Palomar Mountain Sunday March 20
 

It looks like the rain will be pretty light or miss us completely on Sunday. I need some climbing practice, so I'm riding Palomar on Sunday. I plan on rolling out of Harrah's parking lot at 7AM, and taking between 1:45-2:00 to reach the store.

Depending on how the legs feel, I may also do East Grade. If anyone wants to bundle up and ride along, let me know.

Love to but I am so out of shape. Haven't been riding because of my kidney stone :(

You sure about the weather?
looks like its going to be unpleasant...

I am sure it was great great today...huh Al??? We should have come down today right?

a bit cool this morning and some brief light rain, though I am sure it would have been cold on the mountain.
i believe it will be nastier tomorrow.

wunderground forecast for Palomar:

So, it won't be a walk in the park, but it is still looking doable.

Hey Mr. Clyde, can we try again in a few weeks, namely April 9 or 10? I'm too much of a chicken when the weather forecast says rain. :o Maybe we can drag Mr. Beanz along. :D

Just go for it. At the worst, you'll probably end up with some good memories. It's the challenges and unique experiences that you really remember.

Ahh, I'm gonna pass. When I posted this, the forecast looked doable. I'm just frustrated with my lack of riding time lately and was hoping for the best.

I hear there are some others going up on 4/9th (allegedly)
maybe the weather will play ball by then
cheers

Hope you guys have fun and be safe. Passing through Julian about 11 on a 400k yesterday, it was 40 degrees and horrible winds. Palomar should be worse today. Wish I would have seen this earlier though. Probably would have made a good recovery ride. :P

You're a wise man, Mr. :thumb: Let's try again when the weather is better. I'm planning to do the Palomar Challenge at the end of June, and I want to go up there a few times before that.

Hey rallison, your avatar alone says a lot. And I've seen a few of your posts about riding in rain and snow. :thumb: I'm nowhere near your class, bro. A few years ago I stuck on GMR in freezing rain and trust me - those ain't no good memories. :( Well, I do ride when most other people stay indoors, drinking beer with the air conditioner cranked up. If that counts towards my bad-arse credits, then I've got a few. :D

Uh, I don't know how wise I am. I read all your weather predictions, was just about to go back to bed, but for some strange reason I loaded up the bike and went for it. No way I was doing East Grade, my legs were not feeling it today.

No rain, the wind was somewhat gusty above 4,000 ft but manageable. I took a look at the radar, and decided if I ran into rain I would turn around. Saw about 6 other cyclists coming up as I was going down. Zero traffic compared to normal. Maybe 6 cars and one motorcycle total on the way up. That was nice.

Very peaceful ride. Got to hear the gurgling brooks and the birds chirping instead of the cars and motorcycles.

On the way down, I had wool socks, leg warmers, bibs, long sleeve base layer, jersey, jacket, rain jacket on top of that for wind barrier, and my waterproof/windproof gloves on. It was still chilly but survivable. Time for a shower and a nap.

I'm out of town that weekend. Between work trips and kids activities, free weekends seem rare. When it warms up we'll have to do that.

A question for future rides: Is there a preferred place at Harrah's for cyclists to park and stay out of the way of hotel guests? And has casino security ever given any hassle?

OK, sorry - you're nutz! ;) :D Nice report, glad you had good time up there. :thumb:

I've done quite a few rides from Harrah's and never had any problems. I usually park on the overflow parking which is on the South end of the property. In return they get my business - I eat lunch at the casino and when I feel lucky, I throw a few bucks in the machines. And I always do this in my cycling clothes, so they learn that we are customers too. :D As opposed to the taco shop on the corner of Valley Center and Hwy 76 - I wouldn't buy even a bottle of water there.
I think the casino is actually pretty friendly towards cyclists. When they had the Tour of CA up Palomar, the casino offered free parking for the spectators.

Thanks for the info about Harrah's. Good to know they are cyclist friendly.

Jimmy...A few of us are shooting for the 9th!!
Yes...get Mr B and Gina to come down...

Thank you for letting me know Herb! Sounds good, let's talk closer to the time. Are you planning the same thing - start from Harrah's?
As for Beanz - he works in mysterious ways. ;) He's ridden all over SoCal but I don't think he's ever been up Palomar which is probably the only world famous SoCal climb. I've tried to talk him into this ride many times but without any luck. I think he is just too old for it. :p :D

Palomar was also just fine in the afternoon. Not a drop of rain, although the sky did get progressively darker. The wind, surprisingly, was fine too. Just a few exposed spots that received some gusts. Ditto what MyClyde said - the traffic level was great on South Grade.

I counted a total of 3 motorcycles and 1 performance car driving fast. Traffic from the top of the climb to the observatory was basically nonexistent. I also counted a total of 0 other cyclists. I guess I was the only crazy one to attempt Palomar in the afternoon.

Ditto what Jimmy said, except sometimes the overflow lot is blocked off. I just park in the ground lot at the north east corner of the property if it is just me. I have waved at security and they wave back. I too usually go in and buy a snack after the ride to thank them with some business.

The last time I parked at Harrah's, the security guard asked me what my time from the taco shop was. His son is a cyclist.