Ride over to Dave's house in the morning. My bike had been making noise on the previous ride, so I had taken the rear derailleur apart as well as the gear cluster. The rear free hub was really loose, and I couldn't figure out how to tighten it up, so I put everything back together and hoped for the best. During the ride, the gear cluster came apart, which really made a mess of shifting and slowed me way down. I got over to his house, about 5 miles, in something like 20 min of riding time. We waited for Jim (he got lost on the way over) and just made the connection with him on our way out, so it was all four of us. We headed out Brotherton Rd to Bernardo Ave, turning left and going over Felicita Ln to Via Loma Vista to get to Via Rancho Pkwy. I was trailing the others for this section and most of the ride other than the climbing sections, where I was either able to catch up with them or get out ahead. We rode over to Valley Pkwy and turned left on 11th Ave, then left on Hale Ave for a short jog to get on Harmony Grove Rd. This is a really nice section of road, connecting with Elfin Forest Rd for the climb up to San Elijo Hills. I did okay here, having to deal with a balky shifting bike. We all gathered together at San Elijo Rd before heading over to Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy. This was the first time I had climbed this section of road, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Steep, but not too long, about 2 miles at 5% grade. The ride down was thrilling, as I hit almost 50 mph. We rode together on Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy until it started uphill, where John and I got ahead. I was riding slow, and he was there with me. I put a little bit of distance on him near the crest. We headed back on Centre City Pkwy, where the bumps and rough road made it really difficult for me to keep any pace at all. The others got ahead, and I couldn't catch up to them. Thankfully, I caught them at the light by El Norte Pkwy and told John what was going on, so he rode with me the rest of the way, at a significantly reduced pace. We rode back to Brotherton Rd and to Dave's place, where I caught a ride home with Jim rather than risk further damage to my rear wheel. Took the bike in that afternoon to Bike Bling for repairs.
Avg speed = 14.7 mph. Total mileage = 38.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 137 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1820'
