Well the day started of with a stupid moment on my part. I met up with Jason (chucklehead) and James at Harrah's a lil after 8am. Group A already left, by about 30 minutes when i pulled in. I whipped out my singlespeed, yes I'm crazy/brave but more or less STUPID:D I thought it would be cool, and NOT that hard......OH BOY was I wrong. It was painful, slow and more pain. My offical time up the south grade was 1h59min 31sec BUT that did not include the COUNTLESS times I had to stop. I felt like a newb in the wrong place. The gearing was painful, I had to learn how to ride the SS up a Mt. Cadence was slow, real slow. I set small goals on my ride, get to the Fork, get to the top, get to Henshaw, get over Mesa Grande which was really painful and slow then get to Pie.
After I got to Pie, I endulged just a bit, one slice of Dutch YUMMY, 2 PB cookies, 1 monster drink. Not feeling like climbing any more, I opted to the quickest route to Henshaw via 79 to 76 with Mark. The others climbed the backside of Mesa Grande and met us at Henshaw where I endulged in more suger, ICE CREAM with 20 miles to go LOL. Few minutes after I digested that, we were off, pace line with me pulling James, Dan and Mark at whatever pace I can handle. Pulled through most of the DH, about 5 minutes or so and moved to the back to restup for the two climbs coming up. The paceline dropped me which was fine, I was used to riding alone and my own pace. Coming up to the first climb, they waited for me and we dropped in line to start the climb. For once on the entire ride, my breathing fell into rythem and I was feeling good + still on my suger high from all the snacks. Took off at my pace where Dan caught me 3-4 miles later near the fork. I let them go ahead on the 6 mile DH down to the taco shop since I can't pedal more then 25mph. Once the grade pitched down I was tucking at 40+ hitting the hairpins to the long straight near the bottom where I made up time. They were about 100yrds ahead of me by the time I got to the taco shop.
jsigone
06-10-07, 07:20 PM
here is the profile for the route Mark and I did, the group got more miles and more Ft. Both Jasons were bold and felling good and climb back up the East Grade as we went to the cars
i used to rip around out there on my motorcycle....greatest roads anywhere.
i'd like to try it on my bicycle some day.
Chucklehead
06-10-07, 08:18 PM
dumbest move EVER. for the life of me, i could NOT stay hydrated today. halfway up east grade i had the bonk from hell. i knew it was coming, too, so i had to leave jason and try to get it overwith before i died or something. in spite of a fast time up south grade on the way out, the final half of palomar east grade on 6-10-07 will go down as my worst day on a bike. ever. so far.
thank god frank was there to keep an eye on us during the climb. he must have known what we were getting ourselves into. i don't know if i would have finished it otherwise. it was nice to see him parked along the side every couple of miles, ready to sag us to the top. i'm sure the pictures he took of that slogfest will be just great:rolleyes:
thanks again, frank!
Chucklehead
06-10-07, 08:21 PM
awesome.
i used to rip around out there on my motorcycle....greatest roads anywhere.
there's about 10 times as many now as there was back in the mid-90's when i used to do it. way overcrowded. at least a lot of them were good enough to acknowledge us today by giving a honk and a wave.
Indolent58
06-10-07, 08:29 PM
My 3 cents - a great time - assuming the Jasons survived.
The climb up Palomar was much less of an ordeal than last time. I left with the 'turtles" at 7:30 and we made it up in something over 2hrs. My HR stayed in a sustainable range the whole time. During the descent on East Grade it had gotten warm enough to feel the heat off the road and hot wind as we approached Lake Henshaw, and I had my doubts as to whether I was going to want to ascend East Grade in the afternoon. At Henshaw we saw Frank (Grumpy Pig) at the 1st RAAM Check Station pretending like he was doing something productive on a Sunday. We were too early to see any riders pass through.
Mesa Grande was exactly miserable as I remembered it, which is a kicker because the total elevation gain isn't all that big and it doesn't look like much of anything on the elevation chart as compared to the Palomar climb. The chart lies.
The turtles had expected to be overtaken by the wabbits well before the Pie Shop, but since they got a late start and Jeff made the deranged choice of bringing a Single Speed, we arrived in Santa Ysabel and had our pie before they arrived, first Jason, then James, and finally Jeff.
On the way back Jeff and Mark took the more direct route, while the rest of us went back via Mesa Grande which was not all that bad as the climbing is mostly gradual. We regrouped at Lake Henshaw, where the Jasons decided that there is no such thing as too much suffering and went for the return via East Grade Rd. Hopefully the Park Rangers will find them before the coyotes do. The rest of us took Hwy 76 back to Valley Center where are steamy hot cars waited.
Thanks to Jeff for organizing this. I doubt I will want to do Palomar again until the fall when the weather cools down.
Grumpy Pig
06-10-07, 08:31 PM
You guys are nuts. It was hot out there.
I've got a bunch of pictures that I'll download tomorrow but this one sums it up.
voltman
06-10-07, 08:36 PM
You guys are nuts. It was hot out there.
I've got a bunch of pictures that I'll download tomorrow but this one sums it up.
That's a lot of sweat.
Grumpy Pig
06-10-07, 08:38 PM
That's a lot of sweat.on my car.
Mo'Phat
06-10-07, 08:56 PM
Oh dang...sorry I missed it, but was given 20th row, field level, home dugout Padres tickets...took my parents and eldest kiddo. Great time, and the Padres ______. (no spoilers)
I was thinking about y'all as I downed my 3rd $7.50 beer.
You boys are tough! Jeff, you are crazy but not stupid. Chalk this up to a great endurance experience on your fixie. And Chuckles, you made it so that is what counts. All of you look great (and Dan, your crappy cell phone pics are just fine) - I love the pics posted, but you all do look HOT! Hope you enjoyed the pie that you all earned. :D
Did you get my email? Shhhhh...it's sleepytime for you right now. :p
Chucklehead
06-10-07, 09:14 PM
sleepy time? try eaty time. all i've eaten today are two waffles, 1/3 slice of pie(bleah), and a little bag of cheese puffs. it's subway footlong time for me:D
Brandy
06-10-07, 09:17 PM
sleepy time? try eaty time. all i've eaten today are two waffles, 1/3 slice of pie(bleah), and a little bag of cheese puffs. it's subway footlong time for me:D
Sorry chuckie, but your sleepytime started 6.5 hours ago. You're late! Now, shhhhh...sleepytime. :p
Indolent58
06-10-07, 09:23 PM
dumbest move EVER. for the life of me, i could NOT stay hydrated today. halfway up east grade i had the bonk from hell. i knew it was coming, too, so i had to leave jason and try to get it overwith before i died or something.
Umm - he did make it back, yes? or is he still in a fetal position in the back of Frank's truck?
Mo'Phat
06-10-07, 09:24 PM
You boys are tough! Jeff, you are crazy but not stupid. Chalk this up to a great endurance experience on your fixie. And Chuckles, you made it so that is what counts. All of you look great (and Dan, your crappy cell phone pics are just fine) - I love the pics posted, but you all do look HOT! Hope you enjoyed the pie that you all earned. :D
Incorrect.
That was pretty dumb...I mean, really.
jschen
06-10-07, 09:27 PM
According to the route slip, there's about 11,200 feet of climbing (and descending) in about 82 miles. So... that's 137 vertical feet per mile. Only two questions: (1) Whose crazy idea was this? (2) Why am I stupid enough to play along? That's on par with a Torrey Pines century (doing repeats on Torrey), which works out to about 133 vertical feet per mile. But unlike Torrey, this route actually has some flat-ish sections, so the rest is crazy steep. And unlike the beautiful coastal weather, it gets hot inland. Oh, one more question. (3) What's our next crazy ride? :D
Thanks Frank for ensuring that Jason and I didn't get eaten by coyotes. Yes, we both made it up East Grade on our own power, but it was very reassuring to know that someone was watching out for us.
Oh, and the obligatory ride report. The turtles climbed Palomar at a relatively relaxed pace, taking right around two hours from the taco shop to the general store. After a fun descent into Lake Henshaw, we hung out with Frank and the RAAM checkpoint crew for a while before heading over to Mesa Grande. The beginning section of Mesa Grande hurts, though I had a relatively good day in that regard. Got to the pie shop in Santa Ysabel, and finished off our pie as the wabbits rolled in. Stayed around to keep them company as they recuperated.
Figuring that no one was stupid enough to do the East Grade climb, I decided to give a decidedly non-endurance effort on Mesa Grande on the return trip. It was fun. But then Jason convinced me to ride East Grade with him, and after about three miles into the climb, I was getting fatigued. Could ride hard, but my legs would hurt and possibly start cramping. Could ride slow, but then the climb would take longer. Opted to ensure a successful ride and slowed down to avoid burning out the legs. Jason went ahead, and I simply went at it at the best possible speed that didn't hurt the legs. I decided a snack at the top of Palomar was called for before descending to the cars. Not so much because there's much pedaling involved (there isn't) but because I was at risk of not thinking straight (not a good thing on a big descent) if I didn't feed my body some calories first. The ride ended with a fun descent to the cars, though there was some cramping as I tried to put in a good solid pedaling effort on the descent since there was no longer much point in holding back.
Go_Fast
06-10-07, 09:38 PM
there's about 10 times as many now as there was back in the mid-90's when i used to do it. way overcrowded. at least a lot of them were good enough to acknowledge us today by giving a honk and a wave.
palomar is definitely overcrowded...so much that i quit riding up there 3 years ago.
i like going out to sunrise highway and getting my knee down up there. :)
chimivee
06-10-07, 09:51 PM
Can't say I really enjoyed this ride... Spent the first half, chasing Chucklebrains - all the way to pie. And the second half fighting off cramps. Too hot!
Pie was a little disappointing... warm apple pie just isn't as good on a hot day. The chaser donut was equally meh.
Kudos to Jeff for being an IDIOT on a single speed, to Jason for being a fast carrot to chase, to other Jason for being consistently solid and chasing the fast carrot up east grade when no one else would, to Dan for pacing me when my legs were misbehaving, and Mark for completing a really tough ride.
Okay, I might have enjoyed it a little bit.
Mo'Phat
06-10-07, 09:52 PM
wow.
so.
sorry.
I.
missed.
it.
Indolent58
06-10-07, 09:56 PM
Pie was a little disappointing... warm apple pie just isn't as good on a hot day. The chaser donut was equally meh.
It is if you eat it with ice cream inside the shop where it's cool. :D
chimivee
06-10-07, 10:05 PM
wow.
so.
sorry.
I.
missed.
it.
and I missed trying to take you out on Mesa Grande.
Mo'Phat
06-10-07, 10:11 PM
Save that acorn for another day, James.
octico
06-10-07, 10:12 PM
You guys are nuts. It was hot out there.
I've got a bunch of pictures that I'll download tomorrow but this one sums it up.
That does not look good :(
octico
06-10-07, 10:14 PM
That was pretty dumb...I mean, really.
I have to agree with Mo on this one. I hate to be you knees in 20 years.
chimivee
06-10-07, 10:21 PM
Save that acorn for another day, James.
Yeah but the acorn didn't work... cause you didn't fall over. I'm thinking maybe a pinecone next time. Or a lead pipe.
chimivee
06-10-07, 10:25 PM
It is if you eat it with ice cream inside the shop where it's cool. :D
But the warm apple pie would cancel out the cold ice cream, leaving you with luke warm pie cream. Still, disappointing...
Indolent58
06-10-07, 10:52 PM
But the warm apple pie would cancel out the cold ice cream, leaving you with luke warm pie cream. Still, disappointing...
Watch it. You're dissing apple pie and ice cream. What's next? Mom?
spingineer
06-10-07, 10:56 PM
Dang, it looked hot out there. In contrast, it was cold and overcast on my ride today.
chimivee
06-10-07, 11:09 PM
Watch it. You're dissing apple pie and ice cream. What's next? Mom?
Well, the phrase is, "as American as apple pie," not "apple pie a la mode." :p
(I actually love ice cream w/ pie. Or just pie. Or just ice cream. Or just cheesecake.)
jsigone
06-11-07, 03:22 AM
yah I don't think I'll be taking my SS up Palomar anytime soon, I deemed it my Beach Cruiser. My knees are fine, legs aren't sore that bad, just my lower back and neck are sore from wrenching the cranks at such a slow RPM, and my neck from being in the drops on the long DH and rollers. I wanted to ride the SS up GMR next weekend, but having second, third thoughts on that, non the less if I even want to climb next week. I'm burnt out, though had a good sleep. I knocked out at 7pm, now 2 something. Gota throw my paper and get another hr sleep in there when I'm done.
efficiency
06-11-07, 07:20 AM
That was pretty tough. I'm not going back there anytime soon.
merider1
06-11-07, 08:17 AM
That was pretty tough. I'm not going back there anytime soon.
I've been wanting to come down and try this ride, but if you guys had a tough time with it...:eek: The pie doesn't even sound all that great.
jschen
06-11-07, 08:24 AM
The pie is excellent. I once brought a Julian Dutch apple pie to the lab for my labmates, and they were very grateful. Speaking of which, there's two whole pies in my office at the moment (thanks to a spirited drive to and from Julian on Saturday when I was on a break). My labmates get some more pie today.
M.E., as for the ride, it's a tough ride, but if you pace yourself and the steep climb at the beginning of Mesa Grande doesn't get to you and the weather doesn't beat you down (freezing cold, crazy hot, wildly windy, etc), then it's a rather nice ride. And you would love all the horses and cows we saw. I've also seen deer crossing the road on East Grade before.
merider1
06-11-07, 08:30 AM
M.E., as for the ride, it's a tough ride, but if you pace yourself and the steep climb at the beginning of Mesa Grande doesn't get to you and the weather doesn't beat you down (freezing cold, crazy hot, wildly windy, etc), then it's a rather nice ride. And you would love all the horses and cows we saw. I've also seen deer crossing the road on East Grade before.
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that Julian pie isn't good, it was the "warm pie" on a hot day that I was thinking isn't all that great. :o I do plan to come down there and try it on a weekend that I can (when another one is planned). It would definitely be a new ride experience!
chimivee
06-11-07, 09:27 AM
I've been wanting to come down and try this ride, but if you guys had a tough time with it...:eek: The pie doesn't even sound all that great.
Didn't mean to put such a negative glow on the ride. It's just me being whiney, since I've done this ride before when it was excellent, so with less than ideal conditions, it didn't compare. So, you should definitely do the Pie Ride sometime, M.E. - ride is awesome, pie is tasty, company is tolerable. :p
Grumpy Pig
06-11-07, 09:39 AM
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that Julian pie isn't good, it was the "warm pie" on a hot day that I was thinking isn't all that great. :o I do plan to come down there and try it on a weekend that I can (when another one is planned). It would definitely be a new ride experience!You have to put the pie in the microwave to melt the cheese. It cools off when the ice cream goes on top. The pie has so many calories that your system is overwhelmed and cannot store the fat.
I think you're only hearing a group of nancy boys that were hot and tired yesterday. I was in the same weather and was perfectly comfortable. The tops of my feet got a little sunburned but it's not uncomfortable.
merider1
06-11-07, 10:04 AM
Didn't mean to put such a negative glow on the ride. It's just me being whiney, since I've done this ride before when it was excellent, so with less than ideal conditions, it didn't compare. So, you should definitely do the Pie Ride sometime, M.E. - ride is awesome, pie is tasty, company is tolerable. :p
See now, the company is the draw for me (all of you are going to go puke now). :p :D
merider1
06-11-07, 10:06 AM
You have to put the pie in the microwave to melt the cheese. It cools off when the ice cream goes on top. The pie has so many calories that your system is overwhelmed and cannot store the fat.
I think you're only hearing a group of nancy boys that were hot and tired yesterday. I was in the same weather and was perfectly comfortable. The tops of my feet got a little sunburned but it's not uncomfortable.
:lol: I actually laughed aloud, Frank. Yes, well, I would have probably been a nancy boy myself yesterday since I hate heat! But now the pie sounds yummy. Cheese on apple pie is the best (I hate #@$%^@ weight watchers. :p )
jsigone
06-11-07, 10:16 AM
ME, you can DO this ride, just don't like me and try to bring the SS out. On a geared bike, Palomar isn't that bad, it's a bit steeper then Lil GMR and GMR. It's a 13 mile consistant climb which is alot shorter then anything on that Mountain. Mesa grande and short and sweet, sweet is the butt kicker part. Not much traffic on this road so you can ride the center line through the tight hairpins. The heat part is about the same as GMR, just a lil more windy. Nothing like climbing 8% grade with headwinds YUMMY.
And the PIE....WELL worth the trip over.
blue_nose
06-11-07, 11:17 AM
You guys are nuts. It was hot out there.
I've got a bunch of pictures that I'll download tomorrow but this one sums it up.
Way to stick with it. Remember pain is just weakness leaving the body. Or then again, maybe it was just the pie ;)
Good job all on climbing in the heat.
Indolent58
06-11-07, 11:25 AM
Way to stick with it. Remember pain is just weakness leaving the body. Or then again, maybe it was just the pie ;)
Good job all on climbing in the heat.
Like I always say "No pain, no pain". Not sure I got the saying right but it makes sense to me,.
Chucklehead
06-11-07, 11:43 AM
still feeling the effects from yesterday. i couldn't sleep at all last night, and my whole body is sore. screw this cycling crap.
voltman
06-11-07, 11:44 AM
still feeling the effects from yesterday. i couldn't sleep at all last night, and my whole body is sore. screw this cycling crap.
I think you should just sit in an RV for two weeks.
Chucklehead
06-11-07, 11:46 AM
that sounds like a great idea. now, where to find an RV...
jschen
06-11-07, 01:06 PM
I'm feeling pretty good at this point. Just some mildly sunburned skin. M.E., as noted before, if you ever want to do any variation of the Pie ride on a day that I have off, just let me know and I'll be your tour guide.