WOW! What a day. 80 miles of riding through spectacular scenery and over 10,000 feet of climbing. We met in Pine Valley at 7:30 am ready to roll....and it was chilly! 40 degrees, but the sun was blazing with hopes of a spectacular day. ED, PD, TN, JB (hubby) and I were rolling by 7:40 and after a few miles the climbing began. The ride up Kitchen Creek to the top of Mt Laguna is stunning and a large portion of the ride is on a road closed to cars. We kept a reasonable pace and passed a few others on the way. At the top of Laguna, 6000 ft, with patches of snow in shaded areas, JB headed down Sunrise Hwy back to the car for some RnR while we continued to Julian.
Nice stop for pie and double Mocha's! Delicious, but tough to jump back on the bike after the food and sunshine. Onto uncharted territory and we worked our way up and over another pass and down to Lake Cuyamaca, but not without some excitement.
As we pedaled along HWY 79, 2 lane HWY, no bike lane, we kept to the side, single file. A cautious car was trailing afraid to pass with the blind curves ahead. Before long, the Park Police call on the speaker " Do not block for the cyclists" We think he is saying for us not to block, but we soon realize he is talking to the car. The car tentatively passes us and he turns on his siren and pulls her over. TN is hot, outraged that he is pulling over a cautious car, so he stops to give the driver his number in case she needs a witness in court for the ticket. E and I are headed down the hill and P stays behind to asses the situation. 8 miles later, at the bottom of the descent, we are waiting. No sign of the guys. Still waiting and we send a text, reply is "ask the police." We began the 8 mile climb and thankfully we see them within the 2nd mile. Seems the Park Police did not appreciate the interference and asked TN to leave, TN wanted to make his point and well....it escalated from there. Cop pushed TN, TN theatrically flys to the ground and before long is in handcuffs.....for what you ask? Not really sure. But thanks to the level headedness of P, TN is soon released and on their way. What is the lesson here.....not sure to be honest.
So the best part of the ride is that.....while we are hammering up and down a few passes, John is preparing a stellar breakfast for us. He has the camp stove, eggs, bacon, bagels and coffee ready to serve up as we ride into Pine Valley. Hard to beat home cooked breakie (as they say down under) after a long ride!
We finally dragged ourselves home by 4....and then it was a few hours of eating, showering, eating, did I say eating and then time to get ready for the ESA (Endurance Sports Awards) This is the Academy Awards in the world of Endurance Athletes.
Stellar event put on by the Competitor http://www.competitor.com/ at Seaworld. Dressy shin dig and it is quite fun to see all your running and riding mates decked out. Hard to recognize some in real clothes and without a helmet. The night starts with arcade games, nothing like Whack the Mole to wake up. That and Frog Launching (plastic of course) was how we entertained ourselves. Great to see the "stars" and see the emotional videos of 2008. Such fun and exhausting after the long day.
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