This winter has been so rainy that even a land animal like me has been wondering if I should ditch the bike for a boat to get around in. I know. Isn't that sort of thinking just positively insane? Luckily, though, we caught a now rare 5 days stretch of dry weather that coincided decently with my days off. I was very happy to get to spend one of those days on the road bike.
Whether the bike was happy about it, I'm not so sure.
The planned ride was a 54 mile loop from Lake Henshaw Resort to the east of Palomar Mtn, but as no one else had signed up for it, I figured some mileage inflation was in order and changed my start/finish to Harrah's Casino in Rincon instead.
The W curve on Hwy 76.
The sky was gloomy-looking when I set out from Harrah's, and Palomar Mtn was still sound asleep under a thick layer of cloud, but the road was dry and traffic was nice and light until I got east of the saddle where South Grade Rd branches out. Road crews were out and about setting up their work sites along the highway (they will be spending the next year or so relocating the roadside electrical poles), and the blanket of cloud turned into a sprinkly mist. By the time I rolled into the parking lot at Lake Henshaw Resort I was a drippy wet mess.
Lake Henshaw, looking all misty and brooding.
Would not have seen the rainbow happening behind me had I not have my rear-view mirror on.
Lake Henshaw Resort has a well stocked store and I spent half an hour there munching on a chocolate muffin and chatting with a nice elderly Indian lass who was hanging around waiting for her ride to pick her up as my lycra cycling kit worked its 'quick dry' magic. I'm afraid I don't recall much of our conversion since we were mostly drowned out by a bunch of hungry little birds in the nest just overhead.
The lake had grown quite large from all the rain we've had, and there were lots of swimming room for all sorts of water fowls to zoom around in. Herds of cows roamed around enjoying endless green grass, occasionally startling families of European starlings into the air. I could have sat there and watched them forever, but the hills called and I was supposed to get to Warner Springs by 10 am in case someone decided to pop up to join the loopy portion of the ride, so I said good bye to my new friend (and to more muffins) and got back on the road.
One of the lark sparrows hopping along the barb wire fence.
I thought he was a kite, but he turned out to be a juvenile ferruginous hawk instead.
Road construction work continued Hwy 79. A series of road work from the 76 junction all the way to Sunshine
Summit. Three stretches of K-rail-lined one lane highway with road crew directing traffic, and a few more temporary speed bumps made the 79 quite a bit of an obstacle course (with built in interval sprint to make it through the one-laned bit without being too annoying to motorized traffic).
I made it to the Warner Springs Gas Mart just before 10 am, and was pleasantly surprised by the well kept store, the clean restrooms, and the very friendly attendant. It is way nicer than what the street view of it on Google Earth reveals. Definitely recommended as a cycling stop!
Warner Springs Gas Mart.
The sun was shining in Sunshine Summit. Just in time for the 'wander into the people-less hills' bit of the ride!
Alder Ln made me feel old.
Puerta la Cruz, where I traded steep gradient for looser traction.
It started with the right turn into Warner Springs Estate retirement community. The road is called Alder Road, though it was unsigned off the highway. Boulders and gardens charm its mellow first curves before it straightens out and becomes positively beastly. The gradient is solid 9-. At the top of Alder Rd, a roped off old tarmac lane continues up the hill toward the community's water tank. I veered off it onto a dirt path branching off to the right. This is the unmarked start of Puerta la Cruz Trail.
More climbing was on the menu on Puerta la Cruz Trail.
Ooops, this bit of dirt proved much softer than it looked.
I dislike leaving tracks behind me, so I destroyed the evidence a bit.
It's a bit confusing looking up this road on map apps and on the Forest Service map. On the ground, the portion from the top of Alder Rd to the lone intersection on the route is only marked as 'Hiking Trail', and then the rest is signed as '9S05' (except for the sign off Hwy 79 that calls it 'Indian Flats Rd'). On Google Earth, the hiking trail and the rest of the dirt roads (on both sides of the intersection) are called 'Puerta la Cruz Truck Trail', connecting Chihuahua Valley Rd to the north with Hwy 79 via Indian Flats Campground.
On the Forest Service map, however, most of the 9S05 from Hwy 79 to the dirt roads intersection is called 'Indian Flats Rd'. Then the trail/road I took from Alder Rd to there is called 'Hiking Trail', and the dirt road from the intersection to Chihuahua Valley Rd is called 'Puerta la Cruz Rd', changing name to 'Old Mitchell Camp' north of Chihuahua Valley Rd.
So, if you are thinking of retracing this ride, do yourself a favor and look at the map and memorize the geographical landmarks before heading out.
The turn off to Puerta la Cruz TT North to Chihuahua Valley Rd.
You won't find any 'Puerta la Cruz TT' sign along the trail. Just follow the one labeled 9S05, and you'll be alright.
After the junction, 9S05 dives downhill in a rather fun series of turns and bumps.
After a while it sort of levels out and runs parallel to the creek.
One of the gnarlier creek crossings.
This used to be called Lost Creek Rd, though I don't know how anyone could lose the creek. It's right along side, and even crosses the road every tenth of a mile or so, making for some bike handling trials for rigid road bike (and not so floaty 28mm tires). I was quite glad my bike is equipped with disc brakes. It would have been much less fun with traditional dual pivot brakes on, wet rims and bumps and sand and all that stuff.
After much bike-surfing over cracks, creeks, ruts, and sharp ups and downs, the dark narrow pavement of Indian Flats Rd came into view from the top of one of the ups. It was a much welcome sight. Indian Flats Campground itself has been closed since a fire in summer of 2017, so no useful facility to be had, there. Getting back to the pavement, however, was a big psychological boost.
Indian Flats paved road.
And, a much welcome ride! A well earned fun after all the road bike acrobatic on shifty ground it took to get here.
Looking back north on Hwy 79 south of Warner Springs.
Hwy 79 at Mataguay
Sad to say (not!), I wasn't missing motorized traffic much after having gone 14 miles without seeing one, but Hwys 79 and 76 back to Rincon were much better ridden in sunny weather than in a chilly mist.
I even got to drop in on the Warner-Carillo Ranch House along the way, and had a good chat with the nice rancher that lives next door. I'd love to drop in for more stories, though currently the museum is only opened from 12-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Lake Henshaw looked quite photogenic in the afternoon sun.
It was a good exploration ride, and one that needs repeating (with variations, of course. There are so many cool roads to explore out in the mountains while the air is still cool and clear of gnats) sooner rather than later... if only the weather would cooperate and stop raining so often!
With the extended work hours (due to persistent human resource problem at work since November) and all the raining (my current living space isn't convenient for frequent bike-washing), I was very lucky to fit in a couple of proper bike rides in January. Gosh know I'm getting late preparing for the BWR again this year!
Once you get to Elfin Forest Rd, several alternative no-traffic paved routes opens up on the way to Double Peak.
Double Peak is still the favorite haunt when I only have time for a short ride. Don't mistake me for any badass, though. I'm a bona fide heat-wimp and only enjoy that climb when it is cooler than 70F out. Most of the year I shed a million tear grinding my way up the thing.
The view at the top of DP just doesn't get old.
San Elijo Hills, the neighborhood on the southern slope of Double Peak, is full of secret trails.
I take a lot of photos of that whole area whenever I ride there now. The view is changing rather rapidly with all the new houses being put in. A new view for the year, tho, is one of water overflowing the top of Lake San Marcos Dam. San Diego County, with all the rain we've had so far, is still officially in level 1 drought, so seeing frothing water flowing in local lakes and creeks is a nice thing!
Looking down on Lake San Marcos Dam and the surrounding greening hills.
In mid-January the stars finally aligned and one of the few short windows of dry weather coincided with two of my days off, and I finally got to introduce the new bike to an old friend - Palomar Mtn.
One of the nice things about riding with a helmet rear-view mirror is being able to spot a nice view happening behind me as I climb... so that I can stop and properly enjoy it.
New bike at Lake Henshaw
Some people climb Palomar for fun. I do it because it's a lot of hills to re-condition my legs in a hurry in just a few miles... And, of course, because of the 12 wiggly all downhill miles with just one stop sign descent. It's a kind of 'fun' worth paying/sweating for.
These cute little Oregon juncos are quite worth climbing hills to see.
Looking west from Palomar Mtn almost to the ocean behind the Cerro de las Posas in the distance.
There were loads of birds about, and a lot of time to gawk at them before dropping back into town again.
It's hard being my bicycles... Many of my friends are strictly mountain bikers, but as I already have two bicycles and am keen on resisting obeying the 'ideal number of bicycles to own = n+1' rule, I'd rather hang on to my road bike and my cyclocross bike rather than adding a proper mountain bike to my tiny little stable. Hence, the cyclocross bike is now serving as my 'go anywhere' bike.
I don't think it enjoys that role all that much.
Gotta give props to KHS, the manufacturer of my entry level aluminum cyclocross bike. That thing is built like a tank (and weighs very much like one, too). I have been far from gentle with it, but it has survived all sorts of rough rocky and sandy trails. I'm running 33mm clincher tires, and have never flatted on the trails (I have caught 2 flats on paved road, though. Go figure!). The wheels are so sturdy that they are still running true after all the hard bumps.
Truth be told, my next CX bike will probably not be a KHS since I don't like how it handles all that much (and the severe toe overlap is really hard on my ankle during trackstand and other maneuvers). The bike is a good and sturdy entry level bike for those into adventure riding rather than racing, though.
A wonderful thing about living in San Diego's North County is the easy access I have to many cyclocross-bike-friendly trails... and the fact that one of my adventurous pals works nearby and doesn't object to going out on occasional after-work-bike-rides with me to decompress from less-than-optimal days at the office.
Here's a favorite route (with no map or route sheet, I'm afraid. Some of these trails are better kept 'less ridden' than not... for continuing access purpose.
Lilting up storm in the background soundtrack is none other than the fabulous Elina Garanca singing the aria from Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras #5, which is a star on her wonderful Deutsche Grammophon CD: Aria Cantilena.
