Palomar Mountain S6- South Grade

Palomar Mountain S6- South Grade



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Los Angeles to Palomar

Technical canyons are my favorite. I prefer tight turns and
switchbacks to long sweepers- at least now with all those speeding tickets :) Anyone can go fast in a straight line and there's only
so fast you are going to go on a turn. If you are reading this
thinking I'm avoiding speed you are absolutely correct. Buy a
Hayabusa and there simply is no challenge to going fast. A few
speeding tickets later, you may learn your lesson...or not.
A fraction of in inch applied to the throttle and you are off, stars
streaking into solid lines as if you were riding star tours. With my
sport saddlebags attached and my camera mounted on the tank we headed
for a ride of a lifetime.

Palomar had come up several times in conversation as legendary and a
must ride but when I found out it was also "the most technical road in
California" I knew I had to experience it myself. I was dying to
compare it to my beloved GMR which was a mere 30 minute ride from home.
The Palomar adventure started late on a Saturday morning. Experience
shows that weekends are best avoided and there was definitely evidence
to support that this time. California Highway Patrol has a strong
presence there- 3 cops were lurking around- on the backroad of the 76,
coming down the south grade from Palomar, and at the very top but
never in the middle of the ride... Presence... We are watching in
case you get a touch of Valentino Rossi fever. By contrast I have
never seen a single cop on GMR or highway 33.

We left LA about 11 am via the 60 to the 15 to the 76. Gas is an
issue since there is no gas station on Palomar. The closest bet is
the station at Pala Casino which is about 25 miles away from Palomar.
After gassing up and finding the road up the south grade S6 we made
the necessary preparations and adjustments for the most technical
road in California. Unfortunately, my windscreen was dirty from the
LA trek and it made for some foggy video.
Since this is a very popular road there was some traffic issues. The
2nd time
up the S6 there was a CHP waiting for us to go up at the bottom of the
road. Without a doubt this would spoil any ride. I started slow and
got into it once I was at a comfortable distance from the law.
My riding partner was having an off day and was riding like a self
proclaimed wus. I would ride away and put some space between us then
would wait to make sure he was still ON the bike. Watch the video
you'll see me taking the course like it was meant to be taken, then I
would slow down dramatically and speed up when I could see my friends
r6 in the mirrors.

The first time we rode up the S6 we were like, 'this is it?'. Palomar
was technical, yes, but the most technical? Definitely not long
enough. GMR wins in this category for being longer and every bit as
technical without cops. Just don't go on the weekend or expect to see
people who can't ride dressed in full Ducati leathers!



Once we made it to the top, we stopped at Mother's Kitchen to do the
obligatory butt sniffing. We spoke to a local and he told us to ride
to the lake or the observatory. We did both but still had a foul
taste in our mouths from the twisties being so short. We had ridden from LA for
6.7 miles of twisties, albeit divine twisties. My friend says that's like dating a 7 in
Irvine- not worth the ride, er down to Irvine that is.
Palomar is wonderful, straight out of the motorcycle dream book! I
only wish it weren't so far away and so short! Those 6.7 miles are
dreamy but in comparison to GMR it's not as long and gas can be an issue.
Next time I will stay there all day and ride up and down until I can't
anymore or I get arrested :)