Tuesday Ride Report - Sprinter Special

Good riding today as we went from early morning cool clouds to late morning warm sunshine. Jerry and I pedaled to the transit center through a misty dawn and arrived in plenty of time. We were seated and ready to roll, the doors were closing, when Shawna dashed onboard, making it three for the train ride. The Sprinter goes fast enough but it makes many stops... it took us about 50 minutes to arrive in Oceanside. Matt was waiting for us on the Sprinter platform. He went for the big miles, pedaling from Escondido in 1:15, so the Sprinter wasn't all that much faster than cycling. But it was easier!
 
The section along the San Luis Rey River path went by smoothly and we were soon rolling along North River Road. To avoid having to climb Sleeping Indian or travel on Hwy 76, we made our way up and over the hill at Holly Lane, crossed the Old 395 bridge, and then follow Old River Road north to Bonsall.  On the way out of Bonsall, along Camino Del Rey, we met up with Liz and Mary Ann, who had skipped the train ride in favor of a late start (and more hills). Their punishment was to turn around and ride back over the same hills with the rest of the crew. By now it was beginning to warm up and we made a stop to buy cold drinks and popsicles at the All Seasons Camp Ground market. They have a good selection of Cold Stuff there and the store had the AC going... it was hard to leave that behind. But we did have some really nice breezes to cool us on the road.
 
As promised to the time-crunched riders, we were back at the Escondido Transit Center by 11:30am. The plan worked out pretty well and we'll likely have a hot-weather variation on the route next month, something like: cycle out to the shore, ride along the
coast highway to Oceanside, then take the Sprinter back to Escondido.
 
Next week, prepare for distance and possibly a bit of heat...
 
Birria or Bust!
Date: Tuesday July 26, 2011
Time: 7:30am
Leaving Poway north to Escondido and then taking Old 395 to Pala Mesa. Turn around at Pala Taco Shop after sampling some birria!
 
Cheers,
Steve