San Marcos Mountain Tower

There are a few distinctive local hills in San Diego's North County between the Pacific Coast and I-15, and north of the San Dieguito River (Lake Hodges and on west to San Dieguito Lagoon) that are dead useful for orientation purpose whenever you get turned around on a bike ride and can no longer tell where you are and where you are headed. One of these striking looking hills that look different from different angles is San Marcos Mountain, particularly if seen from Vista proper (from WSW looking ENE at the mountain), with the steep zigzag of the very private Catalina Ave etched to its western face. 

The tantalizing Catalina Ave is, however, private and tripple-gated so tightly that even an amoeba would find it hard to squeeze through. The only viable route up to the San Marcos Mtn tower is the southern assault up Hardell Ln from Buena Creek Rd. 

Hardell Ln branches into three after the last house. Take the middle branch.

Past the gate, be sure to stay either on the road or on the trail to the right of it. 

I used to range into the Hollyberry neighborhood via a dirt trail approach from the south, over the Santa Fe Hills (from Borden Rd & Las Posas Rd) for a car-less gravel-bike-friendly ride with good deer and coyote sighting opportunities. A new subdivision is being constructed there, however, and the trail is currently fenced off.... hopefully just temporarily. (I have hope.. since this is in the City of San Marcos, and San Marcos has been pretty consistently awesome about putting in hike/bike-able trails whenever they build a new subdivision. If only I could convince the mayor of San Marcos to come and mayor next door Vista as well). 

There are almost always a few locals out walking the lanes in the Hollyberry neighborhood, and they are always a joy to stop and fraternize with. People are so much friendlier on foot and on bike than they are in a car. We are all going to get somewhere, and we are going to actually enjoy the process of getting somewhere... together!

 

Stay right at the Y-junction and head up the mountain.

 

Anyhow, going on past the car gate, there is a short firm dirt section before the tarmac returns as the lane meanders up to the saddle of the San Marcos Mountain. The area to the left of the road is strictly private. To the right a single-track trail runs along with the road for a while before veering off to take a more bushy way up to the radio tower complex (hiking boots- and full-suspension mountain bikes- friendly. Gravel bike... not so much). 

 

The big gate at the saddle with a narrow opening on the right side.

At the saddle, the fence gate to the tower complex is usually closed, but there is a narrow opening on the right for hikers to squeeze thru. If the gate is open when you head up, be sure to assume that it had closed when you head back down... and ride at a speed that would allow you to safely stop! 

This is an out-and-back ride, so be sure to scout the downhill conditions while you're going up. 

After the gate, the road climbs at around 6% toward the tower and then makes a sharp left with a gradient hike to around 8-12% and doesn't let up until after the next right curve. The view is pretty fantastic. 

Approaching the KGMG-FM Oceanside radio towers, with 360 view of San Diego's North County. It is amazing how analgesic the wide open vista is. 

There is a use trail to the proper summit block where the American flag is, but the actual benchmark is on the top of the rock cropping, and you'd have to do some bouldering to acquire the actual summit. It's worth hiking a bit onto the narrow ridge to have a look around. For all the energy you spent and all the suffering you endured to get up to the hard earned view, you might as well take the time to enjoy the reward. That... is my excuse for loitering, and I'm sticking with it.

Here are some views from the various side streets around the southern shoulder of San Marcos Mountain.

And a few video from the steepie-rich neighborhood. 

Camino de las Lomas.

El Paso Alto down to Hardell Ln. 

Hardell Ln to the radio tower complex.

This is San Diego's North County, my friends. No climb, no view! 

San Diego North County Rites of Passage Paved Climbs

It's been a long while, but yours truly haven't retired from the wearing habit of steep hills hunting. I have moved to the northern bit of the county, though, and it takes a while getting to know all the monsters in one's new environs. 

Without further ado, here is a list of 10 famous road cycling climbs in San Diego's North County (that is, north of Hwy 56, and west of Valley Center Rd/Bear Valley Pkwy or Hwy 67) that local riders tend to allude to when comparing how painful their last series of undulated suffering was. To be sure, there are gorier ascents than those on this list. I'm just listing the ones with the best combination of well known/ridden and toughness in different areas of North County. The list of the true hardest climbs will come later.  

10. Three Witches  (San Dieguito Rd from El Apajo to just before Camino del Sur): To escape from the old money neighborhood of Rancho Santa Fe via San Dieguito Rd to the neuvo riches along Camino del Sur (Santa Luz, 4S Ranch, etc), you must dispatch Three wicked Witches guarding the way: As far as tough climbs go, this triple-steps two-miler is rather tame both in gradient and in length. It is; however, a featured climbs on many trans-coastal rides including the San Diego Century. One must climb little hills before graduating to the truly nasty ones. Three Witches is a great hill to train on for more nastiness to come. 

Scripps Poway Pkwy climb toward Hwy 67.

9. Purple Monster (Scripps Poway Parkway from Pomerado to Hwy 67): Yet another featured climb from the famed San Diego Century ride! The 1.8 mile stretch of Scripps Poway Parkway to Hwy 67 on the Purple Course of the SDC is quite jacaranda purple in the cool of springtime, which is also the best time of year to tackle this ascent (or, really, any ascent east of I-15). The Strava segment has the climb starts a bit later than it should, really, as Purple Monster really stops being friendly to eastbound riders as far west as the intersection with Community Rd.

As a side note, although we call Scripps Poway Pkwy a monster, it is actually the nicest way to bike commute between Poway proper and Hwy 67. It is the mellowest climb - gradientwise - and the least traffically stressful compared with the likes of Highland Valley Rd and Poway Rd. There is ample shoulder on both ascent and descent to stay well away from the all too fast cars in the traffic lane. 

Scripps Poway Parkway climbing toward Hwy 67.

8. El Fuerte/Alicante (Carlsbad): This is probably my least favorite local hill repeat loop. It hurts multiple times in both directions, and a lot of it is the sort of hill that doesn't look like it should be that painful (or long) a hill, but it keeps kicking where it shouldn't. Then you get to a downhill, and it's all over with so soon... only to be followed by more climbing. Basically a lot of pain and not quite enough immediate rewards (but, keep coming back to it, and you'll likely get quite a lot stronger as a climber in the long run). 

The whole El Fuerte/Alicant is 7.6 miles long, with multiple nasty uphill stretches no matter which direction you ride it. The worst bit of the CW direction is probably the mile long climb from Poisettia to Alga. (Alga Rd climb from Alicante to El Fuerte is its own popular reference hill in North County, by the way) From the CCW direction, the stretch from Altiva to Corinthia is just awful. I personally prefer the CCW direction mostly due to traffic on Alicante north of Alga Rd. 

The gnarly strait of Gibralta dip...

Note: There is a much steeper way of climbing Alga Hill (the hill that Alga Rd, El Fuerte/Alicante live on), but it isn't very well known, and so doesn't have an entry of its own on this list. It involves approaching from Gibralta Dr north of La Costa Ave, traversing a terrible concrete dip that is not recommended at all during or right after rain, and turning right onto Bolero Dr all the way to the top. 

7. Lake Wohlford Rd (Valley Center): A featured climb on the annual Giro di San Diego Gran Fondo, this curvy 2 miler from Valley Center Rd to the lake is best tackled during the week when traffic is less bustling with boat-towing SUVs and trailers. The first mile is the steepest, then it modulates quite a bit on the way to the bridge which marks the top of the climb. Being a mostly east-west climb before veering due north at the lake, timing the climb so that the sun is not in the eyes of the drivers coming up behind you is quite important. 

The gnarly 1st uphill mile on HVR.

6. Highland Valley Rd from Sycamore Creek Rd to Ramona (Escondido): Highland Valley Rd is not one I would recommend to anyone new to cycling... mostly due to traffic. To be sure, HVR doesn't carry as much traffic as does the 78 to the north or even Poway Rd to the south, but the first mile of climbing is not only very steep, but also has no shoulder to speak of, and is so curvy and narrow that one can't count on motorized traffic to stay on the right side of the road. It is east of the 15, so tend to be very hot in the summer - fall months... but if you head out there early, you run the risk of having the sun rising right into the eyes of the drivers driving up the curvy road behind you. 

For seasoned cyclists, the HVR descent is one of the best in town, but one must always be careful to not count on the road being clear of rock fall debris on the other side of the blind curve (and that the oncoming cars will stay on their side of the yellow line). There are a couple of right turns on the descent that keeps turning longer than they should. It is a fun but quite unforgiving descent.

5. San Elijo Rd/Double Peak Dr (San Marcos): Known simply as 'Double Peak' climb. The 3 miles climb starts off quite gently at the intersection of San Elijo Rd at S Melrose Dr and continue straight thru San Elijo Hills community. It gets steeper (6-8%) after passing Elfin Forest Rd. San Elijo Rd keeps climbing for another 1/3 mile or so past Double Peak Rd traffic light, but we'll turn left on Double Peak Rd for a very punishing last mile up to Double Peak Park parking lot (those inclined could indulge in another short but steep dirt ramp to the proper top of the hill for extra credit). This is the fearsome last (and featured) climb on the local annual sufferfest Belgian Waffle/Wafer Ride.

Double Peak and its sister Mt Whitney require a post of their own, when it comes to horrible chain-stretching climbs. Stay tuned!

Descending Couser Canyon in the late morning shade.

4. Couser Canyon Rd (Lilac): 

Couser Canyon Rd runs north-south along the east side of Lancaster Mountain, and is exposed to the east, so it's best cycling it in the morning hours for optimum visibility (the afternoon sun can cast very dark shadow on the road and hide you from motorized traffic... and also hide road cracks and debris from you). This is an awesome cycling road connecting Escondido to Rainbow and on to Temecula via Rice Canyon and Rainbow Valley Blvd. It is a relatively mellow, quite scenic, curvy and constant 3.8 mile climb. Fairly low traffic, tho best avoid on weekends and holidays as it is a favorite of local sport motorcyclists. 

Coronado Hills Dr from La Moree.

3. Coronado Hills Dr (San Marcos): This is the lone legit route up to the top of little Mt Whitney, the tallest peak on the Cerro de las Posas mountain range that dominates the skyline of San Marcos. It starts out mellow enough heading south from La Moree, but when it starts kicking as you approach the only house on the east side of the road, it kicks with a vicious glee... and doesn't really let up until you earn the saddle at the intersection with Washingtonia. To get to Mt Whitney you would turn right there and climb more rolling bumps of various degrees of savagery until you get to the radio tower. Or, if you are looking for a morning of horrid hill workout, you could continue down the other side of the saddle to the SE end of the road and ride back up... and just keep going back and forth from one end of Coronado Hills to another until your legs fall off. It's a distinct possibility. 

The flat bottom just before Cole Grade Rd kicks up the hill for 3 miles of pain.

2. Cole Grade Rd from Hwy 76 to McNally (Pauma Valley): The 2.5 mile bicycling escape route from Rincon to Valley Center is one hot climb. Even when it's cold out, it's always hot climbing up Cole Grade Rd. Newcomers may roll their eyes at the number of times old spinners claim that they hurt so much more climbing up Cole Grade after Palomar Mtn than they did on Palomar itself... but it is oh-so-true! 

I think much of it is due to the physical and psychological drain Palomar usually has on you before you get to Cole Grade, and also because of the latter's more severe gradient... and the general lack of wind carving up that side of the hill. 

Nevertheless, Cole Grade remains the safest way to ride back up to Escondido from the SW side of Palomar Mtn (I, for one, would happily go downhill on Valley Center Rd from N Lake Wohlford to Harrah's casino, but not the reverse, which I had to do when I rode the first Giro di San Diego Gran Fondo in 2012. Happy to have survived it, and would rather not do it again... ever). 

Besides, whenever the Tour of California cycling race comes to town, the pros are usually made to ride up Cole Grade Rd after going over Palomar Mtn, and its steep S curve section is usually where the decisive break of the day gets away from the main peloton.

1. Palomar Mtn by Hwy 76 and South Grade Rd (S6): San Diego's very own Highway to the Stars, South Grade Rd was built in 19 to transport the Hale Telescope to Palomar Observatory. 

To the local cyclists, this 12 miler with 21 hairpin turns is our version of the Tour de France's famed L'Alpe d'Huez, with similar distance, gradient, and curvature. It is probably the most consistent long climb in the county. Aside from the lone 1/5 mile long false flat just before the left turn onto South Grade Rd, the climbing gradient is a near constant 7% (the last mile is the hardest one). With no chain-stretching gradient anywhere on the route, cycling up Palomar Mt from the south is more a test of will than anything else... especially during the hot summer months when the long middle stretch of the climb is infested by horse flies and gnats.

Avoid this ride on weekends and holidays when wiggly South Grade Rd is the hot spot for local sport motorcyclists, and the narrow lanes of Hwy 76 is busy with boat-towing trailers and semi trucks. Also, bring plenty of water with you if you attempt this in the hot season. The only watering spot on the climb is the little convenient store on Oak Knolls campground on the first mile of South Grade Rd, then there is nothing until Palomar Mountain General Store and Mother's Kitchen at the top.

As awesome a climb as Palomar South Grade Rd is, it is an even better descent... albeit one best taken with plenty of caution. If you are just doing out-and-back up Palomar, look at the opposite lane on the way up and make a mental note of any potentially hazardous debris field or pot holes/road cracks that might catch you on the way down. Also, beware of the 3 cow grates on the road (you never know if there could be anything stuck in them), and the blind curves. I've been lucky and only seen deer on the road twice in the many years I've ridden there. Some others have seen more. Don't go bombing down that road faster than you could safely control your bike.

Related posts:

San Diego (city)'s Rite of Passage Climbs

San Diego (city)'s Steepest Short Climbs (1-2 city blocks)

San Diego's Steep Sub-Mile Climbs 

San Diego North County's Steepest Sub-Mile Climbs 

Camino del Aguila 

Everest-Friendly Climbs in San Diego County 

Out of and then back in shape on Texas St

It's been a crazy few months since just before Thanksgiving. Yours smorginess spent the entire holiday season mostly out of town on a couple of work trips and got seriously out of hill-climbing shape. I also caught three bouts of the flu that kept me bed-bounded for weeks. By the time I got to take the bike out for a proper ride again I was in a woeful cycling shape!

Didn't get any climbing done this winter, tho I got to see a lot of holiday lights up in Riverside.

When you're past a certain age, it takes so much longer to rebuild fitness... and the rebuilding process is so much more painful. Luckily, there is a monster-ish hill almost next door to whip me right back into some sort of shape. Now, as a rule, I detest repetition (and so hill repeat really isn't quite my preferred training method). But when you need to get fit fast, you just have to go with the most effective (if not the most painless) method. For me, it's ten-peat-ing Texas St hill from Mission Valley to University Heights in the cooler hours of the morning... and hope to get all the laps in before rush hours traffic commences.

Texas St hill is the rather intimidating looking roadway that curves up the south side of Mission Valley in between I-805 and Hwy 163. The closest Strava segment looks like this:

I'm more keen on getting the whole climb in and not just the steepest bit, of course, and also on having it easy with traffic on the way up, so my Texas hill repeat lap starts from Camino del Rio S about half a block west of Texas St instead of east (I start where the road starts to pitch uphill in front of the First United Lutheran Church), so I can make a right turn to continue up the main climb on Texas. Also, the Strava segment somehow ends at Adams Ave, which actually makes no sense as Texas St goes under the Adams Ave overpass and most cyclists would exit at Mission Ave just shy of Madison Ave. So, the Texas lap for me is about 0.6 mile and averages 10.6 % grade (with max grade at 15% just before Adams Ave bridge); pretty much a San Diego version of the famous Cauberg climb.

A look down on Texas St from Adams Ave in University Heights.

Starting from the west side of Texas St means that I have to make a left turn at the bottom of the descent (a rather intimidating descent if you aren't used to riding in traffic. It's steep, the 'bike lane' that pops up after Adams Ave bridge is mostly useless due to encroaching brushes and the exploding population of broken glass and other debris, and... there's a traffic light intersection near the bottom, so speed control is vital for survival). But, but, getting to the left turn lane by the bottom of the hill is quite easier than you would expected since traffic comes in waves, regulated by the traffic light intersection at the top of the climb. If you are, like me, equipped with a good helmet rear-view mirror, it's easy to feather the brakes in the bike lane at the top of the drop and wait for the end of the current wave of cars to end before scooting over to the left lane before the yellow 'traffic light ahead' sign half way down the slope (you do want to make it to the left lane by the time you get to that sign, tho, as morning traffic will generally back up to there soon after the light turns red at the bottom... and sudden or hard braking should be avoided at all cost when descending Texas St!).

Descending Texas St on the bike looks intimidating even for me, too! Look how narrow and shaded it is (and do you see that hideous sunken manhole cover in the middle of the bike lane?).

I'm afraid I've been having problem getting sensed by the traffic light loop sensors on the left turn lane onto Camino Del Rio South over the year. I'd send in a re-calibration request to the city's Traffic Division, and they would come out to fix it, though it apparently likes to desensitize against bicycles (even the mostly metal ones like the Smorgmobile is) over time. The one good thing about riding during rush hour traffic is that usually there'd be a car or two (or more) pulling into a stop behind me and tripping the light so I wouldn't be left hanging.

The bike lane heading west on Camino Del Rio S from Texas St can be quite sketchy, also. There is a patch of brush that likes to grow into the already too narrow lane, and the palm trees following those brush like their patch of the bike lane well decorated with palm fronds and other slippery stuff. Again, navigating this bit is much easier if you have a helmet mirror and can see what the drivers are doing behind you without losing sight of the road in front (honestly, it's much better if you just take the lane until the road opens up a bit as it flattens out, though some drivers are very impatient at 7:30 in the morning even when you are doing the posted speed limit down that steep ramp). 

The icky sunken manhole cover in the middle of the eastbound Camino Del Rio South bike lane marks the start spot for the hill repeat.

Turning around just past the First United Lutheran Church (and avoiding that icky sunken manhole cover in the middle of the bike lane), there is a bit of road to work my way down to the low climbing gear. Honestly, the initial climbing on eastbound Camino Del Rio South can be quite a demoralizer. I don't know exactly how steep the gradient is (there is no Strava segment on it), but would hazard a guess at 8-10% before the short mellowing out for the intersection where taking the left turn on the downhill run pays off with the free right turn on the way up (no stopping and starting at the run, trying to get across before the light turns red again antic!).

The Texas St uphill buffered bike lane.

Once on Texas St proper, it's legs v hill all the way to the top! There is some minor variation in gradient on the way up, but, frankly, 8% grade doesn't feel like that much of a relief when it is bookend by 15% ramps that blend into each other so well you can't see where the break is. Basically, I vary my hand position a few time up the climb, usually in the drop from the base to a bit past the first curve, on the hood in the middle section where I may or may not do a short out-of-the-saddle punch sprint, on the top of the bar during the second nasty ramp just before passing under Adams Ave bridge, and then back onto the hood for the 'hit-back-at-the-hill' sprint past the top (this isn't as hard as it sounds, since the climbing gradient starts to shallow out two lampposts past the top side of Adams Ave bridge).

It's really counter-intuitive, but you do recover much faster if you sprint the top of a climb like this. By the time you are spent, the steep bit is over and there is no prolonged agony... and the psychological boon from going on the offense after having taken the beating for so long (3-5 minutes, depending) is quite an effective painkiller!

Where the jogger is on the sidewalk is right about where I usually start my hilltop sprint.

How many time to repeat the climb? As many as you can, of course! I aim for at least 10 laps, which generally takes me 2 hrs (do have to deal with traffic lights and cars on the way down, among other things). Sometimes when I haven't got two hours to spend, though, 6 laps will do if they are full of 'I hate my life' interval sprints. I still hate doing hill repeat, tho this one I do regularly simply because surviving it makes climbing other things like Torrey Pines Inside or Cabrillo or even Palomar Mtn seem so much easier.

Another (Extreme) Steepie Bites The Dust: Crow's Nest

Winter had gone by and I had knocked no steepie off my ever growing hit list... Something had to give! It's weird how sometimes it takes something like an impending heatwave to psychologically kick a sluggish Smorg out of bed early in the morning to go pick a fight with hills I don't even like to walk down on. Weird, huh?

The Crow's Nest, as seen from its nearly as evil twin, Montana Serena.

Anyhow, the Crow's Nest Lane going up the spire on the east side of Harbison Canyon had been tantalizing me for a long long while now. I had gotten into a couple of fights with its evil twin, Montana Serena, before, but somehow hadn't managed to pay the amazing looking Crow a visit. A lot of it is because I loathe to cycle on Harbison Canyon Rd... which, though not nearly as deadly dangerous as Wildcat Canyon Rd is, still is too narrow and full of shaded blind curves for comfort, especially when combined with casino-bound traffic. I had been assigning the Crow as my optional target whenever I rode to Alpine, but hitting that severe a slope with so many miles (a lot of it uphill) left on the home leg of a ride just wasn't a very appetizing idea to me (I mean... why climb Via Capri Dr on the way home from UCSD when there's mostly flat Rose Canyon trail?). Yesterday, the Crow's Nest Lane was the ride's objective. I wanted that goriness off my hit list!

My ride started in Uptown where I live, of course, but posting maps leading people within a mile of home would be a very un-Smorgly thing to do... so this route map ( http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7292516 ) starts/finishes a safe 9 miles away in La Mesa instead.

Heading NE on gentle Molly Woods Ave on Grossmont.

There are many ways of getting across Grossmont, and Molly Woods Ln to Grossmont Blvd is by far the most pleasant. No steep ramp, hardly any car, and lots of beautiful gardens and houses around each of its many curves. The Grossmont Blvd descent to I-8 has been crying for resurfacing for a long while now, though. I hope the City of La Mesa gets to it while it is doing all sorts of road works along Fuerte Dr next door. If you had never gone that way before, refrain from bombing down Grossmont Blvd to the freeway as there are loads of icky potholes and cracks toward the bottom of the thing, and most of them spend most of the day being well hidden by the shades.

The south side of the beautiful Merritt Dr climb.

Top of Merritt.

I veered right to W Chase at the bottom of El Cajon Blvd and slow rolled my way to the ride's secondary objective - the little hill known to locals as Mount Merritt. It proved to be a really nice climb from Grove Rd side (from Merritt Dr side, tho, it's pretty spiky). Grove Rd east of Merritt Dr turn off is currently closed for construction (the signs say until July!). Traffic was very light and the climb up the south side of Merritt quite nice. Nothing steeper than 10%, I think, with lots of curves and shade trees, and lots of locals out and about walking and chatting. A nice lady out talking to her neighbor saw me coming 'round the bend and gave a nice cheer and thumb up. It's very Mt Helix-esque!

El Cajon, with Rattlesnake Mtn (L) and El Cajon Mtn (R) in background.

A red-shafted (Northern) flicker on Mount Merritt.

Merritt Dr descent...

I hung around the crest of the road for a while, enjoying the beautiful open view of Rattlesnake & El Cajon Mtns and the many cool birds that hang out in the many well trimmed trees and bushes. I even spotted my first northern flickers!

The morning was getting older, though, so I made my way down the lovely Merritt Dr descent (it's sweet, tho too pretty to rip down and miss all the sights!) to pick up S Anza Rd north to Main St, where the riding got quite more trafficky on my way east to Greenfield and then La Cresta Rd, at the bottom of which I swabbed my arm & leg warmers for sunsleeves instead.

The private lane connecting Old Bend to Calle de la Sierra.

It took me a few tries, but I caught a shot of this very camera shy hooded oriole in the end!

La Cresta Rd would be such a lovely climb if only the drivers on that road wouldn't have such a phobia for using the left lane to pass bicycles... It is, also, a very dirty road! I started at the bottom with a mostly empty backpack and by the time I topped out in Crest the thing was filled with 43 discarded aluminum cans (mostly beer cans)... and I had passed by this way doing the same thing just a month ago. Why can't people just keep their drink cans in their car when they're done???

The snakes sure are out early this year. Saw 8 dead ones on La Cresta & Dehesa Rds. Alas, only one was a rattler. The rest were nice non-venomous bug-eaters.

Hello gorgeous! The Crow's Nest is quite striking to look at coming down Mountain View/Frances Dr.

An organized group bike ride was coming up Harbison Canyon Rd when I got down Frances Dr.

I passed straight through Crest, was moderately tempted to pay the White Lightning a visit, but restrained myself lest I get too tired out to visit the Crow afterward. I got down Mountain View/Frances Dr to Harbison Canyon just as a large (and moderately stretched out) group of cyclists came riding up from Dehesa. A bunch of brave folks! Harbison Canyon Rd with its shoulderless narrow two lanes of shaded blind curves and casino traffic is one of the few roads in the county that I'd only ride down on and not up. The group took a break at beautiful Old Ironside County Park where I split off down Noakes Dr to Silverbrook to pick up the day's goriest climb...

Harbison Canyon Rd at Old Ironside County Park (Canyon Market on left/west side).

Old Ironside County Park is a shaded beauty with water fountains and restrooms.

Descending Silverbrook toward the Crow's Nest Ln. Yes, we're going to the top of the spire... at 18% average grade!

The Crow's Nest Lane is technically a private road, I think, but not yet gated and there are only four houses on it so far. Two are occupied (including the one at the very top) and two are for sale. The road is just wide enough for two cars to pass and pretty well paved, though there is quite a bit of slippery dirt & gravel debris washed onto the pavement from the side slope, which didn't make the already uncomfortably steep climb any more pleasant. I started out immediately on my lowest gear ratio (30x28) and broke into a series of zigzag on the first right curve... and actually came off for a rest stop before I got to the next curve. It's a glycogen-depleting beast!

No breath left to crow crawling up the Crow's Nest.

I climb for the view... looking back down toward Mountain View/Frances Dr.

Stopping to smell the flowers (and reassemble lungs and legs).

This being a dead end with only 4 houses on it, though, means there is practically no traffic on the road and not a lot of barking dogs either. I stopped twice on the way up and got to enjoy quite a lot of fantastic view and the fresh wild flowers blooming along side the road. The two little speed bumps were quite un-bike-friendly on the way up, though... They come in the middle of the 23-33% grade ramps, and caused spontaneous wheelies just when I didn't feel like wheelie-ing. The second one even came in combination with a rear wheel slip courtesy of loose debris... which I would like to cite as my excuse for the 2nd rest stop, though I think I would have had to stop even if my rear wheel wasn't attempting to dance. My legs were dissolving into jello!

Top of the Crow's Nest Lane.

Dirt connection to Wilson Rd (probably gated).

From Crow's Nest top looking toward Sycuan TT.

And toward Sloane Cyn & Dehesa.

These two funny quails took offense at my swearing while grinding my way up the slope, and took off into the bush!

After the icky steep ramp following the hard right with circular sink hole the slope shallowed out to the mid teens, which felt amazingly mellow after what came before it. The house near the top on the left proved empty (and only half constructed, looking almost abandoned), but the one at the spire is occupied. The Crow's Nest paved lane turns into a dirt road descending the other side to the top of Wilson Rd above Dehesa Valley. I was almost tempted to try to go down that side (being able to avoid taking Harbison Canyon Rd at all seemed a very pleasant idea), but I hadn't scouted out gate condition and didn't want to get stranded and have to hike-a-road-bike back up, so I just took my time sight-seeing at the top before slow-rolling down the hill.

No photographing on the fly while riding down the Crow's Nest!

The beast, from the bottom.

I sure hope I never feel the urge to ride up that road again!

I'm afraid descending the Crow on a road bike with dual pivot brakes is quite a nerve-wrecking experience. The severe gradient and the loose dirt debris make for a very slippery combination that gave my hands quite a load of work out on the way down. I couldn't let the bike run at all without risking it breaking into a runaway train. By the time I got to the bottom the rims were almost hot enough to fry an egg... and this is only the second week of spring!

Got to chase two friendly guys on Dehesa & Willow Spring into Rancho San Diego.

I'm a bike buddy... and I couldn't fit any more trash into my backpack by this point on Willow Glen Dr. It's full to capacity!

Challenge Blvd heading west is a nice low-traffic ride.

The rest of the way back was pretty uneventful. A few friendly cyclists out on Dehesa Rd, going the Great Western Loop ahead of this weekend's heatwave. Ran into a strong lass in UCSD cycling kit crossing Mt Helix by way of Challenge Blvd - Vista - Bomar, who proved quite a chase rabbit. Alas, she veered off to Fuerte from Resmar, so I had no rabbit to chase on the lovely curvy descent of Grandview/Edgewood back to La Mesa proper. The tally was 52 miles with a bit over 3100 ft of climbing for the day... and one gory road off my hit list. The latter, at least, was worth a couple of scoops of post-ride chocolate ice-cream all by itself!