Solo ride from home, looking to roughly mimic a ride from February of last year. It was colder than I thought it was going to be, with frost on the ground. That made it cold for the first 20 min or so, but after that I was fine other than the usual cold toes. Over the bridge to Escondido to BVP and up to Sunset Dr, taking it over to Juniper St and then connecting to Washington St. Took this to Hale St and then to Auto Park Way. Turned right and then left on Howard Ave to get over to Harmony Grove Rd. Turned onto Elfin Forest Rd, and I stayed at a steady enough pace to keep it at or above 11 mph all the way into San Elijo Hills. There's only one stretch where maintaining this pace is a real challenge. Down to Rancho Santa Fe Rd, where there's a slight uphill followed by an extended downhill section. Connected to Olivenhain Rd, which turns into Leucadia Blvd at El Camino Real. I was more ready for this short, steep section and was able, with a sustained high effort, to keep it above 10 mph. Over to PCH, where I surprisingly didn't see many riders going south like me. I stopped at a bike shop in Leucadia and got a couple of patch kits, shedding my cold weather gear. I also had a small cup of coffee here, and I noticed that my heartrate seemed to be higher on the rest of the ride, presumably due to the caffeine. I seemed to be more riding into the wind on PCH. Got up Torrey Pines Rd while keeping it above 10.5 mph. It helped that there was a guy in front of me who I was able to chase down right near the top. On Torrey Pines Rd over to La Jolla Village Dr, then left on Eastgate Mall. Here, I was feeling pretty good, probably benefiting from a little bit of a tailwind there and on Miramar Rd. The road was stinky as usual, and the bike lane is pretty beat up, not as bad on its right side. Felt fine on the climb up Pomerado Rd, keeping a good pace and staying above 11 mph on the last little climb. Then I took Pomerado Rd all the way down to the freeway, feeling quite strong and ready for more, probably had an average speed over 20 mph between RB Rd and the freeway. Rode up the little hill before the park, and the last little hill with energy to spare. Cardio held out well, and this was the first time that I felt good throughout a longer ride about the condition of my legs.
Avg speed = 18.2 mph. Total mileage = 63.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 142 bpm
Total elevation gain = 3730'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/475129987
In the later afternoon (posted this long afterwards), I hiked from home over to the entrance to the trails off Duenda Rd and then to Lake Hodges and back. Ann might have come along with me.
Total distance = 3.55 mi
Elapsed time = 1:18:54
