Hi All,

Descenders were riding all over the county and southern CA yesterday.  We had a good turnout for the Alpine Challenge with a dozen riders wearing Descenders jerseys.  This is the 7th year we have had a group out for this exciting ride in the mountains of east county.  We all rendezvoused at Summers Past Farms about 7 am in a bright sunny morning with great riding temperatures.  Most of the "Team A" riders were missing so we planned a less competitive group ride, hoping most would hang together.  Things started well as we pedaled over to Harbison Canyon and the fun descent down.  Cresap was on point for the fast descent as the speed broke us up a bit.  We lost Denise and Amy on the final parts of the descent but still had a large group start the Dehesa Road climb.  I could tell Neil wanted to go faster so I reviewed the route with him, noting that getting lost is almost impossible.  A few miles into the climb, Neil took off and quickly disappeared off the front.  The remaining group of 8 riders--Jeff S, Eileen, Len the Elder, Jeff C, Mike, Bryan, Bernie and me cruised up past the Tavern Road return route and kept climbing towards I-8.  It was great to see Bernie out riding again, he made a fast recovery from his shoulder injury on the Couser Canyon fall.  He looked like the same strong Bernie of old.  The group passed many riders on our way up and kept a steady pace to the top.  Len the Elder was on fire as he pulled to the front for much of the climb.

Neil blitzed the 17 mile climb in 1:09, top 4 of Strava entries.  The rest of us hit the top in 1:22, with Hodges a second faster than Bryan based on the ever important Strava rankings.  We passed Barb and a group of her riders just as we went under the freeway.  She excitedly described the Descenders riding club from her ride with us to Oceanside last week to her other riders as we cruised towards Old Hwy 80.  Just before the SAG Stop as I was on point with Barb, I heard someone yell "flat".  Apparently Hodges got a flat but I was too distracted in front to stop.  Bernie and Len stopped to fix the tire with Mike.  Bryan , Eileen and Jeff S stopped at the SAG while I kept pedaling with Barb towards Guatay.  We climbed in a small group with the energetic and infectious enthusiasm of Barb reflected in all the hoots and hollering she gave when we passed other riders.  I was pushing to keep up with her while it looked like a "walk in the park" for Barb.  At the top of the climb in little Guatay I said good-bye and sped off on the descent for Pine Valley.

I made quick work of the mile plus descent down towards the lollypop loop of Pine Valley.  I spotted Neil, now one of the lead riders in the race, starting his climb back up.  He was now 4 miles ahead of me and motoring fast.  I assumed the group was back out riding and closing the gap quickly.  I sped along trying to keep the small breakaway for as long as possible.  Just before the turn in Pine Valley to loop back I was passed by a flying Drew Peterson with his usual camelbak water source on his back as he effortlessly cruised at 25 mph speeds.  Drew finished the ride in 2:57; I never saw him again as he motored out of sight.  I sped through the neighborhoods and back to the climb out of Pine Valley.  The main group of Descenders had already passed but I did see John Moran on his descent.  The climb up hurt as I was still riding solo and the winds picked up a bit.  I needed some nourishment so I did a quick stop at the SAG and grabbed half a banana and two fig newtons.  There had been a guy on my wheel on the climb from Pine Valley that took the turn to Descanso ahead of me so I tried in vain to go catch him.  There were only a few riders on the road and I rode mostly alone back to the freeway where the first of the leg cramps started to hit me.  I was only at mile 42 so I knew I had to back off my pounding of the pedals a bit to find a way out of the leg pains.

The descent back down Japatul Valley Road was fast but I knew my speed was dropping.  I tried to push my pace as I passed a number of riders returning on the 50 mile route.  The legs were not willing no matter what I tried to do.  The cramps caused me to slow again as I took the turn onto Tavern Road and slowly make my way towards Alpine.  Thankfully I was passed by Mike, Len and Bernie on the climb.  I pulled back up to them and hung on as we rode along Arnold Way and the final 6 miles of the ride.  The four of us finished together in 3:45, well behind Drew and the pace of Neil who finished in 3:20 despite having to fix his own flat tire.  We covered about 100 km with almost 5,800 feet of elevation gain; another great Alpine Challenge ride.

We relaxed at the tables enjoying our lunch of pasta and burgers as the rest of the Descenders finished up their ride.  The last stop was to the beer tent area for a cold beer, salted nuts and a few more riding stories before we all headed out for home.  Attached are a few photos from the ride.  Look forward to the ride again next year.

ride on-

Rob

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Hi All,

Great turnout yesterday for the reverse Oceanside Harbor Loop ride.  I arrived a bit early at the start and there were already 15 riders ready to go.  Matt Babb brought up David and Roman from the south bay riding group.  Matt Davis was back on his bike.  John and Len the elder  were in the group.  Chad was in great form, good to see him in a Descenders kit again.  A number of the regular suspects were also there--Guido, Ernst, Voris, Bob R, Dan S and Geoff. Bob R invited also his buddy, Jeffrey.  I was wearing the jersey provided to the Descenders by Gustaf Olafsson, our latest international visitor.  I felt a bit out of uniform but really like the jersey.  We all headed off towards Camino Del Sur, going north towards Santaluz.  Matt Davis was on point and driving the pace to Fairbanks Ranch.  We wisely opted to skip the inside loop of Santaluz and head down San Dieguito Road.  We spotted Eileen, Jeff and Barb on El Apajo as we rolled towards RSF.  The pace quickened up the hill to Stud Loop.

In an act of self preservation, I suggested I take the "slower" portion of the group towards Lago Lindo while the rest of the fast group tackle Stud Loop.  Left alone at the corner with everyone going on Stud Loop, I was forced to push my heart rate to try to keep up.  We regrouped along Lago Lindo and then accelerated again down Camino Del Notre.  At the back of the peloton, Ernst and Eileen were avoiding the dog that run just in front of their bike.  At the 30 plus mph we were going it would have been an ugly collision.  No damage done and we all pedaled towards La Costa where the group rode fast in another acceleration towards PCH.  

We lost a few of the gang along the way due to other time commitments.  Jeff Southern was running the La Jolla Half on Sunday so he was just warming up his legs.  Oleg had to head south for home and Matt Davis split off for home.  We still had over a dozen riders but the pace along PCH blew up the group.  Matt, Guido, Chad, Voris, Ernst, Bob R, Geoff, Barb and a few others hammered north.  I desperately tried to hang onto the back wheel of someone, anyone..trying to make it to Oceanside.  We flew through Carlsbad Village and kept a good group up to the harbor.  I was searching out for my opportunity to again breakaway for the harbor finish.  I spotted some pedestrians and planned to go behind them as they crossed the path.  Unfortunately, the mother hit the panic button and back up to the curb.  I was committed and rolled forward.  The head winds kept me from getting any gap.  Chad closed quickly followed by Matt B.  Matt pulled a few guys towards the end with Voris doing the best job of drafting and then exploding towards the front.  He could not catch Matt in the end as he hit the top speed to the turn around, followed closely by Voris.

We regrouped at the bathroom and I noted a need to get home--LAX game and track meet on my family schedule.  The grouped rolled through Oceanside and I found myself on the back wheel of two tri-bike guys.  We kept up a good pace through Carlsbad and I was alone when they turned inland.  I knew the big group was behind me somewhere but I just kept turning over while enjoying the beautiful ocean to my left.  We saw tons of riders and runners out all day, busy day on the coast.  Just south of Leucadia, a fast moving group blew by me.  Fortunately they slowed riding into Encinitas with its festival day.  We rode around downtown and past Swami's.  I looked to the rider on my left and thought  it was Matt B in a different jersey, he even had the mirror on his glasses.  It turned out to be Matt's twin brother, Chris, who picked up the group on the ride south from Oceanside.  We rode as a group south on PCH.  The kook surfer statue was dressed again.  The pace into Solana Beach did not slow and the group was going left on Loma Santa Fe.  I knew I had a tight schedule back and should have just gone straight to the 56 bike path, but I decided to go with the guys.  I blew up on the second rise of Loma Santa Fe and watched the remaining group of guys pedal away from me.  I tried in vain to close the gap into RSF with no success.  I thought the group would have dropped down the hill on Calzada Del Bosque back towards El Apajo and the three witches climb.  As I neared the light and saw no one on the long straight road ahead, I realized they must have gone all the way into RSF.    

I was tired and out of water so I pedaled to the store at Fairbanks Ranch on the corner of San Dieguito Road.  While getting some much needed water I saw Ernst pedal by the store and turn up Three Witches.  I then attempted to get on my bike to catch him and never got close enough to have him hear me yelling from behind.  He turned north on Camino Del Sur and I went south for the final leg of my ride.  I met my goal and got to my house at 11:55 am, in time to change and get to the LAX game.  I did see John Moran riding west on the 56 bike path about 12:20 as I drove to see my daughter's LAX game.  John rode with Geoff and had a beer at his house before going back down Black Mountain.  I finished with about 66 miles and 3,200 feet of climbing, fast day on the bike and loads of fun.

Attached are a few photos from the ride.            

I recovered well enough to do a run around Lake Miramar with Bob Proulx on Sunday am.  We also got out for a short 25 mile ride in the afternoon.  I stumbled upon Mike Hodges and Geoff B, out riding in their Descenders kits with their families.  They had seen Jeff Cresap on PCH so it looks like lots of guys are getting in the miles.

Ride on-

Rob

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We had more than a dozen descenders and a few new friends of the club
joining us for a coastal ride this morning. The pace was steady fast
from the start, with a few sharp attacks here and there. Since I rode
from home to the start and needed to get back before 10:30, I had to
turn back towards home once we hit the coast, so I missed the
Oceanside part.
Photos are attached.
You should have come.

Oleg Shpyrko

> Tomorrow we will do the REVERSE coastal ride, as described below, in
> preparation for Alpine challenge next weekend.
> Santaluz and Stud Loop are optional - we may decide on those as we are
> riding. Hope to see you tomorrow, Oleg.
>
> Meet at 8AM at the 56 bike path and Black Mountain Rd. for REVERSE coastal
> loop through Santaluz to Rancho Santa Fe, Olivenhain Rd. to the coast, to
> Oceanside, back to Del Mar, inland through Carmel Valley Road and 56 bike
> path. 68 miles, 2000 ft.
> Map: Reverse Coastal Loop

Hi All,

I knew the group of riders able to commit to a morning ride today would be small.  The ride up Wohlford and Cole Grade on Saturday took its toll.  I drove over to meet Gustaf at his hotel.  The goal was to get in a ride before he and his wife had to drive to Palm Springs for the next phase of their CA journey.  It was again very foggy and wet, practically drizzling on my drive over to the hotel in RB.  I was going to retrieve back my bike that I let Gustaf ride after today's ride so I had to have a way to get two bikes home.  We got organized and pedaled over to Pomerado and RB corner to meet Dave Sheehan.  We were fortunate enough to meet Garet Heintz and his co-worker, Nancy.  Garet recently moved to Poway from Chula Vista and he knows Matt Babb.  Nancy is an ex-road bike racer from Scripps Ranch and she knows Jeff Cresap; small world of roadies.

The group of five headed for HVR.  We hoped to climb up above the thick fog.  Sheehan was in HOGWASH mode all day.  He hammer along HVR until we got the climb.  We regrouped at Bandy and flew down Bandy Canyon.  I was on Sheehan's wheel going much faster than I should have been.  Dave hammered again along 78 as we started up the Ramona Grade.  Garet and Nancy are very good riders.  They spanked us and got to the top first.  We rode up into bright sunshine in Ramona as the fog stayed thick in the valleys.  We again regrouped and headed through Ramona to Dye Road.  Sheehan organized a fast rotation on the second half of the Dye Road loop back to highway 67.  

We took a good pace back along 67 towards Mt Woodson.  Garet and I hit the peak first and he had to head home to met a family deadline.  I took a few photos of the fog hitting the top of the mountain and got on the back wheel of Gustaf as he and Sheehan blew by me, with Nancy just behind.  We hammered to Poway Grade and almost caught Garet.  Nancy kept going to return down SPP.  Sheehan led the way down the Poway Grade and quickly closed the gap of Garet.  We went by him and all of us turned onto Espola.  We let Garet head for home while we regrouped with Gustaf.  The three of us cruised up Espola and then Sheehan again put the hammer down by Poway HS.  We hit almost 30 mph flying all the way back to Valley Verde.  Dave went home while Gustaf and I thankfully took it easy the last few miles back to his hotel.  We rode about 42 miles and climbed 2,800 feet.  Nice end to a good weekend of riding.

It was good to have our latest international guest join the Descenders for a few rides.  Gustaf will return soon and until then, he will follows us on Strava!

Have a great week all.  

Ride on-

Rob

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Hi All,

We had a great turnout for the ride today.  It started out fairly foggy in PQ and I was late getting to the meeting spot.  I saw Guido and Geoff just on the other side of the road as they had given up on me and were on their way to Spring Meadow.  We pedaled over and met Oleg and Rick.  The 5 of us headed for the group start.

We had 13 riders, including Gustaf and Manuel.  Manuel is a young buck friend of Matt.  We knew we were in trouble when Manuel said he was "about the same" rider as Matt!  Gustaf is our latest international visitor.  He is in the area for a few days and has been tracking our rides via the web page and our Strava entries.  Gustaf lives just south of Copenhagen, Denmark and is a fan of Arsenal.  Unfortunately Hodges was out of town so they did not get to discuss the beautiful game or Denmark.  Hodges is over galavanting around Barcelona from his Strava postings.

The group consisted of the above guys plus Dan S, Ernst (route planner), Eric, Farkas, Matt and Cresap.  The fog was thinning out a bit as we made our way over the Lake Hodges bridge.  We had a flat and mechanical delay along the bike path but eventually got our ride in gear heading up Mary Lane as the sun broke through.  We stayed as a group until the bottom of Lake Wohlford climb where Matt and Manuel took off, the pace quicken all along the pace line.  Ernst passed Geoff, Dan S and me about halfway up the climb and I hung on his wheel until we got near the top.  After a bathroom break, Farkas reversed course to head home and Dan S went with him.  The rest of us motored towards Valley View Casino.  We took the right and descended towards Rincon Harrah's Casino.  The roads were bumpy and a bit tight in places, especially has we rode on highway 76 over to Cole Grade.  

It was getting warmer now and the climb up Cole Grade was long and tough.  We regrouped at the store at the end of Cole Grade.  The heat took its toll on all of us, especially Gustaf.  There is still snow on the ground at his house.  He needed a coke and some rest.  We are refilled our water bottles.  The group decided to skip Woods Valley Road back towards Lake Wohlford and instead just descend back into Escondido.  I hung back with Gustaf as we lost the group after leaving the store.  We were on the descent when we saw Geoff fixing his flat, all alone on the side of the road.  The three of us picked up a 4th rider, a nice Italian guy who lives in RB.  We rode as a group along Citrus and Bear Valley, retracing our steps back over the Lake Hodges bridge.  Geoff, Gustaf and I went right and back towards the hotel where Gustaf is staying.  Geoff and I finished our ride along Carmel Valley Road on the backside of Black Mountain, legs feeling the pain of the ride.

I got home with about 72 miles of riding and over 5,000 feet of climbing.  Fun group ride.  Here are a few photos.

I am hosting a ride tomorrow if you want to get in an easy Sunday ride.  I will drive to Gustaf's hotel near RB Road at 8 am.  We will pedal over to Pomerado and RB intersection to meet riders at 8:30.  We will decide a route based on who rides.  I am considering a climb up HVR and over to Poway Grade or heading over to Del Dios and going back through RSF.  If you want to ride--meet at 8:30 am.  E-mail or test me if you have questions.

See you in the am.

Ride on-

Rob

Hi All,

It was a cool morning but the sun was shining and the roads were dry; a much better environment than on Saturday.  I was late as usual and pedaled over to Spring Meadow to find Voris, Guido and Bob P ready to head to the start.  It was pretty cold in the valleys riding to Voris' house but we all hoped for warmer weather as the ride unfolded.  I spun down to Hodges house to see his bike at the ready, but no Mike in sight.  Apparently he was at his computer watching a road race taking place in Europe.  We rode to the 7-11 with Hodges playing catch-up.  Rick was there to join us. A small but hardy group for a repeat of the previous day's ride, Mussey Grade and Pamo Road.

We rode up SPP at a nice pace and around Mt Woodson.  The pace line down to Mussey was quick, as were the nice pulls to the end of the road.  We stopped and enjoyed the bright sunshine and starting to warm conditions.  It was very green from all the recent rain.  Mike noted that it was about 20 degrees warmer compared to his ride the previous day.  We all stayed together for the climb back up Mussey.  Bob P, our world traveler, had to bug out for home and work.  He headed back down highway 67 while the rest of us rode towards Dye Road.

It was deja vu all over again!  I looked around me and saw the original Descenders Team A from the 2008 Shadowtour Team Time Trail--Rick, Voris, Guido and Hodges.  I knew the rest of the ride was going to be painful for me.  We pulled hard along Dye Road and then through downtown Ramona and over to Pamo.  The views going north were brilliant.  We could see the snow on the mountains off in the distance and the lush, green valley ahead.  Voris stopped at the top of the descent to take a photo.  I took a photo of the wildlife down in the valley.  We all wished the road would continue on for miles instead of stopping and turning into a sand/dirt track.  Rick has taken his motorcycle all the way to the end.   No such luck on our road bikes.  We turned around and climbed back out of Pamo Valley reversing our course back to highway 67.

At the light, Voris, Guido and Rick headed home via the SPP descent.  They met up with Jeff Cresap on the way home.  Hodges and I went down HVR.  Mike was a stud, he pulled the entire length of HVR.  We passed a group of Swami riders just before the start of the descent.  Mike led out for the first part of the downhill portion.  I passed him above Bandy and was then passed by one of the Swami guys.  I held his wheel to the bottom of the descent.  There was now another rider behind me and then Mike.  It was a fast downhill for me, nothing like the speedster Sheehan.  At the bottom of HVR, I headed over the I-15 and through 4S Ranch while Mike went down Pomerado.  I finished with 77 miles and about 5,000 ft of climbing.  Great Sunday ride.

See a few photos below:

Also attached is the Alpine Challenge entry form.  Be sure to register this week for the early-bird and team discounts.  

The ride this Sat is heading up to north county.  Ernst is tweaking the route so I will send out a message tomorrow.  

Ride on-

Rob

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Descenders - We had a great ride up Old Julian today!
When I showed up at Spring Meadow, there was nobody there and I
thought I was going to ride alone to the meet point (would have been a
first), but then Hodges rolled up. Hodges rode part of the Ride Across
California with his kids yesterday, and accumulated more than 100
miles with a lot of climbing in Julian and Ramona just on Friday
alone. At Pomerado Rd. we ran into Jeff Cresap, and then met up with
Matt Babb, Bob Proulx, Rob, Sheehan, Klaus and Bob Raibert. Rob just
drove from Colorado through the night, arriving in San Diego at 4AM.
However, he was full of energy - he was first to the top of HVR,
showing some good form, possibly from elevation training. He seemed so
rested, I demand that he should drug-tested after the ride. We rotated
nicely after Bandy Canyon descent, and for the most part climbed
together as a group, into the headwind, up Ramona Grade. Klaus gets
the "Jens Voigt" award for setting the hard pace on the climb, and
keeping the pace up despite obviously suffering.
Things got a little animated towards the false-flat section of Ramona
Grade, with the three of us (myself, Matt and Bob) separating from the
group a bit, with Proulx and others chasing. Proulx has been traveling
a lot and has been running in UK, France, Italy, Germany and maybe
some other countries that I am forgetting right now, as well as recent
trips to Boston, San Francisco and other locations in US and abroad.
His cycling form was very impressive, given lack of cycling. When we
got to Ramona we broke up - Proulx turned back and descended Ramona
Grade, while Raibert and Sheehan went back through HVR - Bob helped to
pace Sheehan through some sections, with Sheehan setting a new KOM on
HVR descent, 21 seconds ahead of Logan who held KOM before, for an
average of 33.4mph, topping out at 54.5 mph!!! Don't try this at home,
folks.
Four of us, Matt, Klaus, Hodge and myself, were lead by Jeff and Rob
on what could only be called "Easter Egg Hunt" for new roads leading
to Old Julian, through San Vicente and Vista Ramona Roads. The
"shortcut" wasn't pre-authorized by the route committee, but being an
excellent salesman, Rob convinced us it will be worth it - fun roads
with fantastic views. There was a lot of "left turn-right turn-left
turn" and we only got semi-lost once (thanks to Jeff who steered us in
the right direction) - not bad for exploring new roads. Rob and Jeff
looped back home when we got to the Old Julian turn, leaving the four
of us to explore Old Julian - this was first time up Old Julian for
Matt and Klaus. We kept the pace steady into the wind, and then
enjoyed a super-fast, tailwind assisted descent down into Ramona. I
was surrounded by high-mileage folks - Hodges did 100+ miles just
yesterday, Klaus routinely does 150 miles of just commuting every
week, never mind weekend rides, and Matt has been averaging 270 miles
a week for the past few weeks - while I was averaging only about 50
per week. By this point it was also quite warm, 86F according to my
Garmin. We refilled our bottles and kept on going to Dye Rd. and HVR -
a lot of kids were out for Easter Egg Hunt, and overall it was a great
day to be out riding. We split up near the top of HVR, with Matt and I
hammering a bit and separating from Klaus and Mike, but we were almost
home. My Garmin battery died on return down Pomerado, but I ended up
with about 80 miles,4500 ft climbed.

Photos attached (also at http://goo.gl/kLKh8)

You should have come!

Oleg.