03-30-2023 Ride

Ride after work with Blair and Justin, who is still looking for his next job.  Weather was dicey in the afternoon, and I wasn't sure we were going to get to ride, but it cleared up.  Temperature was nice, a little cool, and the wind made it challenging on downhills.  I hadn't fully dialed in my headset, so I was really careful on the downhills.  We headed out Bernardo Center to Camino del Norte and turned right there.  Wind was up, so I felt my bike getting blown around a little bit.  Eventually, I just fell in behind Blair and Justin and took it easy.  Out to Camino del Sur and then to the 56 bike path, where we turned left and had the benefit of a tailwind for a while, including one pushing us up the climb to Black Mountain Rd.  Turned left there and rode over to Carmel Valley Rd.  Not pushing the pace, just riding along with the others.  Carmel Valley Rd back to Bernardo Center Dr and then to the starting point.  It was a nice little loop, and no rain!

Avg speed = 14.0 mph. Total mileage = 16.7 mi

Avg power = 121 W. Weighted avg power = 157 W

Total elevation gain = 1200'

Avg heartrate = 109 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8813390950

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54740443585

03-25-2023 Ride

This was a good day.  Ride while staying in Houston, with Mark and some of his riding buddies.  We met at his house in Sugar Land, loaded the bikes into the truck and headed over to the meet-up place in Stafford, off the Southwest Fwy.  There we met up with Bruce Gilbert, Al, Mike, and another rider.  It was a while before we got going, Bruce had to check everybody's gear before we rode.  Then we headed over to Airport Blvd and started riding west.  Went for about 9 miles, and at some point Mike realized that he had lost his keys along the way.  We retraced our route for a while with no luck, so he ended up turning around and riding back to look for them.  By this time, we had been joined by another group of riders who the others knew.  I won't attempt to call out the route by the roads we took, but it was generally in the west direction, along good roads, and very, very flat.  We rode out to a large gas station and convenience store, where we took a break and Bruce decided he needed to adjust Mark's headset in a major way.  So we were there longer than expected.  I should have refilled my water at this point but foolishly didn't.  Fairly similar pace on the way back, but there were a couple of places where I and another rider got out in front and pushed it a little bit.  I ran out of water with about 6 miles to go, so the last stretch was kinda tough.  Weather was delightful, temperature-wise, but it was windy, and the going was difficult when we were riding into the wind.  For the most part, on the way back the wind was generally helping us.

Avg speed = 14.9 mph. Total mileage = 43.0 mi

Avg power = 93 W. Weighted avg power = 108 W

Total elevation gain = 30'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8775958681

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54628950430

03-19-2023 Ride

Time trial ride with Jim from his house, he hadn't been riding much recently.  I rode up Azucar Way to mix it up, before meeting him.  Nothing special about this ride, it was fairly slow and the weather was cool but nice.  Smoothies at his place afterward.

Avg speed = 14.9 mph. Total mileage = 17.8 mi

Avg power = 128 W. Weighted avg power = 155 W

Total elevation gain = 1030'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8742438739

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54463522559

03-18-2023 Ride

Solo ride through the neighborhood to Gideon's house, where I met up with him and rode to the starting point at the 4S Target, riding through the 4S Ranch neighborhood.  On this ride, there were: Ray, Rob, Gideon, Arnold, Jhonar, Gio, Nel, Cam (just back from Vietnam), Irwin, Aaron, Kamal, Jamil, Jed, Charlie, and Zac. We all headed out Camino del Sur, and Jamil and I were first to the turn onto San Dieguito Rd.  I hammered the pace to try and get some separation from the others, but eventually several of the riders caught me on the downhill, including Arnold, Cam, and Kamal.  Down to the bottom, turning right onto El Apajo and riding over to Via de la Valle.  Zac and Jed got out ahead of me, and I couldn't match their pace up to the beginning of Stud Loop.  We gathered up there, then took that road back to Paseo Delicias.  I was near the lead the whole time and was able to pass Arnold near the end to finish in the lead.  Headed back into downtown RSF, then continued on the road through the fancy houses up to Lomas Santa Fe.  Others were riding fast here, and I tried to keep up with them.  Down to the coast, where the group split in two, half of them wanting to get more miles in.  I went with the shorter ride group (Gideon, Zac, Rob, Gio, Jamil, Irwin, and Jhonar), riding at a little more modest pace up through Del Mar and continuing on to the base of the inner Torrey Pines route.  Short bio break before riding up the inside road.  Jhonar took off fast, and I was able to catch him about halfway up the first steep section, then Zac passed me and I couldn't hold his pace.  Finished second up the climb, then took it easy on the downhill, following Gio down.  We rode back to the 56 bike path, taking it to Carmel Valley Rd and turning here.  I was out in front for most of this stretch, and I put in a burst to get up the last little climb before Camino del Sur, putting some distance on the others.  One final gathering there, then we rode back to the starting point.  I had some gas left in the tank and tried to push the pace as hard as I could after the downhill to the bridge.  Some more separation on the other riders in this last stretch, but it was a sufferfest.  On the way home, I wanted to end up over 50 miles, so I rode back through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, including turning left onto Ralphs Ranch Rd to get up to Alva Rd.  From there, it was the normal way home through the neighborhood.  The wind was kicking up in those last 5 miles, adding to the challenge.  Felt fine at the end, just tired.

Avg speed = 16.6 mph. Total mileage = 50.6 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 17.2 mph

Avg power = 164 W. Weighted avg power = 192 W

Total elevation gain = 3330'

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8736763571

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54470093917

03-16-2023 Ride

Ride in the afternoon after work with Blair and James.  I started from home because I had gone to lunch with John and Dennis.  Over to W Bernardo Dr, then up to the church parking lot to wait for them.  We continued down the hill when they showed up, then over to Pomerado Rd and up to RB Rd.  Took a left there and headed up to Espola Rd.  Past the little climb by the turn in the road, we lost James and went back to see where he was.  He was cramping up and walking as a result, so we walked along with him for a while until just before the high school, when he got back on and we continued.  James was slow, so I slowed down and matched his pace for the rest of the ride.  Down to Twin Peaks Rd, turning right and taking it to Camino del Norte.  Right on Bernardo Center Dr and back to HP back parking lot, where James and Blair finished while I continued home the normal way.

Avg speed = 12.3 mph. Total mileage = 18.5 mph

Avg power = 100 W. Weighted avg power = 128 W

Total elevation gain = 1270'

Avg heartrate = 98 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8727296437

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54451321588

03-15-2023 Virtual Ride

Trainer ride in the garage before work for 50 minutes.  Rode using the Wahoo set at the 20% resistance level while watching Netflix, this time I paid a little more attention to keeping my average speed higher.

Avg speed = 20.0 mph

Total mileage = 16.8 mi

Avg power = 158 W. Weighted avg power = 160 W

Avg cadence = 85 rpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8718145740

03-12-2023 Ride

Solo ride over to Robert's place, taking the time trial route over to Bernardo Center Dr, then turning right to get up to Bernardo Heights Pkwy.  This little climb warmed me up, turned right on Paseo Lucido and then another right onto Corte Sabio to get to his condo complex.  From there, we headed back to Bernardo Heights Pkwy and took it down to Pomerado Rd, turning left there and riding to RB Rd.  Up Espola Rd to the high school, then down the hill and back up to Poway Rd.  This little climb is always challenging.  We took Poway Rd all the way down to Springhurst Dr, turning left there and climbing up to Springbrook Dr.  Left there, continuing on Angelique St up this short, steep little section to Cypress Canyon Park Dr, then up to the top of Pomerado Rd.  Up to this point, we hadn't seen any rain, just wet, dirty roads.  Down into Mira Mesa on Miramar Rd, taking it over to Camino Ruiz and turning right.  I had forgotten that this road dips and then climbs back up, but the climb wasn't too bad.  Steeper at the beginning, then it is shallow up to Mira Mesa Blvd.  We stopped there for a short food break before turning right and getting over to the bike path that parallels the freeway.  This section of the ride had a little mist to deal with, but it didn't last long.  On the little climb up to Sabre Springs Pkwy, Rob hit something in the road and got a flat, so we repaired it fairly quickly.  Then we followed the time trial route over to Carmel Mountain Rd, turning left there and staying on Paseo Lucido after the light.  Left on Calle Saucillo, then right on Avenida Alcachofa, which has a very short little climb that was painful to ride through before we got back to Rob's place.  Streets were starting to dry off by this point.  I retraced my route back home and felt pretty good at the end.  More climbing on this ride than usual, which slowed my average speed down but caused my weighted average power to be pretty high.

Avg speed = 15.7 mph. Total mileage = 38.5 mi

Avg power = 165 W. Weighted avg power = 193 W

Total elevation gain = 2940'

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8703987630

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54356542804

03-11-2023 Ride

Solo ride on a wet Saturday morning, none of the Bisikleta riders wanted to brave the wet roads and rainy weather, so I headed out through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd and then over to W Bernardo Dr.  Up to RB Rd, taking this little climb up to Via del Campo and riding back over to W Bernardo Dr.  This is when I noticed that my Wahoo had a low battery and couldn't track the ride.  Kept going over to Bernardo Center Dr, taking it to Camino del Norte and planning on staying on the time trial route in reverse for a while.  Did so up to Pomerado Rd, where I kept riding up to Community Rd, turning left there instead.  Over to Twin Peaks Rd, then back to Pomerado Rd to get back onto the reverse time trial route, staying on it all the way back home.  No real rain on this ride to speak of, but the roads were consistently wet, and I was generally soaked through, and dirty, at the end of the ride.  Felt good though to get out and get a ride in on a generally wet day.

Avg speed = 15.1 mph. Total mileage = 20.5 mi

Total elevation gain = 1160'

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54319290110

03-09-2023 Virtual Ride

Trainer ride in the garage before work for an hour.  Rode using the Wahoo set at the 20% resistance level while watching Netflix, and I think that watching video makes it harder to concentrate on keeping a higher power output.

Avg speed = 18.3 mph

Total mileage = 18.4 mi

Avg power = 157 W. Weighted avg power = 158 W

Avg cadence = 83 rpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8686249839

03-05-2023 Ride

Time trial ride from home with John.  I had tuned up my rear derailleur, since the cable slipped on the previous day's ride.  It's still not right, needs more adjustment.  Not much to say about this ride, it was a slower pace for the most part, although we pushed harder on the segment past the hospital, and I continued a harder push after the turn onto Poway Rd.  Other than that, fairly mild.  I got a rear tire flat on the downhill before RB Rd, and I did a quick repair and pump up to get me home.

Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 17.6 mi

Avg power = 159 W. Weighted avg power = 179 W

Total elevation gain = 1030'

Avg heartrate = 121 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8665686045

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54204140651

03-04-2023 Ride

This was an eventful ride, and not in a good way.  Was chilly at the start from home but not too bad.  Up through the neighborhood and then the long way up by the road to the water tower in the 4S Ranch Neighborhood.  Big turnout on this ride, here is who rode:  Perse, Rob, David (new rider, friend of Rob's), Arnold, Jed, Fritz, Levi, Kamal, Jamil, Nel, Charlie, Ogie, Jhonar, Alex (I think I have ridden with him before) and Vic.  We headed down Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd.  Others got ahead on the CdS Bump but I caught up with them all, including Jamil, who put in a big effort here.  Down into Fairbanks Ranch, with a number of other riders catching up and passing me on the downhill, so I scrambled to stay with them.  We gathered up at the bottom of the hill and formed a pace line.  It stayed pretty well organized on this stretch.  At the turn onto El Camino Real, we waited for a while, then saw a note that Fritz had crashed and needed some bandaids.  Eventually, that group caught up with us, and by that time we had also connected with Irwin, who decided to join us for the rest of the ride.  Fritz was a little banged up, torn jersey and vest, and his helmet had taken a minor hit.  But he decided to keep riding.  We headed over to Via de la Valle and then to the Coast Hwy.  Gathered up everybody and continued riding north.  Pace wasn't super fast, but it picked up when we dropped down into Cardiff and were riding into Encinitas.  At this point, Fritz hit a rock in the road and went down, taking Rob and Jed with him.  Fritz had the hardest fall, and he was done for the day.  Bad scrapes at a number of places but no obvious breaks or tears.  He and Levi ended up taking an Uber back to the starting point, and Jhonar and Ogie turned around then too.  The rest of us continued on but at a (slightly) more measured pace, we were all feeling a little freaked out by the crash.  Rob took a hit to his quad and knee, but he kept riding.  We rode up to La Costa and stopped at the 7-Eleven for a break before continuing on.  The ride back down the coast was into a mild headwind.  Everybody was riding a little slower, but Jed was still pushing a pretty fast pace.  We retraced our route back, and on the San Dieguito Rd flats Jed essentially pulled the rest of us for most of the way in a loosely organized pace line for some of the riders.  Quick stop at the gas station before continuing on.  On the Three Witches climb, I did okay, couldn't keep up with Jed and Arnold.  The riders in the lead kept going at the turn onto Camino del Sur, and I was feeling it in my legs, not enough push to close the gap that Jed, Arnold, and Kamal created.  After waiting for everybody to make it back to the starting point, I headed home, taking RB Rd to W Bernardo Dr and then to Duenda Rd.  Was pretty slow on the way home, running out of energy.  I did a little sidetrack on Matinal Dr to Matinal Rd to Cabela Dr to Luz Pl, adding enough distance to put me over 50 miles for the ride.  Legs were more sore than usual, probably due in part to having jogged for part of my walk on the previous day.

Avg speed = 17.4 mph. Total mileage = 50.2 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 18.2 mph

Avg power = 160 W. Weighted avg power = 183 W

Total elevation gain = 2040'

Avg heartrate = 120 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/8660233608 

https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/54141614569