I love riding to Julian. I’ve been there 3 times in the last month. At around 85 miles with over 7,000 feet of elevation gain, it’s a really hard course for me and I always suffer in the last 10 or 20 miles. I keep going back for more because Suffering and I are in a committed relationship.
I met Rob at the intersection of Poway Rd. and Pomerado and we rolled east toward the hills and apple pie country at a moderate pace. We climbed Poway grade easily and got passed by one rider. Rob made it clear that if he was going to make it to Julian that day he’d need protection and lots of it - no worries since I regularly ride to Julian by myself. He tucked into my slipstream and we made our way steadily uphill.
A few miles before Santa Ysabel we got passed by three riders on tri-bikes at “ludicrous speed”. We caught up with them later at the General Store in Santa Ysabel, it was none other than Normann Stadler, two-time winner of the Kona Ironman, out for a leisurely 130-mile training ride. We joked with him about how much faster he was riding than us and he said, “When you ride for fun, you can go langsam. When you ride for money, you must go schnell.” He’s German, of course (langsam=slow, schnell=fast).
The chapparal of coastal San Diego became dry scrub oak of the coastal foothills. The oaks got bigger as we got higher. Soon, we were seeing the occasional pine tree as we approached Julian.
We arrived at the pie shop without incident and enjoyed some tourists oogling over our bikes and being amazed that we came all the way from the coast for some pie. We got our picture taken by a girl who then giggled to her friends, “I touched an iPhone! I touched an iPhone!”. The pie shop that Sunday was interesting to say the least.
Then we saddled up and headed for home. Lot’s of excitement down Wynola Road - 35mph with tight corners on a *mostly* deserted road. Zoomed downhill to Santa Ysabel where Suffering was patiently waiting for our rendevouz.
Funny enough, I don’t have many problems climbing the 5,000 feet into Julian. It’s climbing and it feels great. It’s on those final hills, especially climbing out of Ramona and back into Scripps Ranch where Suffering and I begin to really talk.
With Rob tucked in and a steady pace set, we made our way back to the coast. My thoughts shifted quietly from how well the ride was going to how nice it’ll be to take a shower, have a beer or just lay on my back in the yard and pretend I’m Tom Simpson.
I waved goodbye to Rob and began pedalling the final miles to home, up Pomerado hill. Suffering was there with me the whole way, keeping me company, always a conversation to keep my mind busy. It’s impossible to ignore Suffering, one must just accept it and enjoy the conversation as much as possible.
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Great ride report. Those must be some good pies! If all it took to get girls to giggle is an iphone I should have picked on up long ago.