Thanks, Hien! :) Still fighting the pudge one pedal stroke at a time.

Thanks very much! :) I'm afraid Desiree (the lass in blue jersey) had moved out of state a few years ago and we've lost touch. Hopefully she's well and still out harassing the steepies wherever she is. She's the really impressive one in the videos. This was shot after she had lost half of her lung capacity to the chemotherapy necessary to beat her malignant melanoma into remission. She looked me up to go ride the steepest hills we could find in town every Wednesday morning because she wanted to train to do the Savageman Triathlon, which includes the hideous Westernport Wall in its bike section... to benefit melanoma research. We rode all the walls of Dictionary Hills and Mt Helix and a few other stupid steep roads all summer, then she went off and completed the Savageman that fall. Talk about beating all the odds! I'm still riding steep hills, but mostly in the north part of the county now, and not as fit as when the video was made. :) It's a blessing to live in a part of the country that has bike-friendly climate all year round! Maybe one of these days I'll bump into you on a hill. ;)

Hi. The video starts with climbing east on Silverleaf Dr from N Twin Oaks Valley Rd, then El Paseo north to Hollyhill to Gopher Cyn. Not in video is the grind up Hwy 395 to Via Ulmer. The scenic freeway-overlooking lane is Aquaduct Rd to Calle Joya, then the steep lanes of Rancho Amigos before returning to Aquaduct Rd to Caminito Quieto and descending W Lilac Rd. :)

@@SDcycler thanks. I'm going to try this route soon

@@diegomata9942 Have fun!

Oh, sorry I only just saw your comment. Hope the ride went well! On the ride in the video I was on a road bike with 25mm Gatorskin tires. 28mm lightly threaded tires would have worked better.

Bwahaha, I had no idea the thing is such a big hit with mountain bikers! We ran out after just an hour and a half.

My pleasure! I'm glad to see more bike infra being put in around the county. The Pershing Bikeway can't happen soon enough! :)

Hi. No, it's a drinking water reservoir. We aren't allowed in at all. Lake Hodges, just across Del Dios Hwy to the south, does allow fishing and boating, tho.

David Bowie for the win! ;)

Yup, they really go all out for Halloween in that hood. Almost like Maryland St in Hillcrest. :D

Thanks a bunch, Hien! :) Doing my best to get a lot of saddle time in without getting hit on the road. ;)

Thanks very much! I only did the Wafer, actually. Meant to do the full Waffle this year, but the ride looks prime for cancelation (2020 sure is the worst year ever). :( Fingers crossed for next year!

Hey Hien! Nah, this was from 2013 with the original all aluminum Smorgmobile. :) Still filming with the old handheld camera (tho it was new back then!). I originally uploaded it as 'unlisted'. Only just turned it public today.

My pleasure, Jamie. :D That's my buddy Hugo featured in the video. It's amazing what hills he has cycled up on our rides! One of these days I hope you can join us.

@@SDcycler That would be awesome someday soon. I remember a ride with you and Hugo starting at Cal Coast way WAY back in the day. You both were so kind to wait for me at the top of Washington. Good times.

@@spokevolumes Good times, my friend! :)

Oh, Serpentine isn't that bad to navigate on a gravel bike, though it sure is a bumpy experience. The worst part was taking the turns (they were a bit dry and loose) on 30mm tires. That was my first time down Cudweed, so that drop was pause-worthy. :)

It's the magic of the camera, Hien. ;) Nobody dared crashing 'cause they knew I was filming.... or something like that. (Just kidding! It was a fun ride... just before we all got grounded with this pandemic thingy).

It was definitely not a routine one, bro. :) Thanks! I wasn't going all that fast, actually. The front tire was leaky, so keeping it rolling slowed the leak rate a bit, but I didn't know how soft it was getting, so I didn't try to rip the descent. Got some new patch kits in the mail over the weekend. Will definitely be checking them more often than I used to. Lessons learned! :)

My pleasure. :) This is quite a way south of Yosemite, though, and it is a big uphill ride (comparable to L'Alpe d'Huez in the French Alps). It's a 12 miles climb from the junction of Hwy 76 and Valley Center Rd to the top of Palomar South Grade Rd, fairly consistent between 6-9% grade with a short false flat just before South Grade Rd turn off. Traffic here isn't bad on weekdays, but there are a few motorcycle groups that like to ride South Grade Rd and its 21 hairpin turns on weekends, so I would avoid it on weekends and holidays. Cheers!

Hi Cesar. I was on a road bike with 30mm tires, and that coped okay. Would have liked to have 32mm tires on instead for the sand pits of Mighty Mule and Sandy Bandy, though. :) You can hit this thing with either road bike (with at least 28mm tires. I've done the sand pits on 25mm, and that wasn't fun at all, and nearly impossible in traffic) or gravel bike. Some people even ride it with hard tail mtb, and there were a few elipticos, too (dunno how those guys managed. They're quite amazing).

@@SDcycler Thanks for the reply! I have decided to do the San Diego Grand Fondo instead. Perhaps next year BWR !!

@@cesarivanramos9591 That's cool. :) The Campagnolo Gran Fondo does a nice route, too!

Nah, I'm not that crazy (and my health insurance isn't that great). :)

Ima do this one day, probably in my 40s since ima obviously come out with something broken lmfao

My pleasure, bro. :) You would have enjoyed it. It was nice and mellow!

Rest stops were awesome! :) Energy bars, cut bananas, chips, pbj sandwiches, electrolyte drinks, cold coke. Bandy Canyon rest stop had beer this year. I think Questhaven one also had bacon this year, but they ran out before I got there. Swags were pretty good this year, too.

Moo. :)

Oh, it was way fun, Hien. :D Those mtb gals were great about not leaving me in the dust. It was definitely good training for the BWR.

Thanks, Jamie. Glad you enjoyed it! :D I should do a compilation clip of all the mechanicals and flats I encountered during the ride. There was some serious abuse of the tire irons out there!

@@SDcycler Just rewatched this, and that's what I was thinking: so many mechanicals and flats! Hope you went unscathed. Your climbs and descents were so fun to watch and went with the music perfectly.

@@spokevolumes Thanks! :D The last movement of Sibelius' violin concerto was stuck in my head all day long, so it helped me time the GoPro shooting periods a lot. My 3rd Wafer (2022) wasn't as free of crashes and mechanicals as the first two, but the 'crashes' were silly and low speed, and the only mechanical was easily fixed (the rear wheel came off the drop off when my buddy landed on my bike as we climbed Double Peak's dirt top ramp. I just had to pop the wheel back in and reset the chain and we were off riding again). :)

Nah, the Waffle goes first, then Wafer about 30 min later. :) Might change, tho (last year all the rides got delayed almost an hour just to let everyone get breakfast).

Thanks very much, Hien. :) I was just happy I made it back to the pavement without getting eaten by a mountain lion. Saw a few interesting tracks in the dirt; definitely some coyotes, some deer, and one feline... either a bobcat or a small mountain lion. I didn't get there until almost 11am, tho, so that wasn't so concerning. :D I do post these rides at a facebook group page called Hillbillies. You're definitely welcome to come along! facebook.com/groups/355097131289823/

Thanks very much! :)

Yup. :D Been meaning to introduce the new bike to that hill for a while, but it's been a very wet winter here (and I don't like descending S6 and the 76 when they're wet). No blog about this ride, since I've posted about it a few times before. I'm planning a couple of new biking adventures in that general area soon, though. Will definitely write about those. ;)

@@SDcycler Looking forward to your videos and blogs.🚵😊

@@spinmotion Thanks very much! :D Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We're having an actual rainy season here, apparently.

From the top to the stop sign at Hwy 76 is 6 mile, then another 6 mile (not shown here, but also nice and wiggly... with more cars) to the Valley Center traffic circle (base of climb). :) One of the best descents in San Diego! I stopped this vid about 1/3 mile from from the Hwy 76 stop sign to keep video size manageable (it takes a long time to upload long vids). The last 1/3 mile is straight, anyhow. :)

@@SDcycler Looks like a steady climb and descent on the S6. Cool! ridewithgps.com/routes/11839

@@SDcycler That's pretty far.. and it looks scary going that fast. You must be going 30+ mph. I would only be comfortable going 20-25 mph going downhill on a bike. :)

It is, @@spinmotion . :) If you include the 76 going east from Valley Center Rd, then it's almost the equivalent of l'Alpe d'Huez in France. 12 and a bit miles, averages 7%, with 21 hairpin turns. The S6 bit is lightly trafficked during the week (on weekends it's full of motorcycles, tho). Definitely one of the best climb and descent in San Diego County (and it's often featured on the Tour of California cycling race whenever they come down here).

@@christopherrholmes82 Oh, I'm very familiar with that descent, so I know the curves well. :) I really don't go much faster than I do here, tho. There are 2 or 3 turns that are more than 180 degrees (like bulged out u-turns), the pavement is a bit cracky, and there's often dirt or rock slide debris at the curves. Some riders really bomb down this thing (it's fun!), but I wouldn't recommend that. It only takes one slip (or one stray deer).

Yup, we stayed mostly off the trafficky roads, and it really paid off. Lots of view, lots of gnarly hills, and some not so paved lanes. :)