roadcrankr

Impressive. I kudos'd your 43-miler. I've been a Strava member for about six years, with no centuries to my credit.
I rode the Palm Springs one a few times, prior to Strava. Wonder if it falls below 1,200 for the entire thing.
You get the hills out of the way early on that sucker, then mostly battle the winds.
We finished it in under five hours one year, after managing to join a big, fast group. Even did a few pulls!
Great routes and weather down Insane Diego way. My sis and family live near Poway, so I ride occasionally with her husband.
You got me thinking of taking a quick bikecation down yonder with my girlfriend. Maybe Solano or Del Mar or La Jolla.

diphthong

pretty sure the annual feb palm springs century ride is under 1,200 ft el gain. everything but 100 feet from indio back to palm spring high
(not including bridges/overpasses) is on the northeast side of the 10 fwy on dillon rd. coachella valley is boring as hell except for an edge road or two or three.

if in san diego, start in mission bay/fiesta island area and head north to oceanside pier along the coast and back. the quintessential san diego county ride.
approx 2600 feet el gain and 80 miles. you can toodle up to cabrillo national monument (recommended) for more el gain/miles or just roll mission bay/fiesta island
a few times to hit a century. riding up to oceanside and back via the coast, your biggest challenge is the 1.6 mile, consistent 5.5% ascent of torrey pines grade on the coastal hwy
or the steeper/shorter ascent going through the state park. both are scenic and tough at that point. would prob choose the inside/park route since there are restrooms,
water and more scenery. the outer, consistent climb does have a double bike lane (both heading uphill) tho. when was the last time you saw that?

diphthong

no one from the la area seems to have the stuffing to ride the beautiful, underrated and challenging san diego backcountry
(palomar/mesa grande/santa ysabel/julian/cuyamacas/lagunas/campo/alpine).
just sayin...

oris

Those areas are actually on my bucket list; especially Palomar.

I've camped at Palomar Mtn and Cuyamaca State Park over the years; it's beautiful country out there for riding.

CAT7RDR

Funny, I was looking forward to doing out of area rides then my sister thought it was a good idea to gift me a rescue Terrier from the High Desert.
Cannot find a dog sitter and he will fight me to the death to not go back in a shelter even for a temporary basis.

So I am limited to about 4-5 hour rides from home after "Buddy" is walked and fed.
Thought about a doggy trailer but he is 40 lbs and with a trailer I would be pushing-pulling 320 lbs up Palomar.

jonathanf2

I just returned from vacation eating nothing but burgers and comfort food while away. I went back to my weekly Griffith Park hill climb and it was definitely painful! I made myself climb twice in row just to get back to my climbing routine! I put in 20 miles of climbing and fast descending. It's crazy what happens to your body if you stop riding for a short while. I guess anaerobic cycling helps keep your arteries clear in order to get the blood moving. Watching my heart rate monitor, I was probably a good 10 bpm higher than usual on the climb. On my 2nd attempt going up, I reduced my cadence to increase my stamina and saved my out-of-saddle climbing for the last segment in order to sprint. I've also been tweaking my stem a bit more, going shorter while lowering my spacer height. I don't want to go too short on my stem though because I like the stability of being over the wheel that a long stem offers. Though I've been feeling some back pain when doing heavy deadlifts and I think it might be due to that low aero position on my road bike. It's definitely a fine balance of comfort and performance!

SoSmellyAir

After I became a parent I got too chicken to even drive those roads at a brisk pace; I don't think I will bike those roads any time soon.

CAT7RDR

Enjoyed the Turnbull Canyon area this morning and found the energy to sample Edgeridge and Oak Canyon/Descending for a change.
As far as local climbs go, Belle River, Punta del Este, Vantage Pointe and Spy Glass have steeper bits but the tree canopy and views of the San Gabriels were magnificent this morning and made the climbs enjoyable as I meditated on the scenery.

43 miles and 5600 feet of climb for my efforts.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39107765

diphthong

dropped down south and rode to chula vista and back in slightly roundabout fashion. nice day for a ride. 50 miles altogether with approx 3k el gain. felt good to be out today.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7004667942

SoSmellyAir

First ride today (26 miles, barely 1,000 ft. elevation gain) in two weeks after early April vacation and following week spent catching up on all work. Base fitness is still more or less there but really sore palms and bum.

oris

Rode up to Mt. Baldy with the usual buddies for breakfast at the Lodge and back. The intent was to ride with another group but they changed to a later start time, so we just rolled out as originally planned. The weather was great for a nice long ride but winds along the ridge made it a drag at times.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7035591097/

jonathanf2

Sunday morning I did 32 miles of road and gravel with some friends. We first rolled through Rodeo Drive, cruised on Mulholland Drive (we spotted a well-known cycling YT'er), did a pit stop at the Nike Missile site and bombed the gravel downhill through Sullivan Canyon Park! It was a hot day though, went through all my water bottles and we made a pitstop at a coffee shop in Brentwood to re-energize with coffee and get some ice water as well! At night I just knocked out!

jonathanf2

Did 30 miles on Tuesday, from my house riding up to the Rose Bowl, a dirt loop around Hahamongna watershed park and single track climbing on Fern Truck Trail. My friend recently bought a gravel bike, so I figure this would be the perfect route to break-in his bike!

CAT7RDR

Did my Wednesday La Habra Hgts Loop. Saw three other cyclists taking advantage of the quiet roads and sunshine.
44 miles and 6200 feet of climb.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/8718461853

raceboy

Almost 30 today with some nice climbing in Palos Verdes and two separate critter sightings by the early morning light, a coyote and a strutting peacock.

SoSmellyAir

34 mile ride down to Newport Back Bay loop and back for the first ride on my new carbon fiber wheels. Even got into an impromptu race with another cyclist on the Mountains to the Sea Trail & Bikeway on my way home, from just about under the CA-73 toll road all the way up to Barranca Parkway, during which there were several lead changes. Despite having the lead when our paths diverged, I know there will be heck to pay tonight; my knees and hamstrings are killing me.

2seven0

Too busy at work to take Fridays off for awhile so I rode Santiago Cyn this morning solo & last Sunday with my wife. Always seems the large groups are going the opposite way last week several on SCR this morning several in Lake Forest & Irvine & the SART on the last leg home.
Beautiful spring weather lately. Lucked out on the wind direction changes too.
West

CAT7RDR

Made a loop out of San Dimas Canyon. Nice tranquil getaway if you want to avoid the racers on GMR on the weekend.
LARIO Park is still closed along the north SGRT. Enjoyed the view on Puddingstone Drive along the north lake shore before climbing San Dimas Ave, Grand Ave and Pathfinder Rd to get back to Salerosa and home.
72 miles and 5200 feet of climb.
.https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39270852

oris

Sunday ride with the boys to Crystal Lake; I'd never been there before. We were all pretty cautious with all the motorcycle traffic and got worried when we lost contact with one of the guys in the descent.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7072729086/

Some sad news that has been circulating the last few days; we had lost a local rider a few days ago in an accident on Santa Clara Truck Trail. I didn't know him personally but quite a few in our group did. Watch out for your buddies and fellow cyclists!

https://www.strava.com/activities/7067408683
https://bikinginla.com/2022/04/30/bike-rider-killed-on-sand-canyon-in-canyon-country-no-information-available/

CAT7RDR

Read he was hit by a BMW Convertible head-on. I am not familiar with this truck trail.
Are there residences on this road? Just seems odd to find a sporty car on a dirt road.
Sad indeed.

jonathanf2

Really sad news. He was a mutual cycling buddy amongst my friends. l'm starting to be really selective of where I ride and I try to stay off busy roads as much as possible. These cycling deaths are hitting close-to-home and I'm leaning towards riding my gravel bike more just to avoid cars.

diphthong

44-miler in the julian/lake cuyamaca area of the san diego backcountry. absolutely no one up there this afternoon. ghost town.
just the way i like it. mid-upper 60's. 6-15mph breezes/winds depending on what corner was turned/exposure. still nice and green
with plenty of wildflowers out...caught a nice line of indian paintbrush on a ridge just above the west-facing road an hour before sunset.
boulder creek rd was an absolute pleasure to ride with new pavement on the northernmost stretch north of the fire station/dirt & paved
interface at engineers rd/boulder creek rd intersection.

https://www.strava.com/activities/7078863293

oris

I'm not totally sure. I haven't ridden that area and am just going off the bits and pieces. It looks paved at some parts of the forest road.

https://bikinginla.com/2022/04/30/bi...ion-available/

Like jonathanf2, I've been wary and even more so now. That Crystal Lake ride drove it home during the descent. I had a near miss on a blind corner because an oncoming motorcycle overtook another motorcycle on a blind turn by crossing the double yellows and into my lane. We both saw each other and pulled to our right respectively.

CAT7RDR

^^^^^I've had some close calls on Hwy 39 too and will not ride it anymore on the weekends or later in the day on week days.
I was actually brushed once from behind by a leather clad racer going up Hwy 39 near East Rd. I've witnessed a fatality where the speeding motorcyclist failed to negotiate a curve near East Rd and launched into the canyon below.

My best rides to Crystal Lake were at dawn starting from West Fork and I only encountered road maintenance workers going up that gave me a wide berth.

diphthong

tragic. condolences to friends and family. if the incident did occur where the above info in the previous few posts indicate-below the camp 9 fire station at the top of the road-then it’s easy to see how it could have happened. unless recently repaved (in the last 1.75 years…which is doubtful), pavé not the best but it is paved the entire way from little tujunga canyon rd to camp 9. it’s a decently steep grade so pavé not as noticeable going up but coming down, it’s a riding the brakes situation with plenty of road chatter. even riding the brakes, likely doing 22-30 mph. quite a few curves packed into a few miles between the top of the road/camp 9 fire station and little tujunga canyon rd. easy to hit 35mph + in the blink of an eye. the kind of road that would routinely have rockfall/debris in the road that cyclists and motorists would want to avoid on an ascent/decent. definitely not a high traffic road and only residences (to
memory) are fire station-related at the top. to give you an idea of the territory, here’s a pic from my last visit of the applicable road on the descent-road is in the foreground on the bottom left.