Originally Posted by OC Roadie
If your goal is to climb Baldy, then I suggest you do Palomar Mt, since you are in San Diego. The climb up Mt Baldy Rd is tougher, although pretty similar to the South Grade climb up Palomar. The main difference would be that the last 3.5 miles to the ski lifts on Baldy are much steeper than anything on Palomar. I would also suggest the Glendora Moutain Road route up to Mt Baldy, IMO it's a lot more fun and scenic, but twice the distance.
Yup, plan on doing Palomar and GMR sometime, too. The thing is, when I first started cycling and thought about goals, the first thing that came to mind is Baldy since my parents live three blocks from the Claremont end of Mt. Baldy Rd. Had no clue at the time how it might compare with other climbs. Just knew it was right there behind my parents' house.
Last time I rode up Mt Baldy (admittedly going by way of Upland to give myself a bit of warm-up), I turned around about a mile past the tunnels. I figure that over Thanksgiving, I'll probably aim to get to Baldy Village, and perhaps to where the switchbacks start. And maybe do GMR.