Mt. Palomar Hill Climb

Yesterday was the first wednesday without a WNR since early spring. I suppose I could have taken the day off, but instead I decided to ride my road bike uphill for about 15 miles. I'd heard of Mt. Palomar before, but I'd never been anywhere near it. Before I left Michigan last week, I began to do a little research on the mountain. It's only a little over an hour from Sarah's brother's house. It was a mountain top finish in last year's Tour of California. It's not a particularly steep climb, but it is long. I wanted to ride it on this trip, and yesterday I did. Sarah and I decided to head north from Encinitas yesterday, and I talked her into shuttling me for the ride first. She drove me to the bottom of the East Grade Road and left for the Mt. Palomar Observatory. I set out on the bike and quickly settled into a slightly elevated, but sustainable pace. And so it was for about an hour. Then, about ten miles in there was a brief respite of downhill before turning back uphill again. I rolled into the parking lot of the observatory in just over an hour and a half. I was hungry and a little chilled, but other than that the legs seemed to have worked pretty well. Apparently my laziness of late hasn't put too much of a dent in my base. We head north to the central coast tomorrow; and from what I can tell from the maps so far, there appears to be some good riding to be had. Check out the pictures and ride data below. Stay tuned for reports from wine country.


Before.


Durning.


After.


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Activity Details for
Mt. Palomar Hill Climb