Saturday Group Ride I:

Mission Valley Ride: Submission by Damon Poor, November 16th, 2007

Ride Type: Group Road Ride
Start Location: The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Map Link
   Mission Valley -- 1640 El Camino Del Rio North. San Diego,CA 92108
   10415 San Diego Mission Road, Mission Valley
Start Time: 8:30 AM
Finish Time: Noon
Distance: 35 miles
Climbing: 1,200 feet
Difficulty: Moderately hard
Riders: 20-40
Ride Leader: Darryl MacKenzie

Saturday Ride Description:
The ride time and start location for Saturdays Mission Valley ride has changed. The start time is 8:30 and the start location is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Mission Valley.

Please remember and keep in mind that The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are looking forward to our business so it is important that we give our business to them and support them while we are utilizing their facities. Please, also make sure that before the ride that we not clog up the front of the store and move to the stated staging/parking area we rode to last Saturday. In order to comply with the agreement with the Shopping Center Managemet it is imperative that we ONLY PARK IN THE DESIGNATED AREA.

If you are approached by anyone saying that we can't meet there please be courteous in your reply and direct them to either Buzz Burnett or Kevin Gilbert as they have been in contact with Westfield's management and we have been given the ok and welcome to be there. This will further fortify our relationship quickly.

When we return from our ride and you if drove down take your bike to your car if possible so we can cut down some on the number of bikes at the coffee shop. If you rode down we will let you know where to put your bike. Please do not place them in front of other shops or block any doorways or walkways.

As always it is best to be courteous to the other customers and conduct yourselves in a manner that sheds a positive light on the club. We want to let everyone know that we are a positive group in the community . As before, please pick up after ourselves before we leave and try and help the employees of the coffee shop. This includes when we use the restrooms. It may take a couple of weeks for the employee's of the coffee shop to get adjusted with the volume of business that we will be giving them so be patient with them and thank them for having us.

If we follow these guidelines and use common sense we can call this home for a long time all mutually benefit from an enjoyable central location.

We warm up at 16-20 mph through Mission Valley, and keep a steady pace of 20-22 mph on Morena Blvd. We do a rolling re-group after the Balboa cloverleaf at the foot of Santa Fe. Climb La Jolla Colony is as hard as desired, and we stop for a regroup at Doyle Park on Regents Road. There, the ride breaks up into three or more rides:
 
1. Top Gun ride is flat ride back to the start (31 miles).
2. Carroll Canyon ride includes a trip down the freeway, a ride through Sorrento Valley, and a climb up Carroll Canyon Road before joining with the Top Gun loop (34+ miles).
3. Torrey Pines loop has two variants:
   a. The Gorman Loop-turns left at Sorrento Valley Road...heads for the Coast and back up Torrey Pines, then picks up the Carroll Canyon loop (45 miles).
   b. The Gordy Light Loop. Same as above but picks up the Top Gun Loop after climbing Torrey.