No Gideon on this day, so I rode through the neighborhood and then the extended tour through the 4S Ranch neighborhood to get to the starting point at the 4S Target. On this ride, there were: Ray, Rob, Arnold, Perse, Andy, James, Audrey, Chris (Audrey's friend), Jed, Nel, Fritz, Levi, and Edson. We headed down Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd, Audrey and I pushed the pace up the CdS bump but the others didn't follow. Then it was down into Fairbanks Ranch, I was near the back because I waited and rode back to make sure James made the turn. Pace line, fairly well organized, on the flats over to El Camino Real, where we turned right and then right again onto Via de la Valle. I was out in the lead here and set the pace for a while before others (Arnold mainly) took over. We rode up to Calzada del Bosque and turned left to ride up this short, sharp climb. It was me and Jed in the lead, and I ended up putting some distance on him, which does not happen that much. Gathered back together at the top, then we took Rambla de Las Flores, mostly downhill, over to La Bajada. That stretch of road was sketchy, not in good shape and we were riding at speed and through shadows. La Bajada had a short little climb after the turn, then it was downhill to Encinitas Blvd, which has a couple of climbs that I led before dropping down to the turn onto Quail Gardens Dr. This was a gradual climb up to Leucadia Blvd, and we continued on as it dropped down pretty steeply to Saxony Rd. Right here to get to La Costa Ave, where we turned and headed toward the coast. Just past the freeway, Ray kicked it into high gear, and it was all I could do to keep up with him. We stopped for a break at the 7-Eleven just after turning onto PCH. Then we continued south toward Del Mar, I lagged behind getting out of the parking lot, so I had to work to catch up with the others. It was mostly Ray, Jed, Arnold, and a little bit of me leading into Encinitas and then Cardiff, and I didn't have too much push on that last little climb up into Solana Beach, so Arnold and Perse were out in front. A faster rider caught up with us around this point, and Jed got onto his wheel and rode away from the rest of us. I tried to keep pace but no luck, although I too separated from the other riders. We connected back up in Del Mar, except for Jed, and rode up and over to the turn onto Carmel Valley Rd. By this time, I was feeling tired, but I kept trying to stay near the leaders and help with setting the pace. Over to the 56 bike path, where our pace was fairly modest, only Arnold was pushing faster than I was riding. On the stretch of the bike path past Carmel Valley Rd, I started with a modest pace, then Ray and Arnold passed me and started pushing the speed. It got to a group of me, Ray, Arnold, Jed, and Rob, and I wasn't doing much leading, just trying to keep up with them. Rob dropped back, then Arnold and Jed got out ahead a little until near the end, where I dug deep, rode up to where they were and passed them, with Jed matching my pace. That push was all-out for me. We turned onto Camino del Sur and rode up to Carmel Valley Rd, turning right. Fritz had gotten out ahead, and Arnold and I rode together to catch up to him and go past. Arnold was in front and I was having trouble staying connected, but we caught the light at Black Mountain Rd and I was able to recover enough to give him a breather by riding out front to the top of the climb. Down to Dove Canyon Rd, turning right and waiting for the others to catch up. The last little climb up to Camino San Bernardo was short but painful, we turned left there and rode over to Lone Quail Rd, where the riders ahead of me missed the turn and left me solo riding back to the starting point. Left on Del Sur Ridge Rd and then right onto Paseo del Sur to get back. After a short break, I rode home, slowly, taking RB Rd down to W Bernardo Dr. I was close to 60 miles but couldn't gear myself to add any more distance to get to this mark. Legs ended up okay, but this ride pushed me to the limit a couple of times.
Avg speed = 16.4 mph. Total mileage = 59.5 mi
Bisikleta route avg speed = 17.2 mph
Avg power = 149 W. Weighted avg power = 178 W
Total elevation gain = 3280'
Avg heartrate = 129 bpm