Jan 04 2012
2011 Christmas Bike Ride
The 2011 San Diego Christmas Bike Ride went off without a hitch. Great weather reigned thruout. We had 99 people this year, attendance being up a bit from last year. The first day, we rode out to Pine Valley from San Diego. I stopped by in Alpine again for lunch and ate at my friend Scotts rental business with another rider, a fellow named Andrew, who rode his bike here from Arizona self-supported, then dropped his bags off on our truck and joined up with the ride. We got a little lost after lunch when I mistook a turn, but the error was discovered within 5 or 6 miles and we turned around and got back on track. We rolled into Pine Valley plenty early and I got a milkshake at the Frosty burger before checking into my room at the hotel. Yes, I got a hotel room. A bit of a princess ritual, but I get one every year on the first and the last night of the ride. The group had spagetti dinner as usual and after the hot-seat I went back to my room at the hotel.
Day 2, I’m up early and on the Sunrise Highway climbing mount Laguna. I had a wonderful brunch at my friend Steve’s Julian Hotel, in Julian of course. Steve has been making me breakfast for many years now on this same day and it’s a good opportunity for us to visit. After visiting Steve, I ride toward Warner Springs, by way of Mesa Grande. I had a great plan this year for a visit to the hot-spring at Warner Springs, something I haven’t done before, where I also planned to get a massage, but the pools are drained and cleaned every Tuesday so the hot-spring was a no go, then it turned out that the massage was a no-go due to lack of cell phone service this far afield, they never got my confirmation. Ah well, that’s the way it goes.
Day 3 is the big one, 105 miles. One of the cool things this year was that my friend Michelle Williams, another sailor, decided to try the ride. I’ve been telling her about it for years, just like I tell everyone. Michelle decided this time to go for it. Before the first day she claims she had never ridden more than 12 miles in one day. By the end of this day, she had a century under her belt. It’s just like sailing, I told her, just keep moving and you’ll get there. We rode together all day with another rider, Ralph Elliott. Ralph’s mother used to lead this ride when he was a junior and he has been doing it now for 47 years. He talks a lot about the essence of the ride, so he is known as ‘the Essence’. At the end of the day, we arrived in the Palm Desert.
On Day 4, Everyone knows I like to ride over the mountain and so I somehow became the ride leader for this route when we left the parking lot. We call this mountain seven-level-hill, a 25 mile climb of over 5000′. Normally half a dozen or so will take this alternate route, but this year the splinter group was almost half the group, a new record. I led everyone to the bottom of the climb, made sure they had their own directions, then took off up the hill. I rode strong, only a very few can keep my pace, but I was not the strongest. There is a guy named Drew Peterson who fairly flew past me climbing the hill. I was standing on the pedals, cranking hard and he was seated and down on his aero-bars when he slid by, going half again as faster than me. I think he was still in his big ring. Impressive. We stopped for lunch at the Paradise Valley Cafe, where they remembered me from last year when it was pouring freezing rain, then a nice cruise through pine trees and a lovely decent into Hemet, our stop for the night.
Day 5, we go from Hemet to Fallbrook. We stay together pretty well until lunchtime in Temecula, but the hill climb afterward tends to blow the group apart. I got a flat on my way into Temecula and got separated from the group anyway, so I had lunch alone at the Marie Calenders. Afterward the route goes through Deluze Canyon, which is beautiful, before arriving in Fallbrook. Again, I have a hotel room, so that means jacuzzi for me. Several other riders stayed at the same hotel and we gathered for dinner and drinks, which we ordered to go and took to the hot-tub.
Day 6, the last day, we ride home to San Diego. The whole group stayed together riding out to Oceanside and down the coast as far as the first lunch stop at Java Depot, but people get underway at different times and from there it’s just the ride to the finish. After the Torrey Pines hill climb, I took Genessee to Linda Vista, stopping at Rite-Aid for a hand-packed pint of ice-cream before coasting into the parking lot. We cheated death again, another Christmas trip ended.
Many of us gathered at Tio Leo’s, the traditional dinner spot. A last chance to say Happy New Year and talk about what a great ride it was, and it was a great ride. I hope you all had fun too, Happy New Year.
For those of you who have found me on Facebook, I’ve posted photos there from the ride.