Got up at 5:30, had some oatmeal for breakfast, then gathered up my stuff for the ride with Pat's group in Irvine. I had already put my bike stuff in the car the previous evening. I updated my blog from the previous day as well. We were on the road by about 6:45,and we ran into some drizzle and then real rain on the way up. It started to clear as we got closer. We met Pat and two other rider's - Anders and Mark - by Irvine Bicycles at the corner of Irvine Center Dr and Sand Canyon Ave. Got going a little after 8, it was chilly at the start because I just had a short-sleeve jersey on. We headed out Irvine Center Dr to Barranca Pkwy, turning left and riding to Alton Pkwy, where we took another left. This was a fairly gradual climb of 2.7 miles, and Mark took off. I tried to stay with him but couldn't keep up that pace, so I dropped back and kept up a good pace myself. I started to close the gap as he slowed down, intentionally, before our next turn right onto Portola Pkwy. Waited for the others there, then continued, road turned into Santa Margarita Pkwy. Stayed on it for a while before turning right onto Avenida Empresa, then another right onto Antonio Pkwy. We stayed on this road for a good long time, initially downhill, then more climbing started. There was a 3 mile climb that I started out leading before watching Mark, who nearly always climbs in his big chainring, just leave me in the dust. I had the fastest time of the day for this segment, Mark apparently didn't post his ride publicly. At some point, this road turned into Avenida La Pata, and it had a 0.6 mile kicker averaging over 8%, with some steeper pars in there. I hung with Mark on this steep climb, and we waited for the others after the turn onto Calle del Cerro. Left onto Avenida Vista Montana, we were all riding together here. Left on Plaza Flora and right on El Circulo, turns into Bolivia, then a left on Del Dios, taking a path that led us to the Rancho San Clemente Ridgeline Trail. This recently paved trail led us, with increasingly sharp gradients, up to a water tower by the heights point in San Clemente. We took a break there, I ate a banana, and the we headed down the other side of the trail, very steep, with a gate at the bottom. Right on Avenida Salvador, taking a steep descent that turned into Avenida Presidio and the Calle Frontera. Just past the Avenida Vista Hermosa intersection, it climbed back up for a short, steep pitch, then leveled off before we turned left to stay on Calle Frontera, which turned into Calle Juarez as we descended further. Left on Avenida Vaquero, sweeping around and still descending. At the bottom, I got out in front and lost the others, but found them after a short backtrack. Left on Camino Capistrano and over top PCH. We rode on the highway back toward Irvine for a while, not much of a shoulder and at high speed. We had a tailwind helping us along, and Pat was cruising at high speed while we followed. This isn't my strong suit, riding the flats at consistently high power. Not too long after, we turned off and rode through the parking lots by Capistrano Beach Park, stopping at one point for a biobreak. Past Doheny State Beach and over to Dana Point Harbor Dr, familiar from my ride with Charlie and Pat. We turned on Golden Lantern St and climbed that little climb together before turning left onto Del Prado Ave. This took us back to PCH, where we turned and rode all the way into Laguna Beach, again at fairly high speed. At one point I dropped my chain and got behind the others, but they waited for me. We continued on, turning right on Nyes St and then immediately left on Highland Way for that super steep little climb, had to be over 15%. Alta Vista Way to Glenneyre St, then Calliope St to Catalina St, then Thalia St to stay on Catalina St, Legion St to Through St, getting us to 3rd St in downtown Laguna Beach. It was pretty crowded, but we didn't have much problem. There is a super steep, short downhill pitch around there that was sketchy to go down, heavy brakes all the way and stopped cars, with no margin for error. Then we got onto Laguna Canyon Rd for the ride out of town. I was a little concerned that the climb out would be tough, but the gradient was shallower that I thought and we had a tailwind pushing us along. So we made really good time on this stretch, riding together in single file. We turned at one point to stay on Laguna Canyon Rd, and this took us to Waterworks Way, left there and a right on Odyssey to get back to the starting point parking lot. I was a little surprised that my average speed wasn't higher, since we really rode fast while on PCH and Laguna Canyon Rd. Still, it was an excellent ride and a real workout. These guys are serious riders, I was happy to be able to hang with them. Anders didn't join us for lunch at Left Coast Brewery, but Mark did, along with Ann and another rider Neil who the others knew.
Avg speed = 16.5 mph. Total mileage = 55.5 mi
Avg power = 152 W. Weighted avg power = 190 W
Total elevation gain = 3620'
Avg heartrate = 130 bpm (Coospo), 132 bpm (Fitbit)
After lunch, we headed back to Pat's house and played with Cooper for a while, then went out on an hourlong walk at a slower pace, the three of us. When we got back, Pat headed over to church to serve as an usher, and we chilled out. Then we went to an Italian restaurant in Irvine for dinner. It was okay, a little pricey but not too bad. Pat insisted on paying for dinner (we had paid for lunch, but it was a lot less expensive). All in all, a nice day.
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