Lights and Tights

Haven't posted in like forever. Lots has happened in the intervening months. I've been posting most of my personal news on Facebook and have been taking a break, I suppose.

They days have been getting shorter which is a real bummer. I try to work out 2-3 days a week after work. When your main type of exercise is cycling, the short days are a real problem. I suppose I could break out the spin trainer (ugh) or do some walking, or go to the gym, but I just prefer cycling.

Last night I decided fight nature and try a little night riding. I chose a route that I know well, the 52-Loop ride that I've been riding almost weekly for months. It has several other advantages since 10 of the 20 miles are on dedicated bike paths with no cars. Only about 5 miles actually have any significant traffic.

I rode my new Medici Gran Turismo touring bike and mounted a light on the front bars and a blinky on the rear seatpost. I wore my Cal cycling "kit" which is bright yellow and white for extra visibility and hit the road around 6:15 pm. Traffic was pretty sparse at this time and there was still some daylight. After about 15 minutes the daylight had really faded. I flipped on the headlight but it wasn't effective at dusk so I switched it back off. I did turn on the blinkly at this point. I make it to the 52-bike path and then it really starts to darken. I play with the light. Hmm, the shifter cables from my bar-ends and the front tire cast a pretty big shadow. I fiddle some more. Better. I start the 2-mile climb and it is completely dark when I reach the top. I get some occasional and incidental light from the cars along the adjacent highway. Next is the downhill for the next two miles. My visibility is limited to about 6 feet in front of the bike. I usually scream down the descent since it is pretty smooth but I'm much more cautious tonight because I don't want to slam into a cardboard box or other road debris at 40 MPH and only have 6 feet to react.

Now I'm back on the road. One brief instant of traffic, but I cross at a crosswalk to avoid the highway onramp. Riding along the road, I can see fine. Even with my blinky light I can sense that some of the drivers coming up behind are surprised to see me. I hug the curb and am more cautious than usual. I decide that I'm going to do an out and back rather than doing the entire loop to avoid as much traffic as possible. I decide to climb the big Mission Gorge road hill since it's got a wide bike lane and not much traffic. Very quiet, moon out. I look around, concentrate on my breathing and enjoy the solitude.

Another downhill and then I make the turn into Mission Trails park. The road is now closed to vehicle traffic since it is after dark. I navigate the walker's entrance, cut over to the road and pedal on. It is completely dark now with even much of the moonlight blocked by the hills on either side. I've got enough light but it starts to get a little freaky riding through an out of the way park where any nutjob might jump out of the bushes. Starting to freak myself out now. What was that noise in the bush? I move towards the center of the road, drop the bike into a big gear and haul. Whoa, a couple of hikers with no lights. That was a surprise. I reach the end and see another rider coming the other way so I guess I'm not the only dope out here. Back on the road for another couple of miles before I'm back on the bike path. I've got about another 6 miles to go. Piece of cake. 2 miles of climb and I'm feeling warm and starting to feel pretty cocky. 2 mile downhill now and all of a sudden, I'm freezing. The temperature had dropped and I'm sweaty from the climb. Shiver. I'll bring a jacket next time. A small light up ahead gets brighter and I pass another night rider. Hey!

The rest of the ride is uneventful and I make it back to the office to grab my gear and head home.

All and all, it was a very interesting experience that I definitely plan on doing again. I've got some additional reflective gear for my ankles and my reflective commuter jacket that I'll use next time. I might get another light for my helmet too for some extra visibility.

Why I love Google Earth

I took a short 20 miler after work today. I normally work 1/2 days on Fridays and today I was actually able to get out on time so I took a ride repeating most of the route around Mission Trails Regional park that I last posted about. Here's a Google Earth image from part of the route.

















You get a real feel for the type of terrain this route is in. I climbed just over 2,000 feet in the 20 miles so it is quite hilly. Depicted is the path along Highway 52 up and through Mission Trails Regional park. This was one of the nicest rides I've been on in a while.

Three quarters of this ride is amazing. Unfortunately, the last quarter is through very congested streets requiring you to bypass several freeway entrances. The high speed of the vehicles and the heavy traffic makes this a risky endeavor. I'll keep looking for the best route.

New Route

Christine and I went hiking a couple of days ago at Mission Trails Regional Park here in San Diego. Along the way, I noted that there is a brand spanking new separated biking lane along Highway 52. The bike lane is separated from the highway by a continuous length of concrete dividers and the path looked recently paved. I've been trying to find a East/West route in this neck of the woods for a while since it is very near where I work. Today, I decided to have a little adventure to check it out.

I geared up and left my apartment. It was a nice sunny day but there was still a little chill so I took my arm warmers and wore a base layer beneath my jersey. I took the normal route towards my workplace down into Mission Valley at Fairmount Ave to cross under the Interstate 8 and made my way along the Qualcomm Stadium bike path before climbing out of Mission Valley on Ruffin Road to Kearny Villa Road. There is a entrance to Highway 52 on Kearny Villa so I made my way to it. Lo and behold there was a sign that said, no bikes or pedestrians allowed. Hmmm. The bike path entrance must be futher east. Did a bit of backtracking to Clairmont Mesa Blvd and headed east to Santo Road where there is another entrance to the 52. Along the way, I meet a really nice guy, Dave who is also out for a Sunday ride on his Lemond bicycle, just like me. We chat a bit and it seems that we are going the same way so we continue on. There is in fact and entrance to the bike path off of Santo Road which we take and proceed eastward. The path is smooth and very safe although the noise of the cars whizzing by across the barrier made me flinch a couple of times. The first part of the path is about 3 miles of steading climbing followed by a mile of a really nice downhill. The bike path ends at Mast Road and the entrance to Mission Trails Park. Luckily, Dave knows the way and I follow him north and cross under the 52 one street, make the right turn and end up going southward along the eastern border of the park. Eventually we hit Mission Gorge Road which is the southern border of the park and start returning west. Following is a very steep one mile lungbuster climb. Dave breaks off and I'm riding solo again down Mission Gorge. From there it's back to Fairmount and then home. The whole ride was a nice 25 mile loop from my apartment and would probably make a good 10-mile lunchtime ride from work.

Totals were

26.06 Miles
2040 feet of climbing
Average Pace of 14.8 MPH
1905 calories burned

Here's a map