Originally Posted by carpediemracing

Double Peak is very close by, in San Marcos, and it's featured in the Waffle ride. Not very long, definitely a max effort for me. Gradual climb to the park, fun descending on the way back.

If you do Palomar and you ride out there, don't go to the Nate Harrison road. That's a dirt/gravel road that's really steep, so steep that I couldn't get traction with my road bike. I have no idea what it is after the first mile of dirt because that's where I'd turn around. I figured out after two tries in two days that it was the wrong road. The correct "steep/switchback" climb is out of Rincon, 76 (mainly curving) to S6 (switchbacks).

There's a slightly nutty climb nearby, which you can use to get to/from Palomar, Cole Grade Rd. It was used in Tour of CA once. I'm not keen on riding up as there are some narrow shoulders and blind spots, but it's worse going up Valley Center Rd, which has 18 wheelers and not much more shoulder, plus sometimes there's little sand-slides and you have to ride further out in the road. Both are very fast descents.

Lake Wohlford is a nice road, the climb is on the Escondido side, but overall a pleasant connector road. Not as fast a descent.