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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
