jonathanf2

Funny you mentioned about the local HS MTB teams. When I was up on Verdugo Mountains, the older couple I met (whom BTW were 69 and 70 years old) mentioned the local teams and how these kids were impressive MTB riders. I would love to see more active bicycle participation in any form with schools. Even rolling with the DTLA young crowd, some of the roadies/fixed riders are impressively strong for their age.

SoSmellyAir

I did not ride yesterday but dragged my son to hike the North Loop of Peters Canyon Regional Park (which more or less goes around the Peters Canyon Reservoir). At the bench at the highest point, we cheered on a mountain biker who made it up to us after quick shifting all the way onto his biggest cog, which looks as big as the big chain ring on my bike.

diphthong

37-mile loop thru national city, bonita and chula vista. mixed in a late lunch at a fave taco shop.
warmer but mostly overcast.

diphthong

38-spot through metro san diego, drop down to fiesta island and the obligatory loop. roll around mission bay, then
bounce out over to the sd airport and waterfront, climb up to balboa park, beer stop in south park, then home.
nice day. low/mid-70's. low winds everywhere except (as always) fiesta island.

joesch

Riding De Luz could have been even more hazy and crazy ...
https://patch.com/california/murriet...emecula-halted

jonathanf2

32 miles today up Fern Truck Trail and to Ken Burton Junction. I was wearing my yellow tint lenses on my cycling glasses and didn't realize it was getting dark while I was deep on the trail. Everything looked so bright!

DTLA in the far background:

diphthong

agree with the locals that voted it down. place would totally destroy the vibe in the de luz area.

that rectangular sector squeezed in east of camp pendleton/(and including some of) cleveland national forest, west of the 15 fwy, south of ca hwy 74 and north of fallbrook
just might be the most underrated riding in all of socal-especially when it's green. with all the rain, it's green. not easy but rewarding and infectious. de luz, the santa rosa
plateau area off clinton keith road and south main divide road in the middle of all that. bringeth thy roadie, gravel or mtb steed; it matters not. no do forget them gears tho.

joesch

I also agree, find some areas east of the populated socal cities and mtn resorts for those crops.
Your posts on the de luz rides and areas have been very interesting and I have yet to venture there or towards palomar, which I would also like to conquer.

diphthong

there are plenty of aggie businesses tucked away in de luz. wouldn’t be surprised if there was a clandestine pot farm or twelve hiding in there-esp off (dirty) de luz road.

only downside i've seen to de luz area is increased traffic mon-fri from 2:30pm-4:30pm along sandia creek rd. it's commuter traffic exiting the eastern camp pendleton gate
in fallbrook and looking to hit the 15 freeway north via sandia creek rd./rancho california rd. the direct route to the freeway (mission rd.) can get a little backed up. if you're
riding sandia creek and heading north during that time, you're going to have some company. heading south during that time is okay. just stay as frap to compensate for distracted drivers
on their phones looking for the "magical zone/spot" where their coverage fleetingly reconnects them with the rest of the world.

i don't consider the lack of cell coverage, support and confusing roads to be a negative in de luz. au contraire. as long as you know what you're getting into.

a tale of two palomar ascents: south grade (from the taco shop roundabout/harrah's casino area) is the steeper/harder of the two. waay more traffic, especially to the halfway point
where the road flattens for a short spell before forking left/uphill to the infamous switchbacks. once past the fork, traffic thins out a bit. that's good news as is the fact that much of this
second half of the ascent is shaded. road quality not an issue on the slooow ascent. unless it's been paved recently, the downhill half back to the fork will be buzzy, choppy and not smooth.
it is very very easy to overcook one or more of the multiple tight corners on the descent. consider yourself warned.
bottom half (ca hwy 76) is excellent quality pavement. if doing south grade, i'd aim for a dawn patrol ascent on a (non-holiday) weekday to minimize traffic. if you can't do weekdays, then
dawn patrol on the weekends is essential to avoid the majority of team ninja doing repeats and the harley crowd.

east grade is the easier and longer of the two. better views along nearly the entire stretch and about 10-15% of the traffic. can do this ascent pretty much whenever you want. steepest part pretty much all contained in the first 2.5 miles. biggest
downsides are that there is much less shade and so are the bragging rights. descent is a blast. prefiero the relaxed but challenging east grade experience vs the south grade "survivalfest" tho.

there are the two dirt ascents-nate harrison grade on the west end and high point trail on the east end-which are both supposedly as difficult (or more so) that the south grade ascent.
not having a bike with even close to requisite tire clearance means i haven't done either but they're on the radar.

joesch

Incase any of you all maybe interested.

I would love to ride but will not be in SoCal.

24th Annual Tour de Palm Springs in Coachella Valley
Saturday, February 12, 2022

https://tourdepalmsprings.com/?ct=t%..._Jan_2022_2%29

joesch

Super intel on the palomar rides.
I remember you advising to have maps for doing de luz.
Might be fun to do a palomar dirt descent on a gravel or mtn bike, just need a support ride so ascent is not required.
Dont think I can handle this CA L’Alpe d’Huez ride
https://pjammcycling.com/climb/153.P...outh%2520Grade

SoSmellyAir

ooga-booga You are quite brave. I used to occasionally go up South Grade Road and down East Grade Road for some "recreational driving" (often on my way to the Julian Pie Company) and saw plenty of drivers driving more aggressively than I did. I have not been back on that road since I became a parent.

Pressed for time today so I only rode up Pioneer Road to Creator's Corner and then 4 laps of the Orchard Hills loop on Portola Parkway. Slightly boring but these are the closest "climbs" to me; 1,100 ft. of climbing in < 20 miles of riding.

jonathanf2

I knocked out 30 miles this morning over at Griffith Observatory. There were a lot of bikes out today since the weather was nice. Climbed on Vista Del Valle Dr. fire roadtowards the observatory as fast as I could. I like using 175mm crank arms to torque up the hill. I'd be tempted to get a 180mm crankset and climb Pantani style, but the only Shimano set available is Dura-Ace R9100 at $600. since I'm not racing or anything it might not be the best investment other than bragging rights while going up the hill!

diphthong

your "brave" is my "stupid." there are plenty of people who do these kinda things but most of them are lurkers. if i've done it (roadie-wise) and can relate the experience(s)/potentially
help someone make a slightly better/more informed decision as to if/where/when, i'll try. i don't sugarcoat things. if i'm not recommending it at all-like pch from santa monica to malibu
in either direction-that should tell you something. i'll do it but it's with the first-hand understanding that it's probably not the smartest decision of the day and there may be consequences.
getting to the top of palomar mountain before 10am via south grade is better than getting to the top of palomar mountain after 10am. you get dumb motorists on palomar and elsewhere but on palomar,
you can usually hear them way in advance and ride accordingly.

diphthong

for de luz area, i recommend pre-loading a detailed map/pictures of a map of the area that you can pull up w/o internet/cell coverage.
it's pretty easy to get spun around/turned around in there because everything looks totally different in the opposite direction and there is
no one real physical landmark to focus on except the sun. if it's cloudy...

shuttle ride for the nate harrison grade would be a blast. boucher hill at the top is a fun and scenic little loop. no paved access to the top of high point on the east side
so that 4wd more difficult than the (paved) drive up south grade to the mother's area.

south grade of palomar is tough. no way around that. closest climb to it in socal (imho) is the climb up to the mt. baldy ski lifts from clairemont/upland.
there are other climbs in socal that can prepare you for it such as: east grade palomar, montezuma grade from borrego springs, refugio or gibraltar or
old san marcos/painted cave or fig(ueroa) mountain in the santa barbara area, hwy 33 in ojai, crystal lake climb up ca hwy 39, mt wilson, gmr/grr, ca hwy 18 from
san bernardino or lucerne valley, ca hwy 74 from hemet or palm desert. all of these climbs are hard but most of them are longer and have a lower average grade.
south grade palomar is that unholy, perfect balance of muscle and distance. sure, you can deal with the shortish steepness of deer creek or las flores in the sammos or
forest falls in the san berdoos. they ain't easy but you maybe get there. how would you feel if any of those three climbs were tripled in length? that's south grade.

anyone wanting an accurate, self-diagnosis of being able to do south grade of palomar should do mt. baldy climb to the ski lifts from glendora mtn rd/glendora ridge rd first.
anyone wanting an accurate, self-diagnosis of being able to do mt. baldy climb to the ski lifts should do south grade of palomar from the taco shop/traffic circle first.
if you can do one, you can do the other. if you can do either, you can probably do the vast majority of the short and sweets or the long and laborious climbs in the region.

joesch

BTW Julian Pie Company pies are to die for. I had several over the holidays and was able to find them in the local markets in Temecula. Great reward for making that trip !

joesch

AMEN to this advice.
These rides require strong climbing abilities and great cardio and are risky given the danger of the roads and switch backs *but* the motorists and motorcycles are a big additional accident risk. Try to attempt in times that limit traffic as advised.

Eric F 

Saturday - 10 miles on the 1-speed automatic MTB. Brown Saddle to El Prieto Canyon. Felt lousy going out the door, and didn't really know where I was going to go, but decided to tackle the Fern climb anyway. I started feeling better as I got warmed up. I lost focus when I came across a couple of hikers and took a little low-speed tumble into a soft embankment about halfway down El P, and then fumbled and flailed multiple times the rest of the way. Definitely uncharacteristic of me. Stayed uninjured, though.

SoSmellyAir

I don't think ooga-booga is stupid; just different risk tolerance. I do appreciate you describing your routes and best times to take them.

diphthong

they don't suck. they have the two stores-one in julian on the north end of town and the store six miles down the hill in santa ysabel. plus, as mentioned, several premium stores in the region also carry their pies.
i think i like their "mountain berry" flavor the best. more "research" needed.

next door to the julian pie store (in julian) is the julian brewing co. can't vouch for those beers as no visit yet. handy dandy tho. i can vouch for the beers at nickel brewing on the other end of town. some great stuff.
bottom line is that a cycling visit to julian will (happily) destroy your diet/caloric intake unless you do some decent climbing/miles at some point during the day.

diphthong

haha thanks but incorrect. case in point just this morning:

https://www.strava.com/activities/65...39778589694442

somehow managed to coerce/shame fellow forumite Tycho Brahe into an ill-advised, modified foray up gmr, down grr, down the 39 and back via sierra madre blvd.
it was early and don't remember what i promised him to coax him out but it must have been substantial. chance of rain during the ride's entirety was 40%. gmr bottom
gate was closed to motor vehicles due to a partial road washout halfway between the bottom gate and the shack (looks like the road will be closed for a while). made it up gmr
past the shack to the gmr/grr junction. cool but not crispy cold. original plan was to head to mt. baldy village (and maybe the lifts?) and back. scratch that. looked like we could head back down
gmr and carve out a quickie, rain-free 20-spot no problem. too easy. with imminent rain clouds already visibly dumping nearby, the super genius decision to drop down grr into
east fork and then hang a left onto the 39 and left onto sierra madre back to the start was apparently the only one. some rockfall/road debris on the descent from gmr/grr junction
down to the (also) closed east fork/grr gate but easily navigated (gmr was generally good). rocking down the east fork enroute to the 39, learned what the 40% really meant re: rain.
on mile 14 of 35-yep, at the 40% point, it started raining. not hard and actually intermittently but consistently enough until the very end of the ride to leave us feel "wise" for not riding
to mt. baldy village and back. mix in a front flat (sidewall puncture) on the descent of the 39 along with a very difficult tube change and it became a proper adventure.
it beat sleeping in on a holiday-i think.

all this said, with gmr/grr closed to motor vehicles and the weather warming up this coming week, i can think of worse places to ride.
if you've never done gmr/grr, now is the time. no cars. no services but eat a decent breakfast or lunch and take two bottles of whatever and you'll be good.
first two miles are the steepest; after that, it's all gravy. 22 miles one-way from the base of gmr to mt. baldy village and every single mile is worthy.
go as far and fast as you want, then turn around. no judgement. gmr/grr is a must-do.

Eric F 

I prefer that loop in the opposite direction primarily because of my love of the GMR descent on the front side. That said, the climb from East Fort to the ridge always kicks my ass. Always nice to be up there when the road is closed to cars.

SoSmellyAir

Calories seems quite low for that amount of elevation gain, you must be super duper fit.

diphthong

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric F

I prefer that loop in the opposite direction primarily because of my love of the GMR descent on the front side. That said, the climb from East Fort to the ridge always kicks my ass. Always nice to be up there when the road is closed to cars.

oh east fork, perennial headwind of 5-10 mph heading west and downhill, the false flats and unrealized promise of a solid tailwind heading east.

have only done the ascent of grr a handful of times (vs gmr maybe two dozen times). a few times when it has been brutally hot. grr from east fork up to the gmr/grr junction is a pretty consistent gradient.
at least with grr, you can keep your eyes on the (gmr/grr junction) summit prize. not so much with the gmr ascent where familiarity comes into play vs visual confirmation of a summit. both ascents rock tho
and both should be on every aspiring socal climber's to-do list.

not that it gets a lot of traffic but having gmr/grr closed to cars is magic(k)al. should be a monthly affair. like first sunday of every month?

diphthong

oh SoSmellyAir, you are waay too kind. still fortunate enuff to be able to do whatever non-racing event/course/climb i want in socal w/o training for it whenever the sched permits but it ain't gonna be fast.