Got up and got ready for the Bisikleta ride. I was early enough in my preparations to leave a little bit early and get there before most of the riders showed up. Through the neighborhood, then the long way through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, including the little run up to the top of Four Gee Rd. When I got there, Charlie and Eric were already there, the others started showing up afterward. On this ride, which I mapped out, there were, at the start: Aaron, Arnold, Jed, Fritz, Charlie, Eric, Nel, and Rob (Fritz's friend). We headed on Camino del Sur to Dove Canyon Rd and took it down to Bernardo Center Dr, turning left there (we rarely do this) and climbing back up to Camino del Norte. Right there, taking it and Twin Peaks Rd over to Pomerado Rd. Just past the freeway, we stopped for Nel to put some more air in his tires, and Aaron kept going, so we were 8 riders from then on. Right on Pomerado Rd, and we took it to the top. I was leading most of the way during this ride, wanted to make sure we didn't get lost on the route. On the climb, I went all in, pushing myself to the limit (or very close to it). Set a PR of 5:33 (283 W, 158 bpm) on this climb, which turned out to be the fastest time of the day. Arnold's time was second fastest. We regrouped and then rode down the other side of Pomerado Rd to Miramar Rd, taking it all the way to Eastgate Mall. The road conditions in the bike lane were bad, not awful but really bumpy. We stopped for our break at the gas station at the corner there, then continued on Eastgate Mall over to Genesee Dr, turning right. On the climb up Genesee to Torrey Pines Rd, Fritz put in a big effort and stayed with me to the top, which was impressive, since he is still getting his riding legs back after his trip to the Philippines. We paused at the top of the Torrey Pines downhill to make sure everybody was okay with doing the loop back up the inside route. They were, some reluctantly, so we rode down and then back up on the inside. I put in a big effort here as well but was 10 sec slower than my PR (where I was riding alongside Sassan and he was pushing me to go hard). Still, I had a good result. Down the hill again, then up to Carmel Valley Rd with a right turn there and another right onto Sorrento Valley Rd to get to the new beginning of the 56 bike path. They did a good job connecting these paths, it avoids a lot of traffic on Carmel Valley Rd by the freeway and highway. Up the bike path to the second cul de sac, where I had us head up Old Carmel Valley Rd, which has a >10% gradient for a short distance. Arnold sprinted up that grade and I had to work hard to catch him on the continuing gradient after it slacked off. We headed over to Del Mar Heights Rd and turned right, taking it up to Carmel Valley Rd, where we turned left. We stayed on this road all the way back to Dove Canyon Rd. On the climbing sections, Arnold was able to hang with me, and I was going nearly full gas, although I could feel my legs tiring out. Then we took the downhill at high speed, it was exhilarating, and waited for the others at the turn. Back to the starting point by riding up to Camino San Bernardo, turning left and taking it over to Nicole Ridge Rd, where we turned right and rode to Del Sur Ridge, a left turn there. That took us to Paseo del Sur behind the Target, and we rode into the parking lot from there. I waited until everybody was back, then I started heading home, taking the new normal route up to Camino San Bernardo, over to RB Rd, then down to W Bernardo Dr and home from there. Legs felt fine at the end, tired but no soreness. As a matter of fact, I didn't have any back or neck pain, and I didn't experience any numbness in my hands. So, a good day in that regard.
Avg speed = 16.8 mph (GPX Program). Total mileage = 54.6 mi
Bisikleta route avg speed = 16.9 mph
Avg power = 159 W. Weighted avg power = 185 W
Total elevation gain = 3590'
Avg heartrate = 129 (Coospo), 124 bpm (Fitbit)
As soon as I got home, I grabbed a quick shower, got dressed, and then Ann and I headed over to Old Poway Park for the SD Folk Heritage Society Folk Festival. It wasn't as crowded to park as I thought it would be, Ann was driving while I ate something on the way. We stopped to get money on the way, which slowed us down a little bit. So we saw the tail end of an act called Scarborough, featuring two women - Ashley Norton from Lady Psychiatrist Booth, and Sharon Katz - who played Simon & Garfunkel covers. At the end of their set, they played a couple of original songs, and we recognized the one that Ashley Norton played from the Adams Avenue Unplugged set. Then we listened to Hot Pstromi, which had a klezmer violin player and a decent singing female lead, along with Fred Benedetti, who we've seen before. It wasn't really my kind of music, and I fell asleep during one of their longer songs. The final act we saw was Lee Coulter, a singer-songwriter from Australia who was very engaged and had some good songs. I would see him again, will have to be on the lookout for when he shows up at local venues. After his set we drove home, I dropped Ann off and drove over to Joe's house to pick up our camp stove for the Mt Laguna camping trip. They got new den and dining room furniture and did a major downstairs (and garage, in progress) cleanup. Joe showed me his proposed route for our backpacking trip, and it sounds like it will be a challenge for me. Need to start walking around the neighborhood with my backpack carrying weights. From there, I drove over to the Thrift Store on Valley Pkwy and was lucky enough to find a (hopefully) working crock pot in good condition for $7. I stopped and got gas as well, then headed home. In the evening, Ann went out with Emily and Caleb for hot pot for Mother's Day dinner, and I cleaned up the kitchen, watched a little TV, then loaded up the car with our camping gear. So, it was a busy day.
