Met John at the Park n Ride by Ted Williams Pkwy, and we drove in the minivan to Mira Costa College in Encinitas, the start and finish point for the 2013 San Diego Century route. We rode the 69-mile metric century. We got there in time to start riding at around 6:50, hoping to be done before it got too hot during the day. The route initially took us up Manchester Ave to Rancho Santa Fe Rd. Our pace at the beginning was modest, and I started pushing it once we started the fairly gentle climbs on the way to San Elijo Hills. We stayed on RSF Rd and cut through the area around Lake San Marcos to get onto Discovery Dr. I was trying to keep up with this young bearded guy who was riding pretty fast. Over through San Marcos by the university, then on to Auto Pkwy and Harmony Grove Rd, where the first SAG stop was. I waited a couple of minutes for John, then we headed over to Valley Pkwy via Citracado Pkwy, and down Del Dios Hwy to Via de la Valle. John and I rode together for this stretch, with just a little bit of separation on the gradual climbs into Rancho Santa Fe. We headed over to El Apajo Rd, where there was the second SAG stop. At this one, I refilled my water bottle and had some food to re-energize. I found that my phone was almost out of power and shut it down to conserve the battery. Next, we headed up the 3 Witches climb. I started out fairly slowly but was able to make a good ride of it in the latter portion. After getting back together with John, we headed on Camino del Sur for a bit, then stopped to wait for Dave to catch up with us and ride along. The three of us rode pretty much together over to Pomerado Rd, then on to the third SAG stop near the Poway Rd intersection. We stopped here again for a break, then followed the time trial route to Ted Williams Pkwy, doing this little u-turn around the Park n Ride and heading back to get onto the 56 bike trail. We took it down to Carmel Mountain Rd and followed this road to Black Mountain Rd, over to Carmel Valley Rd. Then it was over to Camino del Sur and back down the 3 Witches route. I got a little ahead of John here and waited at the bottom for him to catch up. Then we rode together across the flats to El Camino Real, trading leads and keeping the pace pretty fast for this late in the ride, with some of it riding into a headwind. We headed over Via de la Valle to the coast, and I waited after the turn south for John to catch up so we could ride together here. I ended up leading the pace for nearly this entire stretch, and I was getting pretty worn out. We turned inland just as we got into Encinitas, then traced our way back to the starting point, benefiting from the tailwind (finally) to push us to the end. My hamstrings were starting to cramp up toward the end, so I was ready to be done. At the finish line, it felt really good to stretch out and stop pedaling. John and I had a light lunch at the end, then rode back to where the car was parked and drove back home. I felt pretty good for not having executed a formal training program to get ready for it.
Avg speed = 17.7 mph. Total mileage = 68.7 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
Total elevation gain = 2480'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/218925371
