A bright and chilly ride to Torrey Pines State Beach. Bundled up in leg and arm warmers, but still was a chill. Lots of other riders out, lots of runners too, but not too many people at the bay. Got passed by many riders, but stayed ahead of one coming up the grade (not the park road!) at Torrey Pines, but he may have been hanging back waiting for a bud to catch up. But I will take my little victories where I can find them!!!




A seagull and some ducks in Rose Canyon Creek.







Total mileage for to date: 2074 miles (both bikes)

Weekly Mileage Totals:

Schwinn -- 91 miles
Jamis -- 0 miles

Thanksgiving

I've got a mad on so I went for a ride to UCSD. It's sunny in east county but clouding over nearer to the coast. A guy on a Bianchi (with shaved legs, knickers, an accent that I fancy was Italian, and who looked a bit like Il Pirata. Am I gushing?) caught up with me at a stop light on Camino Del Rio Norte, just passed the 805 overpass. Thanks to long stop lights I was able to catch up to him at each light all the way to Morena where he turned off. Turns out he was going to UCSD too, I saw him coming the other way on the Rose Canyon Bike Path and he saluted.

Did Montezuma in low-not-granny, but there were no ladies to pass (or to be passed by!)today.

I'm still mad, and I don't know why, but I'm too tired to fight about it.




Camellia took a couple of pictures to amuse you all. I especially like "Il Pirata".

Have been very slothful and haven't riden the bikes since Sunday, however today, tah dah, I actually cleaned the chain on the Schwinn and earled it. Also did a fine job cleaner the Vetta chain cleaner with detergent. Works like a charm! Earled the freewheel, too. Helps to quiet that nasty clicking for a bit.

Top tube on Schwinn is scratched, I didn't notice that before, I wonder if it happened in the crash-o-roonie back in July?

A bright, clear, Sunday morning. I took a turn around the loop again, sort of. Instead of going along the Dam Bike Path, I kept on going along Mission Gorge Road, rising up the hill. (Rising gorge, get it?) Up and over, down again, turned in at the visitors center to get water, then continued on The Gorge, as the locals call it (I just made that up), then eventually up Fairmont to Montezuma. I actually passed a chick, I mean a young lady, on a mountain bike. Left her WAY BEHIND except then a stop light stopped me, she caught up, passed me as I was clipping in, as it were, and although I kept with her till she turned off at the crest of the hill, I was unable to pass her.

So there.

Irritating occassional click from pedal area when going up hills. Found a slightly-runned-over orange bungee cord. Nice!

Weekly Mileage Totals:

Schwinn -- 22.4 miles
Jamis -- 29.9 miles

Pumped

Way back last Saturday I drove to Zumwalt's to see if they could fix an old Zefal Hp pump I had (Actually I found it about ten years ago in Zumwalt's trash can, when it was College Schwinn...). Anyway, the clerk told me they didn't have parts for those old pumps. What's up with that, just because the pump was just about as old as he was... I didn't even bother bringing in that old Silca pump I found in a intersection years ago. I was hoping I could use the Hp on the Schwinn, as it has a Schraeder head, and use the Zefal HpX on the Jamis since it will do Presta. I guess I need another pump to keep on the Jamis. I'm too lazy to keep switching them back and forth. Need another Rema patch kit, too!

It was a little foggy in El Cajon and Santee this morning. Very pretty descending down the Fletcher Parkway hill into the bowl of fog. Rather nicer than the typical bowl of SMOG!

I wonder what this sign is supposed to mean, the bike lane obviously continues on. Life on the road is SO confusing!

Maybe it means the "No Parking" ends here. I don't know...

All I've got to say to this sign, is "Bite me!".

It was a nice ride, it usually is on Sunday early (around 8) when everyone is more or less asleep. Several people were out cycling and running, and even a few walkers. I guess active people are up, inactives are not!


Pretty view of the fog near the North end of the Olde Mission Gorge Road bike/dog walking path.






Hopefully this will be nice picture of a sunbeam overhead while biking deep in the canyon on the bike path.






Tried keeping up with some OLD MAN on Jackson Drive hill, but when I went for granny gear it wouldn't shift. So I stayed in low-no-granny, but I lost so much time he was long gone by then!

The bicycle shorts are not a total success. The don't bunch up in the crotch, but they DO bunch up on the thighs, so I STILL have to keep pulling them, er, down.

I greased the stem where it goes in the headset and the handlebars where they go through the stem and now the creaks seem to have stopped. So that's all right!

Weekly Mileage Totals:

Schwinn -- 26 miles
Jamis -- 17 miles

Thought it was gonna rain, so I drove the vehicle today. It did not rain, although I MAY have felt a couple drops at Albertsons after work. Bought some bleach (twice as much for less money), Albertson's brand bran flakes ($3.25), and a bag of fried pig skins (ZERO CARBS!). My new snack food!

Proceeded to Performance and bought a new pair of bike shorts, size 36 waist, to fit the slimmer me. Maybe not so slimmer around the waist, the old pairs may have been stretched out over the five, maybe seven years I been riding them... Now maybe they won't ride up so much, exposing fish-white (and semi-hairy) thighs to the blistering sun. And the riding-up part. On sale for $29.99, used the last of the Team Performance coupons. Coolness!

Maybe it won't rain on Saturday so I can try them on for size, as it were.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I'm getting increasingly disenchanted with the SIS-type shifting mechanism.

Since I'm recovering nicely from a cold last week I decided to ride to the dam today. At the place in Santee where I had the boo-boo last Sunday, I was following another cyclist who did a RIGHT then a U-EY and so eliminated the who stop light problem entirely!

Did not see any animals at Mission Trails, but did scrape a squashed bee off the rear tire during the water stop at the learning center place.

Did two point five laps around Lake Murray, and so totaled thirty miles for the ride.

Weekly Mileage Totals:

Schwinn -- 30 miles
Jamis -- 23 miles