Those of you that know me even a little bit well know I’m fond of both euphemisms and sarcasm.  Just like the “climbing challenges” are generally “suffer fests”, “cruising” usually means, hold on to your helmet and sneak a drink while you can… last week’s A ride was definitely a speedy one.  I guess you might say that if I’m not grinding on a hill, I prefer to be going flat and fast – so the last two weeks have been right up my alley.  However, after a year of injuries and illnesses, I can say I’ve come to appreciate a ride that doesn’t leave me half dead.  Saturday was not one of those rides.

Large group gathered at Torrey Pines Gliderport

We had a very large group gathered together on Saturday morning at the Gliderport in Torrey Pines, a favorite meeting spot when we are heading south.  With Ellen joining us just as we took off, we had 18 total riders – 7 in the B/C group and 11 in the A group.  We had reeled in several of those riders on our ride down, with a few meet up spots along the way to allow a few of us to bag some extra miles and the Torrey Pines climb.

Sometimes we take a very direct route to Cabrillo, and surprisingly, a very traffic free route.  We warmed up through the UCSD campus, and then headed down Gilman Drive to hop on the Rose Canyon Bike Path (the warm up was over by Gilman Drive).  We cross over the busy Mission Drive and onto the Rose Creek Bike Path, which dumps you out at the back end of Mission Bay Park.  Our impressive, consistent speeds were courtesy of our guest rider, my husband David, who kept the speed just below the group’s collective breaking point.

From Mission Bay, we cross over on Pacific Drive toward Old Town, and just before the underpass, we turn right onto the Ocean Beach Bike Path.  Working your way up some of the interesting back streets of Ocean Beach/Sunset Cliffs, you all of a sudden pop out almost at the entry light onto the naval/national park area of the peninsula.  At around 20 miles each way, I clocked us at about 70 minutes getting there.  Definitely a record for me.

Natalie captures a group Selfie with Heather B and Janice on the left, and Heather K with Ron in the back. Enjoying a stop in Sunset Cliffs.

It is traditional to enjoy a snack while taking in the views at Cabrillo, ever since the first maiden voyage of Team Fun to Cabrillo before we really had a Team Fun.  But we had kits, and those are the pictures you see on a lot of our posts – back when we were just three Heathers and a Jill, trying out rides we thought other people might like.  Actually, to be honest, on that ride we left from much farther away and, well, we actually had a pretty lavish lunch at my favorite Italian place in Point Loma.  We did, however, pay for the indulgence on the ride home – it is a little hard to ride home 40+ miles after eating a big plate of pasta, so I’ll say we don’t do that with Team Fun because I’m protecting you from that.

Back to this ride…. here’s a shot of some of the A group enjoying the view.

Heather K, Natalie, Jill T., Jill Q., Heather B., Janice.

Michell and Kim Z. led the B/C groups, and to be fair, they were a bit heartier than we were.  They actually climbed Tide Pool hill, many of them for the first time (I don’t think anyone even considered it in our group – there may have been something mumbled about saving up to survive the ride home).  Michell also managed to snap quite a few more photos than our group, so you can get a good sense of the route and scenery.  It stayed completely overcast for the whole ride (until my last few, brutal miles uphill to home, obviously).

The groups paths did not exactly cross, since Michell took the group on a detour through the cemetery on the Point (which I have actually never done).  Those interested in post-ride snacks did all manage to regroup one last time at Bella Vista Cafe.

Natalie, Kim Z., Michell, Jill T, Heather B, David B, Manya, Janice and Jill Q at Bella Vista Cafe.

David, Jill T., Natalie and I headed north for our last push before the official birthday relaxation commenced.  For those from whom that may have been your first time with our A group, it is not normally that fast.  While some of us would like to think we could pull the group like that, we can’t and we don’t.  So hopefully no one was too discouraged by my birthday extravaganza and will give us another shot.

More pictures from the B/C ride:

Lauren, Stacy, Suzanne, Kim Z., Manya, and Ruby at the photo spot.

Ellen having fun somewhere on Pt. Loma

Lauren smiling as the group headed out in La Jolla.

Suzanee says, I get ice cream for this, right? Right?

Join us tomorrow at 8am for a trip north into Camp Pendleton (A and B groups) or to Del Mar (C group), meeting at the Ralph’s on Avenida Encinas in Carlsbad.  Sign up on Meetup