08-12-2026 Ride

Slept okay, not the best. Woke up around 5:00 and got up after 5:30. Had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, cleaned the kitchen dishes, then got ready for a ride with John. I took the normal way over there, with the exception of turning at Alpine Way, at moderate pace. Jayden was out front with John when I got there. We rode back down the hill to Sabre Springs Pkwy and took it to Poway Rd, turning left there. Across the freeway and up the short steep climb on Penasquitos Blvd before turning onto the 56 bike path. Then we rode to Salmon River Rd, got off the bike path there and took it south to Adolphia St. Down this hill, with its speed bumps, and over to Park Village Rd. John was slow on all the longer climbs, even the shallow ones. He likely didn't exercise so much during his summer trips, but he's working back into shape. We rode down to CdS and turned there to get back up to the 56 bike path. Took that down to CVR and used this road (going through morning school traffic) to get to Black Mountain Rd. We rode together on the flat sections, I gapped him on the little climb up to CdS and then waited for him after the light. I slowed down to ride with him until we got close to the turn, where he fell behind again. That's when I knew we had to skip any more unnecessary climbing. So we rode back to the 56 bike path and then used it to get to Sabre Springs Pkwy. Right turn there, enjoying the gradual descent to Poway Rd, where we turned and rode back to Springhurst Dr. I got out in front again but didn't stop this time. Headed up the hill and back to his place, riding to the top of Briarleaf Way and then back down to Dapple Ct, turning there and heading up to his house. He made smoothies for us, and we chatted about all of Jayden's activities. It was heating up, so I headed home, taking the standard way back via Bernardo Center Dr and benefiting from a tail wind on Pomerado Rd. Legs were tired at the end of the ride but not sore.

Avg speed = 15.2 mph. Total mileage = 43.2 mi

Avg power = 122 W. Weighted avg power = 150 W

Total elevation gain = 2560'

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 47

Training Load = 147

Intensity = 68%

https://www.strava.com/activities/19714371938

Got home, didn't have a whole lot of time to relax before getting ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. Shaved and showered, ate a little bit, then rode over there. I had some lunch, then started my shift. It seemed busier than usual, and I was generally moving until a little after 3:00, when I left early to get back home and change for a concert at the amphitheater in Chula Vista. We left home a little after 3:30, endured heavy traffic as expected, and got down there around 4'50. Ann drove while I rested from a busy day to that point. We tailgate fairly quickly, then got in line to wait for the gates to open. Unfortunately, we found out, after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, that we were in the wrong line. I was upset and let the security person know that this was not handled well. So we walked over to the regular security/admission line and got in after an additional wait. Not great but not a disaster. When we got in we saw that the lawn area was closed, and we found out from a guide that our lawn tickets would be converted into seats. We ended up with seats that were in the furthest back section but center stage, so decent and more comfortable than the lawn, even with rented lawn chairs. The Romantics came on first, only a couple of original (or early) band members, the lead singer looked pretty weird and sounded strained on most songs. They saved their two big hits for last. Christopher Cross came on next, he was decent, more recognizable music, although his upper register is not there anymore. The musicians in his group were outstanding, and he played a few (not enough) guitar solos to prove that he is an excellent guitar player. This was a noisy crowd around us, lots of talking while the musicians were performing. I just don't understand this mentality. Why are they here if not to hear the music? Toto was the headliner, and they came on a little before 9:30, played until a little before 11:00. No encore, instead they brought out some of the artists from earlier to help them perform Africa, which everybody loved. Again, there was lots of talking from the people around us during their performance. Steve Lukather is the only remaining original member of the group, and many of their songs featured too much of his virtuoso and over-the-top guitar playing. It was technically great but theatrically too much. The other musicians were also pretty good session players that he had assembled, and he gave many of them their opportunity to showcase their playing during the concert. He did some of the singing as well; his voice is not a lead singer's voice. We headed back to our priority parking spot after the concert, and this turned out to be a real time-saver. It had a dedicated car lane basically back to the main city streets, so we didn't have to sit in car traffic at all. We were home by 11:50, which was delightful.