SD 400K-Hemet Brevet Ride Report
March 17, 2007
The early morning fog was heavy as I rode from San Marcos to
Cardiff. Even at a slow speed, my rear wheel slid around as I
braked going around a corner. WHEW, that was close! I made
certain that I arrived at the start with 15 minutes extra time. I put
my jacket in the wet brown drop bag with some other things,
reset my computer and picked up a Brevet Card. Riders were
grouped up in the dark and Mike Berry was giving last minute
instructions. It was too dark and damp to easily recognize any
riders. At 6:00 AM sharp, off we went.
We were on Coast Hwy 101 heading south in a few minutes, riders chatting and replaying past rides. The groups split up as we
climbed the 6% Torrey Pines Hill, and down to the Rose Canyon
Bike Path. Mike had thoughtfully driven ahead to direct riders to Mile 31: Andrew Melczer leads a group up the
Mission Gorge Road climb. Three riders in this group
the start of the path. As we rode around through Mission Valley, ﬁnished together. The fog and overcast were still
a rider fell on a group red light start. He might have touched a
around until after Lakeside.
wheel ahead. He was OK as the group was now about 15 riders.
Many of the riders I had ridden with on other Brevets were there, so you start to feel comfortable as we
approached the Mission Gorge Road climbs. The group had splintered, and I stopped to take a few pictures at
the top, before the descent into Santee.
The route to Lakeside seemed a little easier than in the 300K
Brevet a few weeks before. Less turns and less thinking. I was
riding with the group of Eric, Andrew, Robert and Brian on a
steady tempo as we rode through Lakeside and into Burger
King at the Olde Hwy 80 turn. After a too long break and reﬁll,
we started the long pull up towards Pine Valley and Control #1.
The sun was ﬁnally out now and things were heating up. As we
approached Alpine, my right hamstring was getting tighter, so I
had to back off and stretch out. Isabelle was out of water, Chris
Hanson had to take a stop as Brevet riders mixed in with some
long distance riders heading east. There were several extra water
stops just as we entered I-8 bike lane, which was a welcome
relief. Chris gave me several Endurolyte Caps to help ease the
Mile 51: Flat tire on the climb just before Alpine. Very
hamstring some. Another 8 miles of climbing through Quatay and
few mechanicals and only 4 DNF’s this year
then a big downhill into Control #1.
I stopped at the County Park in Pine Valley ﬁrst, reﬁlled and
checked in with John Mestemacher at the Control. John is one
of several volunteers who man the Control Points throughout
the route. They dedicate their time and energy to make sure the
Brevet is successful. I stripped off my wet undershit, strapped it
on the toolkit behind the seat and starting the climb out of Pine
Valley. I soon realized I forgot to take pictures of John and turned
around! I started uphill again and had a minor chain suck on a
downshift. After several miles into the climb up Sunrise Hwy., I
came to the realization that if I pulled up on the right pedal, the
hamstring got tight. So I thought “That’s kool, I’ll just push down!”
After several stretch outs, I passed the lodge at the top and
waved at several riders resting there. It was still 12 miles through
Mile 69: John Mestemacher at the Control in Pine
old burned timber areas, barren landscape and wind gusts before Valley. This successful Brevet owes much to all of the
I saw the turn right to Julian sign. Ahhhh, only 6 miles to go.
volunteers who did so much along the route.
Chris and “Shamrock” passed and we cruised toward Julian. I
rebuffed the profanities yelled my way from a passing red pickup
loaded with furniture in the back and stopped at the park just
south of town. The water was browish with rust, so I ﬁnally just
rode into Control #2 at Apple Alley Bakery for a reﬁll. Jess Martin
Park water supply was Supervisor Susan Jacobs project in 2005.
But brown water for $330,000? I didn’t have a hour just then or I
would have let the water run to clear up. Makes you wonder how
much a ﬁlter costs!
Julian was loaded with tourists! Control Volunteer David Horwitt
was snapping everyones picture too! This is where the drop bags
are and there was extra food everywhere. Chris gave me the
rest of his bottle of caps as he rolled out with a group of riders. I Mile 81: Along Sunrise Highway the forests still show
missed that train and it was a long warm ride to Warner Springs. the effect of ﬁres that ravaged the area years ago.
After I stretched out, I was off. I ride this section often and knew what to expect ahead. I divided the 74 miles to
Hemet into several sections. The ﬁrst is into Warner Springs where I stopped for water at the mini-station. The
next was up to Sunshine Summit. I don’t know why they call it that. Its not that high, but the sun was shining!
Then down to Sage Road.
I stopped to reﬁll water at the little store just after the turn. It
was closed early, but the water tap was on and I ﬁlled up. I left
a cycling card with “Thank you” on it, put the damp undershirt
back on under my jersey and looked forward to my favorite part
of the route. Sage Road is a lonely little road into Hemet, starting
with a mini-climb followed by 3 longer climbs with downhills in
between. None of the climbs are very steep, but after 150 miles,
everything looks a little bigger!
Mark Hughes from Arizona rode in and we proceeded up Sage
Road together. Mark had a late start and was making good time.
His Cateye headlight had fallen off somewhere behind and he
only had his helmet light for the night ahead. Part way up Sage
Mile 100: Is this a tourist or David Horwitt, the guru of Road, I saw a bunch of keys in the bike lane and turned around
Apple Alley Control in Julian?
to check them out. Must have been 20 keys in there, but for
some reason they didn’t look like keys a rider would take along. I laid them up on the curb for future reference
and proceded upward. Shortly thereafter, Mike Berry stopped ahead and I told him about the keys, just in case.
He joked and asked if I needed a ride! I didn’t need a ride, I needed a tow!
When you see the microwave tower, you are almost at the top. When I pulled into the ﬁre station, I was at the
top. I put on my helmet light in about 30 seconds and was off down into Hemet. The Econo Garrity 8-LED 1
Watt Headlamp worked great around the curves on the downhill.
I had adapted the headstrap light into a helmet mount and was
writing a Road Report on this trip. Mike Berry was at the 7-11
now, and Recumbent Ron was relaxing and eating a sandwich.
There were several bikes leaning against the fence, the riders must be in Denny’s for a break. I rode down the street for a
stop at the local BK. Before 9:00 PM and it was already locked
for inside dining! Some disgruntled patron was banging on the
door with his misplaced order. I suggested he just drive around
through the drive-through again! DUH! I reﬁlled at the outside
water tap and off I went.
BANG! CLUNK! I hit a big piece of metal with the front tire, it
glanced up into the downtube, under the rear tire and then hit the Mile 143: Just great! Another new sign. I wonder
which county were are in now? How about adding on
roadside curb. I swiveled the headlamp down and checked my
to the 6” bike lane next?
rear tire. Must be a ﬂat for sure. I pulled over and checked things
out on Domenigoni Pkwy. The thumb test showed all was well
and I continued toward Murrieta. It was smooth rolling here and
the temps were getting colder as I put on my jacket. Temecula
was a ghost town and I soon turned toward Rainbow.
Rainbow Canyon Road was a piece of work. No white road edge
lines. Then you add in fog and a few cars and things get interesting. I know this road well, so I just aimed the headlamp at the
double yellow center line and rode six feet to the right. In Rainbow, a tandem passed and checked me out as I was wiping off
my glasses. I thought that was the Doug/Lynn duo and they were
cookin! I never did see any arrows on the road into Control #4 in
Mile 212: Matt O’Neil, David Nakai and Mike Berry
Fallbrook.
are checking out some powerful dual lights on this
ride at Control #4 in Fallbrook. WARNING: David
Just after I pulled in, a group of 7 riders left for the last 38 miles
uses giant watchfrogs instead of guard dogs!
to Cardiff. Many thanks to David and Donna for letting us use
their lovely home for a Control Stop. I did the frog chop to my card, stretched out and reﬁlled my bottles at
the outside hose. The moment I turned on the water, the frogs started up! I think David must raise those giant
jumping frogs as these sounded huge. As I rolled out, David suggested I wait and go with a group. It was much
safer and more light in the fog. I thanked him and said they would catch me soon enough. With my limited leg
power, that wouldn’t be long indeed. The fog lifted as I turned onto Mission Road southbound. The tandem duo
blasted past again as I was feeling quite serene.
The anticipated rushing trafﬁc on Hwy 76 into Oceanside never
developed and the ride along the coast was quiet and peaceful. Two surfers standing on a corner yelled “ You’re 30 minutes
behind the group”, as I rode past. What were they smoking? I
was hours behind! I could see some red tail lights far ahead and
a glimpse of LED headlights behind as I cruised along the ﬁnal
miles listening to the surf pound against the shore. I could still
arrive at the ﬁnish before the end of the hour. I had enough time
to do the turn on Leucadia Blvd and Vulcan and roll in. I rechecked the route slip. OH, another mile to go before the turn on
Encinitas Blvd instead! Nice try. I’ll just cruise in and rehab the
hamstring for another ride.
Mile 250: Ron Simental camped out at the ﬁnish until
all riders were accounted for early Sunday morning.
Ron, how do you spell “SLEEP”?
Mike and Ron Simental were bundled up beside the motor home
as I rode into a nearly empty Ada Harris parking lot. I checked in
and took a few pics. Mike was on his way home to LaMesa and
offered to drop me by San Marcos on the way. I welcomed that suggestion, as it was 4 more turns and 15 miles
home! We chatted about the Tour de Poway and the Palomar Mt 300K Brevet in 3 weeks time in the warmth of
his truck. The newspaper man was delivering Sunday papers as I thanked Mike and limped the ﬁnal 200 feet
uphill home.
------------------------The route support for this Brevet was excellent. All the Control Points were manned with energetic people
willing to help out. There was extra water when some riders needed it and if required, you felt help was right
behind you. I saw Matt O’Neil cruising on Mt. Laguna, and Mike Berry on Sage Road. They were chatting with
riders and making sure all was well. The route was well laid out and included various types of weather, road
conditions and temperatures. There was around 16,000 ft. of climbing and miles of ﬂat road riding also. Special
thank you to all the volunteers.
On a personal note, I am not a professional Randonneur. I make do with what I have. I would never use a Fuji
disposable camera again. I used one on this ride to save space, weight and it wasn’t too delicate. The pictures
were poor and it was not cost effective. I would rather take my chances with my bigger digital camera, even if
that meant sacriﬁcing some things. I passed up some great shots too!
My right hamstring thingie made for a rough ride and could have been caused by various things including overextending too early, not properly conditioned or even fueling. I’ll have to ﬁgure that out quickly. Fueling for this
ride SUCKED. I won’t even go into that here. The little headlamp road test worked well. My older steel Bianchi
and Cateye headlight worked good. Pre riding the route was huge! Especially at night. I met a lot of nice riders
and learned a lot too!
If I have misidentiﬁed you in any picture, have the names or information mixed up, it must have been do to the
designer drugs. Sorry! Please email me with the corrections.
See you on the next Brevet,
kellyjay
[email protected]
------------------------More Action Pictures!
Start: 6:00 AM at Ada Harris Elementary School in
Cardiff. Dark, damp and foggy would sum it up as we
ﬁnally rode out of this as we climbed toward Alpine.
Mile 46: Brian Rapp, Eric Ostendorff, Robert Smith
and Andrew Melczer ride on Olde Hwy. 80. These
strong riders are headed for PBP!
Mile 56: Isabelle Drake from Laguna Beach powers
up the short 15% grade and on towards I-8. She rides
a Brevet or Century each weekend! HUH?
Mile 59: Chris Hanson from Redondo Beach at Vista
Point. Chris bailed me out with some Endurolyte Caps
to ease my hamstring knots.
Mile 56: Michael Bailey from La Mesa rides towards
Pine Valley. He’ll be doing the full Brevet Series this
year on his “American Flag” painted ride.
Mile 77: Sunrise Hwy. climbs to over 6000 ft as it
winds through the Clevland National Forest. Most of
the snow had melted in this hot weather.
Mile 100: Apple Alley in Julian. Time for a rest after
the Sunrise Hwy. climb up Mt. Laguna. I believe this is
Gerry Elmitt from Solana Beach.
Mile 127: Just outside of Warner Springs is a world
class glider port. The winds were mild today and I saw
no gliders catching the thermals.
Mile 140: On the way to Palm Springs for the weekend? You need these Ray Bans for only $20. When I
got out the camera, everyone quickly cleared out!
Mile 141: Avocados: $3 a bag. Business was brisk at
this stop. Of course, this produce is all inspected and
certiﬁed by the Dept. Of Agriculture!
Mile 145: When you see this, you better start haulin it
fast. The sun was dipping behind the mountains and
the temps were feeling a little cooler.
Mile 147: The little Sage Road store
was closed, but the water wasn’t.
After a reﬁll, it was off to Hemet.
Mile 150: Mark Hughes from Arizona rides up Sage
Road. Mark started late and was making good time
here. His Cateye headlight dropped off somewhere
after the start. Did anyone ﬁnd it?
-------------------------
Budget Riders 1 Watt Luxeon Headlamp
How To & Road Report
As a rider, have you ever needed a small, powerful light for
those times when you are riding late and you forgot to pack
your headlight? Or you need to read a route slip, street sign or
the road ahead on a curve? Sure you have, but didn’t want to
spend $84 for a super light and pack a big 3-hr battery. Maybe
you bought some little 3-LED Headlamp with 2-AAA batteries
and hoped that would work. Many of us riders have been there.
Maybe its time for a change that could help your pocketbook
and night riding safety too! For around $18.00 you can give it a
try. If it doesn’t work like you want or expected, take it back for a
refund! It only cost you some time and several strips of old tube!
Contents removed from package. Unhook head
straps, install batteries and cut 3 strips from old tube.
Save your receipt too!
Supplies needed:
1 - Garrity® 1 Watt 8 LED Super Bright Luxeon Pivoting Headlamp $18.63 Wal-Mart
3 - Strips used tube, cut into approx. 2@3/8” wide and 1@1/2”
wide, approx 8” long Free!
These strips are used to secure the light to your helmet. With
some helmets, the strips may need to be wider. Be a little original here.
Directions:
Use the wide tube strip to hold the battery at the back of the
helmet. Loop the strip through a rear vent hole in the helmet. Tie
it off, but not too tight, with a square knot so it won’t slowly slip.
Rotate the strip so the knot is in a vent hole and will not rub your
head when the helmet is on. Trim off excess strip ends. Pull rubber loop away from helmet and Install battery pack. Flatten out
strip a little if required. That’s it!
Battery pack installed on back of Giro Road Helmet.
The rubber strip is outlined in white. This strip also
covers the battery latch!
Use a similar procedure for the front. Use 2 strips instead of 1.
Many helmets vary as to the size and location of vents. First
locate the light unit on the helmet front where you would like it.
Pivot light up and down to check for clearance. Strips can go
front to back or side to side. Check for inside helmet head clearance. The strips must go through the light headstrap slot. Leave
the strips on the helmet when you take the light off.
Road Test:
This light was to be used as a supplement to my Cateye 500
headlight. I was riding a 400K Brevet leaving home at 4:30 AM
and would return sometime the next morning. There was plenty
Light installed on Giro Helmet visor. Strips outlined
of night riding to be done. I wanted this light to read maps, street in white. Notice the strips go through the headstrap
signs and help light the road. If needed, it could also help with
slots. This light is SOLID!
any ﬂats, mechanical or roadside mishaps along the way.
The ﬁrst few hours were dark and foggy. After the sun rose later in the morning, I took the light and battery
pack off and put in my handlebar bag. Later in the day it warmed up and we climbed to over 6000’ elevation.
Around 7:30 PM I quickly re-installed the light and it remained in use through several more hours of fog and
into the next morning. The roads were from smooth to rough.
Results:
Pros:
This light is an excellent value. The light worked well under various conditions. I was able to light the road, read signs and also
read maps. I was also able to check for a ﬂat tire rolling along.
The primary 1 Watt LED does throw a beam to 100’. The 3
secondary LED provide task lighting and operate individually or
as one unit. A nice surprise are the 2 LEDs on the back of the
battery pack. Steady or ﬂashing mode, they are bright, offering
more rear safety. With this feature you might use this as your
only light under certain conditions. It only took me 30 seconds to
take the light off or put it back on. Will this be the only light you
need on a long Brevet? Of course not.
Light installed on Bell Helmet. Strips go front to back.
They could also go side to side on this helmet.
The unit worked under damp foggy conditions. The switch is waterproof also. There are 3-AA Duracell Coppertop Batteries provided. The light up/down swivel works well and stays in place.
On a side by side test, this light has a better beam pattern than
the Cateye 500 rated at 1000 candlepower. It also throws a
concentrated beam farther. The beam is very close to being as
bright as the Cateye also.
Cons:
You cannot use the on/off switch with gloves. This is the tiny
multifunction switch located on top of the light. The switch works
well, but It is difﬁcult to locate with bare ﬁngers also. The 100%
setting on the 1 Watt LED loses some brightness after 12 hrs of
use, more like 80%. Steady after that.
Battery pack on Bell Helmet. Strip covers battery
latch. It can’t come open! Lite and waterproof too!
Product Description:
Garrity® Super bright Luxeon® 8-LED Headlamp
MFG Model KH021
Super Bright 1 watt Luxion LED pivoting headlamp, angle adjustable for hands-free lighting, has an additional
7 LEDs for multiple uses. The center 1 Watt LED throws a 100 foot beam, and has 3 power settings, 100, 75
and 50%. 3 additional white LEDs provide task lighting and operate individually, or as one unit. 4 red LEDs with
stationary and ﬂashing modes are located on the sides and at the rear of the battery pack for night vision and
safety.
Three AA alkaline batteries (included) are located in a water resistant rear battery pack, which balances the
weight. Multiple modes provide over 50 hours of continuous light at 100%, to more than 80 hours at 50%
power.
See you on the road,
kellyjay
[email protected]