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%
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.
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