tomdecel

I am doing the Amtrak Century from Irvine to San Diego in a few weeks. I am looking at it as an 80 miles ride + Torrey Pines. The rest should be easy.

I heard some time ago that there are two parallel roads at Torrey. I have done the outside one half a dozen times but I don't know anything about the inside one. Which one is easier, shorter or steeper?

Thanks

IanInSD

Inside Torrey is a shorter climb but steeper, it's about 2/3 to 3/4 or a mile at 8 - 10% or something like that. The rest is about 2% to the first light on top of Torrey which is the north end of the golf course. The last third or so the concrete is cracked so be on the look out and the final 100 ft or so the pavement is very rough. To climb inside Torrey, just turn as if you were going to park at the reserve and then just that road all the way thru. Once past the final parking spot (across the bathrooms), that area is closed off to cars - this is also where the cracks in the concrete start.

robertkat

By the time you get to TP, the ped traffic on the inside might be discouraging.

efficiency

I prefer inside. The painful part is over more quickly.

diphthong

yeah, i think by the time you get to torrey pines, you'll probably want the remarkably
consistent grade of the main coast road vs. the steep-steeper-mellow-steep-false flat
of the road going thru the reserve. if you're still feeling great when you get there,
opt for the inside track as there are no major climbs remaining in the ride.

Jancouver

Painful part? I have never seen any pain on your face going up the TP

sd_mike

Torrey Pines Grade used to be something I'd dread. I've hit the bottom of the grade at many different energy levels and mileages. So far, I seem to have the same pace. It is fun to climb, and relatively easy. Go climb Hwy 35 from Hood River to Government Camp in Oregon. Think of it as Torrey Pines, only 40 miles long.

efficiency

I've got a poker face.

GP

The inside route allows you to look at the female hikers and runners.

IanInSD

Old man perv. Why not just hide in the bushes don't ya!

GP

Who said I don't?

robertkat

I concur. I can get up it a lot quicker now, but whether I'm just starting a ride or at the end of a 300k, my pace is about the same. I think it's the nature of the climb. For an extra treat, try it at night. Seriously. It's surreal. You'll thank me.

Brian Sorrell

I rode Torrey Pines for the first time yesterday --- day 7 of a coastal tour from San Francisco. Compared to Big Sur it's a walk in the park. My Garmin had it at a very steady 6% grade and it's only about 1.5 miles or so. If there's one thing I learned on this trip, patience and confidence will get you to the top of anything.

(Oh, and I did the whole ride fixed gear because I'm a masochist.)

GP

That must be the outside. I don't think the inside is that far.

I did the inside this morning. It's a very short hill judging from my ipod - less than one song. Lots of cars jockeying around in the lot before you enter the park; one lady tried to swoop into a spot and almost became an ace in that one move.

Brian Sorrell

^^ Yeah, that's the outside. The inside looked quite a bit shorter.
And I might be overstating the distance. I guess it depends on when you start counting and when you stop, of course. And I was rounding everything at that point in the ride. I lost my ability to process grades and distances somewhere soon after Big Sur. Everything became --- "Well, at least it's not as bad as THAT."