Nate Harrison Beat-Up

"Nates Way" rando route. I did part of this one today.

Thursday OFR Gruppo were doing a little ride from Lake Henshaw, up East Grade to Mother's Kitchen, then on up to Palomar Observatory with a return via So. Grade Rd. back to Henshaw. I figured I could ride Lake Henshaw Century rando ride and hook up with them at Henshaw parking lot for a short early morning "hello" before riding on to Santa Ysabel. Good Idea.

I prepped up the SCOTT MTBG bike and rolled out in the dark. Hit the 7-Eleven for a start receipt and headed eastward toward Escondido. Noted a "grinding rub" on my front brake rotor. Played around with that a bit before finally stopping and doing a full front pad adjustment. Thirty minutes later, things were fine and I was running real late. Time to rethink my options as I ground up the hill and down into Valley Center. Wouldn't have enough time to do Rincon/Harrah's and Hwy. 76 climb to Lake Henshaw for the 0930 meet-up. Time to change the route... How about "Nate's Way"? I'd go up Nate Harrison dirty grade and meet them at Palomar Mtn/Mother's Kitchen. Sounded good as I balanced on the mini-bike lane towards Valley Center High School.

Look-back shot of Nate Harrison Grade

After the hi-speed run down Cole Grade Road into Pauma Valley, things were starting to heat up as I turned onto the placid Harrison Grade Rd. thru orange groves. The minute you're on this road, you start to go up. It sort of sneaks in to 5% grade where you think it's level! Up, up and away?

Gears weren't the problem today. With a 30T ring on the front and a 10-42 cassette on the rear, I had plenty left over. I was grinding up the 12-14% dirt grades, making a few stops for water breaks along the way. Finally reaching the tree line, I was welcomed by the stop at Nate's Monument in the shade. BIG MISTAKE! Black flies and swarms of mosquitoes were on me in a flash. Oh, crap. One hand on the bars, the other one fanning my face as I crept up the rutted, rough, rocky road. Looks like they hadn't graded this section since the last time I was up here last year. I was about gassed as I finally reached the stop sign and hard surface again. Don't know where the flies and mosquitoes went.

Ex-Memorial plaque on Nate Harrison Grade

More uphill as my legs ached and I wondered if I would ever get over to Mother's Kitchen. Made it. OFR gruppo was over by the bathroom. After a few pictures and brief chat, several of them left for the 5 mile jaunt up to the observatory. I couldn't wait for my ice cream sandwich and drink at the Store. Stretching out in the porch chair, I was  relaxed enough to enjoy the moment.  OFR'er Tom Hanson finally left for So. Grade. Several old Harley riders arrived and we passed around some bull about how great we weren't. Refreshed a bit, I was soon off downhill on So. Grade Road.

With my 3" rubber, I was flying down the rough road when I noticed a rider walking up. Pulled over and chatted a bit. He said he was with a group that spent the night in Carlsbad and were doing Palomar Mtn. today. He was cooked and was cramping. I gave him some lame advice, 2-B6 tabs and answered a few questions. "Is there a liquor store at the top?" Amazing!

As I rolled downhill, I noticed another rider walking up. He was a short stocky guy... built like a sprinter. Being a good rando guy, I pulled over. No cramping, but out of water. I mentioned a spring fountain up the road a bit for his near refill. He had a much better attitude and mentioned "they bit off more than they could chew today"! Really?

Down near the bottom of East Grade, another Asian member of the group was pulled over under a tree. After a brief chat, he had only one bottle of water and asked: "where does it level off" Haha. I said "it levels off at the top by Mothers Kitchen"! Soon the other two riders rode down and met up. I suggested they go to the nearby Campground and see if they could get some water before riding any further. They mentioned several more riders way behind climbing Hwy. 76. LOL. I turned the corner and headed eastward on Hwy. 76.

Santa Ysabel TTr. closed due to dirtslide

Made a short refill stop at the Henshaw Store. OFR cars were parked quietly on the side lot. Mesa Grande was a slog, even with the super gears. Nice and quiet with bits of shade today. Couldn't wait for the Black Mtn. dirt.

BM Road was in good condition, with some washboard at the top and only met one car. Upper Santa Ysabel Trail was shut off and under repair near the bridge. Looks like dirt slide. Went back to BCRd and headed for Ramona instead. Did the double jog and soon arrived in downtown Ramona. Time for a $2 Choc. Shake at McD's with my water refill. Nice. Finally got out of town and all the sewer grates and traffic. Some traffic on Highland Valley Road, but I could handle that with the end in sight. Took the back way thru Hodges via dirt path to catch a little more dirt before jumping on El Ku and making my way back to San Marcos.

Interesting day and a whole lot more miles than Nate Way- I'll call it "Nate Harrison Century Trail" instead.

- randorides

Catalina Round Triper

Full route map from today's ride

Some new roads awaited on Catalina as John Mestemacher and I planned this short notice ride. I had emailed several randos and posted it up on the SDrando blog. Several riders showed interest, but as usual, no takers. Joe Morgan (ex-Nytro) and John Bruce (ex-fire captain) would meet us in Oceanside for the ride up to Dana Point. Nice to have some company and get updates on the latest biker-speak.

I was prepped for a early depart for the scheduled 05:15 start time, Zaharah mentioned that there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas, so I was glued to the TV catching the details. After humping it roadie style to the AM/PM San Marcos start, I was still late by 12 minutes. John was hanging around wondering if he had the wrong start point. After grabbing a receipt, we were off in a flash.

John's tubeless tire repair

We'd need a few short cuts to make up for lost time and we decided on N. Twin Oaks Road in lieu of the increased traffic going up Deer Springs to Hwy. 395. Seems everyone was driving to work at the nursery or the quarry about then and many cars passed us as we climbed up Twin Oaks. After we lumbered up the 14% short grade to the top, it was a fast downhill to Gopher Cyn. Road. For some reason there was light traffic as we sped westward. Checking my helmet mirror, John's light was no where to be seen. After a short turn-around, I found him roadside with his rear wheel out!

Bad cut in his tubeless tire. After a wipe-down of the Orange Sealant, I added a Parks tire boot to the mix and John put in his carry-along tube to finish the job. A short cell call home had his wife delivering a new tire and floor pump to our Denny's meet up spot in Oceanside. We were soon off to Little Gopher Cyn and points west. I noticed straight away that his rear tire repair was loosing air. One thing I didn't do well, was feel carefully inside the tire for sharp objects before John buttoned it up. Not good. Several bike path stops to re-airthe tube put us at Denny's before 0800.

Carnival Cruise Ship @ Avalon Bay

John Bruce was there chatting with Gabbie (John's wife). No show Joe. Un-thoughtfully, I was chatting with JB as John was changing his tire. We hastily rolled out at 8:05 and were soon on the noisy I-5 northward at a fast clip. I was easily geared-out on my SCOTT modified MTB. No bathroom stops this trip. JB was pulling hard @20mph as I bounced around on my saddle.

Well after 0900 as we met little traffic thru San Clemente and flew toward Dana Point. Another short cut and we rolled into the Landing @ 09:35. Ferry leaves at 9:40! John picked up the boarding passes and I hit the bathroom. We all went to the railing and watched a long line load onto the ferry. We bid JB "adios" as we were the last to load. Time to relax and load up some carbs on the trip to Catalina.

Top of the climb view

The Ferry was full up as we motored westward. The captain deviated southward as we neared the island to intercept a pod of dolphins. Passengers were running around a taking pictures as the dolphins danced around the Ferry. Interesting indeed! There also was a large Carnival Cruise Ship anchored in the bay. We were the first off after the gangplank was secured and headed for the bathrooms.

After filling our bottles with tepid water, we were off into the masses of tourists for the few blocks of flat riding before hitting the hills. Up, up and away. Not many carts as we kept dropping gears to match the steep road out of Avalon. A hour later we were at the top overlook. The cruise ship looked tiny way back down in the Bay. After a short rest, we were off on gravel/bumpy roads to the Airport. Two buffalo bulls were rutting around near the campground as a couple of hikers sat nearby taking a break.

Beautiful tile map of Catalina Island

Rollers, rollers and more rollers as we finally climbed to the Airport In The Sky. They have a large raised tile map of the island out front of the restaurant. We grabbed a few overpriced drinks and headed to the back patio, where we joined one family and a lone ambitious squirrel. John was intently watching the squirrel hop up on a table and take napkins from the napkin dispense, pack them into his mouth and scurry off. John made friends with a little girl, as she kept staring at him in his white rando jersey. We hung around for a while, discussing the ride options. We decided to forgo the trip down to  Little Harbor and just do the bumpy return route instead.

About a mile in, I finally decided to let a few lbs of air out of my 3" tires. About 5 lbs each made a great difference on the rough road. We both welcomed the smooth sections of gravel mixed in. Past the campground again, one lone bull lay guarding the gravel  road in. A while later, we stopped at the zip-line to observe several thrill seekers gliding down. Next up was a short ride around to Descanso Beach and the end of the zip line.

Little girl admires Rando John

I just had to check out the "Von's Express" store. Prices weren't too high there. $1 for a Gatorade beats the $2.50 elsewhere. Finally we made our way to the pier and sat in the sun watching the Cruise Ship shuttle passengers back and forth. Local fisherman was trying his luck so we kept chatting with him about showing us his big  catch. NOT. After a while, the cruise ship slowly made it's way southward as we lined up for the full-up ferry ride back to Dana Point.

We had several seats in the back, so we could easily check on our bikes and still catch a rest. Beautiful sunset as we neared Dana Point. Only 1 hr 15 minute trip back. At 7:00, we were out of the bathroom, bottles filled and rolling south with lights blazing. Reflective vests and arm warmers were in vogue.

Ferry wake hi-lights sunset over Catalina Island

No traffic at all as we only managed one red light all the way thru San Clemente. A short stop at San Onofre bathroom #1 and more quiet riding southward. We opted for I-5 south to normal traffic and littered bike lane. Time for "HIGH" setting on the Cygolite as the passing traffic wasn't lighting up the bike lane as I expected. At Harbor Drive Exit to Oceanside, I rode over a pile of glass I knew was there!

Quiet cruise thru Oceanside as John informed the Ms. he would be home around 10:30 PM. He was close as we departed company on Coast Highway. After a "bush" stop, I struggled home before 11:00. After clean-up, stretch and food, it was near 1:00 AM before I hit the sack. Long day on the road, for sure.

- randorides