08-31-2025 Ride

Woke up around 5:30, slept pretty well after the Bisikleta party. I got ready for a bike ride to get some elevation in, drove (after getting some gas) the Sportage down to Carmel Valley Rd by the coast. I unloaded my stuff and then rode up to PCH. Was foggy while I was driving there but just overcast when I got there. I ended up doing 12 times up the inner route of Torrey Pines. First couple of times went pretty quickly, it was still cool and relatively quiet on the climb. As the climbs continued, it got warmer and I generally slowed down. I saw Jed starting his workout on my fourth time up, didn't pause too long after I saw him but waited for him at the top to take a picture and chat briefly. We didn't ride together, and I didn't see him for the rest of the ride. I talked myself into adding a couple of extra laps at the end to get to 5000' of elevation gain, and those last two laps were noticeably slower than the others. It was warming up, and the crowds were building. I was ready to be done after the 12th time up, was pretty slow on the return to the car, and my legs were feeling the effects of the climbing. But I recovered pretty quickly, I think.

Avg speed = 13.8 mph. Total mileage = 44.6 mi

Avg power = 144 W. Weighted avg power = 188 W

Total elevation gain = 5130'

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 108

Training Load = 239

Intensity = 85%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15652153445

Should have eaten more during the ride, I didn't bring anything other than water, and I was feeling pretty hungry by the end. Drove home a goofy way, taking VdlV and SDR, so I was slower getting home than I should have been. Started arranging my stuff for the trip, had some potato salad and cheese for lunch, then drove over to Bear Roots Tavern in Escondido to meet Joe for a beer and give him back his bear canister. I told him about the backpacking trip, and he was excited to hear the details. On the way home, I talked to Ben and gave him an update on the car purchase information that I got from Ross yesterday. I cleaned the kitchen and then gave Mom a call to let her know general details of the trip. She was in a mild funk but didn't get too maudlin. Wants Ross to clean his crap out of the garage, so I'll bring that up with him when I talk to him after the trip. After dinner, I packed my stuff into the backpack and got it all lined up. Had a quiet evening and early turn-in time.

Measured distances from crank and bottom of pedal stroke to the top of the saddle: 74 and 90 cm, respectively.

08-30-2025 Ride

Woke up a little early and wiped down and cleaned the spare bathroom, then got ready for the Bisikleta bike ride. Took the extended route over to the starting point. At the start, we had the following riders: Perse, Nel, James, Rob, Fritz, Cam, Kamal, Jed A., and Andy. We headed on a standard route to San Dieguito Rd via CdS. On that little climb up to the turn, Jed and I pushed it pretty hard, I couldn't shake him. We kept the speed up on the descent for Three Witches, then waited for everybody else (didn't wait that long) at the bottom. Pretty well-ordered pace line on the flats over to El Camino Real (saw Ray riding the other way on this section), which we then used to get to VdlV. Down to the coast, turning left and riding up into Del Mar, taking the coastal route for a change. I saw an old couple on a tandem with jerseys identifying Mt Ventoux, they had ridden a tandem up in 2008. We stopped for a coffee at Little Joy coffee in downtown Del Mar, it was a nice break for a relatively chill ride. Was starting to get hot and muggy while we were sitting there, it seemed better while we were riding and benefiting from the ocean breeze. We rode to Carmel Valley Rd (CVR) and then took the 56 bike path. Had another decent, slower pace line on the stretch of the 56 bike path between Carmel Valley Rd and CdS. James split off at this point, and we decided to continue up the bike path to Black Mountain Rd for a change. Turned left there and took it back to CVR. I decided to ride up to the top of Stargaze Ave (was 2 sec off my PR for this short, steep climb) and then Laurentian Dr before descending back to BMR via Maler Rd. I was alone, so I pushed a little harder than normal on CMR. I eventually caught Andy just before the turn onto Dove Canyon Rd, where Perse was riding back with him. Most of the others were waiting just after this turn, and we rode up to Deer Creek Rd, turning left there for a change. Over to 4S Ranch Pkwy, taking that up to Camino San Bernardo. Then back to Target (saw Aaron riding the other way on this section) via Nicole Ridge Rd, Potomac Ridge Rd, and Paseo del Sur. Cam and Jed were already there, they had ridden ahead, didn't wait for Andy and Perse. I was there for just a bit before heading home via the new normal way. It was definitely hot by this time, thermometer said 95 deg when I got home, although it didn't feel quite that hot.

Avg speed = 16.3 mph. Total mileage = 42.9 mi

Avg power = 129 W. Weighted avg power = 167 W

Total elevation gain = 2500'

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 66

Training Load = 175

Intensity = 76%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15640266430

I had a little time after I got home to grab a shower and help Ann make the potato salad (I cut the vegetables and put the potatoes in the water, and she did most of the rest). Then Blair showed up to drop off my Fuji and to have a shower before we went to Charm Thai Cafe for lunch. Talked to Ross after I got home, he was pretty jazzed about how well the car-buying experience went on this day with Mom. She now has a 2017 Camry that seems like it should be a good car for her. I leaned on him to pay attention to keeping this vehicle clean and in good working order, and he strongly agreed. In the afternoon we drove down to Jed's Beach house for the Bisikleta summer potluck. We got there a little late and were still among the first to arrive. Andy has broken up with Roya, which is sad. Ann and I talked a fair amount with Eric, also with James. Charlie and Leslie showed up later, and Rob later still. Was a nice get-together, a little more sedate than previous versions, except for some really off-key karaoke. We were home by 9:00, Ann drove us back.

08-29-2025 Walk/Swim/Basketball

Had a somewhat restless night, got up in the middle and ate some cereal. (<!>) I was late to get out of bed, so I decided to walk to the WWC, play some basketball, then take a short swim if lanes were open. Was warm when I walked over, hot when I walked back home. Borrowed a kinda flat, worn-out basketball while I was there and shot in the gym for around 30 minutes. After that, I changed into my trisuit and swam just 1000 yds, taking breaths every four strokes. That feels more natural to me, don't know why, and I was a little faster on my first 500 than previous times. Camera analysis indicates the following times for the two 500s: 9:42, 10:00. Total time of 19:42.

Avg pace = 1:58/100 yds (Zepp)

Total distance = 1000 yds

Elapsed moving time = 19:42 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 156 bpm (Amazfit)

Relative Effort =  36

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.30 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/15628710552

I was glad to get home, it was 95 out by that time. I took it easy for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, doing some reading, having a light lunch, watching a little of the Vuelta, and taking a nap. Later, I went into the garage and swapped my tires back on the Canyon, patched another inner tube as well. Then I reorganized the corner by my bike stand, moving the boxes of floor tile planks away from the stand to give me a little more maneuvering room. I also de-cluttered the shelf where the tent is stored, so those items aren't in the way either. Boxes were heavy, but I didn't have to move them far. We had talked about going to the last in the summer concert series at Carmel Mountain Town Center, but I looked at my blog from when we saw the band, Just Press Play, last year, and Ann decided they weren't good enough. So, she found an alternative, a Songwriter Sanctuary concert featuring three female singers: Hailey Wetzel, Lexi Pulido, and Julia Sage. We drove down to Normal Heights United Church and got there in plenty of time. The police had the main lanes of I-15 closed at the 163 interchange due to a major accident, but I had gotten onto the carpool lanes, which surprisingly weren't backed up at all. We zoomed right by onto a nearly empty freeway, one of the few times that a traffic break worked to our advantage. The sanctuary was arranged for the performers in the round, but I didn't pick great seats for us. We were partially blocked from seeing two of the singers. Wetzel, who was accompanied by guitarist Jeremy Charlton, was easily the most accessible in her music. Would probably go see her again in a soli performance. Sage was decent, had a beautiful voice but her music was not consistently good. Pulido was more angst-filled and experimental/jazzy. At times she was screechy and hard to listen to. But overall the concert was enjoyable, was glad it wasn't too long. Drove home after that and went to bed.

08-28-2025 Ride/Walk

Got up around 5:30 and got ready to drive to Harrah's with Charlie and the bikes. He showed up a little after 6:00, and we were rolling just after 6:15. I was nervous about the ride because it was sprinkling at home, and we had a little moisture on the drive there. Got there and unpacked our stuff to get ready, while it was very lightly raining. We were resolved to at least start the ride and see how the weather went, so we were rolling around 7:10. It was cool and very humid the entire ride. I stretched out my legs on the little segment up to the roundabout, got a little ahead of Charlie but waited for him before the turn. Then the two of us rode together on the first stretch up to the turnoff for South Grade Rd. It seemed like we had a light breeze helping us along. I had dialed my pace back quite a bit to stay with him, for the most part rode behind him. Started the ride wearing my light jacket, but that didn't last long, it was to muggy. We got up to the turn and made it, then stopped for a break shortly after. Charlie slowed down on the South Grade climb, and I kept at his pace for the first mile+. At one point, I pulled past him and put a little speed into the climb, feeling good on these early stretches with legs that were fresher than usual. Got up to a point, a little before two miles into the South Grade climb, and I stopped to wait for him, capturing video of him coming around a curve. Then we rode together for quite a while after that, with me alternating between 2nd and 3rd gears and periodically getting out of the saddle to stretch my legs and lower back. I rode ahead of him the last two miles or so and got to the summit about two hours after we had started. Rode over by Mother's Kitchen and then back to just before the summit, so I could capture him finishing the climb. We rode on wet roads for most of the climb, very wet in spots, and we also rode through occasional light sprinkles, although it never really rained on us. After we got to the top, he decided to ride up to Boucher Lookout, and that was fine with me. This stretch has a couple of little, gradual climbs and similar descents into Palomar Mountain State Park, then that steep little stretch on the fire road up to the lookout tower. Even that steep section isn't long. The weather appeared to be clearing somewhat by this point. We got to the lookout point, and there were volunteer fire watchers, David and Steve, up in the tower, who invited us to come up and have a look. That was pretty cool, hadn't been up there before. We chatted with them for a bit, then started heading back down. Road quality on the descent from the lookout was not great but also not as bad as I remembered it. Then we rode back to the beginning of the South Grade descent. I rode more at my pace on this stretch, got out in front of Charlie a couple of times and waited for him. He led down the South Grade descent for much of the way, roads had dried for the most part and were rideable, although I was watching my speed more closely than on previous descents. I did ride ahead of him near the bottom, then waited at the turn onto the 76 for him to catch up and pass me. Down the second part of the descent without any issues. I was wearing my jacket and it was slightly open, helping me to keep my overall speed down a bit. I again got out ahead of him on this part of the descent but not too far ahead. Was able to ride down at speed, with occasional braking, without my bike feeling wobbly, which was good for me. This was a good training ride for me, will need to try this approach out of staying below my threshold zone for the longer climbs that we'll be doing in France. Legs felt fairly fresh at the end, but I could definitely tell it was a big workout.

Avg speed = 11.3 mph. Total mileage = 35.1 mi

Avg power = 140 W. Weighted avg power = 170 W

Total elevation gain = 5460'

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 75

Training Load = 200

Intensity = 77%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15619339808

Back to the parking lot by Harrah's, was good, as always, to make it back down without mishap. We drove back to my house and unloaded the gear, then Charlie drove home. I ate a little lunch and relaxed a bit by watching some TV before heading over to the HP site for the site closure celebration. Met and talked with a lot of folks there, both current and past employees. Some notables: Pat, Pedro, Tito, Ixia, Karl Walters, Jack McGarry, Bobby Rahmani, Yosi Boublil, Dennis Huff (recent major health scare), Hongwei, Perry Lieber, Frank Drogo, Emilio Lopez, Cynthia Rodriguez. The initial speeches (VJ, Glen, Terry) were okay, not great, I was hoping they would have polished their deliveries better. Terry's was particularly bad, people were getting antsy by that time. Andre Garcia, Ken Courian, and Ben Abelovski performed some music after the speeches, and that was a really tough gig for them, as people were fully into socializing mode and the food stations were opened. I wasn't sure how it would be walking around the courtyard (was sprinkling off and on), but it wasn't too bad. Found some folks that I could talk to and catch up with. I didn't end up eating or drinking much, too much talking, I guess. I stayed until after 5:30, then rode home and had a late, light dinner. Watched some TV in the evening, and that was the end of a pretty good day.

08-27-2025 Ride

Fairly normal day. Got up for an early-morning ride, following the time trial route up to Poway Rd and then going straight, to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, where I turned left and rode all the way up to the 67. The ride up the Purple Monster was reasonably fast, tried to stay in regular cadence all the way through. Was off my PR time by less than 30 seconds. I ended up setting a PR on the stretch from Pomerado Rd all the way up to the summit (25:28, 205 W, 139 bpm), although it didn't feel that fast overall. I must have hit a number of the lights green. The ride back down was a little sketchy toward the end, I got wobbly and had to slow down somewhat, but it was alright. Turned right on Stowe Dr and took this back down to Pomerado Rd for a change. I pushed a little harder than usual on the return route up Pomerado Rd, trying to keep my average speed higher. Reversed my route all the way home, total distance was a little less than I had wanted but I couldn't motivate myself to extend the ride.

Avg speed = 16.9 mph. Total mileage = 28.1 mi

Avg power = 145 W. Weighted avg power = 187 W

Total elevation gain = 1950'

Avg heartrate = 119 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 40

Training Load = 127

Intensity = 85%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15605532125

Had cereal for breakfast when I got home, later made some toast and watched a little TV in the morning. Ann went to Craft Group at church. I shaved and showered, then left a little early for my volunteer shift so I could stop at Walmart and drop off the two MicroSD cards that just didn't work for me. Still got to the hospital a little early, had french fries, a Pepsi, and an ice cream bar for a light lunch, then started my volunteer shift. There was a new nurse, Gigi, and another nurse, Courtney, who I may have seen before but haven't worked with much. Anessa was back, hadn't seen her in a long time. It got really busy in the second half, which made the time go more quickly. Headed home after that and, after dinner, we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream (Ann had cut my hair and stitched up my cycling shoe). Was a quiet evening after that.

08-26-2025 Walk

Woke up fairly early, before 6:00, and decided to go on a long early-morning walk around the neighborhood. My right groin was still a little tender, so I kept an easy pace and was particularly careful walking uphill. Listened to podcasts while I was walking and got most of my daily steps in. I had some breakfast when I got home and caught up on blogging as well. Started, again, the process of trying to transfer files to my new MicroSD card for the phone. It's been a frustrating process so far. Eventually, on this day, I gave up with these cards, which just don't work. Will return them for a refund and find more reliable cards. In the morning I trimmed the bushes on the side of the driveway and did a quick trim of the ones bordering the garage door. Got it done before it was too hot. Watched a little bit of Wicked on Amazon Prime. I can see how folks loved it, not sure it's my kind of entertainment. Had some lunch, then in the after I hung up the shade cloth over the second garden bed. It went more quickly than I thought it would, will see how these poles hold up in the wind. I read a fair amount and dozed as well. In the late afternoon, I scootered over to Karl Strauss and met Blair and others for happy hour. Kyle was there, as well as Will, the tech who came in to support LEP tooling after I left (he's leaving HP and seems to have landed a good next gig). James showed up a little later. It was a relaxing little break, I had a Pepsi instead of beer. Got home after that, had a little dinner, then it was a quiet evening.

08-25-2025 Swim/Run/Ride

Had a pretty good sleep, even though I had caffeine the previous day (<>). Wet mopped the kitchen before I got ready for a swim at the WWC. Had the pool to myself at the start, but folks were there and got in their lanes and started swimming as well. I felt like my form was pretty good, kept my stroke count lower and was consistent throughout the 1500 yds. But my pace is significantly slower than it has been. More laps needed, and perhaps more speed drills to get faster, at least in the 500. Here are my splits from the 3 500s: 9:55, 10:05, 10:05. Total time from video analysis of 30:05.

Avg pace = 2:01/100 yds (Zepp)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 30:19 (Zepp)

Avg heartrate = 165 bpm (Amazfit)

Relative Effort =  79

SWOLF = 40

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/15582931662

When I got out of the pool I dried off and then changed to go for a run. Did the 5k loop from the WWC and had negative splits for the 3 miles. Pushed myself on the last mile and felt oka. Heartrate was up on this run, probably due to relative lack of running recently.

Avg pace = 7:33/mi

Total distance = 3:13

Elapsed moving time = 23:37

Avg heartrate = 146 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 26

https://www.strava.com/activities/15581996802

Got home and had cereal and a banana for breakfast, then did my first clean of the kitchen for the day. I also repaired the two broken posts for the shade cover over the original garden bed and set the cover back up. Did some bike stuff in the garage, including cleaning my old Fuji bike for Blair to borrow. In the early afternoon we had a call with a representative from Alight to talk about Medicare insurance options, either Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement. There is going to be some tension here, since it seems to me that my needs will be better met with a Medicare Advantage plan, while Ann will want a Medicare Supplement plan when she qualifies. There is time still to work those details out. I have the information I need now, I think, to go through the plans and choose one that will meet my needs for the near future. Blair came over a little before 3:00, and he worked on setting up the bike for his needs, including adjusting the headset, which still had a little bit of play in it that will need looking into after he's done with it. I cleaned the grill and set up the charcoal for Ann to start, then we changed and met Paula for a short ride. She was worried that it would be too hot, but the temperature was actually decent, mid-80s with a breeze. This was a defined easy-paced ride. I had some soreness in my right groin from the run, and I didn't want to make it worse. We rode down by the park and took Pomerado Rd to Highland Valley Rd, turning left there and riding on the flats all the way out to just before the beginning of the first climb. Stopped there for a couple of pics, then retraced our route back to Pomerado Rd, turning left there and headed up to Bernardo Heights Pkwy. We all stayed together up to this point but got a little separated on the small climb after this turn. Got back together before turning right onto Paseo Lucido and taking this road through the neighborhood and eventually back to Bernardo Heights Pkwy. Just before that turn, a driver pulled out right in front of Paula, causing her to swerve out of the way. Luckily, she held on and didn't get anything other than a fright. We then rode down to Bernardo Center Dr, turning right there and right again onto Lomica Dr, to add a little more easy distance. Up to Belere Dr, turning left and then immediately right onto Callado Rd (quite poor road quality), which dropped us onto Rios Rd. Left turn onto Bernardo Oaks Dr and over to RB Rd. Home the normal way from there via Bernardo Center Dr, again some separation on this last little climb.

Avg speed = 13.5 mph. Total mileage = 15.8 mi

Avg power = 97 W. Weighted avg power = 122 W

Total elevation gain = 960'

Avg heartrate = 107 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 13

Training Load = 39

Intensity = 55%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15586890506

Blair and Paula chatted for a while after we got back home, while I started grilling, using the charcoal that Ann had started. Steaks, veggie sausage, and grilled vegetables were good, the charcoal was probably too hot at the start and some of the vegetables got charred, but all were edible. Had a nice conversation over dinner, Ann got to learn more about Blair and his new place/position in Boise. Blair and I talked after dinner, he's still trying to figure out how to connect into social circles in the new city. After he left, I watched a little TV, then headed for bed after taking a much-needed shower.

08-24-2025 Walk

This was a frustrating exercise day, unfortunately. I woke up about 5:15 and got ready to ride up to Mt Baldy Village. Was all ready, ate some coffee cake for breakfast and took a banana with me, but when I got out to the car I found that my front tire was flat. Really? Not sure why I've been having so many flats, but if it's the new tires they have to go. So I went for an hourlong walk around the La Verne neighborhood where the Humes live and got back in plenty of time to rest a bit and get ready for church. Saw the Viggers and the Mohls at church, along with the Littles, as well as Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, the retired CUMC pastor who came in after Bob Davis retired. Then we went with the former boosters to brunch at a little place, Antigua Bread, in La Verne. Curt didn't join us, he was helping set up the Messy Church layout instead. It was nice to catch up with the Mohls. They are both active exercisers, also seeing a lot of movies and traveling. Stephanie is married and lives in Orange, while Jenna has a boyfriend and lives in downtown Seattle. We chatted a little bit with the Humes after we got back to their place, then packed up our stuff, and I drove home. I was tired, so the drive seemed longer than usual, although we only hit a little traffic around Temecula. Got home around 3:00, I rested for a short bit and read some. I also patched three inner tubes that had recently flatted. Called Mom around 4:30, she mentioned for the first time in a while to me that she is considering moving into assisted living. I got the impression that she's not actively ready to do it, and I advised her to talk to Mark as well and let him know. She was stressed out about the Pathfinder as well, but she calmed down during the latter part of the call, which was more casual. Went for a very short walk in the evening to finish getting my steps in, then I put one of the repaired inner tubes in my front tire to fix that flat. Watched a little TV in the evening, then it was time for sleep.

08-23-2025 Run

Slept pretty well after a real workout day on the bike (<>). Went out for a run in the morning, trying to get done before the temperature climbed. Headed over to Puddingstone Reservoir, which curiously I had never been to. This run took me by the Pomona NHRA dragstrip and a nearby airport that I was unaware was there. It was an out-and-back run, I stopped to take a picture of the lake before turning around. For some reason, Strava didn't capture this workout, even though it was active during the run. I estimated the running time and pretty much knew the route, but I don't have other results from the run.

Avg pace = 8:02/mi

Total distance = 5.35 mi

Elapsed moving time = 44:00 (est.)

https://www.strava.com/activities/15593041738

Susan had made coffee cake for breakfast, so I had some of that when I got back, along with some coffee. We chatted and generally hung out at their place in the morning. I did drive over to Target and buy a pair of shorts, since I'd only brought gym shorts with me. We went to Butter Cafe in San Dimas for lunch, and the breakfast tacos and tater tots were pretty good. Afterward, we went to the American Museum of Ceramic Art, which was a mildly entertaining diversion. I liked some of the practical ceramic art displays, and my conversation with Ed as we walked around was, as usual, interesting. Back to their place after that, where we had a little bit of downtime before folks started showing up for the potluck dinner. The following couples made it: Combs, Little, Harris. It was great catching up with them, particularly Scott and Janette, whom we had not seen in quite a while. Scott is taking a new job soon, one with a long commute, hopeful that it works out. Gabe is now Bethany, and Ruthie and her boyfriend have been set up in a small place in Lake Arrowhead, living with them was too stressful. Jake bought a house in Tucson recently with his boyfriend Larry, they seem to be settling down. Spence Little is an aerospace engineer working for Blue Origin at Edwards AFB and living in a place he bought in Wrightwood with his nurse girlfriend. Samantha and her husband live in Scottsdale and have two kids. Nathan and his wife live in Utah (Salt Lake City?) and have a couple of kids, while Aubrey (formerly Andrew) lives near Boston and appears to be happy in her life. Was a pleasant evening, we stayed up a little after everybody left and chatted with Ed and Susan, I was pretty tired again by the end of the day.

08-22-2025 Ride/Walk

Had some anxiety dreams, probably because of the ride the previous day. Woke up around 5:40 and did a little route planning before getting ready for the ride. I had everything together, went out in the garage and found my rear tire was flat. Dang it! These tires are easy to remove, so I swapped the tube in 5 minutes and pumped both tires up. That delayed me, so I left home around 7:07. Down by the park and across the pedestrian bridge, then through Kit Carson Park and eventually to Center City Pkwy. Traffic in Escondido wasn't too bad, temperature was really nice, and I had a little bit of a tailwind for this portion of the ride. Through Escondido and up to Deer Springs Rd, still feeling fine. It wasn't as enjoyable on the descent by Lawrence Welk Village, but it was still nice. Made pretty good time to the base of the climb up to the arch bridge. This was a workout, as usual, but I felt okay on the climb, stayed in the saddle for most of it. The descent after was really fun, but temperature was rising. I stayed on the 395 and enjoyed a generally flat section for a while until a 700' gradual climb came along. It was about 3 miles and comprised much of the elevation gain before the drop into Temecula. At some point, the 395 crossed over I-15 and the climb continued on the east side of the freeway it flattened out for a while before a couple of little climbs that set me up for the winding descent. I had passed another ride awhile back, but he caught up with me and rode my wheel for a while. He passed me just past the start of the descent, so I followed his line down, thrilling and a little scary. This dropped us down to Pechanga Pkwy, where I turned left and then left again onto Temecula Pkwy. This got me to Old Town Front St, where I rode into town, stopped to take a picture of the sign, then a little later for a longer stop to eat a granola bar and banana. Was definitely too late in refueling on this ride, and I thought I was doing good with taking in water. Stayed on this road, which turned into Jefferson Ave, until I got to Nutmeg St, where I turned left and rode over to Washington Ave, which turned into Palomar St. Eventually, I veered off to the right onto Mission Trail, which turned into Lakeshore Dr and brought me into Lake Elsinore. It was in this general area that my front tire started going flat. I stopped and changed it pretty quickly, pumping manually and then topping off with CO2. It was hot by this time, I had been sweating for a while, and I got pretty heated up while changing the tire. From there, my pace slowed down noticeably. Followed Lakeshore Dr until it turned into Main St, took me through a quaint little downtown area. To Sumner St, a left and then a right on Spring St, which got me over to Collier Ave, left there. Slowing down more here, I was nearly out of water and it was probably 100 deg out. I was looking for a convenience store and found an AM-PM. Stopped there and bought a large Gatorade. Was a little woozy when I got off the bike, and that's when I knew I wasn't going to make it into Corona. I did feel a little better after rehydrating, turned left onto Nichols Rd shortly after. Rode on that until a right turn onto Lake St. I was hoping that it would be consistently downhill from here, no luck. There were some minor climbs after this turn, and I was really slow up them. I turned onto Temescal Canyon Rd and had some downhill sections, but even here I was doing more slow coasting than fast riding. This was the mode from here until the end of the ride, slow on flats, slower on any climbs, and coasting/recovering on descents. I texted Ann to meet me at the Temescal Canyon Rd exit, my legs were starting to cramp and the bottoms of my feet were hot. Was so glad to come around a corner and see the gas station up ahead, I was at my limit, couldn't have gone further without a significant break and calorie/fluid infusion.

Avg speed =16.3 mph. Total mileage = 67.6 mi

Avg power = 138 W. Weighted avg power = 159 W

Total elevation gain = 3160'

Avg heartrate = 131 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 139

Training Load = 236

Intensity = 72%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15550044150

This was the first time in a long time that I had gone this deep, a lot of it I attribute to the high temperature. Ann got to the gas station meeting spot before me, but not too long before. I asked her to buy me a Big Gulp when I took my stuff off and started to recover. We were back on the road soon, drove into downtown Claremont, and had a light lunch at The Peel Claremont, which was unremarkable. Then we got some ice cream to take to the Humes, at Bert & Rocky's, before driving over there. Ann was driving, thank the Lord. We had a nice, wide-ranging discussion in the afternoon, talking about travel, family, politics, and some church (Ann and Susan). I took a short break from the conversation to decompress (had taken a shower right after I got there). Then the four of us drove into downtown Claremont and met the Domonoskes for dinner at Bardot. The restaurant was decent. It was their anniversary, and the Humes had recently celebrated a wedding anniversary as well. Dan was in a curious mood, maybe a little too much to drink. But we heard about Heather (works for the university in SLO) and Colin (is a CFP living down here in the San Diego area). I was pretty tired at the end of this day.

08-21-2025 Swim/Ride/Walk

Slept pretty well after a busy day, albeit one with a lot of junk food. I got up and did a little file copying for the new MicroSD card for my phone, then got ready for a swim at the WWC. Forgot my camera, so I had to rely on the workout captured on my watch, which has some extra time added in. In any case, I wasn't fast on this day. Swam 3 500s with short pauses in between, the last one using my pull buoy to allow me to focus on lengthening my stroke. I could definitely tell that I hadn't been swimming much lately, as my stroke was not as smooth or long. So, it's back to rebuilding my stamina and form.

Avg pace = 2:01/100 yds (Zepp)

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 30:27 (Zepp)

Avg heartrate = 163 bpm (Amazfit)

Relative Effort =  75

SWOLF = 39

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/15538277217

Had some cereal, coffee, and a banana for breakfast, then I kept working on setting up my new MicroSD card. I looked around my stuff for the little keys to open my phone card slot and finally found them in my backpack. I'll keep one there moving forward and leave the others in my nightstand drawer. Ann and I went to lunch at this new taco place on Escondido Blvd near 7th Ave. Reasonable prices, gourmet tacos that were pretty tasty, but the place was small and is still figuring out its counter delivery system. Back home, Ann went to play Mah-Jongg and I ended up having a small nap. Rest of the afternoon was quiet, I ended up finishing The Fourth Consort. It was decent, very much tongue-in-cheek SF, with a nod to Douglas Adams, but the story flowed reasonably well. Started The Elements of Marie Curie, by Dava Sobel. I started getting ready for a ride with Paula around 4:00 and left the house around 4:30 to meet her in Harmony Grove Park. This wasn't a great day for me. I was confused about which park to meet her at, even though she had specified a starting location, which was different from the park I went to. Eventually, we got together and ready to ride, then headed over to Harmony Grove Rd. I thought I knew how to get there but was mistaken, and at one point we almost ran into each other because of a miscue (mostly me) about where to turn. We got there and then rode down to Elfin Forest Rd, starting the climb there. Up to that point we were riding together, a fair amount of traffic on that winding road, which wasn't so great. It was better when we slowed down on the climb and separated. I kept slowing down further to make sure I didn't miss a turn, and ended up waiting for her at the top of the first climb. From there we rode together up to Calistoga Way, turning right there and riding to its end, then getting past the gate and riding on the access road up to Genoa Way. On this stretch, two kids on e-bikes were coming down, one of them right in front of me and goofing off. It really freaked me out, and I shouted at the kid. Almost lost my balance twice, narrowly avoiding falling over. That got my adrenaline pumping, Paula's as well. We continued on Genoa Way up to Baylor Dr, taking it to Questhaven Rd, which had a little downhill that helped calm me down. Then it was moderate climbing until turning left onto Attebury Rd, where it got steeper for a while. We've been on this road before, and I got out ahead of her again. Stopped and took a picture by a pond, where some guys were fishing. We kept on this road until it turned into Attebury Dr, and I'm sure that near here is where David and Christine's previous house was, we certainly rode by it. Had to pass around a gate in the road and deal with a stretch of gravel dirt road, where I walked for a bit before it flattened out and I could carefully ride. Then this road got pretty steep, but it wasn't too bad, since the grade varied enough to recover a bit before it stepped up again. I waited for her at the top, where we got onto Washingtonia Dr, rode down to another gate we had to pass around, then did a short climb up Indian Ridge Rd, where we took a couple more pics. Sharp descent to a left turn onto Coronado Hills Dr, then it was really steep down to La Moree Rd, I was riding my brakes for most of the time and feeling concerned about the braking power on my rear wheel. It was okay but a little dicey. Familiar roads now, taking a right there and riding down to Barham Dr. Right again, riding until we took another right onto Meyers Ave. Followed this around to Auto Park Way and turned right again, riding up to Citracado Pkwy, where we turned right yet again. This last little climb wasn't too bad, then we coasted down to Harmony Grove via Kauana Loa Dr. Over to Harmony Grove Village Pkwy, then back into the neighborhood where the park was. I had noticed on Harmony Grove Rd that my front tire was going flat, but I thought I could get back to the car okay. I made it, but the tire was definitely squishy at the end.

Avg speed = 15.3 mph. Total mileage = 40.4 mi

Avg power = 118 W. Weighted avg power = 144 W

Total elevation gain = 2320'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 46

Training Load = 132

Intensity = 65%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15527152663

We chatted for a bit before I drove back home. Had noodles for dinner, I was really hungry. Still had stuff to do, including a 2.5-mile walk to get my steps in, fixing the flat, and replacing the brake pads on my rear wheel. Got it all done and was in bed before 10:00. Was a long day, I fell asleep quickly.

08-20-2025 Ride/Run

Had a decent night's sleep, woke up around 5:30 (<!>). Got ready for a bike ride with John, headed over there a little early so I didn't have to push the pace too hard on the way there. Normal route to his place, except I turned on Alpine Ter and rode up to the top of Briarleaf Way before turning around and coming back down to Dapple Ct to get onto Dapple Way. Still got there a little early, he was just opening the garage door when I pulled into the driveway. Vivian and Jayden came out as well. We headed down the hill to Poway Rd and took it to Sabre Springs Pkwy, turning right there and riding up to the 56 bike path. John seemed a little slower than usual, but I was also riding more slowly. We rode down to CdS and turned left there, taking it down to Park Village Rd and turning left there. Then it was the gradual climb back up to Black Mountain Rd, where we turned right and rode down, then up to Capricorn Way, turning right there. Through Blair's old neighborhood until we got to Camino Ruiz, where we turned right and found the donut shop Donutopolis. I had a couple of donuts, John had one. They were okay but not really worth the price, IMHO. From our discussion, it sounds like Vivian is going to be a housewife, and she's happy about that. They are already planning a big trip next summer, including an Alaska cruise and a possible trip to Hawaii before visiting family in Malaysia. John used my bike tool to tighten his left shifter lever. After the break we headed over to Mira Mesa Blvd on Camino Ruiz, having to deal on this section with morning traffic. Took Mira Mesa Blvd back to Black Mountain Rd and then rode back down the hill, turning right at the bottom onto Mercy Rd. We hadn't ridden this way together in a long time. Short, steepish climb back to the freeway, then it leveled out. I got pretty far ahead of him on this stretch, ended up stopping and waiting until he caught up. Then we rode pretty much together back to Springbrook Dr, turning left there and heading to his house the usual way. Vivian made smoothies for us and brought us banana bread as well, so I was really calorie-loaded on this ride. Headed home the normal way via RB Rd and W Bernardo Dr at the end.

Avg speed = 15.3 mph. Total mileage = 40.4 mi

Avg power = 118 W. Weighted avg power = 144 W

Total elevation gain = 2320'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 46

Training Load = 132

Intensity = 65%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15527152663

Cooled down a little when I got home, then showered and got ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. It was steadily busy for the first 3 hours or so, then seemed to slow down near the end. I finished on time and rode home to eat an early dinner before meeting Emily at OTB for happy hour. We talked about my backpacking trip, the concert she and Ann went to, and how she is managing the current workload and stress at work. I stopped at the park on the way home and did a slow 2-mile run to finish getting my steps in.

Avg pace = 8:24/mi

Total distance = 2.05 mi

Elapsed moving time = 17:16

Avg heartrate = 130 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 4

https://www.strava.com/activities/15531362345

 Then it was home, watching a little TV, and heading to bed.

08-19-2025 Ride/Walk

Got up again in the middle of the night and needed to have something to eat. I read for a bit and then got back to sleep, waking up around 6:00 and getting ready for my first ride in a week. I intended to keep the pace mild and not stress my still sore legs too much. Headed through the neighborhood to Poblado Rd, then took Capilla Rd to Olmeda Way to RB Rd and up to the top. Through the 4S Ranch neighborhood to Ralphs Ranch Rd and then back to Paseo del Sur, staying on this road down to CdS. I went through several patches of fog on this stretch, and it was just overcast when I got to CdS. Down to the 56 bike path, turning right there and taking it to ECR. I stopped at this point and ate a granola bar before continuing up to Del Mar Heights, appreciated the newly paved road. Then it was down the hill and over to San Dieguito Rd, where I turned. The stretch to the bottom of Three Witches went surprisingly quickly, although I wasn't fast, time just passed rapidly I guess. Slow up this climb back to CdS, then home the new normal way from there. It was only near the end of this ride that the sun came out, which was a bonus for the ride.

Avg speed = 16.0 mph. Total mileage = 35.7 mi

Avg power = 127 W. Weighted avg power = 161 W

Total elevation gain = 2030'

Avg heartrate = 115 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 41

Training Load = 125

Intensity = 73%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15513987820

I had some cantaloupe and other snacks for breakfast when I got home. Kept working on transferring phone storage files to my new MicroSD card (changed my strategy to copying the contents to the computer first, which is much faster and probably less susceptible to read/write errors). Ann suggested going down to Balboa Park for free museum Tuesday, so we drove over to Von's, picked up some more lunch stuff, then she drove down to park by the playground. Nice lunch, then we walked over to the Mingei Museum and went through it. This is a small museum that doesn't usually take a long time to get through, my kind of place. We went to the SD Museum of Art next and saw the exhibits we hadn't seen before, then I drove home, getting there around 2:30. I was tired and had a little nap in the afternoon, woke up feeling better. I kept working on setting up my new MicroSD card. then after dinner I went for a 45-minute walk to finish getting my steps in. Watched some TV as well, then it was time for sleep.

08-18-2025 Walk

Even though the previous day was long, sleeping in my own bed was great. I did eat a fair amount before going to sleep. Got up early, had some cereal for breakfast, and unloaded my gear from the car. Went back and laid down for a bit until an woke up (<!>). Legs were somewhat surprisingly sore from the hiking. This was a day to stay around the house and recover. I spent a fair amount of time figuring out how to edit and update a GPX file, since my hike from Sunday had a glitch in it from when my phone lost track. Finding out how to fix it was a success. It's not easy but doable to splice in segments to correct glitches. Then I sent out the Flyovers of our hikes to the group and set up a shared folder for the pics and vids I took. I washed up my camping meal stuff as well,watched some TV. In the evening, after dinner, I went for a little longer walk down to the park and around it several times to get my steps in. Tried to set up the MicroSD cards I got for the outdoor cameras but could get them to format. So I decided to use one for my phone and swap out its card for this purpose. File transfer was slow, that's what I worked on in the evening before showering and going to bed.

08-17-2025 Hike

Second night's sleep was about the same. I saw the Milky Way when I got up in the night to pee. I used my clothes bag as a pillow and that worked fine. Wasn't as cold as the previous night. Got up a little before 6:00 and organized everything going into my backpack except the tent. Set up my cooking stuff in front of the tent and had oatmeal and coffee, was very good. I also heated water for Jambo and Lisa and chatted with them while the water was heating. He was interested in my tent setup. I filtered water for the day after that, then headed back and packed up the tent. Put everything into my backpack, and not too long after we were on the trail, around 8:30. This hike went much faster than the others, much more elevation drop than gain. We took a break after an hour on the trail, and shortly after we started back up Connor met us. He had run from Echo Lake. We talked a little bit on the trail about his trip to Switzerland and our upcoming trip to Europe. There was a downhill section on this hike that was a little tricky, trail was covered with loose rocks that weren't always stable. My shoulders were aching from the backpack weight, and I was regularly trying to shift the load on them. We took a short break, where I had a pee, then we powered down the rest of the way. Toward the end Ray was running out of gas, so I hung back and made sure he was okay. We got down to the marina by Echo Lake around 12:30, was definitely good to see the end.

Avg pace = 25:18/mi

Total distance = 8.63 mi

Elapsed moving time = 3:38:35

Total elevation gain = 570'

https://www.strava.com/activities/15505585661

Sat around and drank a beer to celebrate the weekend with the others. Then Connor drove me to the upper parking lot and dropped me off by the car. I drove back down, hugged everybody, picked up my backpack, and was on my way. Reversed my route back to the 395, following the Carson river gorge for a while. Got back on the 395 and chugged away back to Bishop. Stopped there for gas and a Coke to help wake me up, then I drove to Lone Pine. Stopped for food at the Pizza Factory around 5:45, it was on the pricey side but definitely better tasting than previous meals. I drove from there to the Diaz Lake Campground, where I had made a campsite reservation. When I got to the site, the campground was basically deserted, and the wind was blowing pretty fiercely. I had planned on setting up the tent, getting a little sleep, and then driving home. But I wasn't going to sleep, or maybe even be able to put my tent up, in that wind. So I turned around and started driving home, not really looking forward to it. Was fine while it was daylight and even into dusk. But when night fell, the undivided highway was tough to drive on, lights from oncoming traffic made it difficult to follow the road. So that was tense for quite a while. It got a little better when the protective barrier strips separated the two traffic directions and better still when I got onto I-15. Down the grade by the Cajon Pass, some traffic but essentially driving at highway speeds. My route took me to the 215, again there wasn't much traffic to deal with. I was getting weary, and my legs and shoulders were sore. Last stretch on I-15 seemed to take a long time. Got home a little before 11:00, just as Ann was pulling in to the driveway from the Rady Shell concert she went to with Emily. Left most of my stuff in the car to unload later, went in and took a quick shower, then to bed. This was an especially long day.

08-16-2025 Hike

Slept about as usual when backpack camping. I couldn't get the inflatable pillow to stay inflated, and that was a minor annoyance. Woke up before midnight, feeling pretty cold and having to pee. I got my gloves out and tied my hoodie, was already wearing a headband. That helped, and I ended up sleeping off and on until a little before 6:00. Did my morning constitutional and then broke down my campsite, was done but not packed by 6:45. I made a breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, it really hit the spot. Talked to Lisa during breakfast and, later, Ray. We then went to the place with running water and filtered water for the day. Christina actually went swimming in the lake, so I knew we weren't going to get an early start. We ended up leaving around 9:00, made really good time for much of this hike. I talked some with Charlie, more with Lisa, but was more to myself the latter half of the hike, other than at breaks. This hike was, according to my Strava, nearly two miles longer than AllTrails predicted. Yikes! It was mostly gently rolling terrain until the last two miles. We took a break just before this section, which involved about 1.5 miles of climbing with 800' of elevation gain. It was one false summit after another. Before we started up, my shoulders were aching, particularly my right shoulder. Couldn't get comfortable in my walking posture. It was a little better on the climb but not much. I was very happy when we got to the summit at about 8400'. Was worried about the descent of 0.5 miles, but it was much more gradual, with switchbacks and steps to help negotiate the terrain. We got down to Aloha Lake earlier than I thought, a little before 3:30. Scoped out a meadow near the lake, and that's where most of us set up our campsites.

Avg pace = 26:00/mi

Total distance = 10.18 mi

Elapsed moving time = 4:24:46

Total elevation gain = 1340'

https://www.strava.com/activities/15493907020

I was tired from the hike and sore in my shoulders, and it took me an inordinately long time to stake out my tent. Was breezy but that wasn't the real reason, I was just tired and not thinking straight. The rest of the setup went faster. I walked down to the lake and filtered some water. Blake went into the 3ater,as did Charlie (just in the shallows) and Jambo. The latter went out for a longer swim, which was impressive to see. There were whitecaps on the lake, and he was powering through them. Both he and Blake had a tough time warming up after they got out of the water, which made me glad I didn't go in. I washed my hair instead, felt a little cleaner after that. After a bit, we all walked up to where Blake and Christina had set up their camp and ate dinner together. My curry rice was cooked well but could have use some salt and pepper. Need to include those for the next trip, along with little plastic bottles of booze. Good dinner conversation, it turns out that Jambo is a real music aficionado, and we talked about that for a while. Around 7:30 we split up. I did my evening constitutional and put items in the bear canister before settling into my tent for the night. Overall good day other than the shoulder discomfort. I might try to change the load balance in my backpack to make it more bottom-heavy.

08-15-2025 Hike

Woke up around 5:15 and started breaking camp. Was glad I started when I did because I was rolling down the road a little after 6:00. Slept okay but had to deal in the middle of the night with a collapsed air mattress. I had time to brush my teeth but not to eat. Drank some soda on the drive up, that helped perk me up a little bit, although I wasn't tired. Beautiful drive past Mono Lake and through Lee Vining, then through the Walker River gorge to just before Topaz Lake, where I turned west onto the 89. This road slowed me down, lots of elevation gain and sharp curves but quite scenic. I drove through Markleyville and stayed on the 89, driving by another river gorge (Carson River). Eventually got to US 50, where I turned again and drove up to the Echo Lake turnoff. Narrow winding road up to a parking lot where I parked the car (got there around 9:05) and started loading my gear into the backpack. That ended up taking most of an hour. Charlie showed up around 9:40 or so, followed by his buddy James (Jambo). I finished packing, think I brought everything I intended, although it was close for the last couple of items. The three of us were on the road by 10:05, drove over to the Eagle Falls parking lot, which was jammed. One of the ladies had talked to a guy who was leaving, and he was kind enough to wait until we showed up so we could have his parking space. Otherwise, it would have been a nightmare to find a place to park. Not too long there, and we were on the trail right around 11:00. People in the party: Charlie, Leslie, Blake, Christina, Jambo, Lisa, Ray, and me. Lisa was a little uncomfortable around us at the start, but she pretty much settled down. It was quite steep for the first 3 km, and we stopped frequently. Ray's backpack wasn't loaded properly, and he's not a backpacker, so he was slower. At times Leslie stopped to lew her heartrate slow down. So we averaged maybe a mile an hour for this part of the hike. I was feeling okay, backpack was probably too heavy, and I could feel it most in my shoulders. We stopped fairly late for lunch and ended up getting to Upper Velma Lake around 4:00.

Avg pace = 25:28/mi

Total distance = 5.54 mi

Elapsed moving time = 2:21:07

Total elevation gain = 2080'

https://www.strava.com/activities/15493902557

Set up my campsite fairly quickly and then changed to go swimming. I was surprised at the water temperature, much warmer than expected. I was able to get used to it, and I swam to the other side of the lake before swimming back. Should have brought my goggles. Jambo is an excellent swimmer, very powerful, and he swam around most of the lake. Warming up after getting out took some time. We gathered for dinner on a rock outcropping near our sites. I had burritos, which were much better with the added spice, onions, and garlic. It was very relaxed. There was a water cascade down a rock incline into the lake, and we found running water there to filter and replenish out supplies. My water filter worked just fine. Everybody was pretty worn out by the hike. I got ready for sleep, which involved loaded stuff into the bear canister, then I was in my tent by about 8:00 and probably asleep by 8:30.

08-14-2025 Hike

Woke up around 4:15 after a very short night's sleep. I had already packed much of my stuff into the car, so I showered, dressed, and loaded my overnight bag. Put drinks and the rest of the food into the collapsible cooler and loaded it as well. I had time for a quick cereal breakfast. Was on the road and moving by 6:05. The estimated pure drive time was a little less than six hours, so I had buffer built in to be at the campground by noon. I ran into a little traffic on the way into Corona, not too bad, and a minor slowdown at the 60 interchange, but all in all I made good time through the LA area and up to the turnoff for the 395. I drove into Adelanto and got gas at an Arco station, had a pee there as well. Then it was the long, featureless drive up to Lone Pine. I got a little tired on this stretch but powered through. Had a bottle of Sam's cola to give me some caffeine, that helped. Stopped for another bathroom break at the visitor center south of Lone Pine, then I drove to Bishop from there. Stopped in town to top off the tank, then it was a relatively short drive to the Crowley Lake Campground. This one is basically just off the 395, unpaved road to get into it. It's BLM land, $10/night. They had some potable water faucets, but I'd brought a filled water jug. Camped at site 14. I was intent on getting there at noon check-in time, needn't have worried. When I emailed the campground to ask about how busy they typically were (no reservations accepted), they said to expect 80% occupancy. It wasn't even close. I had the area basically to myself, maybe it was 20% occupancy at most. Set the tent up okay but the soil was loose in places, so I used rocks to hold the tent stakes in. Was a little breezy. I had a lot of time to kill in the afternoon. Had a little nap, listened to a podcast, then drove around the area. There's a Crowley Lake Community, looks like fishing if a big deal. I drove to the entrance to the marina by the south end of the lake, but they wanted $10 and I wasn't sure it would be worth it. I drove up to the north end because there was also supposed to be a landing there. Drove to Whitmore Hot Springs, there weren't any hot springs that I could see, also no north landing for the lake. There was, curiously, a public pool, so I walked over to it, thinking maybe I could go for a swim. No luck, it was closed for employee BBQ day. Too bad, the pool actually looked pretty nice, with marked off lanes. So, I drove back into Crowley Lake Community and parked the car, then walked to see what the marina was like. In a word, lifeless. Not so much action going on, no boats on the water that I could see, and no obvious place to go swimming, although I was prepared. So I walked back to the general store in the little community, bought a PBR tall boy, and sat people-watching for a while. The I walked back to the car and drove to the campsite. It was cool in the shade but still hot in direct sunlight. This lake and campground are at about 7000', so the sun is more intense. When I got back, I made dinner - Kraft Mac 'n Cheese enhanced with homemade spaghetti sauce. It was actually pretty good. I had a can of grape leaves as well, and a beer with dinner. I took my time eating, it was a lot of food. Sun dropped below the mountains to the west around 6:40, but it stayed warm for a while, and the breeze continued. Cleaned the dishes, then I used the garden sprayer after that to wash my hair. That thing works pretty well, just takes some time to rinse because the spray is so fine. It was very pleasant after the sun went behind the mountains, a little breeze and cool but not cold. To get my last steps in, I walked over to another tent campsite and talked briefly with the folks there. Then I brushed my teeth and packed the smelly items into the bear locker at the campsite. Got my sleeping quilt out and moved into the tent. The air mattress was partially deflated, but I'm hoping it was just a poor fit of the plug when I filled it up earlier.

08-13-2025 Walk

Was originally going to ride in the morning, but I decided to focus on getting everything ready for the camping trip. That was a good plan (<>). I had plenty of time to think about the list and make sure that it was both complete and loaded into the car. Didn't worry too much about packing my backpack, since I'll have Friday morning to do the final loading there. I shaved and showered, then Ann cut my hair, which was looking a little wooly. After that, she headed off to the beach. I left early and rode to Walmart to get some soda and extra camp stove fuel. Also got a veggie burrito at Taco Taco. It was huge and pretty expensive. I rode to the hospital and ate my food, along with fries, an ice cream bar, and a Pepsi. I was pretty full, couldn't finish the fries. Volunteer shift was steadily busy, not a whole lot of standing around. Another med tech, Ashley, was training with Arissa on admin tasks. I left around 4:10 and hurried home to change clothes and drive to Shak's Mediterranean Restaurant in Vista to meet up with some retired HP folks. Talked to George Lynch and his companion Phyllis, along with Guillermo (Memo) and his wife Roxanne, who is recovering from a mild stroke. Also Marita Saxton, who lives in RB. These folks are older than we are by at least five years. Dinner was okay, not good enough to go back to the restaurant. Then we drove to Moonlight Amphitheatre to see Fiddler on the Roof with the HP retirees. There I talked to Rand Newman and his wife Diane, who were very nice. The show was decent (on the whole, very solid performers in the lead roles), but I was really tired and had trouble focusing on the performers. I dozed a little bit during the first act but stayed mostly awake after the intermission. Ann drove home on dark back roads that took us out to Buena Creek Rd, a very roundabout way of getting home. I was tired and irritable, and Ann was driving maddeningly slowly. She must really not trust her night vision at all. Go home a little before 11:30 and packed most of the camping stuff in the car, all except the things going into the cooler and my gym bag. Got to sleep okay.

08-12-2025 Ride/Hike

It was a very good day, and a hard workout, on the bike. I got up a little before 6:00 and started getting ready for my ride up to Julian. Filled water bottles and took a banana and a granola nut bar with me. I headed down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd, intent on trying to either set or get close to a PR for the entire segment up to the 67. So I pushed a little harder on the climbs than the last time I did this ride. Had some trouble getting into first gear after the first climb, and for a short while I thought one of my shifter batteries had died. Nope, I was just not thinking straight about shifting. Middle climb was tough as always, I couldn't do it all without getting out of the saddle, especially in second gear. The sun came out on the gradual climbing section after the middle climb. For the third climb, I kept pushing in second gear. On the general descent toward Ramona, I stayed pedaling more than usual, and I was also working harder on the flat section up to the turn onto the 67. I ended up setting a PR for the entire eastbound segment on Highland Valley Rd (56:09, 190 W, 135 bpm), thought I would be close when I got to the intersection with the 67, and it was gratifying to see after the ride. Down into Ramona and through the town. There is a distinct split in the town at the 78. South of this intersection is the newer part of the city, while the old village is located north of it, at least along this highway. I turned right onto 3rd St and started the Old Julian Hwy section, which is about 8 miles long. I looked at my time around this point and was a little disappointed in my progress, but that turned out to be misplaced. Was actually on a good pace. There's about 1000' of climbing in this 8 miles (about 600' of it is in a single climb), along with some minor descents at times. As mentioned before, the road quality is generally not good and actually bad in some places. The road quality improved dramatically when I got onto the 78, but it has narrow shoulders for the most part and is therefore more challenging to ride, especially with lots of traffic. On this day, the traffic level wasn't too bad, and I made good time. A couple of climbs here but not huge elevation gains, then it was the descent into Santa Ysabel. Set a PR for the stretch from Ramona to Dudley's Bakery in Santa Ysabel (51:19, 170 W, 136 bpm). I stopped at Don's Market and got a PowerAde, drank some of it while I ate my granola bar and banana and had a brief rest. I poured the rest of the PowerAde into my water bottle and continued on up to Wynola. This section is never very steep, has some 7% gradient but not for long. It's more for grinding up and staying consistent in pedaling. I stayed in the saddle for most of this climb, stretched my lower back every now and then. It's flat to descending through Wynola, then the grade picks back up and stays that way up to the stop sign in Julian. I set another PR on this segment, again was feeling pretty good and not really letting up at all (34:04, 183 W, 147 bpm). I checked Strava, and this time would be the fastest ever for riders over 65, will need to try this route again after November. It was quite sunny by this time, not super hot but I could feel the effects of the sun when I wasn't in shade. I got into town a fair bit earlier than I thought I would, so on a whim I decided to keep riding. Turned right at the stop sign and rode over to Hwy 79, where I turned right again and rode up to the fire station, about a mile and a half. That got me to 5000' of elevation gain for the day. I stopped and took a picture of an old sheriff's car, then turned around and rode back (into a mild headwind) into town. Still got there with plenty of time to rest before Ann showed up around 10:15. As near as I can calculate, using GPX data downloaded from Strava and then analyzed using Excel, my riding time from home up to Julian was 2:54:37, which was faster than my previous best, in April of 2024, by about 5 minutes. Still not my fastest time from Ramona up to Julian (1:36), but at 1:38 after riding from home to Ramona (and being a lot older) was pleased with the effort.

Avg speed = 13.8 mph (13.8 mph). Total mileage = 43.4 mi

Avg power = 170 W. Weighted avg power = 191 W

Total elevation gain = 5060' (5350')

Avg heartrate = 135 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 133 (125)

Training Load = 244

Intensity = 87%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15435005323

After Ann got there, I put my bike in the car, and we walked around the village, looking in the knick-knack shops on a very quiet Tuesday. A number of shops were closed, which was fine by me. We eventually got over to the Julian Pie Co, I had apple pie with cinnamon ice cream (too much ice cream, maybe they were hiding the relatively small size of the pie slice) and a coffee. Coffee was really welcome, it woke me up nicely. After the pie Ann drove us back home. I had a relaxing early afternoon, then started packing my stuff for the trip. This always takes longer than I think it will, but the process was useful for reminding me of additional things to take as well as checking off all the items on my list. Talked to Mom, and Ross briefly, in the late afternoon. She was in good spirits, didn't dwell on the car repair issue, which I was glad to hear. A quiet evening.

08/11/2025 Run/Swim

Woke up a little after 5:30 and got ready for an early-morning run. Took my scooter down to the park and ran 5 miles using the park loop. Temperature was nice, but it was humid.

Avg pace = 7:50/mi

Total distance = 5.05 mi

Elapsed moving time = 39:36

Avg heartrate = 134 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 20

https://www.strava.com/activities/15421234182

I rode home, cooling off on the way. Had a little time when I got home, so I downloaded the three GPX files for our three days of hiking this weekend. Then I headed over to the WWC for a swim. Wasn't super crowded when it opened, but by the time I got out nearly all of the lanes were taken. I only swam 1500 yds using breaths every three strokes, just wasn't feeling strong in the pool on this day. The last 500 was a little slower because I had to stop several times to adjust my goggles. Here are the three 500 splits from video analysis: 9:42, 9:53, 10:06.

Avg pace = 1:58/100 yds

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 29:44 (Zepp)

Avg heartrate = 165 bpm (Amazfit)

Relative Effort = 80

SWOLF = 39

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/15425881285

Was pretty hungry when I got home, so I ate a bowl of cereal. Relaxed for a bit, then Ann and I ran some errands, going to Walmart, Harbor Freight, and Aldi for supplies in preparation for the camping trip. I had lunch when I got back and snacked while I watched some TV in the afternoon. Later, I prepared the two dinner meals that I will take with me while backpacking and put them in the refrigerator. I also started gathering up the non-food items and putting them either on the card table or in a plastic bin. The items in the plastic bin are for car camping, I'll pack the other items into my backpack. I talked to Ben a couple of times during the day, he was worried about the latest deal between Mom and Ross, where Mom wanted to get her car fixed and Ross wasn't fully on board. It all got worked out, Mark intervened. I also received my new bike tires and a couple of spare flat-top chains, so I swapped in the new tires on the bike. In the evening, I summarized my camping list and printed it out.

Finished reading The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. What a chilling story.

08/10/2025 Hike

Had a pretty good sleep but woke up before midnight hungry. So I ate some food standing up and went back to sleep, reading for a bit. (<>). Went for a hike in the park in the morning, heading over by the falls (there's actually a little water flowing). I then walked the loop path up to the lookout point before walking back to Duenda Rd and home from there. I had some cereal for breakfast and then shaved and showered for church. Saw a lot of acquaintances there, and the children sang a couple of songs at both services, with assistance from Emily and Ann. While they were with the children during Godly Play, I walked over to the coffee house on Grand Ave and had a decaf coffee (they charged extra because it was decaf, that's a first). I walked back and got there as the service was ending. We stopped for gas on the way home. Leftover pizza for lunch and a quiet afternoon. I registered for Medicare, and Ann booked us a hotel for the last night in Paris before our flight home. Had a nap, read some, and worked on my camping trip checklist. Later I updated my cycling database. The afternoon and evening were quiet. I did replace one of the posts for the shade cover in the garden, it went smoothly. Watched some TV and talked to Pat about train logistics. That was the evening.

08-09-2025 Ride/Walk

Slept okay, woke up just before my alarm was going to go off. I replaced my rear tire with a Gatorskin and then got dressed and loaded up with some food for the ride. This was going to be a more difficult Bisikleta ride than usual, longer and with more climbing. I was one of the ride leaders, but Rob had suggested the route. Left a little early and rode through the neighborhood and then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood, got there before anybody else. Eventually, others showed up, so that at the start we had: Rob, James, Jed P. Jed A., and Fritz. We headed down CdS, starting off at a moderate pace. Starting at the CdS bump, Fritz was pushing the pace, so I hung with him and pushed as well. We ended up gapping the others on the section over to the 56 bike path, but Fritz probably regretted riding so hard early in the day. He hung back for a while after that. Arnold met us at the intersection, we waited for everybody to gather back up, then continued on. There was a decent, fast pace line that we formed on the stretch to CVR, then Jed A. and I pushed the pace on the next segment to the end of the 56 bike path. He is fast when he wants to be, we gapped the others but not by a whole lot. Because I didn't stop, I ended up with a PR for the segment on the 56 bike path from CdS to ECR (16:32, 166 W, 132 bpm). Over to CVR and to PCH from there, with me and Jed P. out in the lead up that little climb. Down the hill and then up the Torrey Pines outside route. I put in a pretty big effort, not sure if I could have gone much harder, but still ended up with a time that was about 30 seconds off my PR. Waited for the others to get to the top, then we continued on to the turn to stay on Torrey Pines Rd. This is where Jed A. peeled off to start riding home in Mira Mesa. The rest of us rode to La Jolla Shores Dr and turned there, taking this really nice descent that has some sketchy pavement near the bottom to watch out for. We turned right onto El Paseo Grande, I rode down a little bit and then rode back up to catch James before he missed the turn. Stayed on this road until veering off onto Camino del Oro and taking it to Avenida de la Playa. Used this to get to Calle de la Plata, where we turned right and then right again on Paseo Dorado. To Spindrift Dr and then back onto Torrey Pines Rd, climbing up into La Jolla. We turned left onto Girard Ave and then right on Pearl St. James, who was behind us, ended up riding through La Jolla village and extending his route somewhat. We turned left onto Fay Ave and took it up to Nautilus St. I had hung back to text James about where to meet us, so then I had to push pretty hard to catch the others on the climb. I didn't feel like I was crushing it, but I ended up with a PR on the Nautilus St climb (9:18, 234 W, 149 bpm). It was warming up, so my heartrate was probably affected somewhat by the temperature. I ended up passing the others and getting to the cross in front of them, but Arnold wasn't too far back. James eventually showed up, so we were all together again. We took Soledad Mountain Rd down, and that was a fun descent, James and I were out in front and Fritz wasn't too far back. Got onto the sidewalk by Balboa Ave and then onto the Rose Canyon bike path, a little sketchy but everybody made it. I think we had a tailwind on this section, Fritz was out in front, and Rob and I were hanging with him for about the first half of the segment up to Gilman Dr. I took over the lead in the second half, and Fritz and I dropped Rob (without meaning to, he couldn't keep up). I ended up setting a PR for the Rose Creek Bikeway Northbound segment (9:35, 192 W, 140 bpm). This PR was very likely wind-aided. I waited near the entrance to the bike path for James to show up while the others kept going, and that made me push pretty hard to try and catch them. I caught Rob but not Fritz, Arnold, or Jed. Waited at the turn to get over to the bike path by the I-5 for James while the others kept going. I made good time going down the hill, not a PR but fast. The others had stopped for a coffee break at the bottom of the hill, and the coffee helped me. Legs were feeling a little worn out before the caffeine hit my system. After the break we rode over to Vista Sorrento Pkwy and took it up to Carmel Mountain Rd (CMR). Fritz and I were pushing each other on this segment, and we gapped the others. We rode over to ECR after everyone showed up and then rode down to the 56 bike path. I pushed the pace again once we got onto this path, and I ended up setting a PR (4:52, 220 W, 147 bpm) on the stretch from El Camino Real up to Ruette de Mer. I've ridden this segment many, many times, not sure why today was so fast, but it was also probably wind-aided. We continued on the 56 bike path up to Camino del Sur, tried to form a pace line after we got past Carmel Valley Rd, and it lasted for just a little bit before Rob fell off the back. Next to fall back was Arnold, when we got to the last little climb. Jed lasted a little longer, and Fritz was the last one to fall off the pace. We got to CdS and gathered up, all except James, who was further back. Arnold split off from us here and offered to wait for James and let him know we were continuing. On the last stretch back to Target, Rob took it easy and the other three of us - me, Fritz, Jed - kept up a decent pace. Eventually Jed fell off the pace, and near Paseo del Sur Fritz started feeling cramps in his legs, so we slowed down. The two of us finished together, it was quite warm at the end but not blazing hot. I waited around until everybody showed up. Rob looked particularly wiped out by the ride, James was still in good shape. I rode home then, the new normal way, except that I stayed on W Bernardo Dr down to Aguamiel Rd to get just a little extra elevation in. Felt pretty wiped out myself at the end of this ride, was particularly glad to get out of the sun and heat.

Avg speed = 16.7 mph (16.8 mph). Total mileage = 64.8 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 17.1 mph

Avg power = 150 W. Weighted avg power = 178 W

Total elevation gain = 4130' (4510')

Avg heartrate = 129 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 141 (145)

Training Load = 302

Intensity = 81%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15402901574

I got home about 12:45 and was destined not to do much in the afternoon. Watched a little TV, had a little nap, worked on the computer, and that was it. In the early evening Ann and I went to Rocco's Pizza in Escondido for dinner. A little shop with no ambience, more of a takeout place, and the pizza was ordinary. We stopped at the Asian foods market nearby and got a couple of items while the pizza was being baked. Drove home, and I went for a longer walk down by the park to get the rest of my steps in. It was a nice evening, had cooled down. That was the evening for me.

08-08-2025 Ride/Hike

Woke up just before 5:00, when my alarm was supposed to go off. Got all my gear together for the ride and packed it into the RAV4, then I drove down to the Carlsbad Costco parking lot to meet Paula. It took a couple of minutes for her to find me in the lot, but we connected. My Wahoo was low on power, so I charged it up for 5-10 minutes while we were getting ready. We started out heading east on Palomar Airport Rd, turning right onto Aviara Pkwy and encountering the first of a number of climbs on this ride. Initially, I was tracking the route on my Wahoo but was worried that it would drain the battery faster, so I ended up relying on Paula's navigation, which worked out just fine. To Poinsettia Ln, turning left there and then right onto Black Rail Rd, cutting through a neighborhood to get back to Aviara Pkwy, where we turned left. This took us up to El Camino Real, where we turned right and rode up to Calle Barcelona. Then we took a series of surface streets through a neighborhood (I think Paula was following her own internal map rather than the route) that got us to Camino Alvaro, which turned into RSF Rd at a major intersection. We kept going up this familiar road until we turned onto Lone Jack Rd, which I hadn't been on in quite a while. This road winds through a really nice neighborhood, then we turned right onto Fortuna Ranch Rd, and it quickly got really steep. I powered through it and rode to the end of this road, called Canyon de Oro by this time, then turned around and rode back to where Paula was. We retraced the route and then turned left onto Rancho Summit Dr, followed by an immediate right onto Canyon de Oro. This was kinda steep up to its intersection with Seaquest Trail, where we turned left and continued climbing. Road quality was good until just near the top, when it quickly became not so good. This road generally wound down, with a couple little climbing sections, through horse properties, turning into Fortuna del Sur at some point, which took us over to Elfin Forest Rd. We headed into San Elijo Hills village from there, just a gentle last climb, then rode down San Elijo Rd until turning right onto Melrose Dr. We'd been on this road recently, it has several descents and climbs. On the last descent, we were going pretty fast and Paula was in front when she started slowing rapidly without signaling. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention, but I laid onto the brakes hard and skidded my rear tire as I swerved to avoid her. That got my adrenaline pumping, and she was also a little shaken up by it. All was fine, although it probably ruined my rear tire by creating a flat spot where I skidded so hard. Better that than crashing, for sure. We continued on up to Palomar Airport Rd and across, riding down the hill and turning left onto Faraday Dr. This road is more downhill, fairly gentle grade, than I remembered, it has just one sharp little climb that we navigated before eventually turning left onto College Blvd. We took this back to Palomar Airport Rd and turned right to get back to the starting point in the Costco parking lot.

Avg speed = 13.7 mph. Total mileage = 25.7 mi

Avg power = 121 W. Weighted avg power = 167 W

Total elevation gain = 2210'

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 30

Training Load = 127

Intensity = 76%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15390697959

With the ride successfully completed, Paula brought out some strawberry tarts that Catalin had made (he was on his way up to Mt Shasta for a backpacking hike, with some friends, of 8 miles and 8000' ft of elevation gain). They were tasty. Paula is going to Havasupai with her family around Labor Day weekend, I think they will really love it. I drove home, got into a little bit of traffic on I-15 in Escondido, but it wasn't horrible. Had some toast when I got home, and I also ordered a new set of tires, along with a couple of spare flat-top chains, which were on sale. I wasn't sure how much walking we would do to get to the baseball game, so in the afternoon I went for a hike with my weighted backpack, on the trails in the nearby park. It was definitely hot, near 90 deg for the most part and in direct sunlight. I ended up walking about 4 miles in my all-terrain running shoes, and my shoulders were feeling it by the end. Got home and had a shower and a small break before Caleb showed up. Ann had packed the car for the tailgate, so we were off as soon as he got there. Ran into annoying traffic on the 163 after we visited Emily's new office and picked her up from there. On the highway, I wasn't watching traffic closely enough and had to slam on the brakes to keep from rear-ending a Tesla, so that wasn't good on my part. I just need to be better tuned in and less distracted by what's going on around me. We were going to park in the Petco Tailgate Park, but it was $50 to park there. Insane! The others probably weren't happy with me, but I balked and asked Ann to find a cheaper place. She did, but it ended up being about a mile away from the ballpark, and no tailgate area. Luckily, there was a WeWork building nearby, and the security guard was cool with us using one of the tables out in front. Tailgate was fine, Emily was quiet during the meal and probably not feeling great about the arrangements. We dropped our stuff back off in the car and walked to the ballpark. It was definitely a sellout, and the lines were super long when we got there. We went to a gate by home plate, and for some reason I couldn't get a cell signal, even though I clearly had bars. It was very frustrating. Caleb ended up logging onto my TicketMaster account on his phone and pulling up the tickets, so we got in, delayed and missing most of the first inning. The evening was fine, the game was not. Padres just couldn't capitalize on the many runners left on base, and Nick Pivetta made a couple of crucial mistake pitches. They ended up losing, we stayed until they avoided the shutout and then left to make sure we got back to the parking lot before our time had expired. We got back there, and of course the scanner wouldn't read our barcode to let us into the building. Luckily, a couple of others had the same problem and had called the security guard, who let us in. Home from there, a little traffic to get out of town and onto the freeway, not too bad. I ended up with lots of steps on this day.

08-07-2025 Swim/Hike

Woke up around 5:30 and looked at my phone for a while, then got up and got ready for a swim. There weren't so many people when the club opened on this Thursday. I had a lane to myself with open lanes on either side for the entire time. I swam 1500 yds, breathing every three strokes instead of every four strokes, like I did on Monday. It is curious that I appear to have more trouble keeping my strokes long when I'm breathing more frequently. I'm also a little bit slower. Here are the splits for my three 500s, from video analysis: 9:29, 9:46, 9:43. Total time = 28:58. I got somewhat similar numbers from my Zepp export to Strava: 9:37, 9:44, 9:46. The differences appear to be in the small delay upon starting and the larger delay upon finishing and stopping my watch. Not trusting the average heartrate recorded by my watch for this workout.

Avg pace = 1:55/100 yds

Total distance = 1500 yds

Elapsed moving time = 29:15 (Zepp)

Avg heartrate = 151 bpm (Amazfit)

Relative Effort = 44

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

https://www.strava.com/activities/15379172748

I rode home after the swim and had some breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher, and washed my hair before heading over to HP for coffee with Brooke and Gary. Nothing major to report from their news. Then I rode home, stopping at AM-PM to get gas on the way, and took some time to check the Sportage engine oil level and top it off. Afternoon was easygoing, stayed inside because it was fairly hot outside. Watched some TV, read, had a little nap. Ann went to Mah-Jongg in the afternoon. I also talked to Ben for about an hour, he gave me the lowdown on his recent trip to a resort in San Antonio. Thought about going to Walmart and Aldi but decided to wait until I had a list of stuff to buy for the backpacking trip. After dinner, it had cooled off a little, so I went for a hike with my weighted backpack, heading through the neighborhood until the trail into the area by the waterfall, now dried up for the summer. Got the rest of my steps in on this hike. When I got home, I also switched out my old chain (with two MasterLinks) with the newer one, had put a little over 600 miles on it since it had last been rewaxed. It still has some life on it, according to my chain wear gauge. This old chain has 106 links. I then decided to install the microwave oven latch piece that arrived in the afternoon. Thought this was going to be an easy repair, but it was more challenging than I thought. I had Ann helping me by either holding a light or holding onto the oven control panel. I just couldn't figure out how to fit the plastic piece in. I ended up bending a little metal notch back so I could fit the latch in on the right side, but that still wasn't the solution. Removed all the connectors for the oven control panel, then I unscrewed the plastic substrate that had some of the failsafe circuits for keeping the oven from being powered on when the door is open. By looking at this substrate and figuring out how the repair part function in opening the door latches, I was eventually able to install it properly, reattach the plastic substrate and control panel connectors, and put it back together so it worked as intended. Success! The plastic tabs holding the control panel on to the oven itself are worn out or gone, so I tried to attach it back to the oven body using foam tape. Will see if that holds well enough. Was happy to be able to avoid the service visit for this repair, but it was trickier than I thought.

08-06-2025 Ride/Hike

Woke up around 5:30, had a decent night's sleep although I did read during the night. Got ready for a ride with John, initially thought about stopping for a donut before meeting him but decided against it, probably not a good idea. Rode over, initially taking the normal way via Bernardo Center Dr. But when I got to the corner of Pomerado Rd and Poway Rd, I had enough time to keep going straight, up to a right turn onto Scripps-Poway Pkwy. Did that little climb and then rode to John's house the normal way from there, including riding up to the top of Briarleaf Way. Jayden was out and in rare form when I got there, he's definitely a high-energy boy. We rode back down the hill and turned right onto Poway Rd, following the reverse of the old time trial route for a while. The climb up to Espola Rd was tough as usual, but I didn't think it seemed as steep as on past times. John's new Sunday time trial route follows Poway Rd up to the 67, then back down via Scripps-Poway Pkwy. That's quite a climb to be doing regularly, good on him! We followed Espola Rd down to Twin Peaks Rd and then climbed up to the high school. John was slow on this climb, as the heat was starting to build for the day. Then it was back down to Pomerado Rd, making good time and trading leads on this downhill section. Left turn onto Pomerado Rd, and I repeated my earlier course up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy. But John's route had us going to the top of Pomerado Rd, so that's what we did. I kept a steady pace but was slower than my PR by about a minute, hoped that I had been faster. Again, John was quite slow on this climb, the day was hot by then, and this climb was exposed to the sun. Back to his house the normal way from the top, where Jayden was out and wanting to race me and John. Kinda annoying. Vivian brought out smoothies, and they really hit the spot. Later, I had a slice of banana bread, with black walnuts, that she had made a couple of days ago. It was delicious. On the ride back, I rode down the hill and turned left onto Sabre Springs Pkwy, staying on it past Poway Rd and following the new time trial route home from there. I was slower than usual, this time it was the effect of the higher temperatures on me. Felt fine at the end, not tired but not full of energy.

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 40.9 mi

Avg power = 127 W. Weighted avg power = 157 W

Total elevation gain = 2640'

Avg heartrate = 112 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 41

Training Load = 155

Intensity = 71%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15367378706

Ann left for the beach right after I got home, so I had the house to myself for about an hour. I got ready for my volunteer shift in a leisurely fashion and left a little early, intending to eat a bigger lunch in the cafeteria. I did, but it cost me more than I thought, not game-changing money but certainly not, in real money, what I thought the meal was worth. Probably won't do that again soon, maybe just bring a sandwich or something to heat in the microwave. Then I headed to my shift. It was pretty consistently busy, met a new (for me) Med Tech, Norma. A guy was having a heart attack in the waiting room, Richard found it out, and that caused folks to scramble. They ended up stabilizing him there and then flying him over to Escondido. I was about 10 minutes late leaving, which put me behind schedule for meeting Emily at Kit Carson Park. Rushed home and changed, then put on my backpack with two gallons of water for weight and headed over there. She was already there, I arrived several minutes late but not too bad, given the traffic. We ended up doing a hike around much of the perimeter of the park, a little longer than our usual route and definitely more hilly, although it wasn't too bad. The path was about half in shade, which was beneficial on this day. She provided a lot of details about Mike's intended purchase of a ReMax office in Irvine. Sounds risky, but it was gratifying to hear how much he involved Emily and relied on her input prior to the purchase. We hiked for about 50 minutes, then I rode home and ate dinner with Ann, who waited for me. Watched a little TV after dinner and read before going to bed.

08-05-2025 Ride/Run

Woke up after some very vivid dreams in the night. Got ready for a ride and was rolling before 7:00. This was intended to be an easy-paced ride, and I largely succeeded in keeping my speed down. Through the neighborhood and over to Carmel Valley Rd via Dove Canyon Rd. Up this climb, slowly, then I stayed on this road until turning right onto Del Mar Heights Rd. Down to Carmel Canyon Rd, using it to get to Carmel Country Rd and thus to the 56 bike path. Down toward the coast, and near the end of the path Aaron rode up by me. We rode to the end, chatted briefly, then split. I headed to Carmel Valley Rd and took it to PCH. Left turn, then down the hill to the base of the inside route up Torrey Pines. I stopped to pee there, then rode up the inside route and back down twice, stopping to eat a banana at the top the second time. I rode down and back toward home the normal way via the 56 bike path to Camino del Sur. Again, taking it pretty easy and staying in Zones 1 and 2 for the most part. Right turn there, taking it up to Carmel Mountain Rd and turning left. This segment is a gradual climb up to Black Mountain Rd, and the sun had come out, so it was warming up. Left turn there, up to Carmel Valley Rd. I thought about taking Stargaze Ave but decided against it. Home via Bernardo Center Dr to W Bernardo Dr and the normal way from there. Not a lot of energy on this route, just getting my miles in to build core strength.

Avg speed = 14.4 mph. Total mileage = 43.5 mi

Avg power = 117 W. Weighted avg power = 153 W

Total elevation gain = 3020'

Avg heartrate = 107 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 39

Training Load = 157

Intensity = 70%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15355036651

It was a quiet late morning and afternoon around the house. I watched some TV, read (I'm re-reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale), took a nap, then worked on Visual Basic code to parse the swimming lap data in Strava into elapsed times for 500s and any extra distance. I cleaned the kitchen dishes. Also talked to Mom after dinner, she was in a good mood and had enjoyed her trip last Friday to Hannah's house to visit and get her hair done. After the call, I went out for a run, down to the park and the extended route three times around before running back to just beyond the corner of Aguamiel Rd, to get four miles in. This was at a casual pace as well, had eaten dinner and didn't want to upset my stomach. My right foot was just slightly tender when I started, but it felt fine after loosening up and wasn't a problem.

Avg pace = 8:28/mi

Total distance = 4.01 mi

Elapsed moving time = 34:03

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 9

https://www.strava.com/activities/15359873033

To finish getting my steps in, I did a cool-down walk for about a mile through the neighborhood before heading home. I went out in the back yard and shored up one of the poles holding the shade cover over the original vegetable bed, then read some more, did the dishes, and eventually watched a little TV before heading off to bed.