The past month has been nothing short of a miracle in regards to my ability to get back on the bike and attain significant mileage again.  However, all of that mileage has been mostly on flat terrain.  With my confidence bank feeling fatter with the deposits of cycling success, I began eyeing bigger game and altitude gain.

Concurrently, my wife approached me about going camping in the mountains to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower where urban lights would not interfere with said heavenly viewing.  I suggested something up near Lake Cuyamaca where months ago we had scouted out a potential climb that I wanted to do up to Mt Laguna.  She booked the campsite and I loaded the van.

Only about a 1.5 hour drive up just past Julian, we made camp at Lake Cuyamaca where we had all the sky we could eat to watch the meteor shower.  Plus, if you caught a carp and killed it, your campsite was free!

The ride would be the next day on Saturday morning.  Directions were simple.  5 Turns.  Turn left out of the driveway onto Hwy 79.  Turn left again on Hwy 80.  Turn left again on Hwy 78.  Turn left again on Hwy 79 for the final 3 miles back to the campsite.  But first, the meteor shower beckoned and we were not dissapointed.  Easily 20 or so gave us quite the light show.

Good morning 4,000 feet above sea level!  It was in the lower 60’s as the sun rose over Lake Cuyamaca and I was up early to greet it.  Finally, I was going to do some climbing.  The first time since April.  Fittingly, I chose my Mont Ventoux jersey for the occasion.

Heading down Hwy 79 I rolled through high mountain meadows and gentle climbs until I hit a very fun and scenic 12 mile long, winding, decent down into Descanso where I turned left onto Hwy 80.

I was very pleased to find a wide shoulder for cyclists on the entire length of Hwy 80.  When I get back, I will have to research where Hwy 80 starts and ends as it might feature an interesting and fairly protected future route.  This stretch took me through the ultra cute town of Pine Valley where the ascent up to Mt. Laguna began for me.  This 9 mile stretch was mostly gradual with some grade up to 14%.

After the 9 mile climb warm-up, the next turn appears with another left on Hwy 78 announcing the true climb to Mt. Laguna over the next 11 miles.

I had scouted out this part of the climb before on a drive with my wife.  It is not particularly steep, but it is constant and long.  What I had not anticipated was the 9 mile warm-up climb out of Pine Valley.  Together, this would be a 20 mile continuous climb with 2,400 feet of altitude gain.  That is a long slog!

Fortunately, the views are incredible! Whether to the left, or to the right, they can go as far as the ocean at times.  They can also include rolling through some of our high mountain medows or through pine tree covered mountains.

Finally, I reached the top.  Along the way I was contemplating the fact that it was Saturday and I had only run into a few cyclists just before I reached the summit.  I thought that was odd since I knew that this climb is a San Diego classic.  Sure, it was going to be a hot day, but that doesn’t stop cyclists especially when they know it will be cooler at the top.  As I approached the Laguna Mountain Lodge & Store I found my tribe taking a break.  All of a sudden, I was swarmed by them.  I guess we were all just on the same pace.

After filling my water bottles, and having a quick Larabar snack, I began the best part of the ride.  The descent from 6,000 feet above sea level back down to my campsite.  This particular descent is very cool because you break over the mountain into a completely different climate.  On the other side of Mt. Laguna is the Anza Borrego Desert.  You leave the cool mountain air and pine trees for the arid dry desert descent.  The photo below shows the stark difference of my view now that I have entered this region.

I planned to attack this route with the desert descent in mind.  Later in the morning it would be hot and I wanted nothing to do with climbing in the desert.  The 12 mile descent was smooth and enjoyable often reaching over 30 mph winding my way back to camp.

In total, I attained a solid 45 miles with 4,600 feet of climbing.  No worse for the wear on my left foot either.  My account at the confidence bank for cycling is now full.