Ray had planned a big ride for us on this day, to help Arnold prepare for his planned ride up Haleakala when he goes to Maui in early March. It was colder at the start than previous days, but I wore the right number of layers. I tried to use my new cheap road shoes, but the cleats they came with are for Look pedals. I headed through the neighborhood to RB Rd, then took the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. As usual, we were late starting, Francis and Gio were both pretty late. Rob showed up, not to ride but to give Fritz his jersey and to take his picture with us. He is a ways off from riding with us again. On this day, there were the following riders at the start: Ray, Arnold, Jed, Fritz, Francis, Gio, and Cam. We headed over to Paseo del Sur and took it to Del Sur Ridge Rd, turning left there and then right onto Nicole Ridge Rd to get to Camino San Bernardo. I was leading the way for most of the first part of this ride. We rode over to Dove Canyon Rd and took it down to Carmel Valley Rd. I pushed the pace a little bit on the climb up to Black Mountain Rd, and only Cam could stay with me. We rode down to Camino del Sur and waited there for the others to catch up. Then it was to the 56 bike path, with me leading out for most of the way. I trailed on the 56 bike path segment, following the others to get to El Camino Real. Originally, Ray had us riding up Carmel Country Rd, but I was worried that we were already including a lot more elevation gain on this ride than usual, so we took an easier, shorter route to get to Carmel Mountain Rd, turning right there and then left onto Vista Sorrento Pkwy, riding downhill to Sorrento Valley Blvd. We used this road to get over to the bike path along the west of I-5. Here, I started up the climb at a slower pace, and Cam and Fritz led out. I followed them up and we all raced to the top of the first climb. It was a slower pace on the second bit, taking it up to Pepper Canyon Dr and using this road to get to Gilman Dr. Francis and I were out in front here for a bit, then I dropped the hammer and pulled away, pushing harder than usual on the downhill section taking us to the top of the Rose Canyon bike path. I stayed in the middle of the pack on this next stretch, and Arnold was pushing pretty hard here. We rode to Balboa Ave, but I missed the turnoff on the bike path and had to stop and turn around. This dropped us right around Soledad Mountain Rd, which is what I thought we were climbing. But Ray had us on Pico St and Pacifica Dr instead. I hadn't been on this route, and it was really steep, with sustained sections of >15% and up to 18%. I powered up the climb, which dropped near the top to "only" 12% gradients for the last little bit. Up to the top and then down to where the next turn was going to be. I turned around and rode back up to the top to wait for everybody to get there. We turned on Amity St, losing a fair amount of the elevation we had gained. Left on Middleton Rd, then right on Middleton Way and left on Soledad Rancho Rd to get to Soledad Mountain Rd, where we were maybe a third of the way to the top. I just settled in to grind it out to the top, not putting in a huge effort but still gapping the rest of the riders. I stopped at the top to capture videos of the other riders finishing the climb and turning onto La Jolla Scenic Dr to get up to the cross on Mt Soledad. I waited for Gio to get there, then he and I rode up to meet the others for a break. This was our long break, since there were porta-potties and water. Romeo met us here and rode with us for a while. We headed back down the hill using Via Capri, not my favorite road. I rode the brakes for most of the way to Hidden Valley Rd, taking this down to Torrey Pines Rd, where we turned left, then right onto La Jolla Shores Rd (a quick stop there for some). We rode up to Calle de Oro, which Zac had shown us on a previous ride, turning right there. It has a fairly steep but short climb, and I set a PR here (4:28, 265 W, 148 bpm), getting out in front of the others again. After it flattened out and I got to an intersection, I waited for Fritz and Cam to get there, then the three of us rode together up to Torrey Pines Rd, where we waited for the others. After we gathered up, we rode up to the next intersection and stayed on Torrey Pines Rd. On this stretch, it was mostly me and Romeo setting the pace, and he was pushing it. I was able to keep up, but it was an effort. We stayed on Torrey Pines Rd, riding by the golf course, where there was a tournament going on (Genesis Invitational), meaning a lot of pedestrians and cars looking for parking. Fast down the hill and then up to Carmel Valley Rd. Ray's route had us continuing up, but we were in the process of turning, so we ended up taking Carmel Valley Rd over to El Camino Real, then climbing it into Del Mar Heights before descending onto the flats and getting over to San Dieguito Rd. Romeo had split from us by this time. Ray and Arnold took the descent pretty fast, and I had to push to catch up with them. On San Dieguito Rd, I organized a decent pace line, which held with all of the riders for the entire stretch. We kept going without stopping at the gas station, and got onto Three Witches. I started out at modest pace, intending to ride with the others, but they were all pretty gassed. There was another rider who paced me up the first climb, then I passed him and caught up with another couple of riders ahead of me. On the third climb, one of the riders hung with me, and we were pushing each other. Eventually, he ran out of gas and couldn't keep up when I accelerated near the top and left him behind. On this day, after the climbs we had done, I was pretty happy with my effort here, far from my PR but still respectable. I waited for the others to make the turn onto Camino del Sur. Cam and Arnold went ahead, while the rest of us started out together but strung out again based on the status of our legs. I was feeling fine and got out ahead without riding too hard. Still, I was happy to get back to Target, where I took a short break before heading home the new normal way, benefiting from an offshore breeze that helped push me along. Legs were fine at the end, tired and a little sore but no cramping.
Avg speed = 16.0 mph (16.2 mph from my program). Total mileage = 62.9 mi
Bisikleta route avg speed = 16.2 mph
Avg power = 157 W. Weighted avg power = 185 W
Total elevation gain = 4350' (4760' from my program)
Avg heartrate = 131 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 141 (145 from my program)
Training Load = 328
Intensity = 84%
Ann was at the Chocolate Festival when I got home. I was pretty hungry but felt better after eating a small lunch and snacking on some salty snacks. I watched a little TV and then fixed a minor issue with my cycling analysis program before inputting this blog entry. Quiet evening.
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