Just a great day for some desert cycling and bagging another trip up the Montezuma Grade!
 

Quick note for today's ride: mostly had to slow down due to flats! Possibly the rains have washed some extra debris into the roads? Oh well, at least it was nice and sunny for our group: Mary Ann, Beth, Bob, and me. We did get up to Valley Center and Beth & Bob added on a loop along Woods Valley and Lake Wohlford. I'm hoping for fewer flats and more miles on tomorrow's Borrego Five-O.
 
Did manage to get one pic of the snow in the mountains...

Next week's ride is a favorite...

Del Dios & Elfin Forest
Date: Tuesday March 27, 2012
Time: 9:00am
Scenic riding with plenty of hills! Coffee stop in Escondido.
 
Cheers,
Steve

Some advance notice for next week's Extra Credit Ride, 'cuz it'll be on Wednesday (not the usual Thursday) and will involve driving to the start.
 
Borrego Five-O
Date: Wednesday March 21,  2012
Clip-in Time: 8:30AM
Start/Finish: Borrego Springs (Christmas Circle)
Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/334086
Distance: 50 miles
Elev. Gain: 4,600'
 
It's a Big Climb ride (featuring Montezuma Grade - about 11 miles) and the weather forecast looks really good.  Bonus: if the current storm drops enough white stuff to last a few days, we might be treated to some snowy high desert vistas on the higher elevations of Montezuma Grade. Early spring rains have been light so there probably won't be big wildflower displays, but there should be some cactus blossoms. Last year's BFO ride was great and this year's should be even better.
 
The route hits Montezuma Grade after just 1.5 warm-up miles and climbing time will depend upon your fitness level, but two hours would be about right for most riders. At the top we'll make a stop at the Ranchita Country Store, and then roll down to the turn-off for Hwy S2. There's a one mile climb on S2 before we start dropping down (about 10 miles) to Scissors Crossing. The next leg rolls down through the narrows of Sentenac Canyon and then onwards to Yaqui Pass Road, where we'll make a stop at the Tamarisk Grove campground. The final segment will go up and over Yaqui Pass (about 2 miles) and then drop (about 5 miles) to the edge of Borrego Springs, before ending with fairly flat run back to Christmas Circle.
 
Plan for a post-ride Mexican restaurant stop.  
  
Drive time from the Rancho Bernardo area to Borrego Springs is about 1.5 hours... I'm thinking we'll probably be back around 5:00pm.
 
Cheers,
Steve
 

Perfect weather for cycling today. Thanks to Les and Jerry for taking part in this (r)Ides of March effort up to Rainbow. Lots of climbing but worth it! 
Cheers,
Steve

Next week's ride takes us up a big hill...
Java Journey
Date: Tuesday March 20, 2012
Time: 9:00am
Out-n-Back to Valley Center with a stop at Java Journey.
 
Cheers,
Steve