A little bit of extra effort was called for on today's Del Dios & Elfin Forest ride, but it seems we were largely up to the challenge. The route's climbing was fairly well spaced out, most of it was not too steep, and there were plenty of downhill rushes to go along with those ascents.
Equipment gave us a little trouble, but overall it was not too bad: Renee was able to deal with her front derailleur adjustment problems, and Sharon had a flat tire. At least that was all done with early in the ride! There was lots of jumping in and out of the group today and only seven of us did the Full Course, which included dessert at EscoGelato! This week's ridership: 15 Cyclists! (5W / 10M) Next week, we vote... Wildcard Ride Date: Tuesday March 4, 2014 Time: 9:00am Group Choice! Cheers, Steve
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What can I say? This winter's drought event is bad, but the weather it has produced has been very, very good for cycling. It's so nice to spin over the hills without even a hint of rain, while the rest of the country is getting pounded by blizzards! No, none of that for us... we get to listen to the meadowlarks as we roll along the Ramona Grasslands! Lots of climbing today, but that also meant lots of fun descents. And despite the healthy helping of hills, we maintained a fairly respectable average speed and made it back to VV park before 12:30. But no cafe stop... :-( For the curious, here's all you've ever wanted to know about the Hi Power 70 Lumen Knog Blinder R! And... I tried to capture a little video (it's only 6 seconds long): This week's ridership: 14 Cyclists! (5W / 9M)
Next week, we go long... Del Dios & Elfin Forest Date: Tuesday February 25, 2014 Time: 9:00am Del Dios descent and Elfin Forest inbound to Escondido. Cheers, Steve Such a great day to be out on the bike. It's always fun to ride up to Valley Center and enjoy the oak-covered roads. And the descent on Lake Wohlford Road provides plenty of excitement as well. Fortunately, that downhill comes after the cafe stop... not sure I'd want to climb after having their fried egg sandwich (which is always delish!)
Not all fun for Robb today though... He provided a bit of a scare when, unknown us, he tipped his bike as we left Lake Hodges and hit his helmet on the pavement. Fortunately, a couple if MTB riders were there to help him out. One of them, Kerri, went after us in her van, while her friend Heather, who happened to be a doctor, stayed with Robb. Many thanks to both of them, and also to Sean who cycled home to get a car and help Robb get his bicycle back home. For those who wondered where Jerry was (again) this week, check out the pix on this ride... http://www.strava.com/activities/112646142 I'm beginning to think we need to supply JG with more climbing options! This week's ridership: 14Cyclists (3W / 11M) Next week, we ride the Classic... Highland Valley Loop Date: Tuesday February 18, 2014 Time: 9:00am Rural cycling on Highland Valley Road. Cheers, Steve We stayed close to home today since there was a bit of a rain threat, and it seemed better to be near civilization in case we had to bailout. But we still managed to get in a brush with some hilly scenery out along Sycamore Canyon Road. And we also fit in about 1,800' of elevation gain - not bad for a short ride day. Our cafe stop at Starbucks in RB was interesting, lots of bike talk, and we got to see pix of Mike's drilled-out fat tire rims. Nice job on those, Mike!
For those who wondered where Jerry's was today... it seems that he was busy conquering Mt Woodson. Here's what he had to say about it, and his video link: A longish 17 1/2 minutes video of me climbing Mt. Woodson. I cut as much as I could but feel free to fast forward especially close to the end but you might miss something. Rated PR for Profanity Restrained. Be warned you will hear me cursing out of sheer frustration and lack of oxygen. I ran out of battery about 3/4ths of the way up. The road was great and smooth until the water tank but shortly after that it was bumpy, gravelly, slippery IOW sucky! Descending was a bit scary for the same reason and cause the road is so narrow. I stopped 3 times coming down to cool my brakes and rims! So feel my pain and enjoy my frustration. Check it out: video! This week's ridership: 12 Cyclists (4W / 8M) Next week, it's up the hill to Valley Center... Lake Wohlford & Woods Valley Date: Tuesday February 11, 2014 Time: 9:00am Scenic riding with plenty of hills. Cheers, Steve |
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