This was a good, non-standard ride. I got up really early with the plan to ride north on a route that ran parallel to I-15, then meet Ann on the way. Down by the park and across the lake via the pedestrian bridge, then behind the mall and through Kit Carson Park to get eventually to Escondido Blvd and then to Centre City Pkwy. I was feeling good and strong on the early sections of this ride, setting a PR for the stretch from Mission Ave to the turn for Hidden Meadows. The downhill section after that, all the way out to Camino del Rey, was fun and a welcome break from the little climbing. Then, the more serious climbing started, riding up to the level of the arch bridge over I-15 before another fun descent. I set a PR (11:06, 236 W, 146 bpm) on the climb over the freeway, even though I wasn't pushing it too hard, to save energy for later. Past the turnoff to the arch bridge was new territory for me on Strava. I stopped for a short break and ate a banana, then enjoyed about 2 miles of flat roads before the next climbing section. The Old 395 was on the west side of I-15 out to about mile 27.5, and there was 2 solid miles of climbing at 3-5% grade before crossing over the freeway to climb generally for another 2 miles. This was a big workout, probably the biggest one of the ride. Then the road dropped down a little bit to Rainbow, followed by another climb of around 3 miles, with some flatter sections mixed in, before the winding descent via Old 395 into southern Temecula. After the descent, I turned left onto Pechanga Pkwy and then left again onto Temecula Pkwy, which took me under the freeway to Old Town Front St. I texted Ann when I got to Old Town Temecula and tried to send her a picture, but it didn't get saved. The road turned into Jefferson Ave, which I followed all the way into downtown Murrieta, where I turned left onto Kalmia St and then right onto Washington Ave, which subsequently turned into Palomar St. I didn't realize it while I was riding, but there was a gradual gradient, probably averaging around 0.3-0.5%, all the way from Temecula to Lake Elsinore. It wasn't consistent, and there were some stretches that were flatter or even slightly downhill. I rode through the western part of Wildomar, nothing to see there, and turned onto Mission Trail to head into south Lake Elsinore. Road turned into Lakeshore Dr after crossing Diamond Dr, and then onto Main St. I had gotten a text from Ann saying she was leaving the house and wanted to meet me at 10:00, which was earlier than I had planned (she thought we were meeting the Humes at 11:00 instead of 11:30). So I rode up to I-15, called her to tell her where to meet me, then stopped the ride and rode back to 7-Eleven for a cold drink while I waited for her. This was a more challenging ride than I thought, and it was only after downloading the ride upon finishing it that I saw why I wasn't able to average 18-20 mph on the sections past Temecula that I thought were flat. The sun was just starting to get intense when I finished, so I believe I called it right when I stopped there. And my rear brake had started acting up again, which also slowed me down somewhat.
Avg speed = 15.7 mph. Total mileage = 55.2 mi
Avg power = 155 W. Weighted avg power = 175 W
Total elevation gain = 2820'
Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)
She picked me up from the 7-Eleven parking lot, then we drove up to Upland to meet Ed and Susan at the Butter Cafe. We stopped at a Von's (it was a circuitous route to get there) to get some beer for Ed and flowers for Susan. As usual, talking with them quickly felt natural. We heard more about Janet than about Eddie. Janet and Andy just bought a place (a 3rd floor in an old row house) in Washington, DC, and they appear to be doing well. Ed was full of stories about what he's been doing, and we talked a lot about CUMC and their plans to build a low-income housing unit on the south side of the property near Foothill Blvd. It's fraught. After brunch, Ann and I drove Ed over to the Maloof House in Upland to take a tour. Ed is a docent there, and he was entertaining, informative, and engaging in the tour, which took almost 2 hours. Then we drove back to their place in LaVerne, where Ed briefly showed me his workshop, which is pretty cool although not so good for airflow. In the evening, a bunch of Boosters came over to their house for dinner and conversation, and we had the chance to catch up with Ken and Donna, Bev Morse, Alex and Martha, Dave and Melania, Jenny Teresi and Wilma Ogle, and Curtis and Pearl. Again, the conversation was familiar without too many strained silences. All in all, a nice evening and a good ending to a very busy and rewarding day.
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