Tycho Brahe 

I have gone on that road very few times, but it definitely needs some work. Far better to go up like you did and not descend on it.

I have not gone up to Mt Wilson since this summer because of the fire. Might attempt it this weekend.

diphthong

yes x 2.

this would be the weekend for it. looks to be the swan song for warmer temps until march. that northern slope/final approach to mt. wilson is always chilly.

Tycho Brahe 

The descent from Mt. Wilson to Redbox is chilly! I actually like going up there in winter because it is the only time I like to see snow.

CAT7RDR

I did my double loop from home into the Chino and Puente Hills. Totaled 68 miles and 6500 ft of climb. Perfect day for a ride sunny, 70's, slight breeze, could see Baldy. Rode up Eucalyptus in Chino Hills but it is canopied by pine trees.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34713566

2seven0

Wife & I had 2 nice rides around OC enjoyed the sunshine both days. Sat. as we headed up the SART to exit at Lincoln a petite woman in a Sunweb kit was motivating down the trail. She smiled, waved & said good morning to us as we crossed paths. After a few seconds we looked at each other & (almost in stereo) said Hey! was that Coryn Rivera?!?

diphthong

33-spot loop in encinitas and carlsbad east of the 5 fwy. low 60's with a little breeze. roads good. traffic generally behaved except for one truck (twice) that had both
signaling and cornering issues. saw about 7 cyclists out. thought i'd see more from 1pm-3:45pm...even on a monday in a cyclist-heavy area but purposely didn't hit the coast.

diphthong

another visit to big tujunga canyon + bonus round. met up with fellow forumite Tycho Brahe at the clear creek area (ach/angeles national forest rd) and dropped down into the btc. purposefully started at 9am to avoid the worst of the canyon chill but there was still plenty to be found before the northern junction/split with big tujunga canyon rd heading east back towards ach. we mushed on up to mill creek summit and then hung a left onto mount gleason rd. close to a 20-mile trip to the summit of mount gleason (6,531 ft el, i think) and back to mill creek summit. returned same way back up to clear creek start.

an absolutely bluebird day. less wind than forecast/expected. midday temps in the low-60’s. minimal traffic. road quality of big tujunga canyon rd (once above the lowest 12-mile stretch from clear creek connector down to sunland) from clear creek connector to eastbound junction just south of monte cristo campground was a consistent 9. rest of angeles national forest rd up to mill creek summit same-a 9. descent from mill creek is really nice.

the 20-mile side trip to mount gleason was awesome and recommended. did it on ‘23’s and Tycho Brahe did it on ‘25’s. road paved nearly the entire way except for two small 10-yard, hard-packed dirt encounters and another just west of the memorials/camp 16 remnants that runs about a third of a mile. road to/from camp 16 an absolute blast. lots of easy rollers with the hardest part in the first mile climbing from mill creek summit. pavement a fairly consistent 5.5/6 but you could still bomb the downhills with good sightlines along the long ridge. the road from camp 16 to
the summit of mount gleason ups the ante considerably. big ramps. ouch. road quality still decent enuff but a lot more rock/sand on this roughly 2.5 mile stretch. if you attempt this stretch, make sure your brakes are in good working order. if you only feel like going to camp 16, it’s still worth it. and of note...that mount gleason rd is closed to regular vehicular traffic. didn’t see another soul up there today.
if you like gmr/grr, chances are you’ll like mount gleason rd.

https://strava.app.link/nz7QilOuIbb

Nachoman

Big day! Nice job!

Nachoman

The usual for me. 55 mile round trip up the coast from Point Loma to Swami's.

diphthong

thanks. trying to squeeze in a few more higher mountain forays before the snows. the widebody san bernardinos are already too cold for me.
the semi-wide san gabriels are a day by day, case by case basis. some of the other peninsular ranges-like the san jacintos and lagunas-are
still doable. the coastal ranges like santa barbara area and the sammos are rideable pretty much all winter so holding off of hitting those for now.

starting today/friday, looks like we've got at least a solid week of warmer temps and sweet weather to visit those calling mountains. time to be or not to be.

CAT7RDR

Took advantage of the last day of GMR-GRR being closed to vehicles. Started at Encanto Park, warmed up on Sierra Madre and did an O/B on GMR-GRR. Great views, clear skies, could easily make-out the Santa Ana Mtns. Tried out a new GRX 46-30 10 speed crankset with my Ultegra 6600 12-27 cassette on my 1999 Peloton and it is a perfect match. Was able to keep the Ultegra FD and the 6600 brifters are flawless. My knees thanked me.

Met up with a couple of newbies to GRR and advised of the particulars. Only downside, no Dr Pepper at the Mt Baldy Lodge vending machine.
57 miles and 6400 feet of climb,
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34759829

2seven0

Pedaled around North/Central OC & Diamond Bar area all 4 days. Saved Serrano for Sunday. Beautiful cloudless skies & visibility unlimited. Save an early start Thurs. started out @ an hour later than usual to save at least 1 de-layering.
Hope everyone had a nice Holiday weekend.
West

diphthong

laguna/cuyamaca triangle ride (laguna meadows variation) in the cleveland national forest/cuyamaca rancho state park/anza-borrego state park on a beautiful fall day.
normal "triangle" ride is just a shade under 50 miles and 5k el gain. doing the meadows loses about 3 miles and 900 ft of el gain but ups the scenery on some easy,
hard-packed dirt. dismounted three times (but coulda gotten away with just twice with a little gumption) while rocking the '23's. on the (non-holiday) weekdays,
you've got the whole playground to yourself. pavement from sunrise hwy (s1) and ca hwy 79 junction all 14.5 miles to the ca hwy 79/ca hwy80 junction still
excellent. lagunas pavement mixed but still decent enuff-a 7/7.5.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4413939419

joesch

For anyone wanting some more info on the famous Swamis surf spot and rides ... https://socalcycling.com/swamis-ride-san-diego-ca/. Winter is a good time for these rides

diphthong

woke up a little late for intended ride so just a 33-miler in chula vista (mostly east side-east of the 805 fwy).
another low 70's day with low humidity. thought i'd see more cyclists out but only saw 4 others in various disciplines.

joesch

Do you choose rides based on route plans and mood?
I will often opt for my 80s Super if doing the flat SART.

diphthong

pretty much. i'll choose them based on a few things: weather, if i've ever ridden there before (if so-how long ago? prioritizing the new vs the familiar),
specific destination (great lunch place, big climb), ease of access from one area to another different in topography if i'm (not) feeling it
(example: go to ride rolling and hilly mission viejo or laguna hills and flattish irvine is right there), intended length of ride (is it going to be
a mountain century lasting all day or just a investigative neighborhood ride?) and motivation. how motivated am i to lay out all my stuff the
night before and then wake up at 3:30am to drive to the la area (or farther) or hop on the early train to orange county or la? for every successful
out of san diego county ride i do, there are three failed eff-it i'm not getting out of bed backup local rides.

the personal strava heatmap is really helpful to see where you haven't ridden and how often you have hit an area. i've also got a
"need to hit more often" riding areas list on the iphone notes i can refer to. always helps to have a backup ride in the area or on
the way back home just in case...i've turned around/opted out of rides in the last few years from covid closures, fires, road flooded,
road/bridge unstable and closed, forgotten and essential garment, ridiculous construction, dangerously gusting winds, and just not
having it that day. all that said, i do try to ride "out of town" 2-4 times a month. some months are better than others.

TakingMyTime

Did a 20 miler down to Bolsa Chica yesterday and today. My wrist isn't giving my the grief it was a couple of weeks ago. Today was a beautiful day to be out riding.

Quick note: The SGTR south of PCH is having some work done. That sections was closed to bike traffic today. There are some pretty bad cracks in the asphalt as you get closer to the ocean and it looked like they might be doing something about it.

diphthong

nearly 40-miler rolling through bonsall, morro hills, oceanside, vista and san marcos. feeder roads (gopher canyon and deer springs)
to/from the 15 fwy full of traffic early afternoon. morro hills and vista were pretty quiet. downtown vista gone through a lot of sprucing up
lately. highlight of the ride was unexpectedly hitting sleeping indian rd for the first time. original intention was to hit rice canyon and
couser canyon and west lilac rd. oops.

joesch

Impressive that you do soo much exploring and all the planning it takes as day trips. For sure takes a high level of skill and fitness to tackle all those rides. Do you alternate bikes much or stay with the carbon on the more challenging rides ?

diphthong

dunno about the skill part except riding sections/miles on dirt/gravel with '23 tires. have gotten pretty good at picking the best line through those sections.
the fitness is such that i can still ride anything i want to but it won't be fast...in a nutshell-plodding. always been a grinder/masher vs a spinner. when riding on the flats,
i'm in the big ring with a low cadence and often leave it in the hard to turn over gear when starting from a stop sign/light. i've found this helps me
sustain power on those loong climbs of an hour or more. tried the spinning thing for bigger climbs for a year and found that my diesel approach allowed
me to ride longer/farther.

alternating bikes is huge. i prioritize comfort vs performance most of the time. that newer trek madone leaves me feeling less beat up after a long, hard ride but
i know i won't be as comfy on it for four+ hours so it's a trade off. lately, i've been taking the old carbon 1995 look out more often since it's got the cheapest tires
and i've been doing some questionable stretches of road lately. would hate to unnecessarily abuse the conti gp 5000's and michelin pro 4's on two of the bikes
and i'm too lazy to swap the tires specifically for one ride.

started this thread last year for a few reasons:

1. wanted to see where people rode and why.
2. wanted to see where people didn't and why not.
3. wanted to be inspired.
4. wanted to inspire.
5. wanted to see reasonable/informed discussion of routes and local intel along with updates.

relatively happy with the results. love to see new posters, posters throwing down big rides. posters throwing down
new rides and challenging themselves. posters detailing the (hopefully) rare what went wrong and whys, posters of all abilities,
posters coming back into the sport or rehabbing. there are dozens of reasons not to go for a ride on any particular day...
but the main thing is to just get out, whether for five miles or fifty. we've got some great terrain, diversity and variety.

joesch

I find these posts meeting the above criteria.
They motivate me to get into better riding shape so I can attempt some of the more challenging big rides.
I spend most of my yearly time in the DFW area because of job and return to CA to visit with family several times/year.
Have also moved from Yorba Linda to Temecula just recently so look forward to exploring this area and doing rides to my daughters home in the hills of Escondido. Want to again thank ooga booga and the other posters for all the motivating rides.

diphthong

congrats! that's a lotta dirt out there. i know i mentioned it before in the "temecula" thread but you'll probably want something you can realistically run as a gravel bike (or a mtb).
something you can run '32's and knobby or bigger on. it's an interesting area in the fact if you're riding from home (or a short distance from), it's pretty easy to encounter
dirt/gravel stretches often interspersed with road. area has been slowly converting from rural to suburbia but there are still plenty of farm roads/lengthy dirt segments. yes...there
are serious mtb areas out there as well. you've got a buncha bikes...and you might want to adapt one or two or trade in/sell same number from roadie to match the area. if not, there's
enough stuff you can do on a road bike with skinny tires...whether riding from home or throwing the bike in/on the car and driving. a thirty min drive from temecula gets you
to escondido to the south or a nate harrison grade/palomar mtn south grade staging, warner springs or anza to the east, corona/riverside to the north and oceanside/carlsbad
(and almost san juan capistrano) to the west. a bleepton of variety. but yah...temecula is one of those areas you'll prob want a road bike, gravel bike and mtb to tap into everything nearby.
if you only do one or two of those disciplines, still plenty to keep you satisfied.

joesch

Looking forward to exploring the Temecula / Murrieta valleys and then attempting the route to Oceanside. Below are the suggestions that ooga booga provided in that other thread. Will probably attempt the less challenging 76 route first. I mostly ride road bikes but do have old school hardtail mtn and gravel bikes.

southwest, you can toodle through fallbrook after rolling through de luz or hitting the 15 fwy corridor and hook up with the ca hwy 76 westbound towards oceanside/camp pendleton.

shoulders are wide both sides of the road and there is a bike path that takes off and parallels the 76 on its' north side starting in vista. the san luis rey mission is always worth a visit.

Nachoman

Point Loma > Leucadia > Fiesta Island > Point Loma, for a total of 65 miles.
Also we had almost a 30 degree temperature swing during this ride.