Wheeeuuu! A long ride out to the white church

An urban and Lake Murray ride for a change

I had to go into town to get some new tubes at the Trek store, so I took my bike out of the car there and took off to do a bit of shopping and then revisit Lake Murray, a place I had visited many times to look for caches.

On the relatively flat terrain, it didn't take any time at all to cover more than sixteen miles.



It was an absolutely beautiful day.

A day before my birthday, a long ride to "celebrate"

My first full-length ride with the group

My first ride with the Tuesday/Thursday group

Last week I met a man named Pete at the great World Cycling bicycling shop in Casa de Oro. He told me several people ride every Tuesday and Thursday morning, so I showed up in the parking lot in front of the RSD Starbucks at 7:30 in the morning, expecting to see Pete there.

He wasn't.

I asked the small group if they minded if a newcomer joined them. They said "No." so I got my bike out of my car and joined them as they talked about where to ride. They decided to make the big loop out Willow Glen, up Dehesa Road towards Lyons Valley Road and back down Jamul Drive from Jamul.

I had to give up at the top of Dehesa Road because the bike saddle was so uncomfortable, so my ride was only 30 miles, according to the Trip Computer on my bike.



I had a great time riding up into Alpine then down South Grade to Harbison Canyon and back to my car. That is the farthest I have ridden a bike since 1983 . . .

Ride number two

I started out to ride on Sunday, but it got too hot, too early in the day, so the second ride on my bike was Monday. I took the scenic route down, down, down Skyline Truck Trail to Lawson Valley and then to Lyons Valley Road.



What a beautiful morning!

I made it the whole way up the steep grades without having to stop to catch my breath, although I did have to stop one time when I saw a huge Asplundi tree-trimming truck coming my way on the narrow road heading up towards the Lyons Valley Trading Post. Stopping was the prudent thing to do, especially with the blind curve just ahead of me.

The inaugural ride on my new road bike

I bought my Trek "hybrid" bike almost 18 years ago, so it seemed time to get a new bike. This is the track of the inaugural ride.



I rode up to my friend and neighbor's new house and watched it being lifted into place. It was a hot day, so I didn't stay long before heading out and down the road where I could create my own cooling breeze — at least until I started back home and up the long hill following the Four Corners intersection.