Solo ride from home. I started about an hour later than normal, to allow time for it to warm up. The temperature was a little cold at the start but not unbearable. My toes were cold. Headed over to Escondido, then on the freeway over to Centre City Pkwy, making decent time on this little uphill section. Through the city and out to Mesa Rock Rd, taking a little jog over here, then getting back to the old 395 and going by the Welk Resort. Past here, I started to see a large group of cyclists in several bunches heading the other way. Turned left onto Camino del Rey and started out riding strong. This is a net slight downhill to W Lilac Rd, but there were several stretches where I was slower than I would have liked. Headed up W Lilac Rd, which is about 5 mi to the top, with a couple of rest sections where it's relatively flat or downhill. I kept my pace above 10 mph the whole way. In fact, this was the case for the entire ride, which was quite an accomplishment for me. I passed a set of 4 riders, the lead rider of whom was able to stay with me before I dropped him near the top. On the following winding road, the weather was pretty nice by this point. I passed another group of cyclists going at a more modest pace. Just after the tee at Old Castle Rd, there's a steady climb for about 2 mi that was a chore for me. Got onto Valley Center Rd and headed south, deciding to turn onto Woods Valley Rd to get the extra miles in. This gradual climb was a fairly slow section for me, as it had some more steepness to it than I had remembered. I did okay on the section of Lake Wohlford Rd heading into the village, and I was really careful coming down the grade, riding the brakes on the turns and slowing to allow cars to pass. The road quality is really poor, so it's dangerous to have too much speed. The ride back home, via BVP, was uneventful, fairly fast even though I felt like I was riding into a headwind. At the freeway, I did a little U turn to get onto the on-ramp, and I didn't have a lot of gas left in the tank. So I took it easy across the bridge but did okay on the little climb up to the park and on the finishing uphill stretch. My fitness is improving. I felt the week's exercise in my legs during this ride, but they held up just fine. This was the largest amount of elevation gain I had attempted in quite awhile.
Avg speed = 17.5 mph. Total mileage = 59.4 mi
Avg heartrate = 141 bpm
Total elevation gain = 3930'
