Day 1 (Sun, 16 Mar)

We rode from La Jolla, CA to Julian, CA today starting our journey with what will likely be one of the hardest if not the hardest ride of the trip.  The ride was incredibly scenic through La Jolla past Miramar MCAS and through Poway, Romona and up to Julian along Hwy 67 and then Hwy 78.  The ride was 56.5 miles with 6,001 ft (!) of climbing.  The weather was quite warm – in the 60s right away in the morning and into the mid 80s in the afternoon – perfectly sunny the entire day from the Pacific Ocean all the way to Julian.  Just a bit of head winds primary between Poway and Ramona that gave us a bit of a challenge.

This was a monster ride, especially for the first ride of the trip.  A huge 6,000 ft climb challenged both of us, but we made it! 

Julian is a cool mountain town east of San Diego.  It traces its history to the California Gold Rush in the late 1800s and now is a hiking/camping destination for many in the San Diego area.  Its also known for its apple pie and BBQ (we partook in some of that for dinner…).  More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian,_CA

On to the pictures!

The starting line at the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla near the Scripps Institute for Oceanography.

Near Scripps Ranch, CA with plenty of Eucalyptus trees in the area.  Climbing up towards Poway.

One of the steeper climbs of the ride east of Poway (the steepest was right off the ocean in La Jolla - the first 1/2 mile of the ride...)

1,000s of interesting boulders in the foothills near Poway and Ramona.

In the foothills just before Ramona, CA (Ramona is in the valley ahead of us).

In Ramona - just 22 miles from Julian, BUT 3,000 ft more of climbing on Hwy 78...

For those of you that followed along last year - you know I'm on the lookout for "old rusty stuff" along the road - this old Ford tractor is the first in that category we saw this year.

A camel milk farm - that's one thing I've not tried before...

Two tired cyclists - we are just entering Julian.

Those are fake smiles - we were really tired by the end of the ride...........  Did I mention 6,000 ft of climbing with 40 lbs of extra gear on each of our bikes???

A hungry traveler about to make up for about 8,000 calories burned today!!