Woke up after a good night's sleep (<>) and went for an hourlong walk (talked to Ben on the way), to the west side of the park and then on trails down to the pedestrian bridge and over before returning, to get most of my daily steps in early. After I got back, I had a little time for breakfast, and I also shaved and patched a couple of inner tubes, then I got ready for a bike ride and lunch with Joe. Rode over, the normal way, to the Via Rancho Park n Ride, got there early for a 10:30 meet-up. He showed up and got ready, then we took off. Up Via Rancho Pkwy, taking it pretty easy on legs that were feeling the effects of the previous two days. We turned left onto Lake Dr and enjoyed the short, steep downhill and subsequent ride closer to the lakeshore. The little climb up Rancho Dr to get to Del Dios Hwy was steep, I saw 14% gradient on my Wahoo. After we made the turn, I pushed the pace a little bit to give myself some separation from Joe so I wouldn't have to worry about him on the descent, which has been tricky for me lately. This time, it was fine. I pulled my sleeves down and probably benefited from riding into a slight headwind that slowed me down. No front wheel instability and I didn't have to brake as much as previously. I kept going across the flats and the little ascent to the high point on the outskirts of RSF. Stopped there to wait for Joe, then we continued on together on Paseo Delicias until turning onto VdlV. This was another nice little downhill with sweeping curves to navigate. Around this time, he mentioned that he had to pee, so I started looking for a place to stop. Thought we could use the Porta Potties at the fair parking lot off El Camino Real, but the gates were locked. We ended up stopping at a Circle K gas station just before the freeway, on the righthand side. Then we continued on, turning right onto Valley Ave, which turned into Stevens Ave and had a little climb before we turned onto San Rodulfo Dr. Used this to get to the parking lot by Micheline's Pita House, where we stopped and had lunch. I told him about the triathlon, and he updated my about Shane's birth (all are doing great). Then we discussed Timothy Snyder's
On Freedom, which he had just finished. Snyder makes the case that freedom has to be for everybody or it's for nobody. He talks about 5 key forms of freedom: sovereignty, unpredictability, mobility, factuality, and solidarity. He also makes a big point about the close relationship between our concept of freedom and the way we view others, either as Leib or Korper, tying back to our ability to empathize with others and see them as individuals with their own values. I was getting a little chilly, so it was good to get on the bike and start heading back. We generally had the benefit of a tailwind on the return ride, which was a straight shot - Lomas Santa Fe, Linea del Cielo, Paseo Delicias, Del Dios Hwy - back to Via Rancho Pkwy. I was feeling energized by lunch and the caffeine in the soda, so I pushed the pace harder on the return than on the outbound ride. I waited for him at the top of the first climb, normal stopping point, then gapped him again and kept riding all the way back to the Park n Ride. Set a number of little PRs on these climbs, largely helped by the tailwind.
Avg speed = 15.5 mph. Total mileage = 40.9 mi
Avg power = 130 W. Weighted avg power = 164 W
Total elevation gain = 2790'
Avg heartrate = 117 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 53
Training Load = 176
Intensity = 75%
It took Joe a while to get back to his car, and we chatted for a bit before I headed home the normal way, albeit at a much slower pace. Legs were tired by this time. I took a breather, then called Mom before dinner and talked to her. She brought up the topic of assisted living, as she had done when she talked to Ben earlier in the day. Seemed in decent spirits. After dinner, we headed over to Emily and Caleb's apartment to feed the cats. I dropped Ann off and went to park the car, and in the meantime she messed up one of the automatic dry food feeders, the one for Kenzo. It was really frustrating to see her try to figure out how to fix it. I kept out of it, let her eventually get it back to normal, by texting with Emily. Then we drove home, stopping at Home Depot on the way for me to buy a new chain for the chainsaw to see if that improves its cutting ability. At home, I finished watching an episode of Grantchester and called it a night.
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