So Cal Palomar Run, August 10th or 11th, feeler
07-11-13, 08:09 AM
#1
So Cal Palomar Run, August 10th
I missed the last So Cal meet up so I thought I would put a feeler out to see if anyone would like to do a Palomar Mountain run. Route details will be worked out well in advance, but that area has some fantastic roads. We could start on the front side of Palomar, maybe end up in Julian or something.
I am thinking August 10th or 11th, plenty of time to plan.
If you’ve never been up Palomar Mountain, the front side is very tight and technical, the back side is faster but not that fast. There’s some nice places to catch some really intense views, and it is an overall beautiful place. Could offer some great photo ops!
Who would be in?
Clownshoes-MRM 09; John
MK4Sup_isF...
Quarius (tentative)
powermungr (tentative)
I am thinking August 10th or 11th, plenty of time to plan.
If you’ve never been up Palomar Mountain, the front side is very tight and technical, the back side is faster but not that fast. There’s some nice places to catch some really intense views, and it is an overall beautiful place. Could offer some great photo ops!
Who would be in?
Clownshoes-MRM 09; John
MK4Sup_isF...
Quarius (tentative)
powermungr (tentative)
Last edited by Clownshoes; 07-25-13 at 07:14 AM.
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07-16-13, 07:22 AM
#8
Tentative meeting spots are either off the 5 south on the 76 east, or where the 15 south meets the 76.
Personally, when coming down from OC/LA, I prefer the coast but the 15 may be more direct for others.
I've got MotoGP this weekend in Monterey, so a scouting party this weekend is out, however the following weekend is a possibility. I may be traveling to Indy for the Brickyard 400 but that is tentative as of yet.
For those that have not been up Palomar before, I would say take your time, this is not a race. There are a lot of decreasing radius corners that seem to go on forever. We can run up and down the front side a couple of times for those that are comfy with it, for others, there is the observatory. There are usually a couple of professional photographers there, Rick Clemson and I can’t remember the other guy’s name. Both are very good and will get shots of you as you pass. Here’s a link to Rick’s site if’n you want to buy a shot of you in your car. https://www.rickclemson.com/Photo_De...61&EventID=268
(shameless, I know….)
Palomar has a HEAVY presence of sportbikes ( I used to be one of them), just stay between your lines and don’t hold them up if you’re slower than they are. It is easy for them to pass us in a car, but not so easy for us to pass them. However, I have found that if you’re faster, they will get out of your way and waive you past 99% of the time.
Tentative route as for now is:
76 east to S. Grade Rd (front side of Palomar)
Down the East grade (back side) pick up 76 again for a few hundred meters to Mesa Grande Rd.
Mesa Grande Rd to 79 south. This portion of Mesa Grande could yield some very nice shots and will be a more relaxed part of the drive after the tight twistiness of Palomar
79 to 78/79 junction, head east toward Julian. Mellow cruise to Julian. Stop, stretch the legs, get some pie.
Then we can either bug out the way we came in, or take the 79 east to where the 78 splits off from the 79 and head south on 79 to get back to the 15 the long way past Lake Cuyamaca, out in the boonies. (done this route on a bike and it is nice, but way, way the F out there.)
This run will be a democracy, but rugged individualists can do their thing. God Bless America!
07-25-13, 12:04 AM
#9
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This sounds very interesting!
I'm fairly new to driving around twisty roads (I've had my F for a month now) and doing very easy scenic roads nowadays, such as Carbon Canyon Rd in Brea-Chino Hills and Santiago Canyon Rd., etc. Would you say the Palomar run is highly technical and/or difficult? Sounds like an interesting run but again, I'm fairly new to driving around tight corners with a performance car
Some advice would be highly appreciated
I'm fairly new to driving around twisty roads (I've had my F for a month now) and doing very easy scenic roads nowadays, such as Carbon Canyon Rd in Brea-Chino Hills and Santiago Canyon Rd., etc. Would you say the Palomar run is highly technical and/or difficult? Sounds like an interesting run but again, I'm fairly new to driving around tight corners with a performance car
Some advice would be highly appreciated
07-25-13, 06:57 AM
#10
This sounds very interesting!
I'm fairly new to driving around twisty roads (I've had my F for a month now) and doing very easy scenic roads nowadays, such as Carbon Canyon Rd in Brea-Chino Hills and Santiago Canyon Rd., etc. Would you say the Palomar run is highly technical and/or difficult? Sounds like an interesting run but again, I'm fairly new to driving around tight corners with a performance car Some advice would be highly appreciated
I'm fairly new to driving around twisty roads (I've had my F for a month now) and doing very easy scenic roads nowadays, such as Carbon Canyon Rd in Brea-Chino Hills and Santiago Canyon Rd., etc. Would you say the Palomar run is highly technical and/or difficult? Sounds like an interesting run but again, I'm fairly new to driving around tight corners with a performance car
Some advice would be highly appreciatedFirst off I would say come along, but drive your own game. Don't feel pressured to keep up with someone faster, or push too hard. I have been riding Palomar on a bike sine the 90's and I know the road, but a bike is not a car. I do not suspect I will be the fastest guy there, nor do I expect there to be any competition to see who is fastest. I'll drive my own speed, and do my own thing on the twisties. If I am holding someone up, I'll move over, no shame. If someone is holding me up, I would hope they would move over for me, no shame. ISF’s are not cheap, I am in no hurry to wad mine up.
The name of the game is not to crash, and not to kill anyone else! Like they tell cops, it is most important that you go home to your family at the end of your shift!
Carbon canyon and Santiago canyon are easy roads compared to Palomar. I can maintain well over 100 mph on a bike through Santiago (not that I would ever break the law like that) without breaking a sweat, Carbon canyon save for a few corners is about the same. Palomar on a bike, the front side, it is tough to get above 80 mph for more than a fleeting moment before you’re on the binders and HARD!
The backside is different, and you can go faster, but there are some corners that sneak up on you.
My plan is to have a slow run up the mountain first, check the road out, recon the place. Then go back down a little faster, than have a good fun run up the front side before we head out down the backside and on to the rest of the drive. Like I said, I’d like this run to be a democracy, so if we all want to play on the front side all day, so be it. No one will be forced into anything.
This could be a potentially great opportunity for guys with stock cars (like me) to see what suspension mods and performance mods can really do for your car, if someone with those mods shows up and is willing to let you ride along on a run up the hill.
I’d say leave the ego at home, for everyone. I have done a few meets with other car groups when egos got too big and metal got bent. Other times though, everyone was cool about the whole day and we all went home stoked. As I said earlier, ISFs are not cheap, so let’s not wad them up.
I’ll be doing a route recon on the 3rd or 4th if anyone wants to come along.
07-30-13, 06:37 AM
#12
Back from Indy. Man, NASCAR was, well, let's just say those guys can really drive around in a circle for hours on end. And good god was Indy loud, and what a huge facility. Wish I was going to be there for MotoGP, but the 400 was a free trip so I shant complain. The sky was ultra blue, the air was clean and there was so much green everywhere. Indianapolis, at least what I saw, was beautiful.
Route recon this weekend.
Getting my car back from paint tomorrow evening after my encounter with a shower of rocks on the way to Laguna Seca. Including the windshield, $1500.00 in damage. Thanks to my insurance company. I have an oil change set up for 8:00 am at the Carlsbad Lexus dealer, so I am thinking Saturday morning about 10:00 am I will split out of my place to recon the route if anyone is interested in a pre-run of sorts.
Route recon this weekend.
Getting my car back from paint tomorrow evening after my encounter with a shower of rocks on the way to Laguna Seca. Including the windshield, $1500.00 in damage. Thanks to my insurance company. I have an oil change set up for 8:00 am at the Carlsbad Lexus dealer, so I am thinking Saturday morning about 10:00 am I will split out of my place to recon the route if anyone is interested in a pre-run of sorts.
07-30-13, 02:39 PM
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Sorry to hear about the rocks...
Well thanks for the response. I definitely would like to join for the pre-run but I have plans for this weekend.
I'll let you know if I can make it for the 10th.
Well thanks for the response. I definitely would like to join for the pre-run but I have plans for this weekend.
I'll let you know if I can make it for the 10th.
08-05-13, 06:21 AM
#14
I did the route last Saturday; a very nice drive. The front side of Palomar looks good, as does the back side. There was a small oil line in the Orange Groves before getting to South Grade road, but on four wheels, it is not a problem.
Mesa Grande is a beautiful drive, I don’t know why I waited so long to drive it. It has a lot of elements of Glendora Mountain Road and Hwy 46 combined. Julian was PACKED! And I mean PACKED! Wall to wall soccer moms and family excursions. My car nearly got hit twice in the small town and I didn’t even stop in Julian. However, if we get their early, we’ll be in and out before the mouth breathers show up.
Leaving Julian, I took the 79 down to Sunrise hwy and met up with the 8 east of El Cajon. Sunrise is another nice road. I think that is the way to go. Total miles from the proposed meet up spot is 125. I used a little over a half tank in that 125 as I had some fun on Palomar!
Meet up: I’d like to shoot for 8:00 am but would also like input from those planning to attend. There is a Mobil station just west of the 15 at the HWY 76 exit, directly behind that Mobil is a large parking lot, we can meet there. I will be there plenty early in my inconspicuous Matador ISF with chrome wheels. I will PM my cell to all who say they are attending on Friday.
I stopped and had a chat with Rick Clemson the photographer. He’s going to be on the front side when we pass, then if we want to head up to Mother’s café for a few minutes of chill time and/or a coffee, he’ll head to the back side and set up for our pass through their, ala https://www.rickclemson.com/Photo_De...83&EventID=738
So there it is! All cars welcome, of course. My roommate in her Gen Coupe 3.8 will be joining us, as might my buddy in his M45. I’ll post a graphic of the map a little later.
Mesa Grande is a beautiful drive, I don’t know why I waited so long to drive it. It has a lot of elements of Glendora Mountain Road and Hwy 46 combined. Julian was PACKED! And I mean PACKED! Wall to wall soccer moms and family excursions. My car nearly got hit twice in the small town and I didn’t even stop in Julian. However, if we get their early, we’ll be in and out before the mouth breathers show up.
Leaving Julian, I took the 79 down to Sunrise hwy and met up with the 8 east of El Cajon. Sunrise is another nice road. I think that is the way to go. Total miles from the proposed meet up spot is 125. I used a little over a half tank in that 125 as I had some fun on Palomar!
Meet up: I’d like to shoot for 8:00 am but would also like input from those planning to attend. There is a Mobil station just west of the 15 at the HWY 76 exit, directly behind that Mobil is a large parking lot, we can meet there. I will be there plenty early in my inconspicuous Matador ISF with chrome wheels. I will PM my cell to all who say they are attending on Friday.
I stopped and had a chat with Rick Clemson the photographer. He’s going to be on the front side when we pass, then if we want to head up to Mother’s café for a few minutes of chill time and/or a coffee, he’ll head to the back side and set up for our pass through their, ala https://www.rickclemson.com/Photo_De...83&EventID=738
So there it is! All cars welcome, of course. My roommate in her Gen Coupe 3.8 will be joining us, as might my buddy in his M45. I’ll post a graphic of the map a little later.
