For this year’s Fat Camp, Jason and I pedaled 413 miles in a 6-day loop around Southern California in January. Annie was awesome and took the hit of being a single parent while I was gone for the week. I owe you (again)!
We were blessed with warm temperatures and clear skies the entire ride. If we had done the ride a week earlier, we would encountered torrential rain and snow in the mountains.
Overall, it was a great route that had a nice mix of terrain. Each day provided a solid workout, but also plenty of time for breaks, meals, and time to enjoy the scenery. We stayed in hotels every night and just carried a few items and street clothes, allowing us to roll relatively light and nimble. Despite eating out for every meal, total expenses for the trip came in at <$600 per person.
Some highlights
- Discovering a tether ball court and being horrible at it. We’ve lost our schoolyard skills.
- Cruising along the Pacific Coast and watching surfers
- Splurging for massages in San Diego – thanks to Jason
- Ridding the scenic road along the spine of Magazine Mountain
- Effortlessly dropping thousands of feet from the mountains into the desert
- Seeing seniors living the dream in Palm Desert (and a cheaper version of it in Borrego Springs)
- Seeing firemen, at every remote fire station along the route, living the dream
Some lowlights
- Jason getting crazy dictum from crazy road rage dude: “Stay in your lane!”
- No hot water when we got to our hotel in Fallbrook because the boiler was being fixed
- Being woken up at 2am because, now, the boiler was on fire
- Listening to firemen use chainsaws to cut the boiler free
- Listening to the metal boiler be dragged in parts across cement. It was a rough night.
Ride stats and GPX files
- 71 miles; 3,800 ft: Hemet to Fallbrook
- 64 miles; 1,200 ft: Fallbrook to San Diego
- 57 miles; 5,200 ft: San Diego to Pine Valley
- 86 miles; 5,000 ft: Pine Valley to Borrego Springs
- 80 miles; 1,400 ft: Borrego Springs to Palm Desert
- 56 miles; 5,600 ft: Palm Desert to Hemet
Total: 413 miles; 22k ft of climbing
GPX files and waypoints for the bike tour (zip file)
Photos
Left Jason's car in front of a Warm Showers member in Hemet.
Left Jason's car in front of a Warm Showers member in Hemet.05-Jan-2015 08:45
Crazy steep road outside of Temecula (Los Gatos). Had to walk down parts of it because disk brakes were on fire.
Crazy steep road outside of Temecula (Los Gatos). Had to walk down parts of it because disk brakes were on fire.05-Jan-2015 13:36
Day 2. Relatively easy, flat day along the coast.
Day 2. Relatively easy, flat day along the coast.06-Jan-2015 10:17
Day 3. Big breakfast after crushing Taco Tuesday the night before in San Diego.
Day 3. Big breakfast after crushing Taco Tuesday the night before in San Diego.07-Jan-2015 07:36
07-Jan-2015 09:03
07-Jan-2015 13:30
Snack upon arrival in Pine Valley.
Snack upon arrival in Pine Valley.07-Jan-2015 15:19
Day 4. Big day going up over the mountains and down into the desert.
Day 4. Big day going up over the mountains and down into the desert.08-Jan-2015 07:08
There has got to be a good story behind this sign.
There has got to be a good story behind this sign.08-Jan-2015 09:18
08-Jan-2015 09:44
Looking down to the desert - our destination for the day.
Looking down to the desert - our destination for the day.08-Jan-2015 10:38
The road along the spine of Magazine Mt was amazing.
The road along the spine of Magazine Mt was amazing.08-Jan-2015 11:15
We went a little overboard on apple-based menu items.
We went a little overboard on apple-based menu items.08-Jan-2015 12:41
The long descent into Borrego Springs was epic and rainbow sparkly.
The long descent into Borrego Springs was epic and rainbow sparkly.08-Jan-2015 15:56
08-Jan-2015 16:15
Day 5. Long, relatively flat day through the desert.
Day 5. Long, relatively flat day through the desert.09-Jan-2015 09:46
09-Jan-2015 10:04
09-Jan-2015 10:15
Shores of the quixotic Salton Sea.
Shores of the quixotic Salton Sea.09-Jan-2015 12:02
10-Jan-2015 08:53
Day 6 (final). Took 3 hours to climb 5K ft from sea level.
Day 6 (final). Took 3 hours to climb 5K ft from sea level.10-Jan-2015 09:19
Didn't stop for lunch in Hemet Valley to avoid the building rain clouds.
Didn't stop for lunch in Hemet Valley to avoid the building rain clouds.10-Jan-2015 12:34
Long descent delivered us back to Hemet and the car.
Long descent delivered us back to Hemet and the car.10-Jan-2015 12:34
Packing List
Bike gear
- Rack
- Fenders
- 2 Panniers
- Revelate gas tank
- Tubeless wheels
- Tubeless tape kit
- Tubeless Tires (700×28)
- 2 Water bottles
Electronics
- Dynamo front hub
- Light (front/back)
- GPS (and mount)
- Battery charger
- iPod shuffle
- Smart phone
Clothing
- Normal Weather
- Bike bibs
- Under shirt
- Jersey
- Fingerless gloves
- Sun sleeves
- Socks
- Biking Shoes
- Waltz cap
- Sunglasses
- Mirror
- Warm Clothes
- Down vest
- Knee warmers
- Arm warmers
- Ear/head band (keep your ears warm)
- Crab gloves
- Rain Clothes
- Rain paints
- Rain Jacket
- Waterproof socks
- Rain over-mittens
- Street clothes
- Pants
- T-shirt
- Underwear
- Socks
- Travel shoes
Tools
- Pump
- 2 spare tubes
- Patch kit
- Tire levers
- Chain lube
- Multi-tool
Miscellaneous
- Toiletries
- Sunscreen
- 2 credit cards / $100 cash
- Book
