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Well, the old Del Mar Breeze route once again proved a winner. It's a good combination of sedate bike path, easy tree-lined roads, some nice hills, and a dose of flat straightaways for cranking up the speed. And of course, there's the bonus of ocean views at Torrey Pines and Del Mar and the opportunity to visit Caffe Positano. No gelato there, but the coffee and blueberry muffins are good.
Mechanicals were a little bit pesky today, one flat and one broken derailleur cable, but overall we kept moving fairly well and made it back to VV Park by 1:00pm. Plenty of time left for those afternoon appointments! This week's ridership: 13 Cyclists (6W / 7M) Welcome Aboard to Michelle who joined the VVV peloton today! An Important Note: Next month it's back to the 9AM start time. And, as always to start the new month, it's time for the... ACHD Ride Date: Tuesday October 1, 2013 Time: 9:00am Anything Can Happen Day. Group choice for route... Usually easy?? Cheers, Steve
This ride is one of the easiest that VVV ever does, at 31 miles and barely more than 800 feet of climbing, it's hardly a blip on the radar. But it's nice to have some easy riding now and then and that's why there's a Sprinter Special. A pleasant cruise through the countryside, a bit of ocean air, and a train to bring us home. What could be better? Well, maybe spending the ride home with a Bike Tour Hobo? Hmmm, gotta ask Rob about that.
OK, there was a whole lot of misty grey today, and no sunshine until we were back in Escondido, and no coffee stop in O'side... can't fix the weather, but we can always add a stop next time. (And I probably shouldn't say this, but an unnamed contingent did a couple of extra miles after getting back and somehow found themselves at EscoGelato.) This week's ridership: 8 Cyclists (4W / 4M) Next week's ride has more miles and more climbs... Del Mar Breeze Date: Tuesday September 24, 2013 Time: 8:30am Maybe it will be warm enough to make it worthwhile to be on the coast! Cheers, Steve
OK, who would have guessed that half the crew would get a flat tire on the Java Journey ride today? I didn't see it coming as we happily spun along Citrus Avenue... first one flat, and while stopped to fix that one: another, and another, and another... Yikes!! I heard the count got up to nine flat tires - all from thorns. Wow! The good news was that we only had to stop once because they all happened at the same time. The bad news was that Colleen and Lisa had to call for a ride home when it became apparent that their wheels were going to be problematic for us (one tubular and one deep carbon rim with valve problems.) What a way to welcome our new rider, Rob (...really we don't usually have nine flats per ride... but I'm going to start carrying two tubes!)
But hey, other than that, it was a good day to ride... nice weather, a big hill to climb, and cool drinks at the top! This week's ridership: 11 Cyclists (5W / 6M) Next week we're going out to Oceanside and then returning on the Sprinter! Sprinter Special I Date: Tuesday September 17, 2013 Time: 8:30am Start: Escondido Transit Center (Sprinter Info) (Transit Center Map) NOTE: We're going to start from Escondido Transit Center (not VV Park.) We'll head north on Old 395 to Lilac Road then go west to Oceanside. Some riding will be on the San Luis Rey River bike path. Returning to Escondido on the Sprinter. We'll purchase our tickets in Oceanside - the one-way fare is $2 for adults (bring some dollar bills for the ticket machine.) If you're over 60 years old, the fare is just $1.00 (bring proof of age.) Hopefully, we can all get aboard the same train, but if it fills up then some folks may have to wait for the next one. Also, the train personnel can sometimes ask bikes to detrain mid-route if space is needed for disabled persons. Anyway, fingers crossed: we've been lucky before and the worst case is that we arrive back to Escondido at different times. Cheers, Steve
The heat was on again today and the overwhelming consensus was to head to the coast... so we went ahead and did the ride originally planned for last week, the Del Mar Breeze. The ride out went smoothly enough, one flat - not too bad - and it was worth it to enjoy those seascape views and cool air.
We had to work harder to get back home, it is uphill after all, but there was a solid tailwind helping us. And of course we benefitted from a strategic stop for refreshment at Caffe Positano in Fairbanks Ranch. The owner thanked us for stopping by... maybe they are going "Bike-Friendly"! This week's ridership: 11 Cyclists (4W / 7M) Next week's ride... Java Journey Date: Tuesday September 10, 2013 Time: 8:30am Out-n-Back to Valley Center with a stop at Java Journey! Cheers, Steve |
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