10-31-2020 Ride

 Ride over to Dave's house in the morning with Jim, where we met up with Dave and John.  There wasn't a route planned, so I made it up as we went along.  Took the route to Dave's behind the mall, then we rode from his house over to Escondido Blvd and up Vermont Ave to Juniper St, which we took over to Grand Ave and up to BVP.  Over to Valley Pkwy to get to El Norte Pkwy, and then down to Broadway.  By this time, the pace of John, Jim, and me was faster than Dave's pace, and he was feeling some knee pain.  We rode over to Jesmond Dene Rd and then turned left onto Ivy Dell Ln to get to Centre City Pkwy, turning left and then right onto Nutmeg St.  Rode to Country Club Ln and then back over to El Norte Pkwy, heading west until it turned into Borden Rd and staying on it all the way to Las Posas Rd.  Rode over to San Marcos Blvd and turned right to get to Discovery St.  Back over toward CSUSM via Craven Rd, then onto Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy and then to Barham Dr.  Slowing down here to ride with the others, notably Dave, who was feeling it by this time.  Back into Escondido via Mission Ave to Washington Ave and then over to Valley Pkwy via Tulip St.  Onto Quince St until 13th Ave, then to Centre City Pkwy and back to Dave's the normal way.  From there, Jim and I rode home the normal way as well.

Avg speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 41.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 139 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1930'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4267773058

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/35397120427

10-25-2020 Ride

Time trial route with Jim and John on a day when we started and ended the ride in misty, drizzling conditions.  I had taken a walk earlier, and it was mist-free.  However, I was feeling it from previous day's ride and efforts to pull the plumbing out of the master bathroom, so I kept a steady but not record-setting pace.  No real pushes on the ride, but we rode the downhill section fairly quickly and largely together.  John rode well, and so did Jim.  Finished in 1:03:40.

Avg speed = 16.7 mph. Total mileage = 17.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 138 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1090'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4242366012

https://www.strava.com/activities/4242366012

10-24-2020 Ride

 Solo ride initially over to John's house, starting when it was definitely dark and needing my bike light for most of the ride over.  Standard route, except I chickened out and took the Alpine turn on the climb up to his place.  Jim showed up several minutes late, then we headed back down to Poway Rd and rode up to the 67.  That was a tough stretch, I didn't remember it being as challenging as it was, especially near the end.  I waited for John to join me, then we waited awhile longer before riding back down to see where Jim was.  He had a flat that delayed him, so we rode back up to the top and then turned left onto the 67.  That stretch up to the pass by Mt Woodson was easier than I remembered, then we rode down to Archie Moore Rd to get over to Highland Valley Rd.  Steady climb up the shallow grade, then it was the exhilarating ride down to Bandy Canyon Rd.  Kept on the road until Pomerado Rd, then we turned left and headed back toward John's house.  I was feeling it by this time, so I ended up riding with them to Pomerado Hospital before turning back toward home.  Standard route via RB Rd and Duenda Rd, doing okay on pace but not great.  Legs felt fine, just some loss of cardio and not as much push in them

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 41.5 mi

Avg heartrate = 139 bpm

Total elevation gain = 3450'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4237942812

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/35219547263

10-16-2020 to 10-18-2020 Camping Trip

 First camping trip up by Mt Laguna, at Burnt Rancheria Campground in the Cleveland National Forest, camping spot 045 in the Pinyon area.  No campfires allowed.  We hiked the Desert View Trail, which had its trailhead near our camping spot.  The trail ended up the highway from where we were staying, so it turned into a longer than expected hike.  We also got in the car and tried to find the start of another trail, I think it was Oasis Spring.  There was no indication off of Sunrise Hwy of the trailhead, and we drove by it at least once, stopping farther on and walking around to look for it.  Then we circled back and tried again, but the trailhead we found was not well-maintained, and we ended up stopping and heading back.  Then we took the Foster Point trail and hiked to the lookout.  I cut my shin on the hike up, but it was more messy looking than painful.  

10-16-2020 Ride

 Friday morning ride with Jim before work, meeting up at his house at 6:45.  His Friday route took us up Pajaro to Corazon Pl, then down to W Bernardo Dr via Duenda Rd.  Up past HP, where I kept my pace above 10 mph on the little clmbs, then over to Bernardo Center Dr and Carmel Valley Rd.  The wind gave me a little push up those climbs, again keeping it above 11-12 mph the whole way.  Then it was down to Camino del Sur and back toward home via RB Rd and W Bernardo Dr.  I was much faster and felt better on the way out, slowed down and not as much push as we were riding back.  Finished in 59:12, but there is room for improvement on this little loop with build-up of more stamina.

Avg speed = 16.6 mph. Total mileage = 16.4 mi

Avg heartrate = 138 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1240'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4202517785

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/35025802720

10-11-2020 Ride

Time trial ride from Jim's house, meeting him only.  I got a quick start on the ride, so I decided to put in a steady, fast effort and see how it went.  I ended up finishing with a Post-Israel PR of 59:32, although I would have hoped to do better given the effort I put in.  Just couldn't sustain high output segments for very long, although my initial kick was decent.  Most of it was solo, not so much drafting between me and Jim on this day.

Avg speed = 17.9 mph. Total mileage = 17.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 141 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1100'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4181698533

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34916569422

10-10-2020 Ride

Solo ride, when it was relatively dark at the start, over to the Ted Williams Park n Ride, following the RB Rd and Bernardo Heights Pkwy route.  Blair was getting his stuff ready when I arrived, and we started soon after.  Just as we were leaving, Jim pulled up, it was a close call that we connected with him.  Once gathered, we got onto the 56 bike trail and rode down to Camino del Sur.  I started out not pushing the pace, to try and keep it manageable for the others.  Over to San Dieguito Rd and down into the flats, where Jim was pushing a higher than normal pace.  We rode to El Camino Real, turning right to get to Via de la Valle.  Again slowing down a little, we took a left onto Jimmy Durante Blvd and rode over into Del Mar.  Left on Carmel Valley Rd, taking it back to El Camino Real and then onto the 56 bike trail again.  I rode with the others, dialing my pace back and only getting out a little bit ahead on the gradual climbs on the bike trail back to Camino del Sur.  I worked a little harder on the short climb up to Black Mountain Rd, then it was pretty easy back to the meet-up spot, just that short little climb after Rancho Penasquitos Blvd.  Blair did just fine on this ride, which was great.  My ride back home was uneventful, taking the time trial route.

Avg speed = 15.9 mph. Total mileage = 45.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 136 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2650'

https://www.strava.com/activities/4177115922

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34882084077

10/04/2020 Ride

Well, this was an interesting little day.  I woke up late and noticed that my phone hadn't charged overnight, so I decided to drive to meet Dave and Jim at Dave's house for a morning ride.  When I got there, no Dave.  I looked at my email and saw that he had backed out.  Just then, Jim drove up and said he received a text from Dave saying the same thing.  So we decided to ride from Dave's house anyway, doing his time trial route.  We started off at a moderate pace, hit a lot of lights that lasted a while.  Once we got past Country Club, I pushed my pace more on that little climb and again on the climb up to Deer Springs Pkwy.  I stopped by Jesmond Dene and picked up a nickel as well.  We headed back, and I was taking a more measured pace on the other side of the I-15.  Back on Centre City Pkwy, I picked up the tempo and Jim was riding with me.  Again, lots of lights caught on the way back, but I picked up a dime too.  Seeing I had a shot at breaking 1 hr, I started riding faster at around Grand Ave, and kept a high pace all the way back to Dave's house.  Finished in 59:42.  Because my phone wasn't fully charged, I only tracked the ride on my Fitbit.

Avg speed = 16.8 mph. Total mileage = 16.7 mi

Avg heartrate = 143 bpm

Total elevation gain = 690'

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34749000615

10-03-2020 Ride

Solo ride, with lights on, to the Park n Ride on Sabre Springs Pkwy.  I rode over to RB Rd and then to Bernardo Centre Dr to get to Bernardo Heights Pkwy.  Up to Paseo Lucido, turning right to go by the school and then onto the time trial route in reverse.  Was supposed to meet up with Jim, Dave, and Blair, but Blair had something come up and didn't show.  And Dave had a flat to fix before we started, so we got off to a late start.  We rode the original time trial route, heading up Ted Williams Pkwy to Pomerado Rd.  I could tell from the start that Jim, and particularly Dave, were riding at a slower pace.  On the Pomerado stretch, Dave kept up a good pace.  When we turned right onto RB Rd and started the gradual climb, they both fell back.  I rode ahead up to Bridlewood Rd and waited for them, then we rode together, briefly, before I got out ahead again.  Up to the old waiting point just past the high school on Espola Rd, where we collected and headed on over to Poway Rd.  Then it was down, back to Pomerado Rd, turning left to do that short, sharp climb up to the top.  It was a tough little stretch, lots more work for me to build my cardio fitness.  From there, we rode down Pomerado Rd to Miramar Rd, taking it over to Camino Ruiz to get over to Mira Mesa Blvd.  Maybe I've been on that road before, but I didn't remember it so well.  It looks like it goes by the old dump, with a small little climb there.  Both of the others were slowing down, Dave especially.  Once we turned onto Mira Mesa Blvd, I had originally planned on riding to Black Mountain and then to the bike trail next to I-15 via Mercy Rd.  I changed the route to take that climb out, staying instead on Mira Mesa Blvd to the end, turning left, and then left again onto Erma Rd to get to the bike trail.  Stayed on it until we got to Poway Rd, then it was up to Sabre Springs Pkwy to finish off the ride with Jim and Dave.  The day was starting to heat up, so I didn't wait around to long before riding home, retracing my original route until RB Rd, where I stayed on Bernardo Centre Dr and took the more common way home.  This ride tired me out, maybe because I got up early in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  Also, for some weird reason Strava stopped recording my ride when I stopped to meet up with Jim and Dave, so I only show the Fitbit route below.

Avg speed = 15.8 mph. Total mileage = 42.9 mi

Avg heartrate = 133 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2910'

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/34716108738