Woke up earlier than usual, don't know why. Maybe it was the caffeine I had the previous day. I got ready for the bike ride and, just as I was leaving, noticed that my Wahoo was running out of charge. So I took a cable with me, left a little early, and pushed the pace a little bit to get there sooner. Through the neighborhood, could feel some tightness in my groin and shoulders from the previous day's hike. Up to RB Rd and through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, riding up to Ralphs Ranch Rd before turning there and taking the typical route from that point. I didn't start my Fitbit until I was about 4.7 miles into the ride. When I got to the 4S Target, Ray and Perse were already there, and Perse let me plug in my Wahoo to his car power. On this ride, there were (at the start): Ray, Perse, Nel, Fritz, Jed, Robert (Fritz's friend), Zac, Justin (Zac's riding friend), Arnold, Eric, Francis, and Cam (it had been a while since he rode with us). We took a standard route, out Camino del Sur to San Dieguito Rd to El Camino Real to Via de la Valle to the coast. From the start, Zac (who rode from his home in west Mira Mesa) was pushing the pace, and it became infectious. Lots of people attacking all the way to the bottom of Three Witches, where we slowed to regroup before continuing. Somewhere before the turn Aaron joined the group as well. We had a decent pace line on the next stretch. At the next turn, we heard that Robert had had a flat, so Fritz and Zac rode back to help. Robert ended up turning around (he was running tubeless). After we turned onto Via de la Valle, Romeo and his friend Ed joined us, having ridden from Oceanside to meet up with us on the route. Justin is also a strong rider, and he took turns in the lead in the early part of this ride. After the turn onto PCH heading north, we had a brief break, then we started out at a pretty normal pace, maybe a little slow. That didn't last, as Francis led the first attack and a bunch of riders sprinted into a lead group. I was able to hang onto this group and lead at times. Around Cardiff, Zac latched onto the wheel of an e-bike rider, so we cruised behind him at 25 mph for a good while before getting into Encinitas. The group kept up its high pace all the way into the outskirts of Carlsbad. We stopped for our longer break at the Starbuck's, and by this time the sun had come out, so it was going to be warmer on the return. I held an average speed over 20 mph at the turnaround point. The high speed group continued on the return, with Zac leading the charge and me (and others) trying to stay on his wheel. Once we got into Encinitas, Aaron, Arnold, Jed, I, and some others turned at Encinitas Blvd and took that short, steep little climb by the Moonlight Beach parking lot at speed, that one hurt. Aaron and Arnold had an all-out sprint on the little climb up into Solana Beach, and my legs were toast by then, I had no chance of keeping up with them. We regrouped at the turn back onto Via de la Valle, and I ended up leading the group over to El Camino Real. The paceline on the return route of San Dieguito Rd was more ragged, with only short stays in the front and not everybody understood the value of the rotation approach. Another stop at the gas station before the base of Three Witches, where it was starting to get hot. When I got off my bike there, my left leg cramped up and it took me a moment to stretch it out. On the climb, I had no chance of keeping up with Aaron and Zac, so I settled into a milder, survival speed and paced Arnold up the hill right behind me. Even still, it was a real workout at the top, where I was running out of energy and had to hang on to finish the climb in decent style. On the stretch back to the meet-up point, Aaron and Zac again distanced the rest of us, but I put distance between me and the others as well. Aaron slowed down near the end, so I put in a big effort, closed the gap, and passed him before the turn into the parking lot. Felt good about having enough left to make that happen at the end of a tough ride. Then I rode down to Marco's Pizza, following the now standard route to Camino San Bernardo and over to RB Rd, then down to W Bernardo Dr. I wasn't in the mood for pizza, but the soda I drank really hit the spot. It was a nice gathering, a number of the riders showed up. When I left, I wanted to get past a metric century, so I rode down the hill on W Bernardo Dr and to the park before turning around and riding back up Aguamiel Rd. That last little climb also really hurt, and I was gassed at the end.
Avg speed = 19.7 mph (my analysis program). Total mileage = 62.7 mi
Bisikleta route avg speed = 20.4 mph
Avg power = 163 W. Weighted avg power = 187 W
Total elevation gain = 2260'
Avg heartrate = 142 bpm (Coospo !), 121 bpm (Fitbit, ?)
After I got home, I took a shower (felt great) and had a light lunch (wasn't that hungry). Quiet afternoon for the most part. I finished cleaning the chain for my old bike and put it in the heated wax bath for an hour or so. Removed it and left it to cool down overnight. Ann and I watched the movie Yesterday in the evening before it went off Netflix. I really enjoyed the movie the second time, it's completely unbelievable but has a sweet premise and redemption at the end.
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