Winters here

After last week's 70 degree temperature, the drop into the 50's today was a bit of a kick in the nads. Only 5 of us were up to the challenge of a wet, cold Wednesday ride, and somewhere we lost one on the run up 94. The climb up was a bit painful; the legs felt pretty heavy.

Don's been absolutely flying lately, Jason was there, Marlo as well, leaving me the weak link. Hmmm.... time to do work.

The ride home from was peppered with spits of rain. Still, the roughest day in SD is better than the best back east.

Good Quiz:

http://blog.fritesenmayo.com/

Saturday

Another good day today. Legs did feel pretty heavy, so took it slow. Up the coast to Solana Beach for a quick espresso before work. Tons of cyclist out, and out early this morning. Pretty cool to see. Bagged around 28 miles.

A scheduling change at work meant I had the afternoon off as well, so I headed out east for a ride up Laguna. I took the route up Pine / Deer Creek Road. Steep. Adding 3300' and 38 hard miles to the day.

Good Training

Today I met up with the Chili's ride and rode with them up to Doyle Elementary, then jumped in with the Cyclo-Vets. We did the normal loop, up Torrey Pines. Torrey felt pretty good. Then we did the Top Gun route. I made a pretty strong effort to get away before the climb out of Carrol Canyon... but the group came back up to me, then I just tried to hang on.

Janel, Paul, and Don got away on the Top Gun section, and Arnie, Chad, and I tried to bring them back. No luck.

After dropping back into Mission Valley Janel, Paul, and I headed out for a climb up Mt. Soledad.

Fantastic views atop Soledad. Crystal clear from Orange County to TJ. 70 degrees in January... why live anywhere else.

How are you spending your New Year's Eve?

Ushering in a new year.

1 hour 30 minutes on the trainer

22 minutes of Spin Ups

18 minutes of alternating ILT's

20 minutes of standing Tempo Climbing

12 minutes of alternating ILT's

5 minutes of Spin Ups

5 minutes of 100+ rpm cool-down

Nothing but fun.

Happy New Year.

Interim Ride

So, until a new bike arrives, a friend of mine is letting me use his Scott Addict. With my Dura Ace wheelset the bike runs about 15.7 pounds - with an Ultegra Kit.

I rode one of these about a year ago, and what I remembered about this bike - that it's a rocket uphill - was correct. It responds instantly to any acceleration. It's not as comfortable, or as stable, as the Giants, but definitely a better climber.

SDGE vs Giant

Wednesday's ride was going well until this...

This is what happens when a 9000 lb truck rolls over a carbon frame...

At least I wasn't on it.

Recovery

Well, 2 and a half weeks on from the Thanksgiving Day disaster - my ribs feel much better (still hurts like hell when I sneeze) - but my back is still quite sore. I was able to get back onto the bike a few days later and push on through.

Most of the folks who ride on Wednesday were out braving the rain at Cycling Camp San Diego's Anza Borrego climbing camp, so it was a solo ride for me. Since I was free to go at my own speed, I decided stop by Cosmos Coffee for an espresso and a pecan roll... I was planning on burning it off anyway! I rode up 94 and Skyline as usual, and then took a detour up Lawson to the dirt road. It always a fun ride, a little taste of cyclo-cross. After stopping at the grocery I made another detour up Honey Springs and then, on a whim, made a left on to Deerhorn Valley... quite nice. At then end of the day I bagged 83 miles, 3100 kilojoules of work, and 6000' climbing.

A couple of trainer workout were thrown in for good measure, and then big mileage was on the plate for today. Up through Torey Pines, Encinitas, Elfin Forest, Lake Hodges, and then a climb up to Ramona and back home: 85 miles, 2800 kilojoules, and 3900' of climbing.

A good week.