The Swamis ride is one of the toughest weekly group rides in San Diego. Week in and week out a relatively large group of San Diego riders will line up to battle it out. Bring your carbon bits and aero this and that as it can be an arms race out there. As a general rule, the riders who show up on the Swamis ride are a strong group and you will find serious ameteurs all the way through local pros. Unless you are some sort of hero, and you are looking to just sit in on a ride, we would look elsewhere. Although this group routinely threatens to divide things into an A and B group it seems that the groups always find a way to come together. This ride leaves at 8AM from Nytro Multisport (940 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024) on Saturday mornings.
Dont let the fact that these guys own one of the hardest weekly rides, the fact that their kit is (IMHO) the sweetest in San Diego, and the fact that many of the members are current or former racers scare you off. This club has members of all levels and are very open to new membership. Don't believe me - try emailing them and see the response you get. If it is anything short of open arms, please let us know as that will be shockingly out of character for these guys. They are good riders and have nothing to prove by playing acting like elitist yahoos.
Heading up the coast, the pace ranges from casual to "dammit I am gonna get dropped on the coast?" La Costa is a straight shot but goes by quickly. Things can heat up after the turn into Levanta where some rollers will cause the first selection of the group as you ride through the neighborhood. The big selection happens on San Elijo road which is affectionaely known as "dump hill." If you get dropped, now worries, there will be secondary groups that form for the ride through Elfin forest. If you make the first group, hang on as it will be hammer, hammer, hammer, until the regroup point at the church where there is a prolonged stop for water. The next part of the ride can be tricky because there are some long downhills on the exposed Del Dios highway. Trucks and crosswinds are common so be careful. There are a few sprint points as you wind your way through the rollers through Rancho Santa Fe and then it is back toward the coast for a friendly end to this classic San Diego group ride.
website: http://www.swamis.org
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