I had nothing big planned at work on Monday (Columbus Day), so I thought it a good day to take one of those longer rides. I wanted to incorporate Palomar into my ride, but didn't want to drive over to the hill, then ride up and down and drive home. I planned a route that would take me from my house, in Poway, through Escondido and Valley Center by Harrah's casino and up to Palomar Mountain. The route would take me up Lake Wohlford Road, which was my demise about seven years ago on a ride with Ranchos Cycle Club.
I left the house @ 7:15AM and made it to the top of Palomar at 10:20. No speed records were set, based on the fact that I was planning on 80 miles with 8500 feet of climbing. I made it up the mountain to find fog and cold. It was so cold that I had to stop a couple times on the way down the hill to warm up. I figured it would be cold when I left the house, so good thing I brought the ear and arm warmers. Still left my legs freezing on the way down, but it was very pleasant to be getting warmer on a 13 mile descent as I went from 5000+ elevation back down to near sea level.
The roads getting over to Palomar are terrible as far as traffic is concerned. Single lane with bumpy roads and not a big bike lane if any. The climbing was a good workout, but I would definitely change the route next time.
The first time going 80 miles was okay. I felt good until the last 5 or so miles. My legs were just sapped. I averaged 15mph, which isn't too bad considering the climbing. It took 5:22 to complete the ride. I would like to think that if I had done a 100 miles with half the climbing I could have completed in 5 hours total. I think this is reasonable all things considered.
Anyway, the new Felt frame is all together with the Shimano Ultegra. It's a nice bike. I am selling it, as I don't have use for two nice bikes. It was hard enough to get the Trek dialed in, I don't want to go through that again. I actually think the Felt frame is better looking than the Trek. One of the main reasons I'm not going to switch all my Campy stuff over, is the Trek is Made in the USA, but the Felt is made in Taiwan. It's the small things right. Here's a picture of the Felt. It is already sold to one of the guys in the NCCC group.
I left the house @ 7:15AM and made it to the top of Palomar at 10:20. No speed records were set, based on the fact that I was planning on 80 miles with 8500 feet of climbing. I made it up the mountain to find fog and cold. It was so cold that I had to stop a couple times on the way down the hill to warm up. I figured it would be cold when I left the house, so good thing I brought the ear and arm warmers. Still left my legs freezing on the way down, but it was very pleasant to be getting warmer on a 13 mile descent as I went from 5000+ elevation back down to near sea level.
The roads getting over to Palomar are terrible as far as traffic is concerned. Single lane with bumpy roads and not a big bike lane if any. The climbing was a good workout, but I would definitely change the route next time.
The first time going 80 miles was okay. I felt good until the last 5 or so miles. My legs were just sapped. I averaged 15mph, which isn't too bad considering the climbing. It took 5:22 to complete the ride. I would like to think that if I had done a 100 miles with half the climbing I could have completed in 5 hours total. I think this is reasonable all things considered.
Anyway, the new Felt frame is all together with the Shimano Ultegra. It's a nice bike. I am selling it, as I don't have use for two nice bikes. It was hard enough to get the Trek dialed in, I don't want to go through that again. I actually think the Felt frame is better looking than the Trek. One of the main reasons I'm not going to switch all my Campy stuff over, is the Trek is Made in the USA, but the Felt is made in Taiwan. It's the small things right. Here's a picture of the Felt. It is already sold to one of the guys in the NCCC group.
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