5-28-2012 Ride

Solo ride from home over to the Thompson's house for Earl Guy's retirement party.  It was in the afternoon, I left home a little before 3:30.  As soon as I got on the road, I figured I needed to hustle to make it there by 4:30, so I rode hard, going the I-15 route to Centre City Pkwy, taking it to Mission Rd.  When I turned here, I was riding into the wind, and it was a chore, particularly the section up to Nordahl Rd.  I headed over Barham Dr to Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy.  It's a little bit of a climb up to S Village Dr, not as bad as I thought it would be.  Then I turned on Bella Vita Way, going through the security gate and hitting a truly steep section.  It only lasts <0.1 mi, but it is brutal.  After that section, the steepness of the climb becomes manageable, still pretty steep and really steep in sections.  As I came around the final turn before the second gate, it got incredibly steep again, probably around 20% grade.  I was doing everything I could to pedal up, pushing so hard that my front wheel was coming off the ground and I was having trouble keeping control of my bike.  I finally had to stop just before the gate, and I walked up my bike up the last 20' or so, after resting enough so I could breathe normally again.  The gate didn't trigger, so I had to lift my bike over the fence and climb over the gate.  After that, it was pretty easy to finish the ride off.  This climb easily has two of the steepest sections I have ever ridden in my life, the second one so steep I couldn't quite finish it.  Maybe another time!

Avg speed = 14.0 mph. Total mileage = 13.9 mi
Avg heartrate = 158 bpm
Total elevation gain = 920'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/97046499/

5-26-2012 Ride

Solo ride while staying at Camp Wrightwood.  I took the same route as last year, but it was quite a bit cooler this time.  Heading up to the summit by Blue Ridge Rd, my lower right back stiffened up, which slowed my down.  It was uncomfortable pedaling in the saddle.  The wind was occasionally in my face as well.  Near the summit, it was overcast, foggy, and a little bit misty.  I rode down the hill to the Pacific Crest Trail crossing and stopped to stretch out my back.  That turned out to be a good thing to do, as I felt strong on the climb back up to the summit.  The wind was working more in my favor as well.  Got to the summit and rode downhill all the way back into Wrightwood, a little chilly but not too bad.  The ride back up Elm St to the camp is only 0.4 mi, but it's steep.  Seems like at least 8% grade for most of the way.  I was able to ride a little faster this year than the previous one.

Avg speed = 13.9 mph. Total mileage = 18.9 mi
Total elevation gain = 2240'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/36172068

5-24-2012 Ride

Ride from home after work.  I was still sore in my hamstrings from the previous day's kettlebell workout, and it was a chore just getting myself psyched up to start out.  Headed up Aguamiel Rd and up W Bernardo Dr, not really burning up the pace but not slacking off either.  Over to Bernardo Center Dr, connecting to Camino del Norte.  This tiny climb went pretty fast, and I turned on Carmel Mountain Rd.  Right again on Rancho Carmel Dr, which I took until it turned into Sabre Springs Pkwy, over to Poway Rd.  I had originally planned on a fairly short ride but was feeling pretty good after getting most of the climbing out of the way in the early part of the ride.  Up to Pomerado Rd, where I benefitted from a tailwind all of the way to RB Rd, where the wind started to shift.  Down to the freeway, and I was over 20 mph for nearly all of my time on Pomerado Rd.  Back home the normal way, with a pretty decent finish, although I was slow riding into the wind up the little hill before the park.

Avg speed = 18.8 mph. Total mileage = 19.7 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
Total elevation gain = 590'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/95974211/

5-19-2012 Ride

Solo ride from home.  Jim was going to ride, but he buckled his rear wheel.  Headed down by the park, then up Pomerado Rd.  I kept a pretty decent pace, not scorching.  Turned on Scripps-Poway Pkwy and headed up to the 67.  It had been awhile since I had done any serious, sustained climbing, so things were slow.  Surprisingly, my riding pace was still okay, not too far off from when I'm in my normal cycling shape.  I had originally planned to turn around at the top of the climb and ride back, but I was feeling okay, so I headed north on the 67.  Things slowed down here as my riding fitness caught up with me.  I think a tailwind helped on the section into the outskirts of Ramona.  Turned on Highland Valley Rd and made pretty good time on the flats, slowing down when it started to climb.  The ride down was fun as always.  It was cool during this section, May Gray in full force.  I wasn't riding too fast on the flats after the last downhill, and I could feel it in my legs.  Headed back home by the park, where the little climb went okay.  The last little climb up Aguamiel Rd was when my quads told me that they were done for the day, but I recovered quickly after the end of the ride.

Avg speed = 16.9 mph. Total mileage = 39.4 mi
Avg heartrate = 149 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2110'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/94094101/

5-8-2012 Ride

Ride from home to yoga using the extended route.  I pushed the pace and probably had the benefit of a tailwind for much of the ride.  This was a pretty good ride for me.


Average speed =  18.5 mph. Total mileage = 10.6 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ca/san%20diego/964123799127555358

5-5-2012 Ride

Ride with Joe from home down to Little Italy to meet up with Ann and others for a morning walking through the farmer's market.  We headed through the neighborhood to RB Rd, then over to Dove Canyon Rd.  Joe hadn't been riding much in the past couple of weeks, so he was lagging, particularly on the climbing sections.  We got over to Carmel Valley Rd and took it up to Black Mountain Rd.  Stayed on this until it turned into Kearny Villa Rd.  From here, the ride was mostly flat to downhill.  Down to Aero Dr, and a short jog over to Linda Vista Rd, which took us all the way down to Morena Blvd.  This road tees into Taylor St, which connects to Congress St/San Diego Ave by Old Town.  This is a nice, lightly traveled road, although it has a gentle climb.  We turned right on Noell St and got over to Hancock St, which turns into Kettner Blvd.  Then into Little Italy, where we got there early enough to have a coffee and a nice discussion at Caffe Italia before the others showed up.  I felt good throughout this ride and turned in a pretty strong ride, even though it was a net downhill run.

Avg speed = 17.5 mph. Total mileage = 28.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 141 bpm
Total elevation gain = 740'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/89453203/

5-3-2012 Ride

Solo ride after work, heading out through the neighborhood to RB Rd, then to Camino del Sur.  The first part of the ride, maybe the first 6 mi or so, was basically into the wind, and I was working hard to maintain speed.  I had a little bit of a tailwind going up the slight grade before Carmel Valley Rd.  Headed all the way over to the 56 bike trail, where I turned around and reversed my course.  The wind helped me more than hindered me on the way back.  I made good, not great, time on the climb back into 4S Ranch, then the wind was a significant help as I rode well on RB Rd down to W Bernardo Dr and back to Duenda.  Powered up the last little climb.  This was the most challenging short bike workout that I've done in awhile, but I felt good at the end.

Avg speed = 18.2 mph. Total mileage = 21.5 mi
Avg heartrate = 157 bpm
Total elevation gain = 760'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/89136131/

5-1-2012 Ride

Ride from home to yoga.  I had originally planned on taking the normal route but had to cut it short because my phone call with Mark ran longer than expected.  So I followed the normal route to Sunset Dr, then turned here and rode up to Juniper.  This was the challenging part of the ride, since it was about a 2 mi uphill. Not steep but a workout for me.  I rode fast after this part and finished with a pretty good average speed.  I'd done a kettlebell workout on Monday, so my muscles were a little sore from that.

Avg speed = 18.1 mph. Total mileage = 7.3 mi
Avg heartrate = 148 bpm
Total elevation gain = 420'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/89133995/