Swami’s Cycling Club Rides

Overview

This pre-work leg burner is also known as the Gene Kelley ride for its founder who in the early days was hard pressed to find many to join him for dawn patrol. Now Gene has plenty of company as word has spread about this short (22 miles) but intense workout.

The ride departs on time from the NW corner of La Costa and El Camino (at this hour no one is in the mood to dilly dally in the morning chill). The tempo is brisk out La Costa and then north up the coast highway to downtown Carlsbad. There is a brief respite as the ride snakes its way east through Carlsbad and alongside the Buena Vista Lagoon. But after the lagoon, the ride turns south and the fun begins. There are several hills and four uphill sprints packed into the last eight miles of the ride as it winds south along El Camino, Cannon, Faraday, College, Aviara and Poinsetia. Mercifully the last mile is down hill along El Camino and into the Vons shopping center for coffee at La Costa Coffee.

If you get dropped or miss the start by a few minutes, there are several short cuts that will get you back on the ride, cutting across and heading east at Tamarack Drive, or Carlsbad Village Drive will get you back in touch with the group. Other route cutoffs are heading due east on Faraday to El Camino Real which cuts out the uphills of Aviara, and Poinsettia.

Note that in the cold dark winter mornings a blinky taillight is recommended for improved visibility. Also note that for the first couple weeks of daylight savings the start time will shift to 6:45 so we are not starting in total darkness.