Got up to get ready for the Bisikleta ride, which involved significant amounts (at least for this group) of climbing for a change. I was a little concerned about how I'd do, but it all ended well. Through the neighborhood up to RB Rd, then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood to get to Camino del Sur, where I turned right and headed into the 4S Target parking lot via Garretson St. On this ride, which took a while to get going, there were: Arnold, Rob, Jamil (new used Trek Emonda, really pretty), Kamal, Maher (using Kamal's old 10-speed bike, which he is considering buying, only had a 25-tooth gear in back), Jed, Ray, Fritz, Charlie, Eric, Robert and Maya (Fritz's friends, Robert had the Specialized e-bike before he sold it and bought a nice Pinarello, Maya rides an e-bike), Zac and Gio (these two joined us later). We headed down Camino del Sur, and I was in the lead for much of this first section. Felt pretty good on the sustained efforts on this ride, for the most part. We headed down to the 56 bike path and turned left. Just after this turn, we stopped so I could help Rob replace on of the batteries on his paddle shifter. It went quickly, and we were rolling again soon. We rode up to Black Mountain Rd, with me in the lead again, Jed and Fritz not too far behind. We gathered there, then turned to head down Black Mountain Rd. Down the hill and over to Mercy Rd, where we turned left and climbed up to the freeway. Jamil had ridden ahead, but I was in the lead of the others on this climb, putting some distance on them on the steeper, later stretches. Just past the freeway is where we met up with Gio and Zac, with Jamil waiting with them. We gathered here, but I didn't notice that we didn't have everybody when we continued on. Eric and I were in or near the front on the next gradual climbing stretch up Scripps-Poway Pkwy. On the downhill toward Angelique St, I hit a pothole and lost a water bottle, but I didn't get any flats, thankfully. I stopped to retrieve my water bottle and then followed the others down to Pomerado Rd, where we turned right. I met up with the group and then headed back to the intersection to flag down the later riders to make the turn. It took Fritz a while to get there, and when he did he let me know that Maya had crashed on the Black Mountain Rd downhill. She had some road rash, and her bike took some damage. So she and Robert were waiting for a ride to pick them up and take them back. The rest of the group decided to ride up Pomerado Rd to Stonebridge Pkwy. Ray, Zac, Fritz, and I made up the last group to make the climb. We turned left there and rode some rolling hills until we got to the last climb up to the top of the road, which is about 2 miles long and steady, not ever super steep. I led for most of the way on this climb, with Arnold right on my wheel, and then near the top Zac came out of nowhere and passed me. I put in a big effort to catch him but could only close the gap a little bit. So, Zac is back on form, although he's not in tip-top cycling condition yet. Eric also put in a good climb on this stretch. We all gathered at the top, where there is an entrance to Mission Trails Regional Park. Then we headed down Via Santa Pradera (some nice houses in this little subdivision) until we could get onto Beeler Canyon Rd. This initial stretches of this road are super steep downhill, >15% at times, so we all rode the brakes down this stretch. It was a good move, since there was a gate across the road that would have been a disaster to come upon at high speed. We walked our bikes around it, then rode down this road until it turned into Creek Rd, which intersects with Pomerado Rd. Had our single extended rest stop at the gas station on the corner of Pomerado Rd and Scripps-Poway Pkwy. It was starting to warm up by this time. During the break, Arnold took me aside and asked me if I was willing to sit on the board of directors for Bisikleta. I was pretty happy and a little surprised to be asked, and I told him yes. Will see what it all entails, but it will be good to have a more formal voice in setting the actions and vision for the club. After we started back up, we rode up Scripps-Poway Pkwy, which I've done a bunch of times in the past, but I think only once with Bisikleta. I led out on the initial climb, as I think others were conserving their energy for the Purple Monster climb coming up. A group of riders were relatively close to me, and Romeo had joined us by this time, riding up Pomerado Rd to meet us from Oceanside. Jed was near the front, and Zac was also around there. We took the downhill to the bottom of the climb pretty fast and then were onto it. Not too long after that, Zac rode out ahead of me and set an aggressive pace for me to try and hang on to. I was able to stay with him for about 2/3 of the way up before he started to pull away and I didn't have a response. He finished the climb in around 9:40, and I was at 10:26. I don't think any of the others were faster than we were. I think I put just about everything I had into that climb, was glad when it was done. We rode down to the 67 and did a U-turn, riding up the little climb to the crest of the climb, where Romeo joined us. It's not often that I am able to ride a section faster than Romeo, so that was pretty gratifying. We waited there quite a while, eventually rode back down to the intersection, where the rest of the riders were waiting for Jamil and Maher. We sent them ahead, and Kamal and I waited for the last two. It turns out that Ray had had a sidewall blowout and had to take an Uber, and Jamil and Maher waited with him for a bit before continuing on. We headed downhill, and I watched my speed to keep in control. On the little climb to the water tower after the downhill, I got out ahead, then I waited for the others, flagging Jamil and Kamal on while I waited for Maher. He and I rode back down to Pomerado Rd together, where the others were waiting for us. A very short break there, then we continued on Pomerado Rd over to RB Rd. I think I was in the lead for almost the entire stretch here, until Romeo passed me on the downhill and I didn't respond. He kept on Pomerado Rd at the turn onto RB Rd, while we headed back to the starting point. I led the way on this stretch until Kamal and Jamil came up and were in the lead for a period until I caught and passed them. Through the intersections and past the freeway, where Ann drove up in the car and said hi to us. On the last climb up to Matinal Rd, Rob passed me and I matched his pace until he slowed and I passed him. Then I led the remaining riders (Maher had turned off at Twin Peaks Rd, while Kamal turned at Dove Canyon Rd) back to the starting point. In the latter part of the ride, I felt a few twinges from my right quad, but they didn't turn into anything serious. On the ride home, I stayed on Camino del Norte up to Camino San Bernardo, then took it over to RB Rd, heading home via W Bernardo Dr. Although my average speed wasn't so high on this ride, I felt good about my effort overall. No neck or lower back pain to speak of, and my legs felt fine at the end.
Avg speed = 15.7 mph. Total mileage = 55.8 mi
Avg power = 150 W. Weighted avg power = 181 W
Total elevation gain = 4300'
Avg heartrate = 138 bpm (Coospo), 131 bpm (Fitbit)
In the afternoon, I worked on my front brakes in an attempt to get them fully functional. I had remembered that one of the hydraulic pistons didn't appear to be extending when I changed the brake pads, so I removed the pads, used a clamp to hold the functional piston in, and engaged the brake lever. The other piston came out, and after that I used the block in my brake bleed kit to push both pistons back in. Then I put the pads in and loosened the bolts to try and center the brake pads on the rotor. Minor success, but there was still a little bit of noise. I'll see how they work on my next ride.
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