This was a big riding day. Over to Robert's house, from there we picked up Gideon on the way to the Bisikleta ride starting point. On this ride, there were 8 riders, all of them strong: Ray, Gideon, Robert, Kamal, Charlie, Arnold, Cam, and me. We headed out Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd, Kamal pushed it on the little uphill, and Gideon and I caught up with him near the turn. On the downhill into Fairbanks Ranch, I dropped my water bottle and had to go back. From there, it was over to El Apajo and then up to Via de la Valle to get to Paseo Delicias. I marked Ray on the climb and sprinted past him near the top. Up Del Dios from there, after a long wait when one of the other riders had some kind of mechanical. The wind was at our backs on the climb, and Arnold and I caught the three riders who had gotten out in front of us. I led the pack and was able to fend off an attempt by Ray to get out ahead near the second summit. Stayed on Del Dios Hwy past the light at Via Rancho Pkwy and rode up to Citracado Pkwy to get over to Harmony Grove Rd. We rode down until just before the turn onto Elfin Forest Rd, then Gideon suggested we take Questhaven Rd, It was a mistake from my standpoint. We ran out of road in less than half a mile, and we were on dirt and steep pitches to the extent that I had to get off my bike to keep from falling over. Not good. Eventually the path got a little less steep and in slightly better shape, but I was not a happy rider. Back onto pavement, taking a noticeable climb up to San Elijo Rd, where it cut in maybe more than halfway up the turnoff to Double Peak Dr. I was first to the turn there, followed closely by Ray. This is where the fun really began. The grade was steep but manageable for another half mile or so, then it got crazy steep, over 20% at one point. I really suffered from not having a lower gear, it was all I could do to push the pedals and just keep going. Ray passed me but I hung onto second position, farther behind him, up to the entrance to the parking lot at the top. That is the steepest long section of road I can remember climbing, really tough. I decided to go back a different way from the others, and Robert and Charlie decided to join me. Heading down was really tough, road was steep and the winds were swirling, making it difficult to control my bike. We turned at Elfin Forest Rd, and both Robert and Charlie were starting to slow down, neither had ridden much in the previous few weeks. The gradual climb up Harmony Grove Rd went pretty well for me, I got out ahead of the others and benefited again from a tailwind, feeling in pretty good form. We continued on into Escondido, coming out onto Valley Pkwy and taking it over to Quince St. Around this time, we felt a little rain but it didn't stay. Over using 13th Ave to Centre City Pkwy, where we were originally going to take the freeway over Lake Hodges. But as we got past Felicita Rd it started to rain, and roads were slick with poor visibility. So we took Escondido Blvd route to Kit Carson Park and the bike paths to get over to Beethoven Dr and BVP. It was steadily raining at this point, and I was miserable. Thankfully, after we got onto the path to take us over the pedestrian bridge, the rain stopped and all we had to deal with was the wind. Pretty fast up the climb before the park, the others were slower. I also made decent time on the gradual climb up to Duenda Rd, decided to keep going ahead of the others up to RB Rd. But Robert and Charlie turned on Poblado Rd and rode to Robert's house, so not knowing this I ended up turning around and retracing the route to make sure they weren't fixing a mechanical issue. All the way down to the turn onto Aguamiel Rd, where I turned and rode home, pretty slowly on the last little bit. My legs held up really well for the exertion on this ride, back was a little sore and I was way tired. Emily and I went in the afternoon for pizza and beer down at Pizza Port, and that was fun.
Avg speed = 14.7 mph. Total mileage = 53.6 mi
Avg heartrate = 126 bpm
Total elevation gain = 3990'
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