San Diego County Interlude.

 

On the road up Palomar Mountain.

I had an opportunity to return to San Diego County in June. We were staying in Oceanside so I had a chance to do some "North County" rides.

My first ride was a relatively east one, following the very nice San Luis Rey trail which roughly parallels Highway 76. I wanted to see the Mission but going out, I did overshoot it a bit. But I was able to double back and visit the grand old Mission, one of the nicest ones in the state!

At the Mission San Luis Rey

My next idea was to ascend Mt. Palomar, something I had done many years ago as a twenty-something racer wannebe. I don't remember much about that ride except that I made it to the observatory! I don't remember where I started from, could I have ridden from El Cajon? That seems like a long way, but I was putting in serious mileage back in the day so who knows? 

I decided to drive to the small mission at San Antonio de Pala, which is a small asistencia a few miles east of Bonsall, park at the Mission and begin my ride. San Pala is a nice little place and the Mission is worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing, which I am. There is also a pretty big Casino there.

Starting point of my trip to Mt. Palomar, San Antonio de Pala Asistencia.

Traveling out of San Pala, you have to ride on Highway 76, which is not too wide and a little busy, not the greatest riding. You soon come to Pauma Valley, home to yet another Casino. Shortly past Pauma Valley, there is a roundabout. You'll continue on 76 through this and continue to climb, crossing into the La Jolla Indian Reservation. You continue on until you reach South Grade Road, (County Road S6). This is really the start of the Palomar climb! 

On South Grade Road, (S6).

I continued up South Grade Road to the 5,000 foot mark, but I did not really have a good idea how much farther I had to go and I was pretty much tired out and feeling a little cramping in my legs so I decided to bag the ride; I turned around for a pretty thrilling descent! The are several cattle grates on this road and I managed to lose one of my water bottles on one of them! By the time I got to the roundabout outside of Pauma Valley, I stopped at the convenience store there and loaded up on fluids as I was feeling pretty dry. Then I continued down 76 back to Pala. 

It was a tough ride because of the gradient and the heat. Next time, I'll begin my ride at Pauma Valley, there looks like lots of places I could park there and it would save me some dreary miles of riding on Highway 76...and I do definitely plan on trying this again!

A couple of days later, I had a chance to do one of my favorite San Diego County rides, the Cuyamaca-Mt. Laguna loop! 

This time, I had the brilliant idea of starting in Pine Valley instead of the Park and Ride at Descanso! There is a nice county park right in the middle of Pine Valley where I could park. From Pine Valley, I climbed up to Guatay, continuing along "Old Highway 80" to Highway 79 to Cuyamaca.

I've done this ride many times and it's a great one. Try to do it on a weekday when there is little traffic. 

At the viewpoint just outside of Mt. Laguna

The ride was uneventful. I had a bit of a tailwind going up to Mt. Laguna from Cuyamaca and the icing on the cake was the long descent back to Pine Valley! I will start this route from Pine Valley from now on. To top it all off, the Park is across the street from the Frosty Burger! I enjoyed a milk shake at the end of the ride! 

So that was what I did with my free time in San Diego this Spring. It was a good time. I've decided to leave one of my bikes at my sister's house in El Cajon so from now on I'll not have to stick one on the back of my car for the long drive. I've built up the Raleigh Pro with a "climber's" gearing that I'll leave there.

A short, fun ride at Salt Point State Park

 I recently spent a week camping at Salt Point State Park, on the North Coast between Jenner and Gualala. This is a nice campground and is always a good place to escape the summer heat of the Sacramento Valley.

I don't plan on a lot of cycling when I come up here, but there is one short ride that I look forward to doing when I'm here. It's a loop that takes you up Highway 1 to Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Preserve. Then over to the northeast side of the Park and then back through the Park to the entrance. While not quite 11 miles, it has some challenging climbing. Much of the ride is on good gravel roads.

Easily the worst part of this ride is the section on Highway 1. Very curvy and with little shoulder, I'm very anxious when on this stretch. I always plan on doing this ride on a weekday when the traffic is lightest. I also start at around 9:00 AM to avoid "commuter" traffic.

Eventually you arrive at Kruse R. Park turnoff, this is actually Kruse Ranch Road and is across the road from the now closed Fisk Mill parking lot. Immediately, you encounter a stiff climb. I had to drop my chain into the granny gear of the triple and I kept it there for quite a while!

After a long stretch of pleasantly shaded climbing you leave the park and eventually come upon "Farm Camp". This is a small private ranch that is a summer camp. It looks like a neat place.

Farm Camp on Kruse Ranch Road.

After passing Farm Camp you start climbing again but soon you come to the crossroads of Kruse Ranch Road and Hauser Bridge/Seaview Roads.

The road junction at the end of Kruse Ranch Rd.

At this point I turn left and go down Seaview Rd for a short way, maybe half a mile and look one the right side of the road for the Sea View Trail marker.

The Sea View Trail marker is where you leave Sea View Road.

Now you are back on gravel roads and trails which for the most part are dropping down back towards Woodside Campground. This is where I appreciate disc brakes as the descent is lengthy and steep at times!

After a long descent you hit a short climb that takes you to the "Prairie" of Salt Point SP. You follow the trail and shortly you come to a "T" intersection. If you go left, you will drop down south and eventually high Highway 1 a bit below the Park Entrances. I usually go right here, to take the middle path to the Woodside day use and Hike-Bike camp area.

This photo of the entrance to the Prairie was taken on a previous year's ride, this year the skies were clear and sunny!

After turning left you will come to another junction; going right will take on the north trail and through the Pygmy Forest. This stretch included some very eroded sections of road so I usually opt for the left trail which sends you down towards the Woodside entrance area.

This is a pretty nice trail and it's mostly a descent. As you get closer to the Park's entrance you will encounter more hiker traffic so you'll want to keep your speed down. Again, disc brakes are very helpful here.

You come across the Parks water supply as you head down the trail!

Well, that's about it, you soon roll up to the gate and to your right is the Park's Bike-Hike camping area. The entry kiosk is just down the road. A I said, this is a pretty short ride but it's a fun one! Worth bringing the bike along if you happen to be camping at Salt Point. Someday I'll need to explore more of Hauser Bridge and Seaview roads.

2026's Century ride!

 

At the I-5 overpass along the Garden Highway.

Northern California experienced very mild weather this March and into April, allowing me to get quite a bit of riding in. This base mileage included several rides over 50 miles in length. I was feeling pretty good and thought about trying a century ride in late April. Another reason for contemplating the ride was the fact that my schedule in May for riding looked rather bleak.

The weather forecast for the Sacramento region for the last Monday in April called for partly cloudy skies, light winds and temperatures only rising to the low 70s. That sounded pretty good so I decided to try the hundred miles, using my usual route through Lincoln and Sheridan, going west through Nicolaus to the Garden Highway and down that to Discovery Park and the American River Parkway.

The morning started out cool and partly cloudy. I wore full length tights over my bib shorts and four light layers on the upper body. 

The ride progressed uneventfully. I eventually took off the windbreaker at Nicolaus, and my long sleeved tee stayed on until I reached the I-5 overpass on the Garden Highway, at mile 60. 

After a lunch break at the overpass, I continued south on the Garden Highway. Once again, as in last year's ride, the highway is undergoing construction south of the overpass, reducing to road to a one lane, one way, road. If you wanted to follow this route in the opposite direction, (clock-wise), you would have to figure out how to navigate a detour around this stretch. I didn't notice any detour signs posted, so I don't know how that would work out.

Once reaching Discovery Park, you have the next 28 mile stretch on a nice bike trail! The Monday afternoon traffic on the Parkway was pretty light, plus there are plenty of chances to stop for water and bathrooms if needed. This is the main reason I prefer to do this ride on a counter-clockwise direction, you have plenty of opportunities to refill your water bottles on this leg, unlike the last leg going clockwise, where there are no real water sources readily available. At a stop on the Parkway I finally shed my tights as the temperature was now nicely warmed to the low 70s.

I followed the bike trail to Beales Point State Park. This time I didn't stop at the visitor's center, but I did pull over and ate a snack. Then quickly back on the road to home. 

Here are a few pictures. A statistics summary and equipment notes are added below the photos.

At the old bridge off McCourtney Road.

Heading towards Trowbridge and East Nicolaus.

Entering Nicolaus

Off the Garden Highway, just entering Verona

At the I-5 Overpass.

On the American River Parkway.

Equipment Notes:

I took the Berthoud for it's first century and couldn't be happier with the results. I was comfortable for all the 8 1/2 hours of riding and everything worked well. The old Velo-Orange Mod. 6 saddle works very well for me, indeed the was no chafing at all. My Przewalski 3D bib shorts (from Amazon), also help a lot in that department. Very nice shorts that have held up well and I recommend them!

Shifting was via my Simplex retro friction shifters pulling a Shimano 105 RD over ten cogs, (11-28T). The crankset was my 86 BCD Stronglight 100 with 46 and 30 tooth cogs. 

I ran 28mm Gravel King tires for this ride, which only stretched out to 26mm on the Sun M13 rims. They felt pretty good and I had no flats on tis ride!

I tried using an electrolyte supplement on this ride and  I'm impressed with the results. Now, the very mild temperatures probably helped a lot, but I added the electrolyte (Liquid I.V., sugar free), into all but one bottle of the six I consumed on this ride. I experienced no cramping during the ride, and more importantly, no nighttime cramps after the ride! I'm sold. I'll be using this stuff from now on!

Here's a map of the route and below that, the stats:

New bike day! Gilles Berthoud Epervier Randonneuse

Euro-Asia Imports was a large West coast importer of high quality bikes and parts for many years. They recently closed their doors and a large part of their inventory was purchased by Ben's Cycles of Minneapolis, MN. Ben's has started putting some of this new inventory on their eBay store and while perusing that, I found a 58cm Guilles Berthough Randoneering bike frame, the "Epervier".

I knew the name Berthoud, it is best known for it's high quality bike bags, but also as a small builder of fine bicycles. After a few days of thinking it over I got the okay from Shelly to buy it! Here it is:

Gilles Berthoud Erpervier

Ben's description of the frame had indicated that a 26.8 seatpost and 22.0 (French) handlebar stem was needed. I was resigned to looking for some high quality French parts for it, but on inspecting the frame I found that a standard 27.2 seatpost fit and the stem size was actually the standard 22.2. This frame was built in France but I guess by that time, (late 90s or early 2000's), the builders had transitioned to an international standard. Or maybe it had been specified by Euro-Asia, I don't know but it worked out well for me!  The description stated a 28mm tire was the max, but I've fitted 32mm Gravel Kings with plenty of room. I may have to go down to 28mm with fenders, but we'll see.

Frame construction is of top quality; filet brazed joints for most of the frame except the bottom bracket, which is lugged. Some of the nice features of this frame include; an internally routed rear brake cable, a chain hanger on the seat stay, a chrome chain guard on the chain stay. It has a threaded eyelet under the rear brake bridge for a fender installation. It has another eyelet on the back of the seat tube which I think is also for fender installation. (I have purchased some Berthoud fenders for this bike but haven't tried to install them yet.)

For the build, I took most of the components from my Mercian Olympic; Stronglight 86 BCD crank, Shimano 105 hubs and rear derailleur with 10 speed cassette,  my Simplex retro friction shifters, Nitto Bar and Techmomic stem and Campy Nouvo Record seatpost with Velo Orange Mod 6 saddle. Finally, I fitted Campy Nouvo Record Calipers, (the longer reach ones) with Tektro levers.

Here is the bike with the old Rivendell/Carradice Boxy Bag.

There were two other subtle features which weren't included in the description which both worked to my benefit! 58cm is on the small side of my optimal bike fit, but this frame also features a sloping top tube which raises the bars. Also, there is a 1 centimeter extension on the top of the head tube which also raises the bars. As a result, the bike fits more like a 60cm, the perfect size for me!

The proof in the pudding is in the riding and I lost little time on getting the bike on the road. The cockpit set up was good and I felt very comfortable on the bike almost immediately. It was responsive. I believe this bike has a relatively short trail so the front end should feel lively. On a fast descent the bike felt quite planted which sort of surprised me. I switched to a handlebar bag because the old Velo Orange Saddle bag had developed a tear. Handling remained solid. The bike is easy to ride no-handed.

Generally, the bike feels fast. It makes sense since this was designing for fast touring. I might even say that it planes! The light Dedaccia steel tubing probably has something to do with it, but mainly, I'd give credit to the designers and builders at Berthoud

This view shows the slope of the top tube and head tube extension. Also note the handlebar bag now installed.

All in all, this turned out to be a lucky find for me. It's definitely a keeper! However this means I'll have to let one of my bikes go...looks like my Raleigh Pro will be up for sale now!

January 2026 What's up?

At Camp Far West Reservoir, April 2025.

It's been a while since I've posted here, so I thought I'd add a short recap of last year's riding and a few updates on my current bikes. 

I ended 2025 with a total 4105 miles, not too bad considering I missed most of June, July and August due to our road trip to Alaska! I did have to push myself a bit to get over the 4,000 mile mark at the end. I also managed to do my century, May 2025 century ride. 

2025's century ride, May.

Equipment-wise, my experiment with 10-speed cassette friction shifting continued with mixed results. On my Olympic, the shifting with Simplex retro-friction shifters and a Shimano 105 RD was very good. But shifting on my KOM, which used SunTour Barcons and a couple of different derailleurs had a problem in one particular gear, the third largest cog was difficult to find and tended to skip to the adjacent cog. Eventually. I got tired of the problem and switched back to 8 speeds. At the same time I added my Shimano indexed bar end shifters for fun. The result has been successful and I don't miss the trouble I had shifting, although I still don't know what caused the problem. Future experience has caused me to suspect the Bucklos cassette, more on that later.

Around the end of the year I got the urge to do some mods to my Ritchey. I decided to give the 1X transmission fad a try. I picked up a massive Bucklos 11-42 10 speed cassette, a 38T narrow/wide chainring, and a Microshift Sword RD. I made the mistake of ordering a Microshift 10 speed upgrade kit for my Microshift 8 speed bar end shifter.

It was a very interesting exercise getting the bar end converted and it gave me a lot on insight as to how they work, however, the barrel diameter of the 8 speed shifter is not compatible with the Sword RD, there's not enough cable pull. I finally had to order a Microshift bar end specifically designed for that type of RD. 

That wasn't quite all I needed to do, however. I could not get reliable indexed shifting. Eventually, I noticed that the derailleur was not bottoming out (in the highest gear, outermost position). I added a 1mm spacer to the drive side axle. This pushed the cassette away from the frame just enough to get everything aligned properly! 

At this point the shifting was more reliable but still a little noisy in a couple of gears. In frustration, I ordered a Shimano 11-42 cassette and installed it, just to see if the cheap Bucklos was the problem. The noise has abated and shifting is now pretty reliable! Could it be that the cheap cassette was the problem? Well, it's hard to say for sure, some time in the future I'll re-install it and see.

Here's the Ritchey with it's new 1X drivetrain.

A close up. The M/S Sword equipment seems pretty nice.

One thing I had to get used to with 1X is the position of the rear derailleur while in the largest cog; It's almost parallel to the chainstay! I had to double check online resources to ensure I had the proper chainlenght. This is the new normal I guess, but it looks alarming at first. 

This derailleur position is okay!

Another change to the Ritchey is the tires. I've given up on tubeless technology. It is just a pain to keep going, especially on a bike that isn't ridden all the time. So I pulled the 47mm Gavel Kings off and install the tubed 42mm's for now. I'll have to find some tubes for the 47's some day as they are still in fine shape.

And so, that's the recap of a less than remarkable year! I hope to get some more interesting rides in during 2026, so stay tuned!

On Rioso Road, May, 2025.