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Train, Train, going my way!

It’s that time again, get ready for the SDVeloSocial Train Trip. This time we will be taking the surfliner from Solana Beach to Santa Ana and riding back. We had a great time last year going to Laguna Nigel and riding back. This year we thought we could bite off a few more miles. I am checking with a group in the Santa Ana area to see if they would be interested in meeting us at the station and riding south with us and then returning home on the afternoon train. Great opportunity to ride with some people from outside of our immediate area. I wonder if they ride with an accent?

So I was thinking February 26th March 5th on the 7:39am train getting into Santa Ana just before 9am. There is a north bound at 3:30pm which should allow us plenty of time to cover 74 miles.

It has been decided; March 5th is the day.

Find the train schedule here. Click

I think we should take the 565 train at 7:39A getting into Santa Ana at 8:57A.

Anyone meeting us in Santa Ana can return on either the 583 at 3:34p arriving at 4:48p or the 735 at 4:35p arriving at 5:32p.

Map

Dual Post – Palomar Mountain Two Ways & Torrey in the Mist

Palomar Mountain Two Ways

On February 5th 2011, World Nutella Day BTW, Bike Crave hosted a tweet-up ride to do two of the main grades of Palomar Mountain. From all accounts it was a rousing success! They has eight riders; @bikecrave, @cyclefilm, @rideescapade, @aviattorr, @VeloTutor, @gman92069, @distractionMgmt and visiting from his cave in the Mountains @cyclepath55.

What a group, never been glad to be at a memorial before this day; way too fast for me. They met at Rincon Casino as usual and then climbed South Grade, at this point some went to the observatory and then descended South Grade making it Palomar Mountain 1 way. I would definitely have been with this group. The others descended East Grade and then turned back up the same way. Big drop back down South Grade, apparently the switchbacks are not sufficiently sharp enough nor steep enough for Markus to need brakes. He told me today that Palomar was a no brake descent, huh??

Photos of the Palomar Two Ways here: Click

Torrey in the Mist

Bike Crave scheduled a recovery ride for the day after the Palomar Two Ways, I thought it was perfect since I didn’t ride Palomar I would be fresh and they would be tired and sore; in other words, about even. Here is how Jeff described it in the Twtvite:

Targeted 9 a.m. roll-out from Caffe Positano in Rancho Santa Fe. Take in some lovely rollers of RSF before heading            over to the coast and checking the surf along 101. Soft pedaling after a solid day on Palomar Mountain. Approx 3              hours in the saddle for this Sunday excursion.

You will notice words like “soft pedaling” thrown in there but I can’t recall ever actually doing any soft pedaling.

Another great turn out; @bikecrave, @cyclefilm, @rideescapade, @VeloTutor, @distractionMgmt, @fittecheric and @oneonfire -Tony DiLorenzo an amazing rider who’s fitness is remarkable. We met in the lovely village of Rancho Santa Fe at Caffe Positano. Another great little local coffee spot, bring cash or head down the street to the ATM cause they don’t take debit cards as Eric and I found out on our first trip and Bobby Griffith found out today.

As soon as we started I knew that it wasn’t going to be pleasant. With Jeff Rowe along and the turn up three witches I knew we were headed for  the dreaded Zumaque. Half a mile at 9.5% average gradient, not pleasant for a Clydesdale like me.

Then we had a nice cruise back to the coast. We stopped on Manchester Ave for water and food after meeting James Stout and losing Jeff Rowe to family time. Here Jeff Bean let us know that we had been too frisky and that meant we would have to ride Torrey Pines inside. He also said we would paceline it south but I tried to disrupt that as much as possible so I would have some strength left to do the climb. I was not effective!

We stopped at the bottom of Torrey to fill bottles and empty bladders. What isn’t that somewhat poetic?? Anyway Jeff decided our relationship was at the partially open door peeing stage so I told him that I felt that it would then be OK for me to openly break wind. We’re progressing nicely toward swapping bibs.

What can I say, I climbed the inside faster than last time at a higher wattage and lower heart rate. They still had to wait for me at the top. Markus was on his way back with oxygen but I met him only a hundred yards of so from the top. I bombed down Torrey like always but this time Jeff sprinted after my attack and held my wheel all the way down. That is our favorite part of the ride.

We headed down 56 and up El Camino and then back out San Dieguito and eventually back up to the village for coffee and talk.

I couldn’t have thought of a better way or better people to kick-off Super Sunday with. Thanks guys!

Data

Photos of Torrey in the Mist: Click

Tour de Cure Kick-Off

WOW! I was blown away by the turnout for the pre-party training ride. During the briefing it appeared there were 30 riders in the parking lot, but as we rolled it became apparent the number was closer to 50.

The weather couldn’t have been better, OK, maybe it could have been just a few degrees warmer. In light of the cyclone approaching Northern Australia and the ‘killer’ storm fore-casted for most of the country it seems petty to complain that it was sixty-eight degrees and it would have been nicer if it were seventy.

So we rode through Pacific Beach to the La Jolla Cove, stopped for a water, food and nature break before returning on a more coastal but slightly hillier route to Phil’s BBQ.

The party was already going with the ADA and KPRI giving away some great door prizes when I returned with the broom-wagon. The atmosphere was electric, the bar was open and soon the food was served. Can’t ever complain about the food served at Phil’s it is after all a San Diego landmark. A short program ensued with Kaitlin sharing her moving diabetes story and more swag given away including a 30″ Sony 3-D TV with a home theater system and tickets to the Eric Clapton show.

Again this was the best Kick-Off party in my three-year relationship with the Tour de Cure.

Additionally;  six riders signed up for Team Red including a couple who are already giving me a run for my fundraising dollar.  I will attribute this increase in membership to the snazzy jerseys that Raelynn and I were wearing on the training ride. Probably more her than I but I’ll still claim some responsibility for recruitment.

I have added a new set to Flickr!, so check them out.

 

Next up – Charity Event

Most of you will know all ready I am on the volunteer committee for the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure in San Diego. The actual event is May 7th 2011 and this year is the 20th anniversary. I do many things in my capacity as a volunteer but one of my primary objectives is to increase awareness for the event and increase ridership resulting in more money raised to find a cure and defeat diabetes. My personal connection is through family members living with Type II diabetes and my own pre-diabetic diagnosis last year.

If you are interested in following my efforts on behalf of the Tour de Cure you may follow me on Facebook as SanDiegoTdC, on my Tour de Cure Team Site or on twitter as @SanDiegoTdC.

As for this weeks event SDVeloSocial (me) will be riding in the Tour de Cure training ride prior to the Kick-off Party starting and ending at Phil’s BBQ on Sport’s Arena Blvd. The ride will be 25 miles and no one will be left behind. After the ride it will be time to party with free Phil’s eats, a live broadcast by 102.1 KPRI, and lots of great give-aways.

Registration will be reduced, and if you do not have a family or corporate team already you can join Team Red and reap all the benefits. Once again the Team Red site is here. Click

If you plan on attending please RSVP to afleming@diabetes.org the event is FREE but we need to have a rough estimate of attendees in order to provide enough food for everyone.

Don't forget to RSVP

Half-Century Recap

It’s in the books,  good ride,  great friends and the weather couldn’t have been better. I was  in much better shape last September when we did two laps of this for the SDVeloSocial Century. I was cooked when we got back to Ryan Bros Coffee and called my wife for the broom wagon because I couldn’t face another mile of 5-7% climbing to get my heavy butt home.

Today’s ride was the largest of the SDVeloSocial rides so far. We had eight strong riders and me. @troymalone picked a good one for his maiden voyage, I hope he has recovered. @bobbygriffith made his second ride today and said he wishes he had found our group six months ago, thanks for the good words Bobby.The usual suspects made up the rest of the group @aviattorr, @bikecrave, @fittecheric, @gman92069, @rideescapade and our euro friend @cyclefilm.  Don’t forget to checkout his site to see what you missed today, everyone got a copy of EYES WIDE OPEN – The Making-of Cyclepassion 2011

So we met at Ryan Bros Coffee in San Marcos for a 9am roll out. We met another like-minded rider, OK, he’s a triathlete but we didn’t hold that against him. He rides with a group called the Carbon Militia in north county San Diego. We will join for a ride soon, I hope they make it to the Tour de Cure kick-off party.

Once everyone was assembled we rolled. If you have never ridden over N Twin Oaks to Gopher Canyon you should. Starts with a mellow climb with a twisty descent before it turns up steeply, the first +15% section of the day. At the top they waited for me and then we dropped down the steep side. If you are up for a challenge ride up this side +20% in two sections, blessedly short sections.

On to Circle R via Gopher Canyon, I hate this section of road, poor shoulder, narrow road and speeding traffic. Circle R went well, Glen rode it with me and we caught the others at the top, OK they waited for us. The weather was terrific, hard climbing without dripping sweat and clear sky made for terrific vistas on the way to Couser Canyon. Yes it’s still steep and yes I came up last where the guys were once again waiting for me.

We met a cyclist hater at the crest, at first we thought he was jesting when he told us we were all idiots. I thought he meant we were dumb to suffering up that climb but he made it clear when he said we shouldn’t be on that road at all because it was narrow and had no shoulder. Well some dander got up and told him to give it a rest, that we have an equal right to the road… He countered by wishing the roads would return to gravel because that would keep us off of them.  We finally left and tried not to let his ignorance dampen our spirits.

Glen once again helped me up Rice canyon, thanks buddy for keeping my hand off of the rip cord. At the Rainbow Oaks Market we re-hydrated and talked a little more about the hater. Then we started home. Down old 395, a very fast descent followed by a fast pace-line all the way to 76. Why we do that I’m not sure because the climb up to Lilac is probably harder than all the other climbs even though it is not the steepest. It just keeps going and going at about a steady 8%. At the top I met up with the group and onward we rolled, on another rapid descent.

At this point I was just in survival mode knowing I still had to climb from the Welk Resort to Deer Springs Road. I wasn’t the only one, Eric was having another bout of cramps and Troy was on the spiral down to bonktown. He and I were well behind the group when we reached Gopher Canyon. I did my best to pull him along the flat but his cadence was dropping.  He managed to get to Deer Springs Road, I’m not certain how, I’ve been to bonktown and it is not pretty. You certainly showed your determination today Troy, good show.

We did the usual high-speed pace line down Deer Springs Road back to Ryan Bros Coffee. OK, they dropped me at Buena Creek and I gave it my best alone as Eric had already gone solo because of his cramping. They managed about 25mph 27mph when Jeff was doing the pulling. I did catch them right at the end because they got caught at some lights.

Today was a terrific day of riding. Sorry I went long tonight, let me know if I need to write these up differently, I probably won’t change but you may feel better getting it off your chest.

Check the Flickr! link on the right for some pictures. Check Bobby’s blog for his impressions of the ride.

My Data

Bobby’s Data

Markus’ Data

Todd’s Data

San Diego Velo Social Half-Century

In two weeks, Saturday Jan 22nd, put on your climbing cassette and join us for one lap of the SDVeloSocial Century route. This is the one that almost bonked the entire group on the second lap.

It is not all that difficult but the heat set in on us in September and made the second ascent up Rice Canyon pretty tough.

Click on the RSVP below for more details.

MAP

Please RSVP

SDVeloSocial rides are self-support. Riders must carry spare tubes, tire repair kit, air pump plus critical water and nutritional bar. HELMETS ARE MANDATORY. SD Velo Social has no liability all riders participate at their own risk.

Summer Riding

Wow, if you live in San Diego you had a wonderful summer day today.

We hit the road around 9:30 and changed our route from heading into the inland hills to going coastal. Eric Bowen, @fittecheric, and I were joined by first time SDVeloSocial rider Bobby Griffith, @bobbygriffith. Get to know this guy, he is one of the most interesting guys I have had the chance to meet in some time. He is a former local who has been in Texas, but hasn’t gone to the dark side, so don’t hold that against him. I’m not going to tell you about the things I found most interesting about him, you’ll have to ride with him yourself.

We started at Ryan Bros Coffee in San Marcos, SD Velo Social coffee HQ. Like I said, it was already warm and we made a great decision to head to the coast. Palomar Airport Rd to El Camino Real and then headed west on Canon. Here I played a little trick on them by turning up  Hemingway Dr. This is a little route that Glen Mako, @Rideescapade, showed me, if you haven’t had the pleasure of climbing this give it a try. Bobby did it on a 23T, I don’t know how. After checking out the view from the top we dropped back down to the lagoon and then headed up the hill and on toward the coast.

This is where our decision to go coastal instead of inland paid off because when we crossed under I5 the temperature dropped 10 to 15 degrees.  We clipped up the coast to Cafe Elysa for coffee and talk. We met some cyclists there who called themselves Turtles, can not find any info on them but gave them my Tour de Cure card and invited them to the Kick Off Party at Phil’s BBQ on Jan. 29th.

 

Carlsbad bluffs.

 

 

After that we set off for home by riding south on the PCH to La Costa Ave.  where Eric took the pull and we flew inland taking another cyclist with us. After that it was no rest for me. Up hill on El Camino Real to Poinsettia, to Melrose where we turned south up that climb and then across Rancho Santa Fe and into San Elijo Hills. The coup de grace was of course climbing through the village and over the hill back into San Marcos. Bobby proved he is of the same character as all of those riding with SD Velo Social by riding the hills at his own pace and then waiting for me to arrive with the Lanterne Rouge.

All in all I had a great ride, good company, fantastic weather and a challenging route to keep me humble.

My Data: Click

Bobby’s Data: Click

Join us next Saturday Jan 22nd for the SD Velo Half-Century

 

 

Coastal LSD Recap

We had some fantastic weather for a terrific ride today. We all met up at the Park-n-Ride at 9am even Markus looked ready to ride. We set out with @cyclefilm @czukowski @distractionmgmt @fittecheric @rideescapade and myself, if you don’t know my twitter name my feed is right over there —>>

We went west on Carmel Valley Rd and then south to Torrey, on the inside route. This the first time I have ever ridden the inside route and I survived. It was very much like riding the last 1000′ of Palomar Mountain without having first ridden the first 4000′. The crew waited for me at the top and we continued on to the top so we could make the decent. Waiting at the top was Stu Clott of Anywhere Bicycle Repair he sets up his tent on Torrey most weekends and provides great service, water and usually bananas.

Down the hill as fast as possible, ~40mph, and they all caught me before I got across the bridge before the Carmel Valley Road light, Jeff provided a push with his hand on my back and was powerful enough that I was able to shift up two gears! Damn that guy is strong.

We got into a nice pace after they waited for me at Del Mar Heights Road and cruised along until we made a Kodak moment pit stop on Neptune in Encinitas. Markus wanted some nice surf shots to make the folks in Germany jealous. Once again we headed out at a good pace until we reached Carlsbad just south of Poinsettia, where we came upon a couple of riders with a flat. As usual Jeff provided neutral support. Turned out they both had flats, we provided tubes and CO2 and got them back on the road. We cruised along steadily until we reached Cafe Elysa in Carlsbad. If you haven’t made a coffee stop there you should definitely give it a try. Great coffee, friendly staff and pastries that make you need 5 more miles.

We had deviated from the planned route and it was lucky for the cyclists with tire trouble. I can’t say it enough, carry spare tubes, CO2 or a pump capable of getting your tire up to pressure. You can not be certain that we will be along to help you out and provide parts, skilz and labor.

After our coffee break and great conversation we turned south and they tried to kill me on several occasions. Rolling along going over the rises they would just ride away from my heavy butt and the I would have to chase back on. Glen decides we should turn toward Moonlight Beach and then turn left up that wall. Oh, and they decide to make it a KOM and I’m dumb enough to go with them, heart rate to 179 and then I have to chase back on which didn’t happen for about five blocks. We took the scenic route through Del Mar and then cruised along back to the Park-n-Ride.

Markus called it a gentle spin, I called it a hammer fest. Here is my data, I’m actually happy with my performance considering I have had three rides in two weeks with one of them being the Palomar Mountain slog.

DATA

Sunday Coastal LSD

Sunday morning 1-9-11 we are considering doing a Long Slow
Duration ride for some base building. Markus Neuert of Cyclefilm,
see the Cycle Passion Trailer posted earlier, needs us to schedule
rides to force him to get on the road.

I propose this route:  MAP

Meet at the Park and Ride on Carmel Valley Road just west of I5  at 9:0am. This time is a compromise between my early so I can spend time with my family normal star time and Markus’ I’m euro so I have dinner at 9pm and go to bed at 3am desire to start at 10am.

SDVeloSocial rides are self-support. Riders must carry spare tubes, tire repair kit, air pump plus critical water and nutritional bar. HELMETS ARE MANDATORY. SD Velo Social has no liability all riders participate at their own risk.