OCTRICLUB
Tri to be different
Camp Pendleton Ride - Lesson Learned
So this past Saturday, my good friend Brian Stockbrugger (Multi Ironman Finisher and friend responsible for putting this damn triathlon bug in my system) took me on a ride through San Onofre, Camp Pendleton, and into Oceanside to check out part of the 70.3 course coming up next month. We started off at the Christianitos Rd. exit (just north of the San Onofre Nuclear Powerplant ), rode south along Old PCH past the nuclear power plant and San Onofre State Beach/Camp Ground till we finally reached the Camp Pendleton guard shack at Las Pulgas Rd. Once on the base, we rode Stuart Mesa Rd to the south end of the base and into Oceanside Harbor.
After spending 15 minutes or so scoping out Oceanside Harbor, we headed back the same way we came. The goal was to do 60 miles of riding and then do a 30 min brick run on a trail that leads into the nearby campground. When we got back to the truck and noticed that we were under 50 miles, so we decided to do some Christianitos Rd. hill repeats to cover the rest of the mileage. Two minutes into our hill repeats, I hear the dreaded “psssssssssss” sound of a rear wheel puncture. #$@%!!! I guess it was a good thing I was climbing the hill and not doing 40 mph when this happened.
Note to self: If it’s been a while since changing a flat or if you’ve never done it at all, watch a youtube video on flat repairs and reacquaint yourself with it. Even better….practice doing it in your garage so you’re not stuck waiting for a support vehicle on race day or any day for that matter.
This 5 minute flat repair turned into 15-20 minutes on the side of the road trying to get the tire to seat properly on the rim without pinching the tube. Good learning experience, but UGH…. it’s tough to get the legs going again after being off the bike that long!!!
If you plan to do this ride, there’s a few things that are worth noting.
1. There’s a few areas along old PCH that aren’t the smoothest of roads, so make sure your rear water bottles aren’t creeping out on you and turn into projectiles.
2. There’s one section where you have to get on a dirt trail and go through a short tunnel. There’s only about 100 yards or so over the dirt, mud, and scattered rocks, unfortunately there’s no way around it so just be careful riding over that stuff on your road/tri bike.
3. Bring your Drivers License with you to get on base. And don’t show up till after 8AM, I heard that they won’t let you in before 8.
4. Be familiar with changing a flat tire!!! You should know this regardless.
All my long rides until now have incorporated some sort of round trip through Santiago Canyon, so it was a nice change of pace to ride in areas where there wasn’t a lot of climbing. Although the ride this past Saturday was pretty mellow in comparison to Santiago Canyon, I know that part of the Oceanside 70.3 bike course will include some of the hillier (and much windier) parts of the base that civilians can’t enjoy till race day. The lack of cars and stop lights along the route made this ride extremely enjoyable and peaceful.
Hit me up if you have questions about the ride. I would love to hear about other long routes that people take in the OC. Anybody ever ride the Santa Ana River Trail and have suggestions on where to start?
Comment
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on March 5, 2013 at 12:07pm -
Ahhh Santiago Canyon....I have a love hate relationship with that route. She's become easier over the last 6 months, but she can still be a bitch!!! Thanks Ray.
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Triathlete Comment by Ray Daitch on March 4, 2013 at 10:04pm -
Hi Mike,
That back side has 3 hills, the first one is very steep and long. My advise, keep training on Santiago Canyon and have fun at Oceanside!
Ray
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on March 1, 2013 at 10:50am -
The learning continues for me on emergency flat repairs. I was at Rock N Road picking up some spare tubes and CO2 cartridges and found out some useful info that may come in handy one of these days.
During my last ride, the puncture in my tire was relatively small. But....if you end up getting a good size puncture or tear in your tear, you might find that the replacement tube will bulge through the tire after inflating it with the CO2 cartridge. If this happens, do not continue riding as is. You will most likely get another flat within the first few minutes of riding, and I know a lot of you don’t carry more than one spare tube during a ride. Obviously the key to this is to inspect the tire before you install it back on your wheel and use up your last CO2 cartridge.
So here’s a temporary patch that you can use in an emergency. You need to create a “boot” for the tire. Use a folded up dollar bill, wrapper from a cliff bar/honey stinger/candy bar, or anything that does not stretch. The dollar bill or wrapper will act as a flexible barrier between the tube and tire so that the road surface doesn’t come in contact with the tube and doesn’t allow the tube to push through the tire. Insert this boot on the inside of the damaged section of the tire and then install the tube as usual.
This should allow you to get back to your car or home without making that phone call to get picked up on the side of the road. Hopefully none of you will have to deal with this type of problem. But just in case, it’s always nice to know that you have more than one option.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Jake Steen on February 26, 2013 at 5:07pm -
Yes, I believe my wife knows the owner, and probably others there too.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on February 26, 2013 at 2:54pm -
Hey Jake....My daughter Haley is at Mather Dance Company, off of Lakeview Ave and the 91. Ask your wife if she knows of them.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Jake Steen on February 26, 2013 at 2:12pm -
Mike, random question, which Dance studio? My kids take, and my wife teaches at, McCoy Rigby out in YL.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on February 26, 2013 at 12:55pm -
Great Arran....that actually works so much better for me since my daughter's dance studio is just a few blocks from that Park. That just gave me more options when I need to kill 2-3 hours while waiting for her. Thanks for the info!
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Arran Auld on February 26, 2013 at 12:28pm -
I ride the Santa Ana River Trail often and usually start from Yorba Lina Regional Park. You have to pay to get into the park proper but there is usually some free parking near the end of the park. From there it is a little over 40 miles round trip.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on February 26, 2013 at 12:05pm -
Thanks for the suggestion Steve. I need to check it out.
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IAMOCTRI Comment by Mike Alzona on February 26, 2013 at 12:02pm -
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