Got up, legs were a little sore from the week's hiking, so I decided to take it generally easy on the ride. I took my old bike since my new one had a rear brake issue with the pads rubbing against the rotor. I rode through the neighborhood to RB Rd, then took the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood before heading over to the 4S Target to meet the others. A small group on this day, with these riders at the start: Jed, Kamal, Nel, Charlie, Eric, and Aaron. Because of the expected heat on this day, we decided to change the route to stay more on the coast, and I let Zac know, since he was supposed to meet us on the way. We headed down Camino del Sur to the 56 bike path and took it down to El Camino Real and beyond, to Sorrento Valley Rd, where the trail ends and we met Zac and Joey. I also saw Dan Winkle here, and we stopped and talked for a while before I continued on. Aaron left us at this point, intending to ride up Torrey Pines while we headed south down to the bike path that parallels I-5. We joined it around Sorrento Valley Blvd and took it up to Gilman Dr, turning there and riding through UCSD campus and down the hill to get to the Rose Canyon Bike Path. This is a nice one for the most part until it narrows, turning into the Rose Creek Bikeway, where it gets a little dicey whenever there are bikes coming the other way. We followed it down until it crossed over Rose Inlet in Mission Bay. This took us to Olney St, which we used to get to Balboa Ave, turning right and heading over to Soledad Mountain Rd. I tried to hang onto Zac's wheel on this climb and was successful for about 3/4 of the way before I couldn't keep up. Rode to the top of the climb and the turn onto La Jolla Scenic Dr. I waited for all the others and took pictures of them as they rode by. Kamal was dealing with a very squeaky front brake that slowed him down a lot, but he didn't want any help trying to fix it during the ride. We rode up to the top of Mt Soledad (it was still quite foggy at the top, not as much as we saw on the way up at times) and had a break there before heading back the way we came, this time staying on La Jolla Scenic Dr until turning right onto Nautilus St. This time, the downhill was fast and fun, and we took this road all the way down to the coast. Zac led us through the La Jolla neighborhood streets until we got to Prospect St, where we rode through the village, crowded with people and cars, then up to Torrey Pines Rd. Up to this point, the sun stayed behind the clouds. We rode Torrey Pines Rd down to La Jolla Shores Dr, where we stopped at a gas station for another break. Continuing on La Jolla Shores Dr until, at Zac's suggestion, we turned on Calle del Oro and took this climb up to Torrey Pines Rd. It has a short, steep section, then it levels out and isn't too bad. On the climb, Zac and I talked to another rider, Paul, who was riding a vintage bike with down-tube shifters and was camping with his family up in Encinitas. Stayed on Torrey Pines Rd heading south and down the hill past the park (where Charlie stopped to get more water), then up to the turn onto Carmel Valley Rd. We waited for everybody to get there, then retraced our route back to the starting point. We had a decent, relatively slow pace line on the 56 bike path between Carmel Valley Rd and Camino del Sur. Kamal had dropped back by this time, his bike was really making noise and holding him back. Once we got to Camino del Sur, Zac and Joey headed south back home, while the rest of the riders retraced the way we came. I waited for Kamal, who ended up stopping and figuring out why his brake was binding, then fixing it. So he and I rode back to the starting point together. I rode home from there, it had started getting hot while I was waiting for Kamal, so I took it pretty easy, following Camino del Sur to RB Rd and then down to W Bernardo Dr. I was close to 70 miles and 4000' of climbing, so I stayed on W Bernardo Dr to the park before turning around and riding home from there. Legs held up well, and I felt some benefit from having been at elevation for the last 4 days, not sure if it was real or not.
Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 70.1 mi
Avg power = 121 W. Weighted avg power = 153 W
Total elevation gain = 4040'
Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo), 118 bpm (Fitbit)
I got home fairly late, had a little something to eat, then rested a bit before driving back down to REI to return the sleeping bag I rented for the backpacking trip. While down there, I stopped at NAPA auto parts and got some more motor oil as well as DOT 5.1 brake fluid for when I will bleed the hydraulic brakes on my bike and replace the fluid. After getting home, I rested some more, then had a nap before dinner. I talked with Rob Fogarty as well about how he was doing, then shared some pointers about how to clean and wax a new bike chain. Shared some of the details of the trip with Ann over dinner, and we talked at some length about the curious relationship between Joe and Cathie, as well as their unusual personalities. Then I went into the garage, took out the brake pads on the rear brake of my new bike, and used a Q-tip to wipe brake fluid around the edges of the piston, in an attempt to keep it from binding and allow it to retract when appropriate. It seemed to work after I put everything back together, Fingers crossed.
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