The mountain roads of San Marcos, part 2: Mt Whitney by Coronado Hills, San Marcos Radio Tower & Double Peak

Part 1: Mt Israel, Via Ambiante, Questhaven

Heading east on San Elijo Rd across the San Elijo Hills is a favorite climb amongst local cyclists. From the intersection with Rancho Santa Fe Rd to the top the road rises three consistent miles at 6% grade; good little hill that gets even more sportive if you veer off on Double Peak Dr for a side trip to Double Peak Park. For the extra solid mile of 10% grade climb (it starts out gentle but kicks up to 12% for the last 1/4 mile to the top), the gorgeous mountaintop lookout with a nice parking lot, shaded rest area, outdoor amphitheater and nice restrooms with running water.

Cutting into San Elijo Rd from Questhaven Rd, however, involves shorter climbing at a steeper pitch so that turning onto the last 1/2 mile of San Elijo Rd felt much like a respite. The bike lane on the upper part of San Elijo Rd is quite decent (unlike the lower section of the road in University Commons area where it is more squeezed by the sidewalk and much disputed by bikes-unfriendly cars), then the descent down Twin Oaks Valley Rd to E Barnham is fabulously fast and smooth. I was running pretty low on water and was hoping to find a store or little restaurant on the right side of the road to fill up, but everything was on the left side of the wide road. I didn't feel like foraging for water fountain on the Cal State - San Marcos campus, however, and made the right turn onto La Moree with just a full small water bottle, figuring that I could just turn around on Coronado Hills Dr when I run out and it'd be a downhill coast all the way.

San Elijo Rd, Coronado Hills Dr, Washingtonia Dr.

Coronado Hills Dr, the third major climb of the day, caught me a bit by surprise. From La Moree, it starts out gentle enough until it passes a side road and kicks straight up to 14% grade and just stays there for about 3/4 mile. The gentle s-curves on the road was quite effective at hiding from view just how far out the end of my suffering was. After Mt Israel, Questhaven and San Elijo, my legs and lungs were getting rather fed up with double digit uphill gradient and were no longer keen to shut up on command. I kept telling myself that I only had to get to the next bend and the slope would surely levels out a bit, but Coronado Hills Dr really made a Pinocchio out of me. Mind you, I did make it to the top without stopping, but the process sure wasn't pretty!

Washingtonia - Indian Ridge Rd to the last car gate near top of Mt Whitney.

If you live in San Marcos area and has a sadistic streak when it comes to cycling uphill, Coronado Hills Dr would make a really good hill-repeat site. There is hardly any traffic there, and the descent doesn't abruptly ends at a stop sign or traffic light like so many good climbs around town do. I didn't come for a hill-repeat indulgence, however, but to check out Mt Whitney, so I took the right turn up Washingtonia and followed it to Indian Ridge Rd almost to the radio towers at the top. It's a beautiful narrow lane that hasn't a level stretch to speak of, either going up a steep little roller or down the other side of one, with amazing view peeking out of every corner. Alas, I stopped just short of the top... All the climbing and the last mile spent dodging house-size pot holes and fields of loose gravels on icky 12% grade slope on the narrow pavement, but the maintenance crew had pulled up in their pickup truck just as I whipped out my camera to take a few shots of the car gate to the radio tower, so I figured I had better not pushed my luck and get busted red-footed for trespassing. I'm sure you understand.

Discovery Lake and the trail up the mountain.

I have to say, the only downside to the Mt Whitney climb is that it's an out-and-back deal unless you don't mind trespassing on really private roads. I didn't enjoy the rolling nature of Indian Ridge & Washingtonia on the way down, but the descent of Coronado Hills Dr is a magnificent blast! The pavement is smooth, one car passed me on the way up and none on the way down, and the view is quite amazing. At the bottom I got back west on Barnham and continued onto Discovery Dr, Craven Rd and then took the left onto Foxhall in search for another off-the-main-road local attraction, Discovery Lake.

Morning was getting quite sunny and old, so finding the nice restroom and water fountains on the top side of the parking lot at Discovery Lake was something of a deliverance for yours truly (after all, there was no water stop whatsoever on Mt Whitney, friendly looking local residents not withstanding). There are two paths leading to Discovery Dam, if you are on bike, you're better off taking the upper trail on the left than the lower one that goes straight in from the parking lot, since the planks on the bridge across the causeway run perpendicular rather than parallel to the path. On the far side of the dam the paved trail pitches uphill in a couple of zigzag curves and gives quite a spectacular view of the lake from above. Pedaling up yet another double digit gradient road/trail does get old rather quickly, but every little distractingly beautiful view really help!

The steep paved trail from La Plaza to the radio towers on top of San Marcos Hill.

The short trail (only about 1/4 mile, about 14% grade at the bottom, but quickly easing up as you climb) ends at the cul-de-sac on Via Vera Cruz, and gorgeously well-paved (and, as it turned out, very private) road lined by big and brand new houses as it climbs a little more to a little crest before turning right and zooms down the hill. There are a few different combinations of turns that can take you from Via Vera Cruz to La Plaza, where the next bit of icky steep paved climbing is. I took a circuitous route through the well sculpted neighborhood that deposited me on the lake side of La Plaza, and a pretty good uphill kick around a left-hand bend that felt unfriendly steep until I got to the unmarked paved trailhead (the narrow lane next to mailbox # 1520 on the uphill side of the street), and realized that my perception of what constitute a 'steep' climb was about to change.

The first bit of the trail is quite narrow and lined by avocado orchards (which means, of course, sticky fruits on the pavement!). None of that helped with the 14% gradient. A bit after the right elbow turn the path is completely blocked by a heavy gate secured by about a million locks (no, really, look at the photo above!) that I had to half toss the bike over and then squeezed my skinny cyclist body by the little opening on the left side - I swear, the thing is only a little over a foot wide! - recovered my bike and then figured out how to hop on and start pedaling again up a 15% grade slope on a path that was only about 4 ft wide!

The view opens up quite nicely on the right side as I struggled up the steep slope. There were a few pot holes to swerve around along with little patches of loose gravels. After a false summit overlooking Lake San Marcos, the steepest pitch of all came at the last switchback up to the radio towers (it was something quite close to 20% grade), which I labored over only to find no view whatsoever awaiting me at the top! You see, the Cerro de Las Posas where the radio towers are is really a cerro. There was only enough level-ish space for the towers and nothing else, so the entire view to the west (over the lake) is blocked by the towers, and the only way to reap the splendid visage around the place is to... roll back down the hill a bit.

You wouldn't think that would be such a big deal until you see how steep the drop on either side of the radio towers complex is! By this point of my ride my legs were quite shot, it was close to noon and the sun was getting quite maddeningly hot, so I said 'Screw it!' and opted to head east down the Ridge Line Trail toward Double Peak instead.

Cerro de las Posas - Double Peak Ridge Line Trail.

The Ridge Line Trail is quite true to its name and sticks right on the ridge, which means more up and down riding. Some of these up and down runs are quite steep, too. I was very happy to be riding this on a weekday, however, and didn't have to share the trail with anyone. The whole thing is really nicely paved (well, there's a gravel lane running along the north side for the equestrians). Apparently much of the trail was paid by the housing development on the south side of the ridge and there are a few gates at access points where I had to hike-a-bike around.

Ridge Line Trail ends at Double Peak Drive.

Ridge Line Trail ends at a bend 3/4 way up Double Peak Dr... And once you're there, you might as well go up to the top of the peak for a well earned bragging right and spectacular vista before calling it quit for the day when it comes to uphill climb. Yes, the 1/4 mile of 12% grade hurts like heck, but then that was the story of the day, so what's with a few more minutes of torture if you can add the traverse of Cerro de las Posas and the bagging of the range's two highest peaks to your cycling resume?

San Dieguito Heritage Museum, Swami Garden, Torrey Pines Lodge animals.

Needless to say, the 4 downhill miles down Double Peak Dr and San Elijo Rd was a nice reward for all the climbing. There were a few rollers on my way to the coast, of course, and the two moderately steep humps (Torrey Pines inside and Bandini Rd up Mission Hills) to climb over on my way home, but the air got quite cooler along the coast highway and there were many cool places and sights to see. It's the cool thing about riding solo rather than in a group. I didn't have a time limit and didn't have to keep up with anyone else, so I stopped wherever I felt like and had a ball visiting many attractions on my way home.

Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/us/escondido-ca/escondido-mt-israel-mt-whitney-double-pe-route-271991431 

The Mountain Roads of San Marcos: Mt Israel, Questhaven, Mt Whitney (Coronado Hills), San Marcos Radio Tower, Double Peak - 1

A few weeks ago, after having recovered from my cycling exploration of Starvation Mountain east of Escondido I decided to get up early for another 'getting lost in the mountains' ride - this time in the mountains west of the same north county city. I really would be quite lost without MTS bus 20... Being the only bus directly connecting Escondido to downtown San Diego, it runs at good frequency seven days a week! I caught an early one on a Thursday morning and got off at Del Lago Transit Station and headed west on Via Rancho Parkway to catch Del Dios Hwy to the foot of my first mountain of the day, Mt Israel.

Mt Israel Rd climbing north from Del Dios Hwy

The name begs some explanation, doesn't it? It doesn't have any Jewish connection, though. The mountain was named after Robert Decatur Israel, a 19th century pioneer from of German and Scottish ancestry who first homesteaded there. The mountain is now home to Olivenhain Reservoir and private ranch houses, which meant that traffic went from a steady flow of fast moving cars and trucks to practically nothing at all the minute I turned north onto Mt Israel Rd from Del Dios Hwy. That, as it always does, came with a trade off, however, as the road shot uphill at 9% grade and held there for around 1/2 mile before mellowing out after a couple of curves. It is a pleasant little climb, especially if you look back down the hill from right-turning curve to catch glimpses of Lake Hodges disappearing in between the mountains.

Now, if you look at the map and pay attention to road signs you'd know that technically Mt Israel is a dead end road. I did my homework, however, and knew that people have road biked between it and Via Ambiante to Harmony Grove Rd to the north. I'm not telling exactly how, but a good perusal of Google Earth map could inform you of a possible detour that would get you onto (quite very private) Connemara Rd up the hill to Rancho Cielo housing development and then Via Ambiante... If you do find the detour, please, please, only ride thru there solo or in very small (and quiet) group. Be as discreet as possible and keep the way open for others.

Connemara Rd climbing up from Mt Israel Rd.

Connemara Rd is a steep little climb! Unless you have the key to the heavy duty lower gate, you'd be starting riding a bit up on the road on a 15% grade incline (and it'd stay like that for about 250 yds, nearly all the way to the upper gate, which you can easily hike-a-bike around). So... mind that you put the bike in the low climbing gear!

Rancho Cielo development overlooking Olivenhain Reservoir & Mt Israel.

Gaining the top of the hill rewarded me with a fantastic view of Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir across the valley. The housing development on top of the hill is still very new and not many houses had been built yet, so from many spots along Via Rancho Cielo one could enjoy near panoramic view all the way to the coast and of the surrounding mountains. In a few years this would change, of course. What a place to sink one's anchor and build a house on... I would just spend all my days looking out the huge windows!

Via Ambiente descending north through Olivenhain toward Harmony Grove.

Reaching Via Ambiante (a famous climb for local cyclists, but here I'll get to ride down instead of up it!) I turned right and went around another car gate and started my descent. It's a steep one that's checked by two car gates that you have to hike-a-bike around near the bottom of the first downhill section toward the turn off to Olivenhain Reservoir. There is a short 8% grade climb over a hump after the dam before the final steep descent down to Harmony Grove Rd (no car gate this time, but a couple of speed bumps near the bridge at the bottom).

Harmony Grove Rd and Questhaven Rd to Questhaven Nature Trail.

The short level stretch heading west on Harmony Grove Rd was nice except for all the speedy cars. There isn't much room for road-sharing there, so I was quite happy to turn right/north onto supposedly haunted Questhaven Rd and headed into the delightfully spooky Elfin Forest.

Questhaven north from Harmony Grove is paved for about 600 yds or so before it disintegrates into firm fine gravel and then firm dirt... That is until it becomes a car/motorcycle-free nature trail that's open only to hikers, bicycles and horses. My 25mm road tires did okay for much of the way, though there were a couple of short stretches where the top layer of dirt was too soft to ride through. This is why I'm fond of riding in my comfy shoes rather than cycling cleats. Hopping off the bike for a bit of hike-a-bike is no problem for me!

Questhaven Rd

After a while the dirt trail started to climb and the overhanging tree canopy thinned out as I emerged on the north gate of the nature trail at Questhaven Religious Retreat. The road is now paved, but remains quite narrow and curvy and with a generous tree cover. I didn't find riding through the Elfin Forest bit of Questhaven Rd very spooky, though the stunted and very twisty tree cover did make for interesting lighting condition. Sometimes shafts of light that fall through the canopy come out oddly in the peripheral vision. Of course, the oddity is corrected when you turn to look at it full on... So that's probably the explanation for the various fleeting ghost or witch sightings that give the area its supernatural reputation.

I think I did spot the supposed tree with a witch's face on it, though. It's a bit north of the retreat... and the face is just an odd looking stump on its branch. The more wow-inducing encounter happened a couple of s-curves later, however, when I cleared the right bend to find a deer standing right by the side of the road, staring at me from just a few feet away! He turned on the spot and bolted straight into the woods before I could say 'Boo!', of course. I even had my camera out and was filming the road, but all I got of him was a very quick glance of his rear end disappearing into the trees (you can see that on the video at the bottom of the page, at around 5:56 min).

There is some climbing going northwest on Questhaven Rd; a pretty steep (around 12% grade) but short pitch to the level out where Attebury Rd branches out to the right to climb up Mt Whitney. I had intended to follow Attebury, but was deterred by the 'Private Road: No Trespassing' sign and by the prospect of climbing up a steep dirt thing on my road tires (the sun had turned up and the temperature was shooting rapidly through the roof) and the fact that I was running quite low on water and there was no prospect of refilling the bottles on Attebury Rd or anywhere on Mt Whitney, so I stayed on Questhaven Rd until it joined up with San Elijo Rd and turned right and headed for San Marcos.

This is getting long, though, so I'm breaking off and will post part 2 of the ride soon! In the meanwhile, here's the video from the ride:

Bike Ride Lake Murray - Mt Helix - Mission Trails Loop

It isn't easy finding a good cycling route here in San Diego that isn't by the coast and doesn't involve spending a lot of time riding with cars on major arteries. This 26 miles loop from Lake Murray to Mt Helix, Mission Trails Regional Park and back is a perfect little ride with not a lot of traffic, however.



The ride starts from the main parking lot by the concession stand on the south side of Lake Murray in La Mesa (enter on Kiowa St from Lake Murray Blvd). There is plenty of parking there, a concession stand selling drinks, fishing baits, and even ice-cream, and good public restrooms. Follow the paved cycling/hiking trail that goes around the lake east, then take the first paved narrow ramp off to the right and climb your way up to Baltimore Dr (the ramp is paved but is quite rough and has a short steep pitch at the top). There is a crosswalk there, use it to turn left on Baltimore Dr and then right on El Paso St through a quiet residential neighborhood.

After about 1/2 mile, turn right on Jackson Dr for a nice downhill (it's a wide street with a bike lane, though much of the bike lane is in the door zone of parallel-parked cars, so stay alert). Merge early to the through lane as you approach the intersections with Fletcher Pkwy and with I-8, after which the road gently climbs up to the mesa south of the interstate. Go straight until the road ends and turn left on Lemon St (cross traffic doesn't stop here). Once you get past Bancroft, traffic will all but disappear as the road starts to climb up the saddle between Mt Helix and the adjacent (and apparently nameless) hill.

Lemon St is a narrow two-laner with very little to no shoulder. It isn't trafficky, though, and climbs up the hill is sputtering fashions; three steep pitches followed by short downhill sections. The first starts quite gentle and steadily steepens to around 10% approaching the intersection with Alto Dr before dropping off. The next section is a bit more vicious, with a block-long 12% grade ramp that crests at a right hand bend overlooking Lake Helix (you'll have to cross over to the other side of the road to see the charming private lake, however). A short recovery downhill section leads to a short steep pitch up to Fuerte Dr. A quick right turn there followed immediately by another right turn onto Mt Helix Dr takes you away from traffic up the steady 1.5 miles climb to the top.

The straight-ish bit of Mt Helix Dr.

After the grinding straight stretch Mt Helix Dr curves right to climb up around the mountain. If you're suffering as you approach the turn (the road pitches up a bit there), tough it out as the grade becomes markedly more gentle around the bend. Look to your right after you get out of the bushes, too. The view east toward El Cajon, Laguna and Cuyamaca Mountains is usually gorgeous even on overcast days! The road is now a wide one-way street and you'll likely run into more hikers than you will cars. As the road curves left, look up the hill ahead and to the right for the famous rotating house.

Looking ESE from Mt Helix Nature Theater.

Bear right and through an underpass as you make your way up around the mountain as the rock-walled road climbs steadily up. There is plenty of view to look at to take your mind off any hill-induced suffering. The slope steadily shallows after you enter the park gate (the top of the mountain is a private park that is open to the public from sun up to sun down), and before you know it you have topped out at the marvelous stone open-air theater! There is a port-a-toilet by the road and a water fountain in the little open recess by the info board. Mt Helix Nature Theater, the stone auditorium, is worth exploring (it has lots of cool little nooks and corners). There is a paved ramp up to the cross at the top where you can enjoy panoramic view of the area. On a clear day you can see clear to the ocean and even to Palomar Mountain to the north. There is also a cool little hiking trail (Yawkey Trail) around the top of the hill with info boards identifying all the mountain peaks you could see.

After a good rest stop, descend down Mt Helix Dr to the first ring of the road and turn left. Yes, yes, you've been here before, but we're only overlapping just a bit. Take a right onto narrow Alto Dr. This road is very narrow and twisty, but it is a two-way street, so keep right of center and don't speed into its many blind turns (you never know if someone is about to come out of their private drive way!). It was recently re-paved in spring of 2013, and the black asphalt is quite pleasantly smooth. There is a switchback turn and many S-curves as the road winds its way down the slope. Go straight through the intersection with Lemon St until the road ends at Mesa Vista Ave. Shift to low (climbing) gear and turn right and up a vicious little ramp (max gradient is about 17% here) and bear left onto Mesa Terrace.

Turn left on El Granito, then right on Grossmont Blvd and stay on it across to the south side of I-8. Turn right at the intersection and follow Murray Dr east and then north (stay left when it branches into Murray Dr and El Cajon Blvd). Keep right at Dennstedt Pl which then turns into Murray Dr again until it runs into a traffic circle. Exit at S Westwind St and follow it as it winds gently uphill to the intersection with Fletcher Pkwy. Look for a paved little bike path on the right curb between Fletcher Pkwy and Tyrone Ct and turn right onto it. Mind your downhill speed as the pavement is very bumpy (and tree shadows make the bumps hard to see)!

Fletcher Hills bike path. Take the left branch here to exit.

Stay on the path past the two benched look out spots and then take the left fork at the Y-intersection to exit onto Wyatt Pl. Hang a left down the hill and then right on Peltree. Be careful crossing the trolley tracks as you turn right onto N Marshall St. Stay straight through the intersection (and take care to cross the diagonal trolley tracks as perpendicularly as possible) until the road curves left through Gillespie Field to intersect Cuyamaca St (another set of trolley tracks to cross there). You want to be in the through lane to cross the intersection to pick up the paved bike path running on the sidewalk to the right, paralleled to Cuyamaca St, but the traffic light here doesn't pick up bicycles, so you may have to hop onto the sidewalk to hit the pedestrian crossing light. Take the bike path right and follow it as it veers left away from Cuyamaca. Be prepared to stop as it ends abruptly at Prospect Ave. Make the left turn onto Prospect and stay right on the through lane at the first intersection. You're going to hop onto the paved path on the sidewalk parallel to the road and stay on the path as it veers right to pick up a little creek heading north.

After some nice car-free (and very flat) riding the path ends very abruptly on the south side of very busy Mission Gorge Rd. Check the sidewalk for pedestrians and make the sharp right turn, staying on the sidewalk to the next traffic light (there's a pharmacy there) and use the light to turn north onto Carlton Hills Blvd. I'm afraid this is the only 'trafficky' bit of the route. Cross the bridge and merge to the left turning lane as early and safely as you can to turn left on Carlton Oaks Dr. Once you've made the turn the traffic lessens considerably and there is a nice bike lane to ride in. The road ends in a T-intersection with W Hills Pkwy. You want to make a left turn, but may have to use the pedestrian crossing light as the traffic light loop here also doesn't pick up bicycles.

Old Mission Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park. Water & port-a-toilets available.

Turn right onto Mission Gorge Rd (and into headwind) for a short stretch before continuing right onto Junipero Serra Trails through Mission Trails Regional Park. Look out for the Old Mission Dam on the right as the right lane of the road closes to car traffic (the left lane is open to cars, but only runs one-way north). If nature calls, there are port-a-toilets at the Mission Dam parking lot, but if you can hold it another 10 minutes, the park's visitor center at the south end of the trail has a real and clean restrooms with running water!

If you have a bike bell, it would really come in handy riding through Mission Trails park on the Serra Trails as it is a favorite hiking and jogging spots even on weekdays. Please remember that pedestrians always have the right of way on multi-use paths like this (and that you may meet many of the joggers again on the road once they've gotten back in their car).

Junipero Serra Trails through Mission Trails Regional Park.

Turn right at Mission Gorge Rd and carefully merge left on the downhill stretch to turn left onto Jackson Dr. You may have to run the red-light here if no left-turning car materializes to trigger the left turn light for you (yes, another traffic light loop that doesn't recognize bicycles!). This is the last climb of the day and it is a pretty gentle and steady one at about 5-6% grade and about 1.3 miles long (pretty comparable to the climb up Torrey Pines 'Outside'). There is good view of Cowles Mountain to the left as you spin up the hill to the next traffic light. Turn right onto Park Ridge Blvd for a couple of gentle rollers through residential neighborhoods. After the major intersection with Navajo Rd, turn left on Wandermere Dr and down the hill to the stop sign and turn right on Belle Glade Ave and follow it into Lake Murray Park.

Of course, you could also stay on Park Ridge Blvd all the way into Lake Murray Park, but I find its intersection with Murray Park Dr rather dangerous as cross traffic doesn't stop, and any traffic coming from the right comes down a curvy 12% grade slope. Cross traffic as Belle Glade runs into Lake Murray park doesn't stop either, but it is a flat stretch removed from that fast downhill and makes for much more pleasant crossing.

Cycling on Lake Murray multi-use trail.

Stay straight on through the parking lot, down a steep ramp to the lake trail and hang a left... very carefully, please, as the paved multi-use trail is a popular jogging and flat-cycling spot in the area. This is the flat home stretch! Go slow (speed limit is 8 mph) and enjoy the view as you cool down riding the last 2 miles around the lake back to start point on the south side. As on the Serra Trail, pedestrians always have the right of way on Lake Murray path. Please give them plenty of room and call (or ring) out warning before passing them as most will have their ear phone on. Remember, most of these people got here by cars and you'd rather leave them with good impression for the next time you meet on the roads!

I shot a video preview of the ride a while back. Keep in mind that I used a handheld camera, however, so I couldn't shoot on steep up or down slopes (or on the narrow and steep descent of Alto Dr).

A ride through the enchanted forest of Fallbrook, De Luz & Rice Canyon

It was 6:30am when I got off NCTD bus 389 [Edit: Bus 389 was discontinued in 2018. Currently there is no bus servicing the area] at the new bus stop on Hwy 76 at Old Hwy 395 in Fallbrook. The bike that I had painstakingly cleaned and lubed only yesterday is now wet and dirty from spending the last 3 hours in thick fog at the front of the bus. It was still dark out, and I was quivering in the moist and cold morning air, cursing at myself for interrupting a good sleep at 3:30am in order to catch the early buses that would enable me to be standing so far away from warm shelter in such unpleasant weather at this hour of the morning. It is always like this the once or twice a week that I drag myself out of bed for a long and exotic country ride. But I don't own a car and this is what I have to do to fit in such a ride and still be able to get back home before dark.

The park&ride lot at the NE corner of Hwy 76 and Old Hwy 395.

(Route map)

 
There is a Mobil gas station with an attached K convenient store at the other end of the park-and-ride lot where the new bus stop is, but I was fully loaded with food supplies. I meant to first ride west on 76 to climb up Sage Road to Pala Mesa (it was my nemesis climb when I lived in Murrieta in the early 90's and used to ride my mountain bike down to Fallbrook once a week) before following curvy Wilt Road north. But it was cold and I didn't fancy riding on narrow winding residential roads when it's foggy out and the residents are pulling out of their driveways to go to work, so I decided to just go north up Old Hwy 395 instead.

Going north on Old Hwy 395 while indulging in some Schadenfreude looking at the heavy southbound traffic on I-15.

It is a boring stretch of straight road - made even less appealing by its constant gentle uphill grade (the type of phantom hill that pulls down on your bike without really giving you a real hill to climb) and its proximity to I-15. After a couple of miles I had enough of the non-existing view and turned left on Reche Rd to go through the more interesting (and slower traffic) part of Fallbrook, the rustic Live Oak Park.

Live Oak Park Road in Fallbrook.

Turning right onto oak-covered Live Oak Park Rd is an escape into a fairy tale; rolling through the curvy fogged in lane that looked like it was hiding elusive elves and hobbits just behind the next corner. Trafficwise it would have been better to turn left/east on E Alvarado for some really gorgeous (and rather steeply undulating) riding, but I missed the turn due to absent-mindedness and continued on to Gum Tree Ln to Hwy 79/N Mission Rd instead. That cut off quite a bit of climbing in a bad trade for high-speed car traffic. 

N Pico/ De Luz Rd turn off on N Mission Rd in Fallbrook.

It was a relief to turn right onto N Pico/De Luz Road for another lapse into fantasy land; this time one that would last more than an hour.

Did I mention that it was foggy out? Rolling deeper into the oak covered curvy De Luz Road in a fog was almost a ride into Tolkien's Tales from the Perilous Realm... or just the Old Forest from The Fellowship of the Ring. The encroaching oak canopies hiding haze-covered evil wights behind each bend, and I found myself looking around trying to catch sight of Old Tom Bombadil as Goldberry, Daughter of the River, hummed in my ears from the De Luz Creek nearby.

Harris Trail, branching up the hill to De Luz Heights from De Luz Rd.

After a cliff-hugging bit of climbing on De Luz Rd I took a detour right onto narrow but pretty well-paved Harris Trail for even more 'off-the-beaten-path' exploration. Alas, the fog was so heavy that all the gorgeous view from that exposed hill-scaling road was well shrouded in a uniform gray mist. An exasperating thing for a ride-for-the-view cyclist like me, so I parked myself on a dirt turn out and munched on the two apple turnovers that were weighing down my backpack and waited for a good 30 minutes for the haze to thin out a bit.

Life is like riding up winding Harris Trail in De Luz Heights; you never know what's lurking around the next corner!

It was a good move. Harris Trail is full of surprises. As I wind up the hill around a left-turning corner I first noticed a little stream of water running along the road's right edge, then I rounded the corner to find a little Asiatic oasis of lotus covered pond,  not-so-wild daffodils and a grove of bamboo trees. It was so out-of-place in a most charming way imaginable!

More views from Harris Trail.

Just beyond it and the Shogo Mountain Rd turn off I pedaled through a thick patch of gray straight into avocado country. Then another bend of the trail's many little steep hills unfurled a line of tall palm trees beside the road. What the heck were tall palm trees doing on top of a rocky mountain range anyhow? By now the sun had started to flex its ray a bit and much of the fog had retreated to lower elevation (mind, the hills of De Luz Heights aren't that tall. Riding in this part of town you get a lot of short and steep up and down but no real long mountain climb).

De Luz Heights Rd. Looking down east toward Sandia Creek and looking up to its crest at Big Rock Ranch.

After a short descent to a T-junction I headed left/west up the really narrow De Luz Heights Rd. This is a charming country lane with hardly any flat bit to speak of. You are either punching up a steep little climb or you are nursing your brakes down another steep drop. It was nearing 9am (I had been taking my time photographing and bird-watching) and a few locals were out... along with their dogs. The dogs were mostly obedient, though they were also mostly unleashed, which meant a lot of cautious riding past them on the really narrow lane. The last bit of De Luz Heights Rd features a series of steep step climbs up to a hilltop stately occupied by Big Rock Ranch.

Looking back down De Luz Heights Rd from the top gave an interesting view of the road.

This bit of Joan Lane smelled particularly nice, thanks to the blooming bush of jasmine on the wooden fence.

Heading down the narrow, twisty and very steep descent of Joan Lane there was amazing view at every corner. De Luz Heights is a strange country; with lanes so narrow that two cars can barely pass each other, exotic trees popping out in the middle of nowhere on the ground of huge manor houses perched on hilltops like castles in the clouds.

Looking down on Daily Rd from Joan Lane.

Going down Cathy Ln to Ross Lake.

Ross Lake, all fenced in.

I was very happy to be riding down Cathy Lane toward Ross Lake rather than to climb up it's long-ish curvy stretch of 14% gradient. The lane became covered with tree canopies toward the bottom as I turned left onto Daily Road and made my way around Ross Lake, the little private loch in the middle of the mountain. The 10 acre lake is completely fenced in with locked gates on each side and is home to, surprise - surprise, the De Luz Yacht Club! Who would have thought there would be a yacht club hidden in a little manmade loch in the hills between Riverside and San Diego Counties, ay? Apparently the area was developed by Ross Daily in 1958 and the roads were planned from a helicopter. Maybe that explains the outrageous gradient on some of these narrow lanes?

A few friendly locals were out and about, fishing, jogging or walking the dog. Even Shiela, the lake's resident black swan, glided in to check me (or perhaps just my wacky looking road bike) out.

Shiela, the Ross Lake black swan, in the middle of one of her showboating spins.

A strange beast, that bird was. She floated to a halt a few feet in front of me on the lake and did a few slow spins in place. I took a few shots of her with the camera before panning around to focus in on something else. That caused her such indignation that she gave a terse loud squawk, turned right around and zoomed off to row with a family of American coots fishing nearby instead.

Daily Rd climbing north from Ross Lake.

I rounded the lake to the right and continued north on Daily Rd as it climbed up out of the little valley. This bit of De Luz is quite filled with interesting birds. I passed many varieties of sparrows, a few mourning doves, an industrious acorn woodpecker abusing a telephone pole just before Daily Rd plateaued off into Camaron Rd, and saw quite a few hawks patrolling the sky looking for a fresh brunch. I was able to shoot my camera off at a few while staying on the bike, and got off the bike in time to capture some others.

A redtailed hawk patrolling the road.

American kestrel, hooded oriole, American robin, yellow warbler, western scrub jay spotted along Daily Rd.

There were two misses that nagged at me a bit, though. The first was a white-headed bald eagle I spotted while rolling down a steep bit of the road and couldn't brake softly enough to not spook him off before I could fish my camera out. The other was a huge fat roadrunner that crossed the road not more than 30 yards ahead of me. Alas, I was no wiley coyote sauntering up the steep climb, and needed both of my hands on the handle bar.

Hilltop view from Camaron Rd

More treed in riding on De Luz - Murrieta Rd

Daily Rd turned into Camaron Rd as it crested the top of a rather photogenic hill. I was back in avocado country again as the road descended down to intersect with De Luz - Murrieta Rd. This was the same road I started out on in Fallbrook, of course, but my detour had taken me up the hills rather than staying in the valley with De Luz Creek. I rejoined De Luz Rd northeast and was soon enjoying more enchantingly curvy oaken forest riding. A family of rock swallows buzzed overhead as I passed their home bend on the road.

A creek crossing on De Luz Rd

The Margarita Creek running along the east side of De Luz Rd

You know you're nearing the turn off to Temecula when De Luz Rd goes from rustic to manicured.

There are many creek crossings on De Luz Rd. These are concrete crossing with diagonal ruts etched onto the pavement that feel pretty much like riding over a cattle crossing. They are best traversed at speed with flexed arms and knees and light grips. Take time to check out the little creek if you ever ride this way. It even has a little waterfall at one of the bend!

Cross Creek Golf Course off from De Luz Rd.

Rancho California Rd, a bit of climbing before a fun 8% grade descent into Temecula.

Rancho California Rd crest. 

When the roadside vegetation went from rustic to manicured I knew it was only a few miles before I get to the Rancho California Rd turn off for Temecula. Rancho California Rd was a boring stretch of this ride, I'm afraid. Turning east, it goes straight up a long-ish climb with nary a view to speak of. I was tempted to turn south off it to return to Fallbrook via Sandia Creek Rd, but a run into Temecula held the promise of lunching at my favorite restaurant when I used to live in town, Peony's. I had been dreaming of their house special chicken ever since I took off for this ride... And so up the boring Rancho California Rd I rode until it peaked high above what is now a real city (amazing how this place had grown in the last decade!) when I could finally shift to the big ring again and coast down the curvy 8% grade east face of the mountain.

Rancho California Rd at Ynez Rd in Temecula

 

Alas, Peony's was not where it once was in the shopping complex between Rancho California and Margarita Rds. I can't tell you how demoralizing that was! (I only found out later that they had moved a few hundred yards west on the same road... and I rode right by it twice without noticing it!)

Rainbow Canyon Rd carving its way south along the rocky mountains.

Snow-capped San Jacinto Mtn was visible from Rainbow Canyon Rd

Frustrated, I snacked on another granola bar and headed south on Ynez Rd, through the ranchos along La Paz Rd to Hwy 79, where I had to share a hundred or so yards with a lot of cars before I could turn south on Pechanga Pkwy and then right on Rainbow Canyon Rd on my way out of Dodge. I should say, it is quite less fun going south uphill on Rainbow Canyon Rd than the other way around. The road is quite curvy with lots of broken glass debris on the shoulder. 

One of the many flowers & cactus farms in Rainbow. Mt Olympus in background.

Rice Canyon Rd at 8th St in Rainbow.

There was not much to see in Rainbow proper as I rolled through and took the quick turns onto 8th St and then Rice Canyon Road. I was tempted to veer left onto Rainbow Heights Rd for a scenic detour, but it was getting quite warm and more climbing didn't feel very inviting just then.

Rice Canyon Rd and its ruts-hiding tree shadows.

Oh, what a fun ride going south on Rice Canyon Road could be if only the pavement wasn't full of wicked long ruts that blended themselves in perfectly to the all too abundant tree shadows? Going south from Rainbow on Rice Canyon Rd is mostly downhill, though there are a few abrupt rollers to climb up in the middle of it. The road is very narrow and tree shadows makes it hard to spot the many ruts and potholes and all the other tire-eating thing rural roads like to hide up the middle of their pavement. In the southern bit of Rice Canyon the view opened up over avocado farms, though, and the road ended t-boned to the north side of a curve on Hwy 76.

Highway 76 west from Rice Canyon Rd toward I-15.

The two or so miles west on Hwy 76 between Rice Canyon Rd and my bus stop on the far side of the freeway were the tensest two miles of the trip even though I was traversing it just past noon on a weekday. Thanks to Pala and Pauma Casinos just up the road, this narrow two laned (and mostly shoulderless) highway always carries more big car traffic than is comfortable to share my tiny little bicycle with. Luckily, once I got to Rosemary's rock quarry another lane and a wide shoulder was added to the westbound side. The shoulder was mostly useless because of all the rocks scattered on it, but the extra lane sure helped.

 

All in all it was a good 56 miles ride, most of it very scenic and interesting. I hope to go up for more variations of the route before the weather gets to be too hot for such a ride (I reckon I still have a month or two left before De Luz gets too warm for me). I should note for anyone looking to try out this route that there is no water stop to speak of on the De Luz - Harris Trail - Camaron variation from Fallbrook to Temecula (if you stay on De Luz Rd all the way, though, there is water at the fire station), and the same goes for Rainbow Canyon & Rice Canyon Rd, so water up before you leave Fallbrook and Temecula and you should do okay.