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Palomar Mountain ride

I survived! And had a blast. It was one of the hardest rides I’ve done – definitely the hardest ride that wasn’t 100+ miles – and had more climbing than anything I’ve done before.

I drove down to San Diego yesterday afternoon, stopping on the way at Will’s to pick up his bike case, which he’s letting me borrow for the summer. Once I got to San Diego, Dad and I went out for tacos and then hit the sack pretty early.

We got up at 5:45 this morning and looked outside and WTF, it was raining! In San Diego?

We tried to figure out how long the rain would continue and whether or not it was raining at Palomar. Neither of us are necessarily scared of riding in the rain, but it makes everything a lot less fun and given the descents at Palomar, pretty dangerous. The group from the San Diego Trek store that organizes the ride cancels if it’s raining. We decided to drive up and hope for the best.

We stopped to pick up my Dad’s friend Art and got up to Harrah’s Rincon Casino at the base of Palomar Mountain at 8:10. Thankfully, it was a little overcast, but dry and clearing. There was a group of about 60 riders getting ready to hit the road. There was the option of doing a 68 mile route or a 42 mile route, but both went the same way for the first 24.5 miles. The group took off while we were still getting our stuff together, but we quickly took this “before” picture:

We took off just a few minutes behind the Trek group. Dad and I were planning on riding separately and I charged up the road, wondering how many of the riders in front of me I could catch.

On the route we did, there’s about a mile warm-up and then you get right into the 11.8 mile climb. This climb is no joke! I heard someone say that it’s a constant 7-8% grade the entire way. I have to admit that I don’t really know what that means (but if you’re interested, you can read about it here), but mostly it just means that it’s very steep! The sun was coming out and the sky was clear. My arm warmers came off after about 5 minutes.

The first 6 miles of the climb were comfortable spinning. I felt good and was riding through the groups ahead of me. The next 3 miles were a progressively harder struggle, but I was still feeling OK and riding well. Those last 3 miles though, were killer. I counted each tenth of a mile and every single minute. I had a mini-celebration at each switchback, thinking that maybe it would get easier after “this one”. Unfortunately, it didn’t let up until the top. In fact, I think the last couple turns were the steepest… or they felt that way anyway!

The views from the ride were awesome. It overlooks these giant valleys, with big horse and cattle farms. (See below – not my picture). During the ride, in addition to the horses and cows, I saw roadrunners, some vulture-looking things eating roadkill, chipmunks and a smushed snake on the side of the road.

I got to the top in 1:29 (a little slower than a 10mph average). At the top, the group re-grouped at a little market and recovered for about 20 minutes. I joined the first group taking off from the store and we flew down the East Grade descent. The descent was great – mid-30’s, flowing turns, light traffic. At the bottom of the descent (24.5 miles), the long route turned left and the “short” route turned right. Now, I had thought that after climbing Palomar Mountain, the rest of the ride would be descents and rolling hills. Unfortunately, about 2.5 miles after that left turn, we started another steep climb. This one was only about four miles long. I was pretty much cursing the entire time! After another long, fun descent, we re-grouped again at a market at mile 41.

27.5 miles to go, but at least we were done with the climbing, right?

Back on the road after 18 minutes with a group of six, the last part of the ride started fairly flat. But, of course, the climbing started. One more hill after another. On the flat sections, I was still riding strong (17-20mph), on the descents, I was flying, but those climbs were deadly. They weren’t as steep and definitely not as long as the earlier climbs, but my legs were so heavy. With about four or five miles to go, the climbing is done and the last descent begins. I always love descending fast, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy as I was at that moment. I flew down the hill! (I did pass the remnants of a bike accident during the descent. I guess the rider was with the Trek group and had already been taken to the hospital. I did get worried about my dad for a split second, but the bike wasn’t his or Art’s.)

My Dad and Art had finished the 42 mile route about an hour ahead of me and were waiting at the Casino. Their ride went well also.

It was a great ride – a good challenge that was tougher than anything I’ll find in a triathlon and a ton of fun to hang out with my Dad. I’ll be back to do it again!

Bike – May 28
Distance: 33.7 miles
Time: 2:00
Average heart rate: 127
Course: Redondo Beach/Palos Verdes loop
Conditions: Overcast, low 60’s

Swim – May 29
Distance: 3,390 yards (3,100 meters)
Time: 1:07

Bike – May 30
Distance: 68.6 miles
Ride Time: 4:18
Total Time with breaks: 4:56
Average heart rate: 131 (including breaks)
Course: Palomar Mountain long route
Conditions: Sunny, 60’s