Solo ride, early in the morning, over to John's house following the normal route. I pushed the pace a little more than usual, since my last rides had shown me that I need to step up my exertion level while riding. Kept it above 10 mph on the last little climb up to his place, although it was a chore. We headed back down the same way, turning left onto Poway Rd and riding over to the 56 bike trail. We were riding at the same pace other than on the steeper climbs. We rode down to Carmel Country Rd, then took it over to Del Mar Heights Rd (I don't think I've ridden this way before). Then it was a short shot to El Camino Real, connecting with the Scripps Ranch Old Pros route. We stayed together until we got on El Apajo and it tilted up. I waited for him after the turn onto Del Dios Hwy, and we rode up into Escondido. I got out ahead of him on the climbing sections, and I was able to keep my pace above 10 mph for the whole way up to the turn onto Via Rancho Pkwy, which was a pretty good accomplishment for me, given my current fitness level. We reconnected there and rode down to the freeway, over it and onto Pomerado Rd. I was starting to slow down here, so we were at about the same pace all the way back to Poway Rd and to his house. I didn't stay long, headed back home via Sabre Springs Pkwy and the time trial route, except I turned on Carmel Mountain Rd. I was really slow on this section, and I had a little bit of tightness in my left groin (it went away). During our tide, we crossed paths several times with riders on the San Diego Century and Metric routes. I stopped for a brief rest by Oggi's and had a couple of energy drops, probably didn't do much good this late in the ride. It was good for me that the finish on this ride was mainly downhill. My legs felt okay at the end, tired but not too sore.
Avg speed = 17.0 mph. Total mileage = 62.2 mi
Avg heartrate = 142 bpm
Total elevation gain = 4040'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/430845244
