Woke up early, had a decent enough sleep. I loaded my gear into the Sportage and drove down to the Gliderport, where I was early enough to find street parking. The others trickled in, and I met up with all the riders doing the 59-mile route: Paula, Dan, Marc, Nicole, Luis, and Rob. We eventually rode over to the field, where the energy level was definitely higher than the previous evening. I had a mini muffin, then took a pee. We got a number of photos before heading over to the starting line. I think I saw Geoffrey Mayne in the field but didn't have the time to go find him. We started right around 8:00 and headed through the campus to Torrey Pines Rd. I had started my Akaso camera and was able to capture the Torrey Pines descent. We rode up to Carmel Valley Rd, an HP contractor (Kelsey Burke) took some pictures of us as we got close to the turn. Then we rode down the hill and got onto the 56 bike path the normal way. All of us except Marc were pretty much staying together, spreading out at times but coalescing as well. It turns out Marc had met up with some other riders he knew and was hanging out with them behind us. We rode, at decent pace, up to Camino del Sur, turning right there and left onto Merge Ave to get over to Carmel Mountain Rd. Left there, over the highway, then right on Sundance Ave and left on Entreken Ave. Left on Sedorus St and right on Russet Leaf Ln to get Entreken Way, where we turned left and then pulled into the first rest stop at a Middle School. I had a Pepsi and a banana, and we didn't stay there super long before continuing on Entreken Way, taking a little path to get to Torrey Park Ter, turning right there and following it as it turned into Torrey Gardens Pl. A left turn on Torrey Meadows Dr got us back to Camino del Sur, where we turned right and were back on familiar roads. We stayed on Camino del Sur until turning onto San Dieguito Rd and taking the Three Witches downhill. I tried to start my Akaso camera to record this descent but found out later I was unsuccessful. Down the hill and turning right on El Apajo, taking it and Via de Santa Fe up to VdlV for the climb up to Paseo Delicias. On this climb, we crossed paths with the SDBC B group, and I saw Fritz (actually, he saw me first and called out my name). Small world! They turned onto Stud Loop, and I waited for the others to catch up after making the right turn onto Paseo Delicias. We followed this out to El Camino del Norte and turned left there, that turn was a little sketchy for a large group of riders, but we made it okay. I pushed a little harder to catch up with some of the riders in our group that had gotten ahead. Catalin was riding with us around this time, and the two of us were out in front. I got to the top of a little climb and stopped to wait for the others, then followed Rob and Paula at the back to the nice gradual descent and short climb up to RSF Rd. I dialed my effort back and stayed with Rob on the climbs after the right turn onto this road. Paula wasn't far back then. We rode up to Camino del los Coches and turned right to get to the second rest stop at Stagecoach Park. Had a little longer break, still no sign of Marc, but the others were all gathered up. I got a little Gatorade for one of my water bottles and ate some Oreos and peanut butter pretzels, went for another pee. We left out of this park and headed back to RSF Rd, up the gradual climb here that was the longest sustained elevation gain of the ride but at a generally gradual grade. I got to the top first and stopped to take videos of the other riders coming to the top. It seemed like forever before Luis and Paula made it. Paula had stopped to get some air put into her front tire, so she and I stopped to take a look at the tire and see if it was leaking air. Didn't seem so to me, but I decided to stay with her for a while and make sure she didn't get stranded. We rode down the hill and missed a little part of the original loop, instead turning directly left onto Melrose Dr. Most of the other riders were ahead of us except for Luis, and the three of us kinda rode together for the next portion of the ride. Right on Calle Hidalgo and an immediate left onto Camino de Amigos to get to Alga Rd, where we turned left. We stayed on this road and Aviara Pkwy for a while, it had a little climb then a nice long descent before a climb and a right turn onto Ambrosia Ln, where we had some more little climbs to negotiate before a left turn onto Poinsettia Ln. Some more little climbing before another nice long descent pretty much all the way to the coast and PCH, turning left there. I thought we would stay on PCH, but the route had us jog over to Vulcan Ave at La Costa Ave. I prefer the bike lanes on PCH to this road, which slowed us down somewhat. It was me and Paula riding together, with Luis not too far behind. We got back onto PCH at Encinitas Blvd and took it to the last rest stop at Swami's Beach, where the others were waiting (they said they hadn't waited too long). I had another Pepsi, some fig bars, and some Ruffles for the salt, took a final pee. Finally, Marc showed up, and he generally stayed with the group for the rest of the ride. Before he got there, we took some group pics by the ocean, one of them turned out particularly well. Last stretch was nice, I think we had the benefit of some tailwind while we were on the coast. I basically rode with the group as we took PCH through Cardiff, Solana Beach, and up into Del Mar. I did push harder on the stretch through Del Mar and down to Carmel Valley Rd, where we turned again. Was out in front on this section, and I kicked on the jets before turning onto Sorrento Valley Rd. Marc and Nicole were with me, and Dan had gone ahead, but I waited under the freeway for the other riders to show up before continuing. Rob and Paula were riding together near the back, and I joined them for this next stretch. Rob and I were out front, with Paula not too far back, and I again put on some speed and separated from Rob on Sorrento Valley Rd, which has really bad road conditions. Over to Sorrento Valley Blvd, using it to get over to the bike path that runs parallel to I-5. I got onto this path at speed and pushed hard, thinking I might have a chance to catch the other riders ahead of me. I saw them ahead of me after Genesee Ave and put in a big effort to catch and pass them - Dan, Marc, and Nicole - at pretty high speed. Got to the top of the climb and waited for the others, who kept going to the finish while I waited for Rob and Paula to show up. We three rode together briefly on Voigt Dr before stopping in the shade and waiting for Luis to show up. The four of us continued, a little stretched out, until turning right onto Hopkins Dr for a last very little climb and the finish line. Felt just fine at the end. There were a couple of times when I had put in a big effort, but my overall riding pace was fairly modest, mostly Zone 2 and low Zone 3.
Avg speed = 15.6 mph. Total mileage = 58.1 mi
Avg power = 126 W. Weighted avg power = 157 W
Total elevation gain = 3470'
Avg heartrate = 119 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 78
Training Load = 221
Intensity = 71%
We took more pictures of the four of us at the finish, then walked to drop off our bikes and grab something to eat and drink. Met up with the other riders, including the three riders who had done the 25-mile ride. We ate lunch (falafel, not too bad) and chatted, then Marc and Dan split. The rest of us headed over to the Dexcom tent, where Catalin hosted us as we sat in the shade and chilled for a while. Eventually the party broke up, and Rob and I rode back to where we had parked our cars. I loaded my stuff into the car and drove home, got there a little before 3:00. I was more tired than I thought, and I ended up taking a little nap that was refreshing. Watched some TV and had dinner, then I took a walk down to the park and around it to get the rest of my steps in. Was a nice evening, nothing going on at the park, so the walk was pretty quiet. I watched a little more TV when I got home, then called it a night. This was the end of what turned out to be a pretty good week overall.
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