Lilac Hills, Cougar Pass, Valley Center's Oz 'Hood, the Anthony's and Sierra Rojo Exploration Ride

A few months ago my friend Ariel and I had a day off from work and decided to go poke around the quiet hills between Escondido and Valley Center. We packed our road bikes onto Ariel's car and drove up to Escondido's Grape Day Park, where we left the car and rode north on N Broadway, leaving behind the bustling city in search of unusual sights...

It didn't take long before the sights became quite unusual!

Adagio Dr is pretty stingy even at adagio cadence...

A few miles north of town we veered right onto Arco Dr and immediately put our small rings to work. Continuing on up Adagio Dr's well paved curve drove the last bit of sleepiness off me... and we weren't even at the base of the day's first objective steepie yet! By the time we crested the half mile long 11% grade average ascent (with max grade around 20%) and dropped down on the east side I was feeling much less enthusiastic about my first encounter with Lilac Hill Dr's fearsome climb to the water tank.

Spritely Ariel sprang lightly up to the top as I dragged and lagged behind and was quite ragged by the time I topped out. A dirt road continues north toward Daley Ranch behind a car gate at the road crest... One of these days when I finally get myself a Salsa cross-bike I'll return to investigate.

The base of Lilac Hills Dr.

Lilac Hills residents have their own way of filling pot holes...

Lilac Hill Dr steepest ramp.

Passing over the ridge again on our way back to N Broadway we detoured south on Sky Dr just for fun. A heavy duty fences/gates barred the way after just about 200 yds, but the view was worth the short steep anaerobic sprint.

Cougar Pass Rd climbing toward Daley Ranch.

The western entrance to Daley Ranch from Cougar Pass Rd.

Cougar Pass Rd becomes paved again after Alps Way.

Retracing back to N Broadway and then up the well-graded dirt Cougar Pass Rd along the western boundary of Daley Ranch was a load of mellow fun. A bit past the park entrance the road became paved again and climbs steeply NW toward the Mountain Meadow complex. Low-tech me got a bit disoriented since the names on the road signs didn't quite agree with what I had seen on Google Earth before hand. Luckily Ariel has a smartphone with GPS, so we found our way down the steep ramp to the dirt road that connects to Lake Turner.

Cougar Pass Rd (not quite signed at the intersection) dropping north toward Lake Turner.

Were we following in a leprechaun's footsteps?

The was worth putting up with the dirt descent toward Betsworth Rd & Lake Turner.

It's a fabulous little dirt road with an open view to the NE approaching the first switchback. I managed to stay on the bike, but it was a technically demanding descent with the 25 mm road tires and cantilever brakes. You have to pick a good line and speed control like crazy so as to not skid and have to brake while in a curve.

Ariel was smarter than me and risked no spill coming down the steep dirt ramps.

At the bottom we were taunted by Wilkes Rd which continues steeply straight up the hill to the north, but I was determined to not blow my legs out before getting to the Ozland neighborhood of Valley Center, so we instead turned east onto paved roller coaster Betsworth Rd.

I sort of have a thing for the corner mirrors...

Betsworth Rd rolly polly

Striking view along Vesper Rd

Valley Center Rd isn't that bike-friendly a road even on the wide bit of it going thru Lilac junction, so we hopped onto the less traveled Vesper Rd at the right hand bend and were treated to more remote country road riding with some quirky roadside views along the orchards. After a couple of miles we made a left turn on Sunset Rd and then a dippy block on Fruitvale Rd to find ourselves at the base of the partly paved Yellow Brick Road.

It sure doesn't look like Kansas around here!

No sling-shotting thru The Yellow Brick dips...

Just about the only yellow non-orange stuff around...

I have to say that there isn't much yellow along The Yellow Brick Road aside from the ripening oranges in some of the orchards. And I haven't a clue why this whole neighborhood has roads named after stuff from The Wizard of Oz either. There were some hints about the Tin Man, Jack Haley, having lived here, but according to Bob Lerner at the Valley Center Museum, that's just a myth:
"actor Jack Haley, the tin man in "The Wizard of Oz," was often thought to be a resident of VC (he was in town so often during the 1940s and 50s), but he actually was just a very frequent house guest of the Salomons, AND he owned a cattle ranch in nearby San Pasqual." (The Paper, 28 Oct 2004)

Deja vu all over again along The Yellow Brick Rd.

No munchkin or wizard hiding around the corner.

The neighborhood is cut in grid, so most of the roads (with the exception of MacTan Rd) are straight, which make for quite a sight when you travel them on bicycle. They just go straight over a series of steep ridges, one after another. The Yellow Brick Rd sort of alternate between paved and gravel blocks, so we couldn't sling shot the first few dips. There aren't a lot of houses up there yet, though, so we did catch some really nice view of Rodriguez Mtn & the Rincon Valley from the ridges.

Hideaway Lake successfully hid its water from us!

We opted to get back to Valley Center Rd via the more interesting (AKA less straight) MacTan - Fruitvale - Cole Grade Rd, stopped to patronize the local market, and then headed back up the hill on Lilac Rd... with a side detour to check out the gated in Hideaway Lake, which proved really adapt to hiding its water. We couldn't find a drop of it anywhere!

Anthony Rd becomes quite narrow and cracky after a bit.

But cracky pavement & steep gradient were neutralized by a very friendly house pig!

Living up to my reputation for not being able to stay on the main road, we detoured yet again after a couple of miles on Lilac Rd, to check out the dead ends of Anthony & Anthony Ridge Rds. They don't go through anywhere, but are quite a pair of good rides all by themselves... if you have a thing for narrow, curvy and spiky country lanes, of course. Even on a very overcast day the view was very good, and only improved when we were checked out by a lovely neighborhood Babe!

Making it up the first steep triple ramp on Sierra Rojo Rd is something to smile about!

One of the handful of 12-16% grade dirt climbs on Sierra Rojo Rd.

I'm tellin' ya, this is fantastic riding stuff!

Getting back to Lilac Rd I presented Ariel with two choices; the wiggly well-cycled detour north to W Lilac & Circle R Rds or the unknown (and muchly unpaved) adventure that is Sierra Rojo Rd... I'm afraid adventure won out and we found ourselves once again grinding on the lowest gear ratio we had up and down nasty steep ridges in orchards country seemingly going farther and farther away from civilization. It was wonderful!

Wilkes Rd heading to Old Castle.

What Old Castle Rd is named for.

Why local shops & restos should like having more cyclists in town. We need a lot of refueling!

It's no wonder why Sierra Rojo Rd is often included in the (in)famous Belgian Waffle Ride... I just wish my road bike would allow >25 mm tires... At any rate, we eventually made our way through to Wilkes Rd and onto the not-so-bike-friendly Old Castle Rd descent. Luckily we got on it in between rush hours and didn't have to share it with many speedy cars. At the bottom we mellow spun our way south back to town on Champagne Blvd (Old 395). Even for a very overcast day it was a tremendously scenic 50 mile exploration ride that was only made better by a long-suffering and cheerful company!

Video recapping...