Firestone to Work to Home Point to Point Ride

Today was one of those days where you plan everything out, and it actually ends up working out just like you hope. I love those days.

With vacation prep in full swing and a list of errands to do only partially complete, I wanted to find a way to combine some of my chores with a road ride. I was way overdue for an oil change in the Tahoe, and also had to pick something up at work in Escondido before we left town, so I started thinking about dropping the bike off at Firestone and riding the road bike to work.

I got on mapmyride.com, put together a route, and uploaded it to my Edge. The area near North County Fair in south Escondido was a bit of a mystery to me, but I found a neat site online that provided great instructions and an excellent map, so I figured I'd be fine.

I dropped the truck off at Firestone and headed north. I crossed the relatively new Hodges pedestrian/cycling bridge for the first time on a road bike, and successfully navigated the North County Fair connector thanks to the map. That area behind the mall was a short but beautiful section to ride, and I enjoyed it very much.

Time and miles passed quickly from that point, and I made it to work in just over a half hour. I grabbed what I needed to get and was back on my way two minutes later. Instead of doubling back, I headed west. After a brief stop for a Jamba Juice in Escondido, I headed down Del Dios Highway toward Rancho Santa Fe.

I had plotted out a course on mapmyride using google maps, but it became clear as I began climbing up Del Dios that the turn I had plotted on the map wasn't there. Still, I soon saw a sign for the entrance to The Lakes community, which I knew was part of my route, and headed down the road to the guard gate.

I had initially thought that there would be a pedestrian gate that I could just go through without issue, but that proved to be incorrect. After negotiating for several minutes with the guard, I was granted a day pass to go "check out the model homes" and was back on route! (I am extremely grateful that the guard hooked me up, because the alternative involved riding through all of Rancho Santa Fe back to San Dieguito Road. That would have meant time I didn't have and miles I wasn't prepared for.)

I cruised through The Lakes, which is a beautiful development, and soon found myself back on Camino del Norte headed home.

It was an extremely fun and interesting ride. Uploading the route to the GPS worked pretty well for route finding, but I still would really like an Edge 705 with street mapping capability to help when I get lost or miss a turn. Now that I know the route from RB to Escondido, I can consider commuting to work from home sometime, which would be nice. I am also amazed at how much more ground I cover in less time on the road bike as opposed to the mountainbike.

Here's the report:

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Firestone to Work to Home Point to Point