# Palomar Mountain Ride Report



## c0braje7 (Sep 28, 2005)

For those of you that aren't familiar with Palomar mountain, it is a local favorite here in San Diego. Here is a link for a good breakdown of the ride http://socalvelo.com/sub/palomar.html. This webpage breaks down the mountain and its percentages. I actually start a bit further out and it brings the total miles and climbing ft up a bit. It is a great ride and it offers amazing views, a great challenge and superb training. There is a 1st annual Conquer Palomar ride that is coming up on the 15th and I have been looking forward to it. Here is a breakdown of my morning ride today. Hope you like it!

I headed out this morning at roughly 6am to get in my last training ride up Palomar before the 1st annual Conquer Palomar organized ride which is on the 15th. I must say that you get an amazing parking space at the local mall at 5:30 in the morning!
I headed out and my legs were a little less springy than I would have liked for such a hilly day. So that made the ride feel a lot longer than it really was. The climb up Lake Wolfford Rd. was a good warmup for the more serious climbing later that day. It is a narrow two lane road but the fishers that are on the road that early are used to seeing roadies so they gove us ample room. I didn't see any other riders until I was half way up the Palomar climb. Two fellow roadies were decending at breakneck speed and yelled "WOOO-HOOO" as they passed. It gave me a huge smile and reminded me of the great return trip. I had a few motorcycles cut it a little closer than I would have liked but that just comes with the territory on Palomar. 
After getting to the top I sat down to enjoy another climb and rest my legs. 3 more riders showed up and we talked briefly before I headed back down the mountain. The decent "as always" was super fast (45-55 MPH easy) and there is nothing better then catching a motorcycle and getting waved by. Sure they can take you on a straight but they just can't stick in the corners and the highway patrol just smile at the bike riders when we are decending! I honestly believe that they give us some freedom due to the fact that we are on bikes.
The ride back always gets interesting when you hit the valley. It is literally like riding into a wall of heat. The temperature changes 10-15 degrees instantly. I had a few rolling hills that took me back to my starting spot. The worst part of returning is a climb that has a chicken farm on one side of the road. I can honestly say that I am happy being a city boy because that smell almost makes me puke!
After getting back to the car I noticed that the mall parking lot that was completely empty except my car was now completely full. I had more than 1 driver get frustrated waiting for me to do my post-ride ritual of changing, mounting the bike and getting everything packed up and organized. 
All in all it was a good day, I am glad I got out early because the heat kicked in like no other. 
Here are some of the ride details...
64.1 miles
6565 ft of climbing
Total riding time 4 hours 22 minutes.

It is an amazing ride and I recommend it to anyone that is in the area. Wait for the temperature to drop a bit unless you normally ride in HOT weather. There aren't many places to refill bottles and there are plenty of places that you don't want to be empty.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

You have some nice riding in the backroads of San Diego. Its hard to believe with all the people in SD that a lot of the back roads are fairly deserted. The winter time sees a few more riders particulary in the Julian-Borrego Springs area. I think you have to be a pretty tough rider to hang out there in the summer heat.


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## c0braje7 (Sep 28, 2005)

Everyone is riding down by the beach! I mean seriously... if you go down the the beach on any weekend the road is fullk of riders. I love the ride down there but it is mostly just rollers and for the tri-guys that is fine. You have to head a bit inland to get the more serious climbing miles in.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

*Montezuma Hill Climb*

If you ever get down to Borrego Springs you should check out the Montezuma Hill Climb starting at Palm Canyon Resort. I think its 10.6 miles from bottom to top with roughly 3500 feet of elevation gain. The record is 52 minutes but I think it could easily be broken. The gold standard for a decent rider is 65 minutes. Its worth checking out when the temps get a little cooler.


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## emckee (May 5, 2003)

Which route did you use? South Grade? East Grade? Nate Harrison?

As I recollect, there was some discussion about this a few months ago.

Thanks for the report!


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## c0braje7 (Sep 28, 2005)

I parked at North County Fair, then took Bear Valley to Lake Wohlford Rd. then a right on Valley Center Rd., then a right on highway 76 out to Palomar. I did take the South Grade road up. 

Then I turned around and came back. It is a great ride that I do twice each month. Serious climbing and great training.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

c0braje7 said:


> For those of you that aren't familiar with Palomar mountain, it is a local favorite here in San Diego. Here is a link for a good breakdown of the ride http://socalvelo.com/sub/palomar.html. This webpage breaks down the mountain and its percentages. I actually start a bit further out and it brings the total miles and climbing ft up a bit. It is a great ride and it offers amazing views, a great challenge and superb training. There is a 1st annual Conquer Palomar ride that is coming up on the 15th and I have been looking forward to it. Here is a breakdown of my morning ride today. Hope you like it!
> 
> I headed out this morning at roughly 6am to get in my last training ride up Palomar before the 1st annual Conquer Palomar organized ride which is on the 15th. I must say that you get an amazing parking space at the local mall at 5:30 in the morning!
> I headed out and my legs were a little less springy than I would have liked for such a hilly day. So that made the ride feel a lot longer than it really was. The climb up Lake Wolfford Rd. was a good warmup for the more serious climbing later that day. It is a narrow two lane road but the fishers that are on the road that early are used to seeing roadies so they gove us ample room. I didn't see any other riders until I was half way up the Palomar climb. Two fellow roadies were decending at breakneck speed and yelled "WOOO-HOOO" as they passed. It gave me a huge smile and reminded me of the great return trip. I had a few motorcycles cut it a little closer than I would have liked but that just comes with the territory on Palomar.
> ...


Nope. Lived there 9 years and didn't ONCE climb that SOB on a bicycle! You can HAVE it!

I try and get people to belive that if the biggest hill I ever have to climb again is the banking at the track, I'll be happy. 

Now, why is it I had a bug up my butt about doing well at the San Luis Rey race?!

M


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

borregokid said:


> You have some nice riding in the backroads of San Diego. Its hard to believe with all the people in SD that a lot of the back roads are fairly deserted. The winter time sees a few more riders particulary in the Julian-Borrego Springs area. I think you have to be a pretty tough rider to hang out there in the summer heat.


Buddy of mine lives and trains in Borrego Springs. (he goes up to the top of the Glass Elevator to train in the summer...)

'Course he wins 24hour races in the solo category too!

M


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

You must be talking about Desert Dan. You got to know Desert Dan if you live in the east county. He's kind of an ulta-athlete. I think I could maybe operate at about 80% of his speed.


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## c0braje7 (Sep 28, 2005)

Palomar is a real interesting ride. The first time up the mountain it seems like it is never going to end. The switchbacks keep coming at you and there isn't a single flat spot. Then there are a couple of turns that give you a great view of the valley below and only then do you realize how high you have climbed. Once you get to the top there are generally a ton of motorcycles parked and the riders always give you this crazy look like "it was waaay easier on a motorcycle". Then the real fun begins ont he decent. It is super fast and somewhat techincal. More than a few turns have a strange apex and they will throw you into the oncoming lane if you aren't ready.

It is a challenging ride no doubt. But now that I have been riding it for a few years I always come back to it. I know the mountain like the back of my hand but it is still as much fun and has just as much a challenge as it was the first time I rode it.

I haven't made it out further East (Borrego). I actually never even thought to go out that far! I tend to try to stay close to the house (meaning that I like riding out of my house to go ride). I shy away from putting the bike on the car and driving somewhere to start a ride. That is what I did when I was mountain biking and it is why I started riding a road bike.


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## The Moontrane (Nov 28, 2005)

Rode the inaugural "Conquer Palomar" yesterday. I started the ride at 7:40 and finished at 1:35. Total ride time was 4:36-about 80 minutes off the bike at rest stops. I drank more than I did during the 108 miles of the Death Valley Century last October.

It was 88F when I left and the temp promptly reached the mid-nineties. There were rollers for the first 10 miles, then a steep descent for nearly 2. A couple of riders crashed on this descent-it was steep in sections, as you will see. 

For some reason I kept wondering when the climb was going to start. It wasn't until I'd climbed for 12 miles on the East Grade Road that I realized that I was on the climb. Ha! There was a 2-mile descent before another 3-mile climb to the observatory for just a hair under 30 miles to the halfway point. It wasn't 62 miles as advertised but 60, not that this made it any easier. 

Heading back, at the final rest stop at mile 44, my VDO MC1.0 indicated 101F. As I left the rest stop I felt the most incredible waves of heat emanating from the pavement, and my VDO registered 112F. When the VDO is directly in the summer sun it reads about 5 degrees high, so it really wasn't 112F. 107F is so much more bearable. Really. 

The final significant climb was at mile 48.8 and lasted 1.7 miles, climbing 680 feet. It had an average gradient of 7.6%, with pitches up to 12%, the steepest of the ride. With half a mile left to climb I pulled over to the side of the road under the shade of a rocky cliff. It was just too uncomfortably hot. When my VDO readout dropped to 107F-in the shade-I got back on and rode to the finish.

Totaling climbing was 6,154' over 59.7 miles. I rode a bit past the finish and back to get an even 60 miles. 5,500' was max elevation per posted signs. 

Map and profile: http://www.cyclysmadventures.com/62profile.pdf

Des


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

borregokid said:


> You must be talking about Desert Dan. You got to know Desert Dan if you live in the east county. He's kind of an ulta-athlete. I think I could maybe operate at about 80% of his speed.


That would be him.

Interesting guy.

M


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## c0braje7 (Sep 28, 2005)

I did the Conquer Palomar ride as well but it didn't turn out as good as I would have hoped. I rolle dout at 6:45 and I could tell it was going to be a hot day. The sun was just coming over the hills and it was warmer than I expected. The ride over to Palomar wasn't that bad. The ride up Palomar wasn't that bad. I normally ride the South side of Palomar a few times a month so the East side is a nice break. I got about 3/4 of the way up and my stomach started to cramp like I have never felt before. I made it to the top and propped my bike against the genreal store wall and made a quick path to the bathroom. Needless to say I decided to not goto the Observatory. I had my wife meet me at the bottom of the mountain by the lake. The decent felt fine but my stomach was turning anytime I drank from my bottles. I called it quits at the store by the lake. I really wanted to finish the ride but I was doubled over on my bike and the temps were just going higher and higher.

I am glad that they put this ride on and I hope that next year my stomach is in a better mood for the ride.


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## cyclysm (Oct 26, 2006)

I want to thank those who came out for the 1st Conquer Palomar. It was one of the hottest days out there this year for sure. Next year I'm having it the first weekend in June in hopes of having cooler temps. I will be heading out that way again to do the ride with my Garmin Edge 305. This way I will have a much better mileage as well as elevation gain for the ride. 

Hope to see you out there again.

http://www.cyclysmadventures.com/palomar.htm


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## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

South Grade ramblings. Typical timing is from the stop sign at the store at the 76 and Valley Center rd. to the stop sign at the top. Anything under an hour is flying. Rumor has it Tony Rominger did it in 48 min when Mapei was out for preseason training. Floyd and Horner have supposedly both gone quicker but exact times are not known. A lot of riders and coaches head to south grade to gauge fitness.


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