jonathanf2

I rode 3 days straight from Tuesday to Thursday in the midday heat over at Griffith Park. In fact the park was practically empty which despite the heat, actually made the riding more enjoyable. I just toned down my effort to conserve energy. Only problem is keeping my water bottles cool enough. Within the hour, they go from cold to hot water!

For Friday I actually opted to go to the gym and do some strength training. Sometimes if I ride too much, I can feel myself become physically smaller with my weight shifting anywhere between 3-7 lbs. Since I'm not a pro, I definitely want to keep a good balance between cardio endurance and muscle strength. It's definitely a balancing act because doing too much of one thing (cycling or strength training) affects the performance of the other. Though I feel doing both with proper rest periods, definitely helps make me stronger overall.

2seven0

^^^^^^^^^^^ After my wife got me into road cycling several years back I found out the hard way that it's best to do leg day at least 3-4 days before weekend riding!
Also proper upper-body & core work will make you a lot stronger & increase your endurance capability on the bike.
West

diphthong

another late start. 54-miler north county semi-coastal san diego with some of it on the coast and most of it not. rancho santa fe and del dios hwy were absolutely and unsurprisingly toasty/scorchy. cooked all the way thru. zero pink and only clear juices running. esco to cbad not too bad with a cooling headwind. once past san marcos and the worst of the heat, turned into a solid beer ride. not too many other dum-dum cyclists out during my midday time. shocker. officially hate mornings tho.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7744749385

jsigone

brave man! we plan to stay close to the water tomorrow but will have to dodge traffic of all sorts.

diphthong

yah...it will be quite the goatbleep close to the coast this weekend. rachet it down, minimize the dicey interactions and stay safe. may hafta hold off on dropeing the hamer and dialing it up to 400 watts till tuesday.

SoSmellyAir

Yesterday I did my usual loop down to Newport Beach and back. This route stays mostly on the bike trails, and runs along the Peters Canyon Wash, San Diego Creek, and the Upper Newport Bay, where there is usually an afternoon breeze over these water channels. This allowed me to survive the ride. (It was also the first time I needed to add electrolyte mix powder to my water.)

diphthong

those irvine bike paths are super handy-dandy and well-maintained. find myself hopping on/off them occasionally when in the area for a break from the cars (even tho most of the main streets in the area are wide enough/with bike lanes).
a nice resource to have nearby.

SoSmellyAir

True! After cycling them for a few years now, I have mostly learned how they connect to each other and where they lead to. And when they run next to park there are usually bathrooms and water fountains.

diphthong

betting jsigone has a labor day weekend story to tell…

diphthong

54-miler from sdsu area down to chula vista for a late lunch (chronicled elsewhere in bf) then around the horn along the bayside bike path past imperial beach up to

coronado and back. silver strand was nearly deserted. coronado beaches and bay were packed af. just another toasty day.


https://www.strava.com/activities/7750233500

jsigone

HAAAA!!! man holiday weekend brings out the sh1thead drivers for sure.

#1 Del Mar, I stop at stop sign, Prius on left had right away so I stopped and let him go, he went soooo wide while staring me down he almost hit parked car. I called out d1ckhead prius driver to my buddy and told him to watch out for him. 100yards later we passed him at the stop sign. Between the next stop sign, I hear the weee little engine roaring from his pruis as it switch off EV mode. I hold my line in the bike lane like here it comes, my buddy hit the brakes and fall back. Mere inches to my elbow then he over shoots me and drives into the bike lane and speeds away fast. Mind you we are on the 101 in residential, near beach and dog beach and there are cross walks.. Buddy rolled up and was like ****!!. I snapped....I don't lose my temper often at all. I go Click click 2 gears and start mashing to catch that Mother Fer speeding away, 1137 watt sprint by the numbers. He was behind a car that stopped for the next cross walk. I was tempted to smash his window and pulled in front of him while he was stopped. Flipping him off and cursing at him to get out the car if he really wanted to try and kill me. I was loud, near dog beach, lots of attention now. He started waving his hand all innocent while I was going off on him, telling him that he didn't think I'd catch up and he can do as he please get out the car m fer. He eventually drives away waving his hand like a lil princess. My buddy rolls up to my right and said man you were mad mad. My adrenaline was still pumping and I explained, it's one thing to get close to us cuz lanes are tight or not paying attention, but it triggers a button when they do it on purpose with intention to harm and the road is wide for everyone. What happens if he does it to someone else and they crash while the old fer drives away laughing. F that make some noise get in his face and call out his bull sheet.

OK ride continue. Get coffee at loftys, ride to Carlsbad which is 30miles from the start at Mission Bay.

#2 Return trip heading south now, Almost the SAME spot, car is backing into spot near dog beach, we're on the brakes already from the front car blocking traffic. Suddenly a lifted jeep goes "squirrel" aka parking spot to the right and turns out of traffic and directly into the front guy in the group. Luckily we're going slowish already from the front car. Buddy locked up the brake but impact was coming, unclipped and moved the front wheel from getting ran over somehow, putting his shoulder and arm into the passenger rear fender. Luckily no broke bones, his nice tarmac wasn't harmed. We're all yelling at the guy that the sign says to back into the spots as he said he didn't see us bla bla bla. Of course cuz he likely didn't check his mirrors as he made his move, half of use have from flashing lights too. As we're checking my buddy and bike, this jeep guys gets in his car and drives away. FOOOK. By the time we got to mission bay, his arm had a good bruise on it.

#3 Bike trail through Rose Canyon goes from La Jolla to Pacific Beach and Mission beach via bike trail. We're rolling and see cop car on the bike trail and lights on. Like WTF? tweeker died?. Tow Truck WTF....Hawaii plate. Another jeep was DEEP in the bike trail. Hanging over cement 6-8ft drop high centered on the frame. One there should be no way the jeep should there there. Two he picked a really bad spot to try to U turn or go "offroading" into the creek bed below. We all take some cool pics, about 200 yards later there was a guy pacing near the in n out parking lot like he been there a while all sunburnt. I was the first though and he asked as I got near. "Oh they are letting people through now?" I replied " dude, you can't park there, In n Out is on the other street" HAHAHAHA looked back and he was shaking his head. Judging on how bad the jeep was high centered, that guy likely crapped his pants with that pucker factor.

diphthong

duude...what the hell?! north county coastal was chill yday. not many people out after 1pm. was thinking of this thread today and did approx 18 miles of separated bike lanes and maybe another 7-8 miles
of super low auto traffic on a 54-mile ride. tomorrow, may do the las pulgas to sjc and back ride. coastal and 90% on bike paths/relatively mellow state park roads. those e-bikes tho. let's be careful out there.

had a gardening truck slowly and closely driving like a w*nkstain in c-bad on the coast highway northbound about 1.5 years ago. that was fortunately my last major "run-in."

jsigone

yah I'm half tempted to ride zwift in the AC for the next few days. I had my fill of as clowns already. I haven't had a incident like that in many years. Luckily it's the rarity and not the normal.

TakingMyTime

Maybe it should just be a reminder but... be extra cautious this weekend. A lot of holiday drunks, people who only drive on holidays, they're hot and bothered and just want to get where they want to go. They're not looking out for us.

SoSmellyAir

Or at least concentrate them in popular areas.

Please don't confront drivers. Just because he drives a Prius doesn't mean he would necessarily back down and not try harder to harm you.

Should have taken photos and call the police.

Same jeep in #2 and #3? If so, karma! Some Jeep Wrangler drivers are expert off roaders who know exactly what their vehicles are capable of. Others (like this one) mistake their vehicles for road worthy tanks.

jsigone

friends said the jeep was actually in the creek when they rode through there earlier before us, all surprised the tow truck was able to recover it from that angle.

diphthong

40-miler from the las pulgas parking area just outside camp pendleton/off the 5 fwy up to doheny stage beach and back to beat the heat.
not too bad today temp wise...didn't dowse the cap, jersey or underliner with water at any of the 16 water stops/restrooms in san onofre state beach boundaries
so it couldn't have been that hot. hit a couple of ramps of the east side of the 5 fwy in san clemente for giggles...climbing legs felt good and a few of the climbs were
heading north so there was a decent cross breeze on the quick ascents. a few cyclists out during my 1pm-6pm time frame but it was roughly 75%/25% e-bikes to
conventional bikes throughout the coastal/beach areas. only one other ding-dong in the san clemente hills on my circuitous route in the middle of the afternoon on a
road bike. originally thought about heading up to san juan capistrano but hadn't hit that hilly east side san clemente area south of avenida pico in a while. traffic surprisingly
minimal through san clemente and san onofre sb but picked up in doheny sb. love that las pulgas starting/finishing point since it's easy to go super-mellow, push it hard
against/with the wind or pick up some climbing in eastern san clemente, laguna beach, laguna niguel, dana point or mission viejo if you want. all that plus so much
minimal auto traffic/dedicated bike path action for a solid chunk.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7761441884

oris

Riding in the heat this weekend was tough. I'm not sure how some of you did but the heat broke me on Saturday.

I took a route done before to meet the family at the MIL's house and ended cramping the last few miles. There were quite a few riders stopping at Cook's Corner for water.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7748605216

Eric F 

First time riding 3 days in a row in a very long time.

Saturday...34mi solo crawl (Arroyo Bike Trail - LA River Bike Trail - Kenneth Village - Montrose). Felt drained right from the start, and it never got much better. Out of water for the last few miles crawling home. https://www.strava.com/activities/7749043132

Sunday...37mi group ride. Feeling a lot better than Saturday, but kept the efforts a bit moderated. Easy tempo pace, for the most part, and sections that are typically spicy were very much less so in the late-morning San Gabriel Valley heat. https://www.strava.com/activities/7754896070

In a world of black bikes, it's okay to be blue...


Dirty Monday..."Seahorsey" loop (Sullivan Ridge - Dirt Mullholland - Backbone Trail / 28mi) with a couple of old friends. Legs were feeling every bit of the previous 2 days efforts, and HR was significantly elevated. I was unable to match the climbing pace of my buddies, but kept within my limits, and stayed hydrated. The Backbone Trail is 6 miles of sweet singletrack from Dirt Mullholland down to Will Rogers Park, and is worth every bit of the effort to get there. https://www.strava.com/activities/7760177129

Looking west from Backbone Trail over Sullivan Ridge and Westridge...

CAT7RDR

Quick pre-dawn 0530 start from home on familiar roads in the La Habra Hgts-Whittier Hills area. First 8 miles I was averaging a coyote per mile until sunrise. 108F yesterday so early starts will be the norm for awhile.

Cats and small dogs do not have a chance. Scaling 6 foot fences no problem. No deer this morning but a lot of suicidal cottontails and a screeching Redtail Hawk that let me know all my flashing lights did not impress him.

Think I will start at 0400 Thursday and up my light game.
Caution; pre-dawn rides can be addicting.
33 miles and 3.5K of climb.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40851646

diphthong

there is something far more insidious lurking when doing those 4am-6am pre-dawn rides. the only thing you'll be able to smell are the donuts shops/bakeries. if you can resist stopping in, you're a better person than i...

2seven0

I love leaving the house in the dark then watching the sun slowly peek over Saddleback. The fleeting 15-20 minutes of pre-dawn light are my favorite time of day.
West

CAT7RDR

The good thing is I do not have to cave-in to apple fritters at 0 dark hundred because La Habra Hgts does not have any commercial zones.
Less traffic and less temptations when I'm already dodging bunnies and looking behind me to see if I have a pack of ravenous coyotes sizing me up.

jsigone

16 miles today at lunch, warm one in on the sun exposed climbs were my back was to the sun. Max temp on the computer was 111, low was 93 as I dipped towards the ocean breeze. Steepest grade was 16%, glad I had the Diverge and it's gravel gearing in the heat.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7771643745/overview

diphthong

pre-hurricane fallout 40-miler in muggytown san diego (a definite rarity). overcast and pretty...uh...muggy. unexciting and very few peeps out and about but the lateish
1pm start could possibly be to blame for said absence of peeps. may try to give the hurricane fallout (20+ mph winds and oodles of rain) a go for tomorrow for giggles.