Ok did the ride today. Perfect weather, shorts and long sleeve jersey going up, pulled out the vest for the descent. The bottom 5 miles coming out of the valley were steeper, than the 7 miles on the south grade switchbacks. South Grade will be crowded I'm sure, but Cole Grade might be the place to see the winning break happen, that is one tough climb...
Wish you guys and gals were here to ride Palomar....the South Grade road was made just for the transport of the Hale telescope mirror to the Hale Palomar Observatory....so the slope of the road is the same on the switchbacks as the connecting straights....