Recovery Ride Report-2 Nov-HVR, Bandy, Summit, Wohlford, Woods Valley & Valley Center Loop

Hi All,

The recovery ride was well attended, mostly by riders that did not brave the wet roads from Saturday. We all met at the corner of Pomerado and RB Roads at 8 am. The rains had stopped, the skies were blue and temperatures rising; a perfect day for a bike ride. Ready to ride were Sheehan, John M, Bryan Jones, Tony, Eric G, me and two new riders–Peter and Steve. Bob P and I met Peter at a local coffee shop when we were talking about riding. We suggested he come out to ride on an upcoming recovery ride. Peter and Steve are both good riders and we look forward to riding with them again soon.

Sheehan was still aching from his bike fall on Soledad. He was showing me his bruises when I noticed the bump on his right shoulder. It looked to be a classic AC shoulder separation to me, likely type II. I know I am not a physician but I have separated BOTH my shoulders, the left one twice, along with a compound break of my clavicle. Shocking, I know. Sheehan was describing the pulls-up he had been doing and how painful it was. I recommended he STOP pulling on his shoulder for a few weeks to let things heal. The bump will not go away. Dave noted that riding did not hurt much, only when he breathed deep. Good thing it was a recovery ride.

I had volunteered to host the ride so I mapped out our ride to get us over to Lake Wohlford via HVR and Bandy. We rode as a group until the start of the climb up HVR. We regouped at the top and descended Bandy, a bit more cautiously than usual, given the road conditions post the rains. We stopped when we got to Route 78 when we noticed the start of a MTB event just getting underway. It was a 50 mile MTB race. We watched the expert riders take off fast before continuing our ride. Stava later showed me a number of guys I recognized that rode in the dirt. Logan Fiedler finished at or near the top for the Filthy 50 race based on his trophies and times.

Our group cruised along 78 heading west and we took the slight turn left onto Old Milky Way. Nice fresh air as we passed all the farm animals!. We climbed Summit Drive up to Mary Lane where we met up with our usual route toward Lake Wohlford. At the bottom of the climb Sheehan got a flat so we started to split up with some guys riding up and others staying to help Sheehan fix his rear tire. Sheehan and I rode together to the top where we all regrouped by the lake entrance.

The rollers toward Woods Valley provided a nice paceline. Bryan held point for much of this section, taking the winds and riding strong. As the ride host I thought I had communicated that at the end of Woods Valley we would turn right and stop at the gas station before heading back into Escondido going down Valley Center Road. We all started together on Woods Valley put the push pace split the group. Bryan and Sheehan were out front while Tony, Steve and I hung in the paceline. John, Peter and Eric G were well behind. We flew along at a pretty respectable 29 mph; I avoided the front for as long as I could. I stuck my nose out as we passed the golf course and then fell back as the guys flew toward the light. We all turned to get some drinks at the gas station.

I looked out from the gas station to see where the rest of the guys were when I spotted the blinking light of Eric’s bike near the top of Valley Center Road–they had all turned left. Tony planned to keep riding out toward Lilac to get in more mileage. I jumped on my bike in a vain attempt to chase down the other guys. Bryan, Sheehan and Steve eventually chased after me. We joined our chase as we turned onto Bear Valley Parkway, the other guys still way out front. Bryan pushed the pace and we eventually got to them at the light near the mall. They had been riding fast, chasing us. We stopped for water at the gas station and then rode toward the Lake Hodges pedestrian bridge. The Filthy 50 MTB race finished right by the gas station so we saw some of the early leaders coming fast to the end, looks like it was a great ride.

We crossed the bridge and split again with Eric G, John M and Sheehan going left while Bryan and I rode with the two new guys, Peter and Steve, back toward 4S. Steve lives in Westwood so they turned to his house just after RB Community Park. Bryan pulled me along as we rode behind Black Mountain and down into PQ. I looped for home finishing with 65 miles and about 4,200 of climbing; Bryan had about the same. Good recovery ride.

Rob