Hi All,

I do not if you have heard but the Skive Rides are becoming a pretty big deal……I hope more of you can break away from the demands of the week to join us on a future ride. Wednesday’s seem to be bad timing for a number of guys so we are going to focus on Tues/Thurs Skive rides moving forward. We have had fun rides the last two weeks. I will try to briefly recap with short ride reports.

Skive Ride–Mussey, Mahogany Ranch & HVR Loop–13 Nov

The ride last week started at the 7-11 store. I was late getting started, as usual, and pedaled to the start location in Poway. Sheehan invited Marci and Scott–riders we met through the Pedal the Cause event. Also there were Zach and Kevin H–he has ridden infrequently with our group rides. A good 6 person ride stated with a climb up SPP. We cruised along 67 and pushed the pace a bit toward Mussey and then the descent.

Kevin found out the hard way how bumpy the pavement is at the bottom of Mussey. We all stopped to enjoy the views before starting back up. Kevin heard a noise on the last part of the descent after hitting a bump. As he started the climb back up his left handle bar snapped off but stayed in the tape. This is what happened to me descending Painted Cave a fall the previous week. Carbon handlebars are sensitive. Kevin was able to climb with us back to Mahogany but had to head home slowly–new non-carbon handlebars coming soon.

The five remaining riders climbed up Mahogany. Scott and Marci had never ridden out in our direction so they enjoyed the picturesque climbs and roads. We stopped at the top to catch our breath and take a photo. After the climb out of Mussey, Marci and Scott had to head back to the start. Zach offered to escort them back to the 7-11 store. Sheehan and I headed over to HVR. We kept up a nice pace and turned onto Sky Valley near the school. It connects back to HVR just as the descent starts. We flew down but I kept a much slower pace going past the scene of my last fall, reliving the moments of terror from last month. At Pomerado, I headed across the freeway towards 4S while Sheehan went left to his house. I got home with about 57 miles. Fun skive event.

Skive Ride-Lake Hodges, Mt Israel & Solana Beach Loop–19 Nov

We met up at what has become the most common starting spot for Skive rides–at the start of HVR. I drove to Sheehan’s house so he and I rode there and met up with Mike Hodges and Jeff Langley. Hodges was quick to propose a little BWR training so we headed over the pedestrian bridge and went left along the Lake Hodges trail. Sheehan and Jeff had never taken this route before. We successfully crossed the creek and made our way to the parking lot. After cruising along Lake Drive, Hodges suggested we also add Mt. Israel Road to the agenda. That is a healthy 1.4 mile climb. We all rode to the end of the road and regrouped before reversing course. Just before descending the steep sections Sheehan had us stop to enjoy more great views of all the mountains to the east. We cruised along Del Dios and through downtown RSF. Our plan was to head to Java Depot in Solana Beach.

We split up when Sheehan and Hodges missed the turn to Los Arboles. We eventually regouped along Via De La Valle, cut back up towards Lomas Sante Fe and then proceeded to explore the neighborhoods just east of PCH. Mike eventually got us over the bridge and to Java Depot. The coffee break was fun and we met up with KC Butler who was out riding. KC informed us that the Tour de Poway is likely to never be held again–too few riders and too many costs to put on the event. It had been running for 29 years–too bad. After the coffee break we all headed back towards the polo fields of RSF. Just before Three Witches Jeff decided to stop at his favorite bike shop. The four remaining riders cruised up the climb and regrouped at the top. Hodges headed south toward home while Sheehan, KC and I rolled north to get back to Poway. KC lives right by Powt high and my car was at Sheehan’s.

The cruise was fast and fun. Just past the big intersection of Pomerado and RB Roads with Sheehan about 50 yards out front KC and I were talking when I looked to my left to speak to KC. A huge F-150 pick-up was going south on Alondra Dr, trying to cross all lanes of RB Road. He was accelerating fast and did not see us at all. Fortunately we were moving along at a good clip and just cleared the intersection and he zoomed through. He missed the rear wheel of KC, who was a foot or so behind me, by only a few inches. We yelled and he sort of stopped but then kept driving. Needless to say, we both turned around and went after the truck. I saw him turn left two streets up. I caught up to him after he parked his truck. He was not pleased that I found him and he just said he did not see us. Then he bitched about us being on the road. KC rolled up and I was leaving, not going to make any progress here. We rode back to met Sheehan and safed rode to his house. A fun 48 mile ride but we could have done without the truck.

Here are a few photos–I will post more in our shutterfly albums.

Ride safe-
Rob