Checked my bike before riding to meet the others. I couldn't feel any drag from the brakes, but they were definitely noisy, so there was some friction between the rotors and pads. Headed over to Gideon's house and dropped off the hydraulic brake service stuff he let me borrow, then we rode over via a straight shot to the 4S Target. We had some very light sprinkles on the way, but they cleared up and never were an issue on this day. The riders were: Perse, Ray, Gideon, Fritz, Zac, Joey, Rob, Jed, a new Jed (he met the group during the memorial ride for Manny last weekend), Eric, Charlie, Sassan, Gio, Nel, Arnold, and Jhonar. It took a while to get started with such a large group. I was the designated pacemaker, so I ended up riding near or in the front the whole ride, trying to set a pace that most riders could follow without dropping. So I managed my effort consciously as well. Fairly simple route, down Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd. Then to El Apajo and over to Via de la Valle. Up that little climb, then Stud Loop over to Paseo Delicias, where we turned left and took it to Linea Cielo and then Lomas Santa Fe. The occasional attacks while I was trying to set the pace were frustrating, so I would let the leaders know to moderate their pace to keep us all more or less together. Down to the coast, turning right and heading north to Oceanside, with no rest stops along the way (fantastic!). We did a decent job managing the pace on the coast for the most part. Once we got into Oceanside, we rode over to Jed's house and stopped there for a break. He was a great host, with lots of snacks and drinks. As we were getting ready to leave, Eric discovered that he had a flat and found out that the tube he was carrying didn't have a long enough stem. Again, frustrating. He eventually got it repaired, and we retraced our route back to PCH and headed south. By this time, Joey, Zac, Sassan, and Fritz had already taken off, so our group size was reduced. Better control of the pace by me on the return leg, perhaps because the riders were a little more tired in the second half. When we got to Encinitas, we found out that Eric had had another flat, so Jhonar and Charlie had ridden back to help him out. The rest of us continued on, since it was getting late. We took a brief pit stop at Swami's Beach for bathroom breaks before continuing on. We stayed on PCH through Del Mar, turning left onto Carmel Valley Rd and heading over to the 56 bike path. Again, no breaks. Up the path to Camino del Sur and back to the starting point from there. Several riders stayed with the leaders the whole way, including me and Arnold in front with Gio not too far behind, then Ray and Jed. Gio is definitely getting to be a strong rider, he has improved quite a bit in the last several months. Later, we found out that Eric had yet another flat and had to abandon, so Charlie and Jhonar were riding back to the starting point (they hadn't yet made it by the time we finished), and Charlie was going to pick up Eric's car and go get him. Frustrating day for Eric, for sure, but we have all had those days. Gideon and I rode back, not super fast, still trying to maintain the steady pace that I used in the rest of the ride. I kept going on RB Rd when he turned, and I took the W Bernardo Dr route home. My legs were fine at the end, I still had gas left in the tank. Think I'm fairly ready for next Saturday.
Avg speed = 17.0 mph. Total mileage = 74.4 mi
Bisikleta route avg speed = 17.2 mph
Avg power = 159 W. Weighted avg power = 177 W
Total elevation gain = 3390'
Avg heartrate = 123 bpm
In the late afternoon, we drove down to Alexandras Mexican Restaurant in Carlsbad for happy hour. It was underwhelming. Then we headed into downtown Carlsbad and had dinner at the Coyote Bar & Grill after walking around the village a little bit. There was an R&B band playing, they were decent but needed a guitarist. We danced for quite a while after dinner, until the band went on their first break, then we drove home.
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