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
San Diego Descenders Cycling Club 