Dave & Rob Bday Ride-23 March 2019
by Rob Verfurth
Riders: Sheehan, Rob, Ernst, Don W, Shawn D, Hodges, John A, Andrew, Rick W, Larry, Tony, Garet, Bill B, Peggy B and Bob P
We called an audible on Friday to plan for a more local ride. DeLuz was the original planned ride, it is rescheduled for later when the roads will be dryer and hopefully cleaner. The new local ride was a planned spin down Three Witches, then Del Dios Highway to hit a loop over to Bandy Canyon. We met on the 56 bike path to start the ride towards RSF. The group was good sized at the start with a number of riders we had not seen in awhile. It was great to see Dave Ernst ride inland from the coast and to have Larry Murray back on a group ride. There were plenty of the usual suspects and the group filled out to 15 riders once we got to the top of Three Witches where we picked up more riders.
The pace down the hill was steady and we kept in a nice paceline along Apajo. I was one of the first to fall off the pace on the climb to Stud Loop. The faster riders were to take the extra miles from Stud Loop while us mere mortals were heading straight to Del Dios. Sheehan, Peggy, Andrew and I skipped Stud Loop. Sheehan led us along Del Dios, I fell back. We all climbed past Lake Hodges dam and made our way towards Lake Drive. I caught up to Peggy while Sheehan and Andrew were way out front. It was a sunny and cool morning with lots of folks hiking and MTB riding along the trails of the lake, a great day to be out on a Descenders group ride.
Our regroup location was the corner of Lake Drive and Via Rancho Parkway. The Stud Loop riders finally caught up to us short cut riders. We all stopped for a group photo, except Hodges. He slowly spun up the final hill on Lake and slowly made the turn towards the mall without stopping. We took a group shot with 14 riders before Ernst was the first to head off. He had to head back towards the coast; so glad Dave could join us for a group ride. We rolled out and made our way to the planned rest stop at the gas station, just past I-15. At the intersection of I-15, Shawn hit a razor blade and flatted his front tire. He was able to roll into the gas station.
Bill & Peggy B rode past the rest stop. They were on their way to Kit Carson Park to watch their grandson play baseball; he had recently graduated from T-ball and was now in the machine pitching league. A potential future major leaguer? While various guys tried to help Shawn fix his flat, the rest of us chatted and relaxed. Garet spun out towards home. I announced that I planned to head back over the Lake Hodges pedestrian bridge and skip the climb up Bandy or HVR. Bob P was heading out on a business trip on Sunday so he volunteered to ride back to PQ with me.
I missed the rest of the ride but heard there were lots of spirited pushes of the pace, up Mary Lane, down Summit and along Old Milky Way to Highway 78. Larry pulled the whole crew along 78 to get to the start of Bandy Canyon. At the top of Bandy, guys went up HVR while some descended to head back home. Hodges convinced John A to follow him all the way up into Ramona and eventually back to home after 100+ miles; BWR training in full bloom.
Bob P and I had a nice paced ride back towards PQ. We picked up Steve and Marla Bosowski who were out on a casual spin to Peet’s coffee. The four of us sped along Camino Del Norte and dropped off Bob at Santaluz. The new You Tube ride sensation, Steve, and his strong riding wife pulled me along back towards the 56 bike path. They turned to the coffee shop while I spun that last mile home. Check out Steve in the below link that shows his acceleration at the start of the Torrey Pines climb; he is in the blue helmet. I finished with a short 38 mile loop, but a fun Descenders group ride. Look forward to lots more fun group rides. Also below is a link for some photos.
San Diego Descenders Cycling Club 