09-27-2020 Ride

Time trial ride with Dave, Jim, and John.  I didn't originally intend to put a big effort in, but I had a decent little ride up to meet them, so I pushed harder on the initial parts.  I had a good finishing bit to get to the waiting point by the hospital on Pomerado Rd, then all four of us rode together for a while and made decent time.  On the Sabre Springs Pkwy section, my speed and effort weren't maximal, and I was definitely slow by the Post Office.  But when we got to the light at Twin Peaks Rd, I saw that I had a shot for being under an hour, so I pushed hard on the rest of the way, starting with the little climb after the turn and getting lucky in hitting the light by the freeway.  The rest of it was just me putting in more effort than usual, with John helping draft me on W Bernardo Dr after the light at RB Rd.  Finished in 59:21, which I am going to call my fastest time on this route since coming back from Israel.

Avg speed = 17.8 mph. Total mileage = 17.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1090'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4119942421

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34592958225

09-26-2020 Ride

 Solo ride over to Dave's house, following the route behind the mall.  On the previous day, we got our kitten Yofi, so I played with her a little bit before leaving.  Jim and John joined the ride, and we headed over to Centre City Pkwy briefly, getting on Escondido Blvd to ride over to Sunset Dr and thus to BVP.  Over to the 78, on a day that was cloudy and just about the right temperature for me.  Then we headed out past the Wild Animal Park to Bandy Canyon Rd.  On the stretch past the park, John and I made pretty good time, and I felt good going up the climb out of the valley.  Behind Dave on the downhill on Highland Valley Rd, so I kept on the brakes for most of the way.  Once we got to Pomerado Rd, we turned left and rode up to Escala Dr, turning right to get to the sharp downhill and uphill sections.  It wasn't as bad as I remembered it, the first steep part back uphill.  Then we took Duenda Rd over to W Bernardo Dr and back to the mall, riding through the parking lot to get to the road in back.  Same route from there to Dave's house, where we had smoothies and a nice chat before I rode back home the normal route.  Felt good on this ride, with still a lot of energy left for the last two little climbs.

Avg speed = 16.2 mph. Total mileage = 36.9 mi

Avg heartrate = 137 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2460'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4115398768

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34561099830

09-20-2020 Ride

Slightly modified time trial ride with Jim, taking it pretty easy on this day.  I found 16 pennies on the ground at Ted Williams Pkwy, so that was interesting.  Near the intersection of Pomerado Rd and Poway Rd there was a fire, so we had to take a detour around it.  And we stopped at Sesame Donuts for a break, just to mix it up.  Used the Carmel Mountain Rd route as well. Was a foggy day, and it smelled smoky at times, but maybe that was because of the fire.

Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 18.0 mi

Avg heartrate = 137 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1090'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4088137755

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34426807571

09-19-2020 Ride

 Solo initial ride, heading down by the part and then up Pomerado Rd to Higa Pl, riding through that neighborhood to Acena Dr and then to RB Rd.  Back to Jim's house via Duenda, where I met up with him and we rode through the neighborhood to RB Rd, taking it west to get to Dove Canyon Rd, over to Carmel Valley Rd.  Up the two little rises, where I kept my speed above 11 mph both times, then we turned left on Black Mountain Rd.  Over to the 56 bike trail, we got on and stayed on until Carmel Country Rd.  Over the 56, then a right onto Carmel Canyon Rd to get over to Del Mar Heights Rd.  Back to Camino del Sur, turning left and staying on it until we turned onto Paseo del Sur.  Right on Potomac Ridge Rd to get to Nighthawk Ln, where we turned and then got onto Camino San Bernardo.  Back to RB Rd, then down to W Bernardo Dr and returning to Jim's house, where he made me a pumpkin pie smoothie, pretty delicious.  Felt good at times on this ride, legs were in decent shape.

Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 38.6 mi

Avg heartrate = 133 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2630'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4083199461

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34388256978

09-13-2020 Ride

Short ride up Azucar to Duenda and then over to Jim's house to meet up with him, John, and Dave for the time trial route.  I was not interested in riding fast on this day, legs still feeling it from the previous day.  So I took it easy and basically stayed with the others except for a couple of spots where I got out a little ahead of John.  He had a good day.  Finished in equivalent of about 1:06.

Avg speed = 16.0 mph. Total distance = 18.2 mi

Avg heartrate = 134 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1110'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4054517873

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34225633620

09/12/2020 Ride

Solo ride over to John's house following normal Pomerado route.  I didn't kill myself on pacing but was able to keep it over 10 mph on the little uphill to his house, but it was an effort.  Met up with him, Dave, and Jim for a ride to Mt Soledad and back.  We rode to the top of Pomerado Rd and then down to Miramar Rd to get over to Kearny Villa Rd.  We all basically rode together on this stretch to Balboa Ave, where we turned right.  It was a fairly steady pace here, and I got some separation from the others on the little climb up to Clairemont Dr.  I hit all the lights on the next piece to get to the bottom of the Mt Soledad climb, and I ended up waiting about 5 min for the others, who mistook another rider for me and followed him to let him know he was on the wrong route.  Oh well.  The climb was tougher than I remember, lots of stretches in first gear plugging along.  I got to the top and circled back to meet the other riders coming up, so I rode up the last stretch twice.  Brief break at the top, where there was a fair amount of fog.  Then it was downhill using Via Capri, still not in good shape and riding my brakes the whole way.  John, Dave, and I got to the light at Hidden Valley and Torrey Pines Rd, but no Jim.  After waiting a couple of minutes we rode back up to look for him, and he was just finishing a flat repair.  So we continued on Torrey Pines Rd, gradual climb up to La Jolla Village Dr.  Again, I got to the light before the others so I turned around and rode back to where John was coming.  Onto La Jolla Village Dr, taking it past the freeway, where it turns into Miramar Rd.  Jim and Dave were slowing down by this point, but John and I traded leads and kept a brisk pace all the way to the I-15, with John falling back a little before that point.  I waited for him, and we rode most of the way up Pomerado Rd until near the top.  I got to the top and looped a couple of times until he showed up, and we waited for a number of minutes again until we decided to ride back down and see where the others were.  They were on the last little ascent, so we turned around and rode back to John's house.  This was a fairly big effort for me, more climbing than I have done in a long time, but I felt fine at the end, just tired.

Later, we went to a lady's house in Poway to look at kittens up for adoption.  I think we will end up getting one of them, assuming it all works out.

Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 50.4 mi

Avg heartrate = 137 bpm

Total elevation gain = 3710'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4049754174

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34228431983

09-07-2020 Ride

 Initial short solo ride up to Duenda and taking the loop around Poblado Rd back to W Bernardo Dr.  Back to Duenda with a little time to spare, so I threw in another little loop before heading to Jim's house to meet him, Dave, and John.  The first two weren't fans of the idea of a more rigorous ride, so I mapped out a route with no real hills and not so much climbing.  We headed across the freeway and onto BVP, taking it out to Citrus Ave.  I was not pushing the pace so much early on.  Over to El Norte Pkwy, where with the slight downhill, we made really good time down to Centre City Pkwy.  Continued on this road until it turned into Borden Rd and stayed with it until Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy.  By this time, Jim and Dave were slowing down, so I kept getting a little ahead of them, then waiting.  Over to Barham Dr and back to Mission Rd for a short stretch before we turned onto Country Club Dr.  This is a nice cycling road, down into Harmony Grove Village.  Over Harmony Grove Village Pkwy to Citracado Pkwy and back toward Escondido.  Here, John and I got a little separated from Dave and Jim, then rode back to find that Dave had a flat.  It took a while to fix it, then we continued to Valley Pkwy over to Via Rancho Pkwy.  On the early stages of this little climb, I stayed with the others, then pushed the pace some to get over the top and continue down to the freeway and across it.  Above 10 mph on the little climb to the park, and we continued on W Bernardo Dr up to Duenda Rd, a little longer but not as steep.  I kept it above 10 mph here as well, finished in good shape.  Banana/fig smoothies at Jim's house after the ride were tasty.

Avg speed = 16.3 mph. Total mileage = 35.3 mi

Avg heartrate = 132 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2150'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4025782067

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34087846339

09-06-2020 Ride

Solo ride over to Dave's house, taking an easy pace and using the route behind the mall.  I decided to keep my pace similar to the others, knowing that I would be riding on Monday.  We headed north on Centre City Pkwy, intending to do a little longer ride than the time trial route from Dave's house.  However, Jim had two flats in the early stages, so we decided to cut it short and do the TT route.  It was a measured pace for me nearly all the way, but I was able to keep it above 10 mph on the last two little climbs back home.

Avg speed = 15.3 mph. Total mileage = 27.4 mi

Avg heartrate = 139 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1420'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4021467464

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34049856413

09-05-2020 Ride

 Solo ride, with bike lights due to darkness, over to the intersection of Espola Rd and Twin Peaks Rd, taking RB Rd to Espola.  I got a fairly quick start after leaving early, so I didn't push the pace.  Met up with John, Dave, and Jim at the parking lot, and we headed up Espola Rd to Poway Rd, taking it all the way down to the 56 bike trail.  Up to this point, the weather was fine, but it was gradually getting hotter.  Down the bike trail to the Santa Fe Farms Rd overpass, which we used to get over to Carmel Valley Rd.  By this point, John was still riding pretty well, but Dave and Jim were back.  We rode to Camino del Sur, turned left, and took it all the way to Pomerado Rd.  It was heating up, so even the very minor little climbs took some effort.  Over to Metate Ln, using it to get to Community Rd.  My legs were getting tired by this time, so I couldn't push it very hard on the stretch on Community.  To Aubrey St, where we turned left and rode to Twin Peaks Rd, turning right to get back to the parking lot.  The others were going to wait until the smoothie shop opened, but I turned around and rode back to Old Poway Park to meet Ann at the farmers' market.  Glad to be done, I was pretty tired but not hurting.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 39.6 mi

Avg heartrate = 135 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2350'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4016086958

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34048580951

09-02-2020 Ride

 Solo easy ride in the late afternoon, heading down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd, taking it out to the base of the climb before turning around and riding back to Pomerado Rd.  I didn't push the pace, just tried to keep it steady and not too slow.  Up to Higa Pl, turning there and riding through the neighborhood to get to Bernardo Center Dr.  Left on RB Rd, where I slowed down a little bit as I rode under the freeway, picking it up a little bit past there to get up to Olmeda Way and Capilla Rd.  To Poblado Rd and then home the normal way through the neighborhood.  It was a nice short ride, good weather too.

Avg speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 14.7 mi

Avg heartrate = 132 bpm

Total elevation gain = 790'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4003464277

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/33984256483