LCI_Brian

I've been thinking about doing this ride this year, from 12/26 - 12/31. I've done it once before. Anyone going?

https://sandiegohostels.org/bike.shtml

jsigone

nope I'll be crazy busy the last week of the year here at work

merider1

I think Bitingduck is if my memory serves (which is why he can't do my Post Holiday Bloat Ride on the 30th).

bitingduck

I've talking up the ride here for a while-- I think this year will be my 7th San Diego X-mas ride. Last year turnout was light due I think to the rains the year before (rain every day, huge numbers of people sagging in) but the weather was absolutely perfect, and the ride was great.

I'm the guy who always announces at the hot seat that I woke up in Detroit that morning and flew to the start-- I usually start an hour and a half late or so and chase. This year I'm one of the kitchen leads for dinner (was last year, too).

LCI_Brian

I did the ride in 2002. The weather was great, but that was the year with the really stiff headwinds from Palm Springs to Beaumont. It's normally windy in that section, but everyone said that was the windiest year in recent memory. I had to stay in a paceline just to go 7 mph!

jsigone

wow those winds musta been killer. Speaking of which we're suppose to get some NE winds coming through, gust up to 60mph. Hope no one is riding in the mountains this weekend!!!

bitingduck

I've never done the official route from Palm Desert to Hemet-- always go over the mountain. I used to go all the way to mountain center but discovered a really nice low traffic alternative through Anza and down Bautista road several years ago. The catch is that its a dirt road, so you have to be pretty confident of your handling skills. It's not as nice a road as Viejas Grade (the dirt road that people take after Alpine on the first day) but it's not bad except for the occasional rut or sandy bit.

edit: I think I've read your trip report online, too, with Lili and the wind. I've always been too lazy to write trip reports, but yours was fun to read.

LCI_Brian

Yeah, that was mine that you read. Glad you enjoyed it! If I do the ride again this year, I won't have time to write a report, too busy with the one-year old son and all.

I decided for the first year I'd do the "official" route, just to say it's official. I like hills so I will probably do the "alternate" routes this time. Especially on that day from Palm Desert to Hemet, as the route through Cabazon, Beaumont, and Banning is kinda ugly.

bitingduck

Yeah, the cabazon/beaumont ride has never appealed to me. I'm scoping out an alternate route for this year where it looks like there's a maintained dirt road from Idyllwild to Hemet-- it would be sort of fun to ride up to Idyllwild and then descend the dirt into Hemet. The road descent from mountain center has some bad karma to it and my GF doesn't like to do it.

LCI_Brian

Just wanted to "bump" the thread and mention that I officially got the hall pass to do the ride this year!

bitingduck

cool - see you in a couple weeks.

Nachoman

Sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I could go.

LCI_Brian

Turns out I had to bail at the last minute, since I got back from a business trip right before Christmas, and I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow, which would have left no time with the family if I tried to go on the ride. I hope it went well, though.

bitingduck

It was great except for day 2-- there was a storm coming in off the ocean as we were rolling over sunrise highway. I was expecting it to be nicer on the back side (which is usually the case) but it was actually far worse-- intense winds and sleet (stinging pretty sharply) accumulating on the ground, and sometimes turning to hail. Only a few riders finished the day without sagging-- it was about the worst conditions I've been in on a long ride (I've commuted in worse, but in relatively urban areas where there was emergency shelter available).

Day 3 was a bit of a pain for me, since my SO skated from Borrego Springs to Salton City, and I waited for her (planning to ride the rest together) instead of getting into the love train out of Salton City. There was a logistical problem that put her shoes in a different vehicle than her bike, and she got way delayed riding out, so I ended up soloing most of the way into a 20+ mph headwind from Salton City to Palm Desert so I could get there in time to start dinner.

All the other days were really nice, and the food all came out great. Turnout was good, with about 100 people including a lot of new riders in addition to some old hands.

merider1

Sounds like you had an adventure, BD. Glad you got back safe, and the meeting up the SO sounds very romantic (even with the logistical issues).

bitingduck

We had ridden down from Warner Springs to Borrego together, and she switched to skates there and skated with one of the slower riders.

She ended up wearing some borrowed size 10 shoes that fit some borrowed pedals to ride to Palm Desert. Her feet are size 5, so they looked like clown shoes. She rolled in just in time to take over dinner prep supervision while I ran to the store to get stuff that hadn't been bought in time (like tortillas, since it was burrito night...)