughout most of the rest of the ride, just raining enough to keep the roads wet, slick, and dirty.  On the coast, we headed north, and we made pretty good time, keeping a generally steady pace on this mainly flat section.  Through Encinitas and Leucadia, turning right on La Costa Ave and heading inland to El Camino Real.  Here, we turned right and headed back over to Olivenhain Rd, where we did a little gentle climbing, followed by some flats, then another fairly long gradual climb up Rancho Santa Fe Rd to San Elijo Hills.  The San Elijo Rd section is really not that bad and can be taken pretty fast if you are in shape.  I was saving my energy for the rest of the ride and kept it pretty modest.  This was perhaps the wettest portion of the ride for us, as we actually got a brief bout of rain.  We headed back toward Escondido using Elfin Forest Rd and Harmony Grove Rd.  Again, this section of road can really be attacked, as there isn't really any climbing of note, just gradual uphills that are fairly short.  When we got back into Escondido, it was clear that it had been raining, and the roads were really wet.  We headed back over to Valley Pkwy by the Home Depot, then took this road to 2nd Ave and back to the church via Broadway.  I felt good at this point, but not so good that I wanted to take any routes home other than the most direct one.  So I headed over Kalmia St to 5th Ave, then back over to Centre City Pkwy, going back from there the normal route.  The wind was more in my face, and I was slow going over the bridge by the lake.  I stood on the pedals on the little climb by the park and felt fine, strong legs.  Same thing for the last little climb, which I powered up slowly.  Not a lot of reserves of energy, but my body held out just fine.  It helped that I didn't really push the pace throughout the ride.  I will need to do the same thing on the Palm Springs Century.

Avg speed = 16.3 mph. Total mileage = 60.5 mi
Avg heartrate = 14? bpm
Total elevation gain = 2000'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/64684492/

1-15-2012 Ride

Ride from church, after flying home from Berkeley.  I drove up there with Emily so she wouldn't have to drive herself, and we went to a Cal men's basketball game with Laura while we were there.  I met up with Joe and his dentist Fernando.  It was overcast when we started, and we felt a few very light sprinkles at the beginning.  We headed over to Grand Ave, then up to Ash St, which we stayed on as it turned into the 78.  Headed into the San Pasqual Valley; Joe was slow going up this minor climb, and this was the general case for the ride.  Fernando is a strong rider and kept pace whenever I pushed it, although I didn't go all out during the ride.  We headed out to Bandy Canyon Rd, trying to stay together in a pack and keeping the pace dialed back a bit.  On Bandy Canyon Rd, we rode to the shuttered dairy, paused for a bit, then turned around and rode back, taking Old Milky Way.  There was a little bit of a headwind, but it was easily manageable.  Climbed out of the valley on San Pasqual Valley Rd, which is pretty easy.  I pushed it on the last little climb and felt pretty good.  It started to rain lightly at this point and continued for a couple of minutes, but thankfully it stopped before the roads got too wet.  Headed back using BVP to Sunset Dr, and I really slowed it down at this turn, hanging with Joe, who was puffing pretty good.  Got to the top of this little climb after the turn onto Juniper St, then we basically coasted back to church.  It was a good ride for me, legs felt good, and I didn't really exert too hard.

Avg speed = 17.4 mph. Total mileage = 23.2 mi
Avg heartrate = 141 bpm
Total elevation gain = 600'
www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/64561066/

1-13-2012 Ride

Fixed my Nashbar Tempo wireless cyclometer by putting in a new battery and adjusting the battery terminals slightly.  Entered a wheel diameter of 2118, can't remember what I had put in when I got the unit in the first place.  Solo ride from work over lunch.  It was on the warm side, for January, and it was really windy.  I headed over to RB Rd and out to Camino del Sur, then all the way down to the 56 bike trail.  On the first part of this section, the wind was a big help.  It changed direction a little bit, so I was slow going up the little climb to Carmel Valley Rd.  Made good time on the bike trail section heading back via Carmel Valley Rd.  Here is where I was riding into the wind more often than not, and I was slowed down quite a bit.  Seemed to be really slow going up the last little climb by Black Mountain Rd.  Went down and back over to RB Rd via Dove Canyon Rd.  Up this little hill nicely, but slow for the rest of the ride.  Maybe it was lack of food or the temperature or my general fitness, but this wasn't a good ride for me.

Avg speed = 17.2 mph. Total mileage = 22.8 mi
Avg heartrate = 153 bpm
Total elevation gain = 910'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/64560314/

1-8-2012 Ride

Time trial ride, riding over from home and meeting up with Dave and John.  We started fairly slowly, and I kept my early pace similar to John's trying to ride with him and keep his pace faster.  Again, my cyclometer had dead batteries, so I kept time using my heartrate monitor.  Early on, Dave wasn't riding too fast, so it was me and John out in front.  We kept pretty much together on Espola Rd, with expected separation on the little climb up to Poway Rd.  We all stayed together for most of the time on Poway Rd; there was a little section near Springhurst where I was in the lead and the others fell back, so I slowed it down after the turn onto Sabre Springs Pkwy for them to catch up.  A little separation up to Ted Williams Pkwy, and a little more going up here.  My legs were starting to feel the effects of the longer ride on the previous day by this time, so I was content to ride with the other two.  We made decent time going up to the hospital and rode fast on the rest of the way, with John pulling out all of the stops on the last little section before the turn onto Rios Rd.  He rode away and I couldn't match his pace to catch up to him.  Finished in 56:06, an okay time for not having pushed the pace all the way through the ride.

Total mileage = 23.1 mi
Avg heartrate = 153 bpm
Total elevation gain = 820'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/4958719

1-7-2012 Ride

Drove over to Carmel Mountain Ranch and parked by the shopping center near Cafe Luna.  My cyclometer didn't start up for me, so I kept track of elapsed time using my heartrate monitor.  It was overcast and dark when I left to ride over to John's house, but it lightened up okay.  Still, I need a bike light set for these instances.  Got over to John's and met up with him, Dave, and Jim for a ride up to the top of Pomerado Rd, then down to Miramar Rd, where the wind was helping us along.  We generally stayed together on this section, with different riders taking the lead.  Stayed on this road, turns into La Jolla Vliiage Dr, all the way to Torrey Pines Rd, which we took over and downhill toward La Jolla.  Turned onto La Jolla Shores Dr.  This road has a fairly short but kinda steep climb that wasn't too bad.  Waited for the others at the top, then we continued over to Torrey Pines Rd, which we took all the way to the coast.  The bridge was under construction, so we cut through the beach parking lot to get to Carmel Valley Rd.  Over to the 56 bike trail, which we took all the way back into CMR.  Jim was slowing down here, as he hadn't been riding much recently.  On the gradual climb sections before Camino del Sur, John stayed with me for a little while but couldn't maintain the pace.  Throughout the ride, he was riding strongly, only falling back on the longer climbing sections.  Jim and Dave decided to cut their ride short, so John and I rode ahead, taking Ted Williams Pkwy over to Pomerado Rd.  We stayed on Pomerado up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, where we turned right and headed up the short hill and back to John's house.  I rested for a little bit, then headed back to where the car was parked.  Felt okay on the minor climbing sections on Sabre Springs Pkwy and finished well, no muscle cramping or tightness.

Avg speed = 17.7 mph. Total mileage = 50.4 mi
Avg heartrate = 148 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2220'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/63267748/

1-2-2012 Ride

Ride over to Dave's house, normal route, where I met up with him.  We headed up Espola to Poway Rd, then up to the 67.  I hadn't worn my tights, so it was cold early but warmed up quickly.  The Poway Grade was fairly slow for me, not as long as I remembered it, although it rates as a Category 2 climb.  Dave was slower on the climb, and stayed slow all the way to Ramona.  We headed down the 78, and he had some mechanical issues on the little climb out of downtown Ramona.  His rear wheel was making noise intermittently all the way back, so we took it easier than usual on the long downhill.  He wanted to cut the distance short, so we went over to Highland Valley Rd via Bandy Canyon Rd.  I kept the pace down to stay closer to him in case his bike started acting up.  Also took it slow going up the hill, but felt like the week's riding had really strengthened my legs and especially my cardio fitness.  It was cool down in the flats on Highland Valley Rd, although not as cold as I suspected.  We also took it fairly easy going up Pomerado Rd, and I didn't push the pace on the way home either, taking the RB Rd route to W Bernardo Dr.  Finished up feeling really good.

Avg speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 42.7 mi
Avg heartrate = 142 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2380'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/62575434