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Re: Palm Springs/San Jacinto route - got water?
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Jack Bochsler
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Nov 19, 2007 14:13 PST
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Thanks to everyone that replied.
I rode this route on Saturday. Very nice route. There was little
traffic, road is good except the first section on Railroad Rd. E of
Banning. I made a copy of the bikely route (below) and changed it
to reflect this. I also simplified the section thru Banning, removing
two turns. The route below also doesn't follow the road very closely
so a fair number of miles were lost - actual mileage for me was 108,
with some side trips.
The route has absolutely epic vistas. The first section of the climb
is pure switchback - there is a point where you can look downhill and
see the road crossing 7 times back and forth below you! Very cool.
The climb is an endless moderate grade.
There are ample places to get water on the route. I bring my own food,
but there were stores/restaurants if that is your choice.
The descent to Banning was fast with wide turns, you can ride aerobars
the entire way. As the descent is on the N side of the mountain,
there are more trees and it is much cooler than the climb. Although
the temp in Palm Springs was in the mid 80's, it was upper 60s in
Idyllwild when I went through. Not sure how this would be in the
summer or winter, but this weekend was absolutely perfect.
The only disappointment was the descent from Banning to Palm Springs.
I was expecting a monster tail wind - and got a mild headwind instead.
Didn't see another cyclist the entire day.
I rode the first half of the climb again on Sunday as I had a few
hours free, and descended back down on 74. That was a nice ride as
well, but there was a *lot* more traffic on Sunday, including droves
of noisy motorcycles. I hit it easy on Sat, not knowing
what was ahead, I rode (half of) it much harder on Sunday.
Shoulders are minimal to none on the route, but I didn't have any
problems. Palm Springs was another story. Despite being on an empty
3 lane road with a huge shoulder, I was crowded into the curb by two
different elderly drivers. Bike lanes to delineate the space in town
would be an obvious plus for safety.
Net: great route, would love to do it again (and again).
Thanks to all that responded with info.
jack
--- Jack Bochsler <jboch-@yahoo.com> wrote:
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