Solo ride, following the normal route, over to John's house. It wasn't as dark as it had been at the start of previous rides, and the temperature at the start was cool but not cold. From his place, we headed up to Sabre Springs Pkwy and headed down to Black Mountain Rd. Then it was up to the 56 bike trail, with that tough little climb to have to navigate. We then headed down to El Camino Real and rode over to Carmel Mountain Rd to get up to PCH. I changed gloves and took off my jacket sleeves at the base of the inside route up Torrey Pines. So I had to ride nearly to the top of the steep part of the climb to catch up with John. I rode out ahead of him to get to Torrey Pines Rd, going by the golf course where a PGA tournament was being held on this weekend. From there, we rode over to Miramar Rd following the normal route, then traded leads for the first two-thirds of the way to the freeway. John started to fall back around this point, and he was slower than usual on the gradual climb up Pomerado Rd. I found out later than he was riding with a mild case of the flu. We headed back to his house, where I had a quick break and a soda, then rode home the normal route. On the gradual climb up to the hospital, there was another rider behind me, so I kept my pace strong to the top and felt pretty good, considering that I had already put in a few miles. Then it was home without any other notable experiences.
Avg speed = 17.1 mph. Total mileage = 52.5 mi
Total elevation gain = 3130'
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/628609888
