12-31-2021 Ride

Ride from home with John and Jim on a day that was cool with damp roads but just at the beginning of the ride.  Headed over to W Bernardo Dr and then up to RB Rd, where we rode up to Bridlewood Rd and turned right.  Right on Summer Sage Rd, then another right onto Lake Poway Rd before turning left onto Riparian Rd to get us to Titan Way and then Espola Rd.  From there, we followed the old time trial route, including the little climb up to Poway Rd that was really slow for me on this morning.  All the way back to the intersection of Pomerado Rd and RB Rd, where we turned left and headed home via Duenda Rd.  It was a short, slower ride for me, but I needed to be home for a doctor's appointment.

Avg speed = 15.2 mph. Total mileage = 23.1 mi

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1460'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6452441675

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/45069022114

12-29-2021 Ride

Well, this was a noteworthy ride.  Over to John's house the normal way, including W Bernardo Dr to RB Rd.  On the way over, I felt a couple of drops of moisture but nothing to speak of.  The streets were damp but not wet.  Slow on the climb up to his house, generally slow on this ride all day.  We headed up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, then down to Mercy Rd and over to Black Mountain Rd.  I was wearing my rain jacket, and it had started raining, so I was slow from taking it easy on wet roads and the resistance from the jacket.  John kept getting out ahead any time it was flat or downhill.  Up Black Mountain Rd to Mira Mesa Blvd, where we followed the Fourth of July route in steady rain, not pouring but annoying and really dirty from the road.  Sketchy going down the big hill, where I took it easy.  Turned left onto Vista Sorrento Pkwy and took it up to Mira Mesa Blvd, where we turned right and then left to get onto Carroll Canyon Rd.  I was slow on the uphill sections and not enjoying it very much, just trying to get through the ride.  Stayed on Carroll Rd until turning left onto Miramar Rd, and again I just tried to keep up with John, for the most part successfully.  We rode up Pomerado Rd, John had gotten out ahead of me, so I spent most of the time just trying to close the gap, doing so near the end when it started to climb a little more.  I made it up the hill and then kept going, since John wasn't too far behind and I was getting tired.  Back to his house for a smoothie, probably a mistake because it cooled my core and made me really cold when I started back toward home.  I was shaking on the downhill to Poway Rd and my wheels were wobbling as a result.  Not great.  Eventually I warmed up enough and was fine, aided by a slight tailwind.  Just my feet were cold and wet, but everything else was fine.  Legs held out, just no real push from them all day.  Home via Duenda Rd, and was I glad to get out of my gear and have a hot shower.

Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 46.0 mi

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2740'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6443594102
https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/45012773669

12-27-2021 Ride

Solo ride over to Dave's house, using the back way behind the mall.  I met up with him, John, and Jim, and we rode the so-called Marathon route, heading up Center City Pkwy all the way to Deer Springs Rd, turning left there and riding over Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy to Buena Creek Rd.  I pushed the pace and felt pretty good on the climbing sections up to Deer Springs, and I also pushed it on the downhill section to get to Santa Fe Ave.  Over to Mission Rd, taking it back into Escondido.  Dave and Jim were slowing down by this point, but John was keeping up on the flats and trading leads.  Back to Centre City Pkwy, then to Dave's house, where he showed us his new Motobecane carbon fiber bike, with disc brakes and electronic shifting.  Nice looking bike.  I headed home the normal way from there, keeping it about 10 mph on the last two little climbs.

Avg speed = 16.6 mph. Total mileage = 36.5 mi

Avg heartrate = 116 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1800'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6434621881

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44971739482

12-23-2021 Ride

Solo ride following the time trial route over to the Target in Poway, where I got some Christmas stocking stuffers before continuing.  From there, I headed up Twin Peaks Rd to Espola Rd, then down RB Rd and home via W Bernardo Dr.  This was a short, low-impact ride just to get in some miles.

Avg speed = 15.1 mph. Total mileage = 15.6 mi

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm

Total elevation gain = 950'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6419212065

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44900251193

12-22-2021 Ride

Solo ride initially, heading over the freeway and behind the mall to get over to Centre City Pkwy.  Up to Felicita Ave, turning left and then right onto Redwood St.  I rode to 15th Ave and turned left to meet up with Joe and his friend Mike Law at Mike's house.  Mike is pretty fit and races mountain bikes, so it was going to be a faster ride.  We headed over to Upas St and then over to 9th Ave.  Past the freeway, we turned left onto Del Dios Rd, taking it to Avenida del Diablo to get to Del Dios Hwy.  Then it was down to Via de la Valle, using that road to get to PCH.  I kept my pace generally even with Mike, and we periodically waited for Joe to catch up with us.  Down to Solana Beach, where we stopped for a beer and a break at Pizza Port before heading back via Lomas Santa Fe Dr.  That's a nice little climb back toward Rancho Santa Fe, and here I pushed the pace a little bit to stretch things out.  Road turns into Linea del Cielo, back into the village, where we continued, back up Del Dios.  I did okay on this climb but didn't try to keep it above 10 mph.  Maybe I could have, with a big effort.  We took this road all the way back to Valley Pkwy, turning right onto 9th Ave and riding over to Redwood St, then back to Mike's house.  I rode home from them, getting back to Centre City Pkwy and then taking the freeway back across Lake Hodges.  No strong push on the last two little climbs, although I kept it above 10 mph on the first one.  Felt fine at the end, legs in good shape but tired.  The weather was just about ideal for a bike ride, cool and overcast.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 49.4 mi

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm

Total elevation gain = 3160'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6416764752

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44897207834

12-21-2021 Ride

Solo ride on a cool, overcast morning, taking it really easy to reduce stress level after getting my booster shot on Saturday.  Headed through the neighborhood to RB Rd, then over to Dove Canyon Rd, taking it to Carmel Valley Rd.  Up, slowly, to Black Mountain Rd, where I turned and rode out to Miramar Rd.  Then it was back toward home, heading up Pomerado Rd and then down to Poway Rd.  With construction going on, I turned right and rode up to Community Rd, taking it to Twin Peaks Rd, then back to Pomerado Rd.  Up and then down to Rios Rd, turning right and getting to RB Rd via Alondra Dr.  Up RB Rd to get a little more distance, turning back a Valle Verde Rd and taking RB Rd to W Bernardo Dr.  Home the normal way from there.  All at a slow pace.

Avg speed = 14 mph. Total mileage = 30.7 mi

Avg heartrate = 118 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2070'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6411681256

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44898011956

12-19-2021 Ride

Solo ride after having gotten my booster shot the previous afternoon.  I didn't have any energy on this ride, probably a combination of the previous day's exertion and the shot.  So I just took it easy and put in some miles.  Down to W Bernardo Dr and over to RB Rd, then to Bernardo Center Dr, turning into the neighborhood.  I rode up Lomica Dr and turned right on Selva Dr, looking for a way to keep heading south.  But that wasn't it, so I headed back to Nacido Dr and then to Pomerado Rd.  Stayed this time up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, where that little climb heading west was much more challenging than expected.  A brief banana break at the top before taking Springbrook Dr back to Sabre Springs Pkwy.  Stayed on this road until it merged with the normal time trial route, which I followed until getting to Carmel Mountain Rd, turning right there and riding up to Camino del Norte.  Then it was the time trial route through to the end, slow and steady but no push in my legs.

Avg speed = 14.6 mph. Total mileage = 20.2 mi

Avg heartrate = 129 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1360'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6403815050

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44830385501

12-18-2021 Ride

Solo ride over to Robert's house, where I met him and we rode to the 4S Target.  On this day, there were 9 riders at the start: Robert, Perse, Jed, Julius, Jhonar, James, Andy, Zac, Arnold, and me.  It was 38 deg at home when I left, but it was warmer at the start.  We headed out Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd, Zac was first up the little climb and I came in next.  Down into Fairbanks Ranch, where it got cold again and stayed cold until we turned onto El Camino Real.  But it wasn't truly cold.  Over to Via de la Valle, which we took to PCH, at which point we had a short break and Jhonar turned around to head back.  The ride up to Carlsbad was not super fast, and others jumped out in front as I tried to keep a moderate pace so I wouldn't run out of gas later.  Another break at the Starbucks in Carlsbad, then we turned around and retraced our route.  I had pretty decent legs on the return, couldn't keep up with Zac on the little climbs on PCH.  Once we turned off, Jed and Julius took off and I marked them but didn't try to catch up, waiting until there was a tilt in the road when I closed the gap.  As soon as it flattened out, they jumped out again.  A final break just before we headed up Three Witches, where Zac rode like he was shot out of a cannon, no way I could match that pace.  But I came up the climb next, not as fast on the latter parts as I would have liked.  Legs held well, and I had some push left to get out in front on the last stretch back to the group starting point.  Then it was home through the neighborhood, legs just about maxed out on this ride but they held up throughout.

Avg speed = 17.4 mph. Total mileage = 60.1 mi

Total elevation gain = 2340'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6400000340

12-11-2021 Ride

Solo ride through the neighborhood (no Robert) to the 4S Ranch Target, taking a little detour through 4S Ranch because I was a little ahead of schedule.  On this ride were: Kamal, Jamil, Ray, Perse, James, JT (Julius), Zac, Audrey, Cam, and Charlie.  We headed out Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd, Cam and Perse got out ahead on the little climb and I didn't follow this time.  Down into Fairbanks Ranch and, with a decent pace line for a while, through the flats to get over to El Camino Real.  Then we took Via de la Valle down to the coast, turning left to go through Del Mar.  I tried to stay in the top 3 during the climbs on this ride, and I was mostly successful.  Over to Carmel Valley Rd to get back to El Camino Real and then to the 56 bike path.  We took this back to Camino del Sur, and there was a high-speed stretch with Zac and Perse getting out ahead and another group trying to catch them, unsuccessfully.  I got a PR for this stretch from trying to catch them.  From there, we headed back to Carmel Valley Rd and rode up and then down to Dove Canyon Rd.  Up this little climb, slowly for me, then back to the target using roads through the Del Sur neighborhood.  On the way home, I took RB Rd down to W Bernardo Dr and then home from there.  Felt decent at the end, the first time, after a Bisikleta ride, that I didn't feel like I had torched my legs.

Avg speed = 16.5 mph. Total mileage = 39.5 mi

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm

Total elevation gain = 2220'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6371510679

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44700100387

12-05-2021 Ride

Time trial with Jim, taking it mostly easy.  Finished in 1:04.  Had a decent push on that last little hill after the turn onto Camino del Norte.

Avg speed = 16.6 mph. Total mileage = 17.8 mi

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm

Total elevation gain = 1110'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6347943288

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44569631036

12-04-2021 Ride

Solo ride over to Robert's house through the neighborhood, using the normal route up Capilla Rd.  I met him and his friend David, and we met Gideon at his house on the way over to the 4S Target to meet up with the others.  There was confusion about start time, so we ended up waiting for quite a while before starting.  On this ride were: Robert, David, Gideon, Kamal, Jamil, Jed, Ray, Andy, James, Zac, and Mer.  We headed on Camino del Sur to the 56 bike path and then down to El Camino Real.  Then it was up to Del Mar Heights and down into the flats on San Dieguito Rd.  There we formed a pace line that kinda worked, although there was some separation because the pace was too high.  We stopped for an extended break at the turn onto El Apajo, then rode up to Via de la Valle and the Stud Loop to get to Paseo Delicias.  From there, it was up Del Dios Hwy.  I was able to stay with Ray but not with Zac.  Was slower up this climb than previous times, maybe it was the cool weather.  On the way to Via Rancho Pkwy, we took Rancho Dr to Lake Dr down by Lake Hodges.  The first part of this is downhill and nice, then there is a slight rolling section that is also nice.  But it finishes with a short, sharp climb back up, and I was struggling on this section.  Back to Via Rancho Pkwy, which we took across the freeway to the Chevron station for a final break before heading back via the pedestrian bridge, not my favorite.  We rode by my house and through the neighborhood on the way back, and I stayed with the group until we got to Capilla Rd, where Robert, Mer, Gideon, and David split off and I turned around to retrace my route back home.  I was feeling some twinges in my legs near the end of the ride, so I think I called it correctly not to ride all the way back to the meet-up spot.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 47.0 mi

Avg heartrate = 129 bpm

Total elevation gain = 3010'

https://www.strava.com/activities/6343407148

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/44546512199