Stagecoach 200 Recon

Been putting this recon route off for a month now. Too hot, too windy or other things. You know how it is? It came down to a hellva long way to just get to the start plus it looked like rain for Wednesday and Thursday. Had to go to fulfill the near empty pic cache for a new route I was working on with the pseudo title of "Stagecoach 200". Just cut the real Stagecoach 400 route in half and connect the two sides of the loop. Easier said than done.

Left home early to buzz over to Escondido and catch the 5:45 bus to Ramona. I was on 3rd street and climbing toward Santa Ysabel at 6:30 AM. Sucking wind on Old Julian Hwy, couldn't get things dialed in right. Must be the heavy, big tire bike? Sun was coming up and warming the joints. Temp was 46F when I left with arm warmers, woolie cap and knee warmer to boot. Had the vest on too. Not much traffic going east when I turned onto Hwy. 78. Don's Market is always a welcome relief when I picked up 2 bananas and a small bottle of G'ade. With the 2 bottles on the bike, this had to last to Perkin's Market in Descanso.

Nice little climb up toward Julian. Real lite traffic as I made a few stops for photos. Pine Hill Road is supposed to be faster going southward, something I wouldn't notice for 30 minutes. Made a few mental notes on how easy the turns onto Eagle Peak and Boulder Creek Roads are to miss. The fire station signs are still at each turn. Just follow the those signs! At night, this area would be a real "get lost-er". Finally, I arrived at the Forest Service Station at Engineer Rd. No sign out front! I rode in to check out the outside water fountain. Several firefighters were chit-chatting. They said they were repairing the sign. Water fountain wasn't working, but offered bottled water. I thanked them as I remembered how many times I've stopped at that convenient fountain.

Boulder Creek Road dirt starts right away, not with the logical downhill, but more climbing. Road has been resurfaced with decomposed granite and is packed tight. Some places were quite smooth.