Calavera

Earlier this year yours truly rented a room in a house whose back porch opened right onto the north trail of Carlsbad's Calavera Preserve. It was quite a treat going to sleep to the sound of the wild almost every night, and enjoying the view of an open stretch of land while nursing the morning coffee before heading off to work, where I'd spend the day dreaming of my days off when I'd get to take the Smorgmobile 2.0 out on the dusty trails in the 'backyard'.

Calavera Preserve has many many trails to explore. Currently just about all of them on the Preserve are open to bicycle. You do have to know the lay of the land quite well before heading out, though, as none of the trails in the adjacent Dept of Fish and Wildlife's Carlsbad Highland Ecological Reserve is open to bike (although I've seen a lot of mountain bikers on it). Generally you are fine if you stay north of the white concrete barrier/fence on the south side of the Cerro de la Calavera.

My pad being on the north side of the Preserve, I generally roamed well north of the boundary.

Most of the trails are quite road-bike-able... until they are not (bwahahaha). You just have to invest a bit in practicing your bike-handling skills, and stay quite vigilant on terrain awareness (so you don't suddenly find yourself in the weed (or rut... or even well hidden drop off!).

Oh, yeah, mtb shoes also work way better than road shoes...

Getting to the Volcano is quite a nice riding skills challenge when you aren't on a full suspension mtb, but the view is quite worth the effort.

Enjoy the view, but never lose sight of what you are riding into!

Top of the Skull

The top of the 'Skull', the Cerro de la Calavera, is a wacky place...

Some rocky fun on the trail.

No matter which set of trails you venture onto, any day on the bike is a perfect day!

San Diego Local Road Cycling Speak/Lingo: What Are Cyclists Talking About?

A few local cycling favorites/locales are referred to more by their nicknames than the real/full ones, so, here are a few in alphabetical order.

- A to Z (or Z to A) = The obscure back roads connection between Rancho Santa Fe's Stud Loop and Camino del Sur by way of Artesian and Zumaque Roads. It's a gated passage with creek crossing that is usually dry (except for within a week of the last substantial rain in the area, of course), and involves steep climbing in either direction. A gorgeous short cut, tho!

- Boulevard = Boulevard Road Race, the big annual road race in Boulevard, CA (Imperial County).

- Cameron Junction = SR 94 at Buckman Springs Rd near Campo.

- CV = Either Chula Vista or Carmel Valley. 

- ECR = El Camino Real, the main surface road running mostly north-south along the coast just east of I-5. South terminus in Del Mar.

- Four Corners = This one depends on which part of town you are talking about. There is an official 'Four Corners' neighborhood up in San Diego Country Estates SE of Ramona. Unofficially the junction of Lyons Valley Rd and Skyline Truck Trail/Honey Springs Rd is known to the Jamul locals as 'Four Corners'. Also, it could mean the junction of Morena - Stokes Valley Rd (previously known as Corral Canyon Rd) and Los Pinos Rd way way out SE of the Laguna Mountains, tho that is mostly known by the local off-road four-whelers.

Highway 76 east of I-15 is part of 'Gamblers' Loop'.

- Gamblers' Loop = (Hwy 76 - Valley Center Rd - Pala-Temecula Rd): Because of all the casinos on this network of narrow two-lane highways in NE San Diego, of course. On the north end is Pechanga Casino on Pala-Temecula Rd, then there are Pala Casino right by Mission San Antonio de Pala off Hwy 76, then a few miles further east on the 76 is the Pauma Casino. Continuing south onto Valley Center Rd there are Harrah's Casino in Rincon Indian Reservation, and then up the steep grade off from N Lake Wohlford Rd is Valley View Casino. What this means for cycling is, of course, nasty riding condition. All these highways are very narrow and curvy with little or no shoulder. And the casino traffic involves people operating their vehicles while under the influence... and quite a lot of huge Casino buses.

- Glass Elevator = County Highway S22/Montezuma Valley Rd, also known as Montezuma Grade, the deliciously twisty climb/descent between Borrego Springs and Ranchita. A category 1 climb and a marvelously scenic technical descent that drops 3400 ft down to the desert floor in just 11 miles. It may not be as technical or twisty-a-delic as Palomar South Grade Rd, but it arguably is the most beautiful descent around!



- GWL = Great Western Loop: a favorite 40 mile cycling loop comprised of Willow Glen Rd - Dehesa Rd - Japatul Rd - Lyons Valley Rd - Jamul Dr - Steele Canyon Rd. The classic GWL loop runs clockwise starting from the Rancho San Diego Starbuck. There are some variations possible (using Skyline Truck Trail instead of Lyons Valley Rd, or using Hwy 94 instead of Jamul Dr - Steele Canyon Rd, etc).

- HVR = Highland Valley Rd, a very curvy two-laner connecting Rancho Bernardo with Ramona around north side of Starvation Mountain. As good a climb as it is, it is an even better descent (albeit quite a technical one in two stretches). 

- MAMIL = Middle Age Man/Men In Lycra... usually on an expensive racing style carbon road bike. 

Scripps Poway Pkwy climb (Purple Monster) to Hwy 67.

- Purple Monster = Scripps Poway Pkwy climb east from Community Rd to the crest just short of Hwy 67. It's the big climb on the San Diego Century's purple course, and its lower slope is lined with purple flowering jacaranda trees.

- RSF = Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood. It's full of curvy and well shaded lanes lined with spectacular ranchos and villas without much flat stretch to speak of. In short, a cycling (and horseback riding) heaven!

- Scissors Crossing = The offset intersection of SR 78 at San Felipe Rd (S2) east of Julian.

Hwy 94 in Jamul.

- Smugglers' Run = Hwy 94 between Rancho San Diego and Tecate border crossing... for obvious reason! This is a beautiful stretch of rural two-laner, though what little shoulder it has comes and goes and drivers tend to add too much mph to the speed limit. Also, it's a main trucking route... so I'm afraid even tested local riders avoid riding the Smugglers' Run. A lot of time it is like playing Russian roulette... and the prospect of a new casino opening at Jamul Indians Village sure doesn't help things.

- Stud Loop = La Valle Plateada, El Vuelo, and Las Colinas series of side-road detour on the south side of Del Dios Hwy/Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe. Del Dios Hwy is part of a local favorite cycling route (see next entry), and most riding groups will stretch out so much that the studs end of the group can duck onto the Stud Loop detour and pop out back on Paseo Delicias at Via de la Valle right in time for the slower elements to arrive and regroup. It's only about a mile of added distance and some minor climbing, but the view is absolutely gorgeous and there is hardly any car traffic to speak of.

- Swami Loop = The usual Swami A ride loop involving Del Dios Hwy & Elfin Forest Rd. I think the ride usually goes clockwise, but it's still a nice ride either ways.



- Three Witches = San Dieguito Rd (series of 3 climbs from El Apajo to Camino del Sur)

- Tidepool Hill = Cabrillo Rd, the paved service road in Cabrillo National Park that goes down to the tide pools. This is a popular hill-repeat site for local cyclist. The climb is 0.8 mile long at near constant 7.5% grade.

Torrey Pines 'Inside'.

- Torrey Pines = N Torrey Pines Rd between Torrey Pines State Beach and the golf course. There are two different climbs; Torrey Pines 'Inside' refers to the park service road (accessed from State Park entrance at the beach), is a shorter but steeper climb within Torrey Pines Preserve. Torrey Pines 'Outside' is N Torrey Pines Rd, a wide main thoroughfare with a wide bike lane and gentler incline. As of summer of 2014, though, bicycles are banned from descending Torrey 'Inside' for safety reason.

- TP = See Torrey Pines entry above. You may also hear TP Inside or TP Outside.

Torrey Pines Outside

- VC = Valley Center. In Valley Center, 'The Grade' means Valley Center Rd between Lake Wohlford and Woods Valley Rds. 

- VC = not a place name, usually means Vehicular Cycling or Vehicular Cyclist. Vehicular Cycling is a useful road cycling technique that uses prominent rider positioning in the traffic lane to increase riding safety while sharing the roads with motorized vehicles. 

Vehicular Cyclists use vehicular cycling technique to drive their bikes on the roadways in a similar manner to drivers drive their cars. 

- VCer = While many cyclists utilize vehicular cycling methods especially when riding on roads with no adequate bicycle infrastructure, a subset of these cyclists are evangelical about vehicular cycling and insist that the roads are safe as is if you ride the way they do. VCers is usually used in not-so-friendly manner to refer to this subset of riders.

Did I miss anything? Leave a comment and let me know!

Back-roading my way to Alpine

T'was a clear and cool winter morning... as winter mornings in San Diego often go. The Smorgmobile was pining for the mountains, and Alpine fits the bill just so!

La Cresta Rd climb to Crest.

Many roads we could choose to take up the mountain, but none as pretty as La Cresta, of that I was quite certain...

Up and up the gentle slope we crawled, until a chanced side-exploration called. We had reach Vista de Montemar's purple gate. It was open and I was in no haste...

The view west from Vista de Montemar: Mt Helix & Grossmont on left, Cowles & the Fortunas right center.

Back down Vista de Montemar to La Cresta.

A little climb with more than a little view. It pays to not go straight up scenic hills!

Traffic was light but it was speedy, and Crest itself was looking empty.

Skirting along South Lane Park in Crest.

Alta Pl's magical switchbacks.

We looped the town and its dead ends, and found its many crooks and glens.

But the morning got old and I needed coffee, but up in Crest there's no cafe! So off we went down Mountain View Dr, which turns to Frances as it takes a curvy dive...

Down Mountain View/Frances Dr into Harbison Canyon.

Turning off Harbison Canyon Rd at Galloway Valley Rd.

No coffee on the offer at Canyon Market, so north we went up Harbison Canyon Rd.
Most folks would go on to Arnold Way, but Smorg's head was feeling fuzzy, so we took a long cut the Galloway Valley way.

Taking in the view from Alpine Trail Rd.

A wrong turn or two before we made the clue, and popped up on Alpine's new scenic patch of flues. The roads are new and most plots still un-housed, Alpine Trail is quite a cool hang about!

The second ramp on Alpine Trail Rd.

 

Riding such a view requires a bit of clout, before too long the engine was throwing me a pout... or two... or three. Steep roads can really wear you out!

Finally a bit of a descent on Alpine Heights Rd.

It's downhill most of the way to turn around, but Janet's coffee scent was on my snout. So I pushed on up the hill on South Grade Rd and turned west toward the roast on old Foss Rd. Janet really knows how to espresso, and a hot mug after the climb makes quite a tango!

                                              

Yes, yes, I know... climbing 3000 ft in just 23 miles for a cup of joe is really only for weirdos...

Just a few favorite views from a few recent rides

It's still spring here in San Diego, CA, and I've been trying to get my adventure rides in before the weather gets inhospitably hot in the summer months... and so have been neglecting the blogs a bit. Sorry! Here are a few shots from a few recent bike rides around this scenic little big town.

Rose Creek Bike Path just south of Garnet Ave.

 Spring is a purple season here in San Diego. The jacarandas are blooming all over town and I can't seem to get enough of them! They really perk up the place.

A sweet female pitbull hurrying over to say hi on Bullard Rd.

I know many cyclists are afraid of being approached by dogs when they are out riding in the countryside, but I absolutely love it when local dogs come over to say hi! This lovely pitbull terrier was the sweetest pooch. She came running over from a property along Bullard Rd near Alpine and was petted silly by yours truly. It was a really good break for me, since there was another leash-less dog there that didn't look nearly as friendly as the pitbull was, but he let me be when he saw me getting on handsomely with the other dog.

The new Smorgmobile... a bit off the beaten (and paved) path!

 Oh, yeah, the Smorgmobile got a drastic make-over a couple of months ago. It turned out that the creak that the old Smorgmobile Giant Defy 5 had been indulging on on climbs came from a cracked fork, so Giant sent over a new fork (a composite one rather than aluminum!). The new fork wouldn't fit the old frame, tho, so Giant shipped over a new (lighter aluxx) frame as well. The new frame wouldn't fit the old crank, but cranks aren't included in the life-time warranty, so I had to buy a new one, but it was quite worth it to spend $200 and got an almost all new bike that is quite a bit lighter than the old one and that rides so much softer. Naturally, some trail-testing was in order... and that was how the new Smorgmobile found itself marooned on a rocky island in the middle of nowhere when the dirt road that branched east from Bullard Rd narrowed into a track and then a nothing... Oh well, it was a fun little off road excursion while it lasted!

Looking ENE down Cuyamaca Lookout Fire Rd toward Lake Cuyamaca and Garnet Peak.

On a clear day, it's hard to beat the view from almost any open spot along Cuyamaca Lookout Fire Rd to the top of the 2nd tallest peak in San Diego County. Mind you, you have to pay quite a physical fee to see the view. That road is some of the goriest sustained super-steep climbing I've ever had to put up with!

Treed-in section of Jeremy Ln in Pala.

There isn't much forest-riding to be had here in arid San Diego, so I found the treed in sections along Lemon Line Rd & Jeremy Lane between Rainbow and Pala quite enchanting... And the fact that it occupies only a short stretch of the road made it even more appreciated than the same sort of scene in De Luz or Fallbrook, where you can stay in the forest for miles on end.

Ha! Finally a clean shot of the Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)!

Roadrunners really live up to their name. They are always running! Well, at least when I run into them on rural roads around town. I've had many attempts to photograph these beautiful little spookadelic birds foiled by their speed and unfavorable lighting condition before, but last month I finally got lucky and caught a shot of one pausing in between his speedy dashes under bright sunlight while heading west on San Luis Rey River Trail. Now if only I can get a clean shot of a coyote to go with him...

Looking down the steep couple of blocks on Santa Monica Ave in Pt Loma.

 When people ask me why I keep riding up hideously steep streets around town, all I can say is that you have to have labored up a few blocks of them, park at the top and look back down on a clear day to know the answer. Some views just can't be gotten from the bottom of the hills!

Best of 2013

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?' said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along.
To look ahead,' said he.
And what brought you back in the nick of time?'
Looking behind,' said he."
   - JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit.

And so, I'm both looking behind and looking ahead as 2013 fades with the daylight and 2014 arrives at the door. 2013 was a rather good cycling year for me. I discovered many wonderful (and not very well known) remote mountain roads to get lost on, found many new cycling friends to share sweat and pain with. My now nearly two years old aluminum road bike is still consenting to put up with me most of the time (and when it didn't, at least it didn't protest too loudly at me getting back on while covered in dirt and blood and other icky things that didn't add to both our look).

Looking back at 2013 on the bike...

Favorite roads:
1. Camino del Aguilar up Starvation Mountain: What can I say? It's scenic beyond belief, insanely steep for most of the way and no traffic at all to speak of. If only I live closer to Poway or Escondido I'd be riding that thing every week!
2. Millar Ranch & Miller Ranch Rds up Mt San Miguel: Another beastly climb with heavenly view and no traffic at all. A real mountain right on the outskirt of the city!
3. Montezuma Valley Rd (Montezuma Grade or hwy S22): Arguably the most scenic stretch of highway in San Diego County, and a great cat 1 climb to boot. Alas, it's quite far away from me even when taking public transportation part of the way, so I don't get to enjoy it often. And it's way too hot to attempt for much of the year. Winter is a great time to buzz up and down the Glass Elevator and visit Borrego Springs, though.
4. Harris Trail - De Luz Heights - Joan Ln - Cathy Ln variation from De Luz Rd: A lot of people ride the De Luz loop, but not many venture into the little gem that is De Luz Heights! From south to north this string of narrow country lanes is a scenic delight. From the opposite direction, a chain-stretching quads & lungs busting twisty series of all-too-vertical walls that makes your bike wish it's a goat.
5: Old Julian Hwy from Santa Ysabel to Ramona: Compared to the others on this list, this is a gentle climb when heading east and a lovely curvy descent when heading west. Gorgeous views along the way with lots of exotic animals sighting opportunities!

Favorite views:

Camino del Aguilar on Starvation Mountain.

Eagle Rock off PCT and Camino San Ignacio on Hot Springs Mountain.

The view west from the top of Mt Woodson.

Twisty Miller Ranch Rd winding its way up San Miguel Mtn.

Daily Rd & De Luz Heights view from Joan Lane.

Favorite San Diego weekend cycling groups:
1. Team Fun (sponsored by Carbon Connection Cyclery in Carlsbad): Rides start and finish at Carbon Connection Cyclery in Carlsbad. Usually starting at 8am Saturday or Sunday. This is an all-girls ride, but sometimes nice guys are welcome. The fast group goes really fast (20+ mph on the flat) and do challenging routes in the 40-60 miles range. Intermediate group go at a less taxing pace (around 15 mph) at 30-50 miles or so. The beginners group is 'no drop' and usually stay along the coast.

What could be more FUN than going riding on Saturday morning???

Team Fun is, well, fun! I like riding with them so much I'd ride 35-42 miles to Carlsbad in the ungodly early hours of Saturday mornings just to join them for a while before riding home. Great rando training for me. A 200km brevet every Saturday!

2. Sunday Road Riders (sponsored by Cal Coast Bicycles in University Heights): Rides start at 8am Sundays at Cal Coast Bicycle, whether in one or two or three groups depends on group size.

No one left behind on Sunday Road Riders rides!

I don't know about the fast group, since Sundays are usually my 'recovery ride' day so I haven't gone with the fast crew yet, but the intermediate group here is really easy going and go at relatively easy pace. Rides are 'no drop' and non-competitive with varied routes. Great socializing opportunity while seeing the town!

3. LUNA Chix San Diego Cycle: Sponsored by LUNA bar with a mission to encourage women to outdoorsy activities to stay healthy, and to raise fund for the Breast Cancer Fund, the LUNA Chix is a team of wonderfully supportive gals who ride safely and take great care of all ride participants.

A little LUNA push makes the hill more manageable.

The LUNA Chix rides take place all over San Diego County. Each ride is well planned and (wo)manned and usually break into fast, intermediate and slow groups. All of which are 'no drop'. Ride leaders are well trained and great at keeping group together. An ideal group to go with whether you're just starting out (and can use a lot of coaching on ride safety, etiquette and even some basic bike maintenance) or for seasoned riders to go for a sportive but socially relaxed rides and make new friends.

Memorable Cycling Moments:
1.On one of my rides around De Luz I stopped for a snack break off the side of Harris Trail when a big branch in the tree nearby did a giant sway. I turned around and saw... this.

A home-building red-shouldered hawk???

I think I surprised him as much as he surprised me. For long seconds we just goggled in place at each other. I think he even contemplated saying hello, but decided to hold on to the good cushiony branch he had in his beak instead.

2. Zig-zagging my way very agonizingly slowly up the hideously steep trail to Lake San Marcos radio towers in 90F heat with all sort of curse words bouncing inside my overheated head, and finally cresting the final ramp only to find all view blocked by the radio tower complex.

Guess I should have looked at the view while I was climbing, but when the climbing is all 10-20% grade, looking around was easier said than done!

And then deciding to keep climbing on the Ridge Line Trail to Double Peak instead of descending... If you weren't already nuts before you took up cycling, start riding a lot of hill and the nuts becomes you!

Hippy & Chris on Hillside trail on Mt Soledad.

3. Not getting dropped by the Hippy Chris during his Rapha Rising Mt Soledad Madness ride (we did 8 ascents together before I called it a day. I think he continued for another 5 trips up the mountain). It wasn't because he couldn't drop me, mind you, but that he wouldn't... It really made me appreciate the really great riders. They are beyond the 'I've got to prove it to everyone that I'm much faster/stronger than they are' mentality and are comfortable riding just fast enough to be good company to lesser riders while challenging them to get stronger all at once.

4. Getting dropped by Team Fun advanced group about 25 miles into our ride somewhere in Rancho Santa Fe. It was great! I had spent much of the year being the big fish in small ponds, so to speak, and not pushing myself for more speed, so being tested beyond my limit every so often is a wonderful thing. The nice lasses will try to excuse my blowing halfway into a ride with the fact that I had had a 35 mile ride in before their ride began, but truth be told I don't think I could have held their pace for another 25 miles even if I had taken the Coaster in instead. Being able to hang with them at their pace for the entire ride is a goal I'm aspiring to for 2014, though. Considering how the lasses could do sub-5 hrs century (which they did at the Palm Desert Century just a short while ago), that's going to take quite some work!

Team Fun advanced crew speeding along Paseo Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe.

At any rate, the day turned out to be a 115 miler for me, and the last 10 miles of it was spent in much agony; it didn't help that gluttonous me had picked up 5 lbs of persimmons from the Leucadia Farmers' Market along the way and felt all the extra weight my favorite deadly sin gave me climbing home up Torrey Pines and Juan St in Old Town. My legs were noodly for a couple of days afterward, but the persimmons tasted great and there is nothing more invigorating than finding a cool bunch of stronger riders that are willing to let me tack along!

5. Climbing Palomar Mountain by unpaved Nate Harrison Grade and running into ice and snow 1000 ft from the top. It wasn't bravery that landed me in that plight, but the sheer lack of good sense! I had known about Nate Harrison Grade for a long while as the gnarliest route up Palomar Mtn. It being a dirt road and me only owning a road bike made the climb a bit dicey, though waking up way too early one winter morning I decided on a whim to have a go.

Twisty Nate Harrison Grade from about half way up.

And what a go it was! The thing is 10 miles long at 8.5% grade with a few 14% grade ramps thrown in and a rear-tire skidding fest. Skidding tire is hairy enough when climbing, but skidding and always sliding to the lower edge of the really narrow road doesn't do much for one's nerve. Then on one of the 14% ramp I couldn't correct the sliding and had to put the foot down. On that steep and loose a slope, that meant hiking-a-bike until the slope became more manageable - which was aggravating. And to add more angst to the testy experience there was this guy parked somewhere off the right side of the road shooting off his rifle I don't know at what. I just kept hearing the bangs and the sound of bullets whizzing through the air and got more and more miffed at my inability to climb faster up the slippery steep slope to get away from the trigger-happy maniac.

Had to make it to the top just because I really didn't want to go down Nate's dirt road on a pair of 25mm slick tires!

Then, of course, a bit past 4000 ft elevation I ran into the snowed in road... It was pretty, but it wasn't bikeable! More slippery hike-a-bike up the slope for a good mile before I saw bare ground again... But I got to the top and got to descend down wiggly South Grade Rd and took Hwy 76 down to Valley Center Rd where this nice farmer lady at the fruits stand sold me a huge bag of fuyu persimmons for only $2.

My persimmons goddess on Valley Center Rd!

There still is no god, but the fruits sure tasted great after all that laboring!

6. During one of my easy-going Sunday morning rides with the Sunday Road Riders we were stopped at the traffic light on Navajo Rd at Jackson Dr in San Carlos when an SUV with open windows rolled to a halt beside us. In it were a pleasant young lad and his friendly mom. A few of us exchanged hellos with them and the boy enthusiastically declared that it was his fourth birthday. At that the whole peloton of us cyclists broke into the happy birthday song that ended with a roaring cheer and lots of bell ringing by yours truly.

Beware of the singing peloton!

And had the light not turned green again we probably would have tried to add a round of 'For He's A Jolly Good Fellow!' in to boot! Of course, slow that I am I didn't catch the episode on film but hopefully the drivers that stopped around us would recall the flow of good will both from the boy and his mom and from the bunch of singing cyclists the next time they come upon a cyclist on the road. We are all neighbors... and most neighbors would try to help rather than to bite you!

7. Having my Jamul - Barrett exploration ride plan bombed by a cadre of local dogs who decided to escort me up Mother Grundy TT and refused to go home on their own!

Are you comin'? Are you comin'?

I'm still a cat person, but those dogs almost converted me!

So what am I looking ahead to for 2014? Doing a few proper rando brevets and permanents, of course, and more fun rides with good friends and meeting more wonderful people on the roads (friendly pedestrians and cheerful drivers included). Hopefully also getting to explore more unfamiliar roads in various corners of San Diego and even Riverside Counties.

Local roads (in no particular order) on my 2014 hit list:
- Cuyamaca Lookout Rd
- North Peak Rd
- Snuz Mountain Rd
- Muth Valley Rd (off Wildcat Canyon)
- Barrett Smith Rd (off Hwy 94 east of Barrett Junction)
- Rainbow Hgts - Rainbow Crest Rd - Mt Olympus Valley Rds (in Rainbow)
- Stewart Crest Rd (north side of Monserate Mtn)
- Red Mountain Hgts Dr (Fallbrook)
- Alta Loma Rd (Jamul)
- Shogo Mtn Rd (De Luz Heights)
- Lyons Peak Rd... is very iffy. Even park rangers can't access that road nowadays.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! Be safe and have fun on the roads!