What is it like cycling up the south side of Palomar Mountain?

So, what is it like cycling up Palomar Mountain from Hwy 76 and S6 - South Grade Road?
Endless... At least that's what if feels like. The climb isn't steep (it averages only 7.5%), but it is very consistent and very long. From start to finish the slope varies more than 2% at only one 150 yds long stretch, about 5 miles into the 11.5 miles long climb. That false flat on Hwy 76 just before the South Grade Rd turn off is the only break you'll get in the entire climb. Once you make the turn onto South Grade Rd, it's 6.5-8% grade the rest of the way.

Hwy 76 has a bit of shoulder to ride up, but it is pretty narrow and collects a bit of debris. There is almost always some traffic, and it is always high speed (and tends to be trucks, SUV's or trailers). Once you turn onto South Grade Rd (S6), traffic becomes light to non-existence and there is good shoulder to ride on the rest of the way.



It takes me about 110 minutes to climb Palomar from the south side, and only about 22 minutes to descend it (and that's because I'm a careful rider and slow considerably down once I get back onto Hwy 76 and its car traffic). If you haven't cycled up Palomar from the south before, you should... but try to make it on a weekday as South Grade Rd is way too popular a motorcycle road on weekends that it is quite unsafe.

If you are going up it during the warm months (June-Nov), take at least two big bottles of water (at least one bottle should really be water, since you'll be plagued to the edge of sanity by nasty flies whose sole ambition in life is to get at all the salt around your eyes deposited there by your sweat... And nothing like a good rinse of water would persuade the flies to leave your eyes alone for more than a few seconds).

Oak Knolls Campground at the base of South Grade Rd has a store where you can get water, cold drinks and some candy bars. There is no other water stop along the route (the artesian springs at mile 11 is all dried up). Once you top out, though, there is Mother's Kitchen to lunch at, a nice restroom with running water, and Palomar Mountain General Store with cold drinks and candies.

CicloSDias is on Sunday Aug 11th: Come Out To Enjoy Car-Free Cycling, Skating, Walking San Diego Streets

Feel like going out for a casual bicycle ride in San Diego but don't want to tango with cars? Come out to the CicloSDias, San Diego's version of the Ciclovia next Sunday in South Park. This is a family-friendly low-speed 5 miles ride on closed-to-cars route from Logan Heights (30th & K) to City Heights (Cherokee Point Elementary School) by way of Golden Hill, South Park & North Park.

CicloSDias 2013 car-free route

You can bike or walk or skate part of or the whole length of the car-free route with friends new and old from 10am - 4pm, at a speed that allows you to see and enjoy the neighborhoods. It's safe and it's a lot of fun!

A lot of people would like to go out riding their bike more, but don't feel safe riding the streets of San Diego without 'proper bicycle structures' like bike lanes or cycle-paths. Well, what better way to convince city officials to put in the necessary structures than to turn up in great number at car-free events like the CicloSDias and show them that better bike-friendly streets is what a whole lot of tax-payers want? The more cyclists there are riding around, the more the city is likely to do something to protect cyclists and the more aware drivers will become of bikes on the streets. You don't even have to donate any money. Just show up and have fun!

To Drivers: Don't Make Cyclists Pass On Your Right At Intersections

Another car tried to get me to pass him on his right side this morning (he wanted to turn right, but instead of hanging behind the group to make the turn behind us, he chose to pass us and then just hung at the intersection in the middle of the lane and irritably waved at the line of cyclists to pass on his right)...

If you are a driver and have tried doing that; thank you for trying to be nice, but please refrain from this maneuver in the future. It makes things MORE dangerous for the cyclists and not less. It doesn't matter that you see and know that we are there behind and to your right, you are blocking both our view of traffic and the traffic's view of us. There may be cars coming from opposite direction that want to turn left in front of (stopped) you... That left-turning car is the car that will hit us if we pass you on your right side! Don't get mad at the cyclists for refusing to enter that big blind spot on your right. Go ahead and turn right IN FRONT OF us when you see us yield.

Better yet, wait behind the group of cyclists and make the right turn behind us (it may only slow you down for just a few seconds, but at least you wouldn't be putting anyone in danger). If you had already passed many cyclists and are now 'stuck' in the middle, though, if the cyclists wave for you to make the turn in front of them, please GO ON and make the turn. There is a good reason why you should only overtake on the left... (picture yourself getting stuck between a semi-truck and his right turn... You wouldn't want to pass the truck on his right either!).

And to fellow cyclists: If you are riding in the middle of a large group and see a car front and left of you that want to turn right (look for turning signal), it is safer to slow and make room for the car to turn right in front of you (be sure to signal for the riders behind you to follow your deceleration, though) than for him to end up hanging there, stranded between other traffic, you, and the right turn he wants to make ('cause then he'll end up blocking your view of the rest of the intersection along with all the other cars' view of you).