I originally planned on a different ride with John, but he had called the night before to let me know that May's health wasn't good and he needed to stay with her. So I set up a last-minute ride with Joe, meeting him at the Park 'n Ride by the mall. I rode over there, and then we took Beethoven Dr to BVP, heading up to the 78. On the flats, Joe was riding with me, as I dialed my normal pace back just a bit. I got out ahead of him on the climbs, but he was riding well. We took the 78 then, once it turned into Ash St, over to Mission Ave, then followed this road all the way to Rancho Santa Fe Rd. On this relatively flat stretch of the ride, I was leading out and pushing the pace, and Joe was keeping up well. We rode over to Palomar Airport Rd, again staying pretty well together except for one little uphill section. The ride after that, down to El Camino Real, was nice. Then we headed south, where there is a short gradual incline followed by a nice gradual downhill. We turned on Olivenhain Rd and took it over to Rancho Santa Fe Rd, using that to connect to El Camino del Norte. This road has a gradual climb of about 1.3 mi, not bad, then an easy ride over to Del Dios Hwy. At this point, we stopped and I handed some of my water over to Joe to tide him over on the last climb. The wind was generally behind us, so it seemed like an easy climb back up. I was able to keep my pace above 11 mph for all of the climb, waiting at the first top for Joe, then riding back just a little bit to where he was, not all that far behind. We rode together for awhile, then I pushed the pace on the last uphill sections to keep it above 11 mph. This last section really isn't that bad when you're in shape, and I just powered through, waiting for Joe after the turn onto Via Rancho Pkwy. He kept going, still riding strong. I finished strongly as well, getting to the top of the ride and going fast down the last hill. We stopped at the McDonalds for a cold drink before splitting up, and I headed home into a fairly steady breeze. I was pretty well done by this time, with tired legs but no pain. I was a little slow going up the hill before the park, but I was able to save some energy for the final climb back to the house. All through the ride, I kept my pace above 11 mph. which I felt was a decent accomplishment. I felt tired at the end but recovered pretty quickly. It wasn't as humid as the ride on Saturday, but the latter part, after the sun came out, was hotter.
Avg speed = 16.9 mph. Total mileage = 47.1 mi
Avg heartrate = 136 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1600'
