Ride over to Joe's house on a Sunday morning, skipping church and enduring wet roads and an occasional light mist. I was riding on my old bike because the new one was at Centre City Cycles getting the right shifter cable replaced. I was also wearing my old cycling shoes and a rain jacket to try and keep dry. I had put plastic bags around my socks in an attempt to keep my feet dry; it was partially successful, but there's got to be a better way. I took the fast route to Joe's place, then we essentially retraced the route back toward my house, staying on W Bernardo Dr and taking it up to RB Rd. It wasn't raining much until we got back into this neighborhood, then it was misting for awhile off and on, maybe an hour or so. The seat on my old bike is really hard, and my butt was starting to feel it. Also, the shifters were slightly out of alignment, so I couldn't get the rear derailleur to keep it in gear without slipping, very annoying. Finally, I was having difficulty clipping into and out of my pedals. But other than that, things were great! We headed over to Dove Canyon Rd and down to Carmel Valley Rd, taking it up the hill to Black Mountain Rd. Then we headed over to Miramar Rd, stopping for a restroom break and a little breather. We took Miramar Rd and La Jolla Village Dr over to Torrey Pines Rd. On this last little climb, I blew out the heel of my left shoe, not good. We rode over to the top of the descent down to the ocean and stopped for another break. Then it was down into Del Mar and along the coast highway all the way to Oceanside. Joe was slowing down by this point, so I dialed it back a little and waited for him after the separation got too much. The weather had cleared up by now and was pretty nice for riding. We got into Oceanside and stopped at a convenience store at the corner by Oceanside Blvd. We were behind schedule, so Joe called Cathie to let her know he was going to be late, and I adjusted our ride to get us back as soon as possible. We headed up Oceanside Blvd and Bobier Dr to E Vista Way. I was getting sore in the saddle and having to work hard to pedal with the busted shoe and cranky gears. We took E Vista Way over to Civic Center Dr and onto Santa Fe Ave, staying on this road until it connected into Mission Rd. Joe was working hard to keep up a decent pace but was slow. I felt badly because I knew he was trying to get home in time for Cathie's Oscars party. We took Mission Rd over to Woodland Pkwy and connected to Country Club Ln via El Norte Pkwy. Then it was back to his house, where we got there around 4:30. I stopped briefly, then rode home in discomfort and not willing to do anything more than survive the final miles. Got home and soaked for awhile in the spa, and that was a true relaxation. This was a tough ride, one of the toughest training rides I've had to endure.
Avg speed = 16 mph. Total mileage = 95.6 mi
Avg heartrate = 131 bpm
Total elevation gain = 4620'
