Palomares Pals

Has it really been more than nine years since I've climbed Palomares?

It would be hot today, with the air quality falling as the temperature was rising. We persuaded our leader to alter the route plan: Let's climb Palomares first; later, Kilkare will offer some shade.

The road had been closed last season, or the season before, after heavy rains slid some of the hillside across the pavement.

After dropping down the backside, a rider caught up to me on the exposed stretch that parallels the freeway. “I'm glad we're doing this now, and not at 1 p.m.” he said. That's what all of us had in mind, this morning. That, and also riding through Niles Canyon before the traffic picked up.

Traffic. Stopped. Completely. On Foothill. No shoulder. No room to roll past. I dismounted and walked (more than a quarter of a mile).

Drivers? Sat in their cars.

The day warmed up, it did. 35 miles, 2,360 feet of climbing took more out of me than I expected. Nothing a nice, long nap couldn't fix.