Tuesday, January 30, 2024

01-30-2024 Ride

Got up and got ready for a longer training ride in preparation for the upcoming century rides.  That included changing out my front tire inner tube, which has a very slow leak, and mapping out the proposed route using RideWithGPS.  I took the camera with me and used it to capture the Torrey Pines downhill (at least, I hope, haven't checked the video yet).  Headed down Aguamiel Rd to W Bernardo Dr, then up to RB Rd and over to Dove Canyon Rd.  It was in the low 40's at the house, but it warmed up quickly into the 50's by the time I got to Alva Rd.  Rode over to Carmel Valley Rd and took the climbs up to Black Mountain Rd, not at a fast pace, knowing that I had a lot of miles to get in on this day.  Rode Black Mountain Rd over to Kearny Villa Rd.  So far, this was a good training ride, since the uphill grades were fairly mild.  Turned onto Miramar Rd, and on this stretch I made good time, it seemed like I had the benefit of a tailwind, but I looked at the elevation profile and saw that it's net downhill for about 7 miles until the climb on La Jolla Village Dr (which Miramar Rd turns into) up to Torrey Pines Rd.  There was a little stretch on La Jolla Village Dr, in the bike lane, where they had cut ridges into the road, and when I hit it at speed it was scary, since the bike was shaking so hard that I couldn't hit the brakes.  I made it through, but it certainly gave me an adrenaline rush.  After I got to the flats by UCSD, I stopped for a short break, eating a granola bar.  Then it was over by the hospital and down the descent, which I filmed, as mentioned above.  There were still sand flies in the air on the flats after the descent, pretty gross.  I took the climb into Del Mar at moderate pace, was trying to catch up to a rider ahead of me.  Down, then up into Solana Beach, where I got some practice on my flat grade pace.  Through Cardiff and into Encinitas.  At Encinitas Blvd, a rider passed me and said something about last one up being a rotten egg or something like that.  I caught and passed him on the little climb, then he passed me on the flats and I tried to stay with him.  He started to get away from me, then slowed down.  When I caught up with him, I recognized it was Romeo!  So we decided to ride together into Oceanside, although I told him not to wait for me.  He set a mean pace, and I was working hard to keep up with him, occasionally taking the lead.  Through Carlsbad and into Oceanside, where he decided to keep riding with me when I turned onto Oceanside Blvd.  He lives not too far from the 76, near an In 'n Out by College Blvd.  Once we turned away from the coast, the general grade started going up, but it didn't seem too bad, generally staying in the 1-3% range.  Even so, I was working hard to keep up with Romeo, who hasn't been riding much lately (it didn't show).  He turned off at Santa Fe Ave, and I definitely slowed down after that.  By this time, the street name had changed to Bobier Dr, and I stayed on it until turning right onto E Vista Way.  Thankfully, I had the benefit of a downhill section, and near the bottom I stopped for another short break, including taking a Gu packet.  After turning left onto Civic Center Dr, I had a little climb and not too much energy, then a longer climb after the next left turn onto Santa Fe Ave.  That one really wore me out.  Then it was a little downhill to the intersection by Buena Creek Rd.  I knew this stretch well, including the little climbs until dropping down to Mission Rd.  Not too far from here, I turned left at Las Posas Rd and rode up to Borden Rd.  This gentle climb wasn't too bad (probably had a tailwind to help me), but the climb up to the top of Borden Rd was rough.  I made it and kept on going, suffering through the little climbs I had to deal with. I stopped by the park at Woodland Pkwy and ate my last food, two dates.  Not too long afterward, I turned left onto Country Club Ln and got an Replenish bottle at the 7-Eleven at the corner.  A brief pause there before continuing on.  Thankfully, there weren't too many uphill sections on this road, which I took back past the turn to Joe's house and then a right onto Iris Ln to get over to Centre City Pkwy.  The general downhill heading into and through downtown Escondido was most welcome.  I rode over to Citracado Pkwy, then took the route through Kit Carson Park to the back side of the mall.  To Sunset Dr and over to the bike trail under the bridge.  By this time, the wind had definitely picked up, coming from the southwest, so I had to ride into it for the rest of the ride.  Slow going up the last two little climbs, but my legs held out.  Was glad to be done and overall pleased with my effort level.  I pushed it too hard staying with Romeo while we were riding together and suffered with less energy on the latter third of the ride.  Will need to pace myself and fuel up better on the Palm Springs ride.

Avg speed = 17.0 mph. Total mileage = 77.4 mi
Avg power = 150 W. Weighted avg power = 171 W
Total elevation gain = 3680'
Avg heartrate = 132 bpm

Not a lot done in the afternoon other than catching up on my blog entries from the last several days.

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