As promised, the Coast Cruise delivered ocean views and cool weather. The ridership leaving VV Park consisted of Liz, Mary Ann, Matt, and me. Meeting us at Lake Hodges: Lisa R., and Jerry. Lisa brought her Guru Crono TT bike - a very impressive machine.  Liz: you have to send Lisa word about the Thursday TT!  I think she'd enjoy the course and it would be a good place to speed on that Guru.
 
We made a course adjustment soon after crossing over the lake and took a wide turn around Escondio on Bear Valley Parkway before cutting across town to take the bike path to Harmony Grove. That involved just a small amount of cross-country work as there was unexpected road construction work near the transit center.  But it was worth a bit of ad-hoc routing to get through to the path because we were headed to the Elfin Forest.  That's always a great road, and it provided Lisa and Jerry with an excuse to let it rip on a dash to San Elijo Hills.
 
We then used La Costa Avenue to head to the coast and it was almost too cool, as the marine layer persisted throughout our entire time heading south along the shore. In Encinitas I requested a brief stop at Nytro to get a diagnosis from Joe Morgan about the state of my bike's bottom bracket.  Verdict: it is toast!  I guess 18,000 miles might be the lifetime of a SRAM GXP BB. While there, we also got to experience the etherealness of the RZR 46 tubular wheels... less than 900 grams for the wheelset. And they only cost $6000... Jerry had stars in his eyes!
 
Time was getting a little short, so we went inland at Via De la Valle rather than going all the way south to Torrey Pines. That allowed us to make a stop at Cafe Positano on San Dieguito Road. Just in time for me... I was beginning to wonder if I could eat the
leather on my gloves.  But thanks to Liz I had half of a Pesto Turkey Wrap instead.  Hmmmm!
 
The last leg was all sunshine... and hills... but no one was complaining! 
 
Next week's route is...???
 
ACHD Ride
Date: Tuesday July 5, 2011
Time: 8:00am
The 'Anything Can Happen Day' Ride... group choice for route and mileage.
 
Important Note: This will be the last report distributed through the Convos email server. After endless analysis of alternatives, the new choice is: Google Groups. Kindly register with the group to stay on our distribution list.
 
Cheers,
Steve

We had a nice turnout for the start of today's Little Italy ride: Maurice, Rick, Shawna, Liz, and me. We began rolling under the predicted cloud cover and looked to be well underway when Rick broke a spoke. He had to drop out and immediately went home to buy a cool wheelset on eBay.
 
There was supposed to be a bike detour due to road work on Pomerado Road in Scripps Ranch, but we slid through that without any problems and were soon powering south through MCAS Miramar. Mary Ann met us en-route at the Kearny Villa Road park-n-ride... sly way to cut the total mileage in half MA!  From there it was onwards to Linda Vista and down the big hill at USD. As Shawna noted, we had to give the ride a bit of Giro-ness and went up the hill at Presidio Park. It was steep, but mercifully short!
 
The ride through Mission Hills provided some quite roads and interesting architecture before the final drop down Goldfinch Avenue and our arrival in Little Italy. The pastries at Cafe Zuchero were a delight to look at as well as consume. I'm sorry for anyone who was unable to indulge their sweet tooth. Check out the attached pix... Thanks to Sam for the 'Fromaggio Burrini' jersey, it was perfect for today's outing!
 
The trip back went fairly quickly, a little surprising considering that southbound had about 1,300' and northbound about 1,900'. Of course, there was also that tailwind thing working for us on the return leg, which was all blue skies and pleasantly warm.
 
Next week's ride should give us some cool ocean breezes...
 
Coastal Tour
Date: Tuesday June 28, 2011
Time: 8:00am
Out to Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Del Mar for some easy riding on the Coast Highway.
 
The Thursday time trial series continues this week. Come out and work on increasing your lactate threshold: http://www.vvvelo.com/bcitt.html.
 
Cheers,
Steve

Our starters today were Mary Ann, Matt, Maurice, and me. We went out under a bit of the June gloom, but had advance warning from Maurice that the sun was already shining in Ramona. Maury was certainly prepared for that with a new piece of sun-protection gear, a nose shade, attached to his sunglasses. I gotta say that the color choice was very good as it matched his helmet and bike. I'm thinking maybe they aren't for me, but then again, I bet they improve his aero profile. And these days I regularly wear white arm covers that Maurice first introduced me to on another VVV ride.
 
Mary Ann seemed to have been daunted by the awesome quality of the ridership today and after our blistering early pace decided to take a kinder, gentler route home. Hopefully, you were able to add enough mileage to make it worthwhile Mary Ann! Little did you know that five minutes later we stopped for breakfast in Poway and took four hours to finish the rest of the loop.
 
Not.
 
We actually pushed on fairly quickly and eventually found Rick waiting for us at Iron Mountain. Wow, it has been awhile since you made it to a ride, Rick ...that must be a good economic indicator. From Iron Mountain, it was up and down Mount Woodson and Maurice gave us a lesson in how to navigate the Hwy 67 descent to Highland Valley.
 
This ride is all about Highland Valley Road, and as usual, it did not disappoint. We had a fast paceline going through the grasslands and hit the hills hard. The twisty descents almost went by too fast, but I think we managed to extract a bit of exhilaration from them.  Our ride time was just 2hrs and 30mins today and I have the sore legs to prove it.
  
No coffee stop this week, Highland Valley Road needs a doughnut shop I guess, but next week's ride will make up for it...
 
Little Italy
Date: Tuesday June 21, 2011
Time: 8:00am
We visit Trattoria Fantastica and speak Giro.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/192224
 
And don't forget the Thursday time trial, where you can set your own land speed record: http://www.vvvelo.com/bcitt.html
 
Cheers,
Steve

Blue skies, with a few wispy clouds to add some interest, mild breezes, and perfect temps for the crew on today's ride: Jerry, Liz, Mary Ann and son Tom, and me.  After a few minutes delay, to hash out the route and check the shifting on Jerry's derailleur, we were on our way out through Valle Verde Estates.  On the first few hills, in the Oaks North section of RB, we spotted an escaped cockatiel, which had to be a good omen for an 'Anything Can Happen Day' ride.  Going north through Escondido, we decided to follow Bear Valley Parkway rather than the usual Citrus Ave. route to move along towards El Norte Parkway. We followed ENP to Ash Street, which gave us some more new road and additional 'hillage', plus the experience of city on the south hillside and country on the north side.
 
From there it was over to Jesmond Dene for a nice climb up through the oaks. It's hard to say no to a spin through JD: quiet, shaded road with an oak canopy... and a railroad caboose!  In order to hit a few more first-time roads, we crossed over I-15 at Deer Springs and went south on the rarely traveled Mesa Rock Road - less traffic and better views than the Centre City Parkway route, but usually skipped because it is longer and... yes, hillier.  We detoured again to Nutmeg Street and again got to do a new road and hill. This one was a bit tougher, with at least 10% slope, but mercifully short.  The top provided us a view of the somewhat exotic architecture of a local Serbian Orthodox church, and like the hill on Ash Street, Nutmeg's hill was a little but country and a little bit city: the south side brought us to Mission Road (OK, that's a lot city.)
 
We zigged through town and made a stop at the Belen Bakery for some excellent sandwiches.  While there we discussed some potential rides in July.  Look for a ride north on Old 395 which will feature a stop at Pala Mesa for some birria, and one that will use the Sprinter to transport us to Oceanside where we'll travel north to San Clemente. 
 
Our last stop (unplanned of course, after all it is the ACHD ride) occurred at the bus stop at the North County Fair. Hey, there were balloons and I smelled cake!  Turned out to be a publicity event for a new route (the 350?)  KPBS radio reporter Tom Fudge  was there interviewing dignitaries, while we snagged:  cake, cold water bottles, and a goodie bag which included a free Sprinter Day Pass. Save'em for that July Sprinter Rider folks!
 
Next week's ride is the ever-popular...
 
Highland Valley Loop
Date: Tuesday June 14,  2011
Time: 8:00am
Nice roads, hills, grassland, hills, oak trees... hills!
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/339243
 
And of course, the Thursday time trial beckons you: http://www.vvvelo.com/bcitt.html
 
Cheers,
Steve