Well, this was a long day in the saddle. I got my stuff ready and headed over to Joe's house to meet him around 8:45. I left early enough to give me plenty of time to get there, and I ended up using that time to put some more miles in. Over Lake Hodges via the pedestrian bridge, then on BVP up to Sunset Dr, turning left and taking it up to Juniper St. I stayed on this road all the way into town, turning right on 2nd Ave and taking it up to Ash St, where I turned left and rode through some neighborhoods to Lincoln Ave. Right there, riding up to El Norte Pkwy, where I turned left and rode down to Broadway. I could feel the effects of the previous day's ride, but my legs still felt pretty solid. On Broadway, I headed north and turned left onto Village Rd to climb up to Joe's place on Roundtree Glen. He was home, getting changed and ready for the ride. The weather was ideal for riding. I switched out my full-finger gloves and took my headband off here. Then we headed up and over to Country Club Ln to get to Centre City Pkwy. We rode up to Deer Springs Rd (Joe's idea), and I was watching my pace, keeping it steady but not pushing too hard. Then we rode down the hill and over to Twin Oaks Valley Pkwy. Joe wanted our pace to be "leisurely", so I didn't drive as hard on the slight downhill stretch as I otherwise might have. We turned right on Richmar Ave and used it to get over to Mission Rd via Marcos St. I could feel the headwind, but it wasn't a problem. We rode up to Las Posas Rd, turning left and heading over to San Marcos Blvd, turning right. Down the hill and up the little climb after that, then we turned right (Joe's suggestion) on Business Park Dr, then left on Lionshead Ave. Over to Melrose Dr, where we turned right and rode to Faraday Dr. This road roughly parallels Palomar Airport Rd but with lots less traffic. It does have a short stretch that's a pretty steep (9%) climb, but after powering over that, most of the rest of the road was flat or downhill all the way to Cannon Rd. We turned left there and had to climb for about half a mile to recover some of the elevation before descending to PCH. Then we headed south, keeping a steady pace but not one that was really stressing either of us. We rode together for the most part on this section. I was paying attention to how my legs were feeling, and I noticed a little bit of discomfort in my left quad. It never really amounted to anything and after a while I didn't notice it any more. When we got to South Carlsbad State Beach, Joe showed me a gate where we could get through to use the restroom. He also took the opportunity to adjust the insoles in his shoes so they were more comfortable. We talked about routes during this break and decided to ride toward Torrey Pines and allow the distance to go beyond his original target of 60 miles. So that's what we did. I got separation from him on the climbing sections and waited for him to catch up. This was the pattern through the coastal cities and into Del Mar. Then we dropped down to the coast and started climbing the outside route of Torrey Pines Rd. I was feeling better than I expected and had a pretty good climb (given that I was 40 miles into my ride), posting my second-fastest time of 8:10 (my current PR is 7:52). It took Joe a lot longer to get to the top, to the point where I was checking to see if he had had a mechanical or a flat. He got there eventually, then he really screamed down the hill, getting pretty far ahead of me. I caught up with him on the climb back to Carmel Valley Rd, where he was starting to show the effects of tired legs, just spinning at high cadence in low gear. We turned here and stopped at Bird Rock Roasters for coffees, a bagel (Joe), and a break. Throughout the ride, perhaps starting a little late, I was eating something fairly regularly. By this time, I had eaten a banana (in two separate stops) and a Clif Bar (at the top of the Torrey Pines climb). We continued on our ride after the break, heading up to the 56 bike path and taking it up to Carmel Valley Rd, turning left there. This route is easier, and both of us were looking for easier by this time. We stopped at the 7-Eleven not too far from Camino del Sur for Joe to use the restroom. I think this is where I had my Gu packet. Then we climbed up to Camino del Sur and turned left. My legs were still holding out pretty well on these little climbs. I wasn't pushing too hard, but I could count on them pushing me forward. Joe was slow but steady, falling behind now on all the stretches except the downhills. We followed the traditional route back to W Bernardo Dr. Before the RB Rd downhill, I stopped to wait for Joe and had my last food, an Aldi granola bar. Lots of downhill pretty much all the way to the freeway, and we again used the pedestrian bridge to get across Lake Hodges. We rode behind the mall and used the little trail through Kit Carson Park to get eventually to Escondido Blvd. Unfortunately, Joe lost his balance on the sharp turn off Beethoven Dr and fell onto his bad shoulder. He was hurting through the rest of the ride, but it didn't look like there was any structural damage. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Over to Citracado Pkwy to get onto Centre City Pkwy, then through Escondido, where Joe was really slow. I tried to dial my pace back some but couldn't slow down enough comfortably to match his speed. We made it back to Country Club Ln, then Joe decided to get up to 70 miles for his ride, so he rode up the little climb and so did I. My legs held out fine, but I slower on this climb than the first time. Then we turned around and rode back down to Country Club Ln and back to Joe's house the normal way. He talked me into staying for a beer and conversation, and that was pretty nice. Then I got back on the bike, rode down Village Rd to Iris Ln and over to Centre City Pkwy. Thankfully, the ride back through Escondido was either flat or slightly downhill. With that said, my legs still felt okay, although my stomach was telling me I needed more food. Home the normal way over the freeway from there, and the last two little climbs were slow but not painful. Was glad to get off the bike. My butt was sore from 150 miles of riding over the weekend. But my shoulder held out pretty well. It would complain a little bit every once in a while, but it was never more than a mild annoyance, and it didn't get worse late in the ride, as I had feared. My Fitbit lasted 84 of the 94 miles before the battery died, so the heartrate data aren't fully complete.
Avg speed = 16.1 mph. Total mileage = 94.2 mi
Avg power = 137 W. Weighted avg power = 159 W
Total elevation gain = 4320'
Avg heartrate = 128 bpm
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