Tour de Carlsbad Stage 12: Double Peak
Just for fun, started my own solo Tour de Carlsbad about halfway through the recent 2025 Tour de France (TdF). Here's the 12th and final stage to Double Peak and back from 4 days ago. Never guess who won!
View attachment 197748View attachment 197749
This was the toughest stage by far, with 2,983 ft of climbing over 30.0 miles. A TdF rider would probably call that 99 ft/mi average ascent rate (AAR) a false flat, but it was definitely harder than my usual hill rides (50-70 ft/mi over 10-20 mi).
View attachment 197750
The outbound leg climbed from home (140 ft ASL) to the top of Double Peak (1,646 ft) — a total gain of 2,090 ft in just 11.7 mi. No other ride from home offers a sustained AAR anywhere near 179 ft/mi.
View attachment 197753
Of course, that'd also be a yawn to a TdF rider. Two iconic Category HC climbs from the 2025 Tour:
1. Mont Ventoux (above), Alps, Stage 16, 393 ft/mi over 13.2 mi
2. Hautacam, Pyrenees, Stage 12, 409 ft/mi over 8.5 mi
Having just watched all 21 stages of the TdF, I had the same mental pep talk for every bodily complaint on the Double Peak ascent: Ha, you call that suffering??
View attachment 197760
Still, managed most of the stage in ECO (40/60) and some in OFF. Just needed a little SPORT (60/80) and TURBO (80/100) on the final ~20% pitch to the top.
View attachment 197754
This was my 3rd climb up Double Peak. All 3 ended the same way — gasping for air in the only shade at the top.
View attachment 197755
Once you've summited Double Peak, you can't very well just turn around and ride back down — even in a race. You have to take in the famous 360° view. Annotated photo placards identify many prominent landmarks in all directions.
It's like a who's who of SW SoCal geography from up there. The summit telescope isn't bad for a closer look at the scene , but as usual, I brought good binocs.
View attachment 197759
West to Bataquitos Lagoon, the Pacific, and Catalina and San Clemente Island.
View attachment 197756
South to San Diego and northern Mexico.
View attachment 197757
East to the crest of the Peninsular Ranges and beyond.
View attachment 197758
North and NE to the San Bernardinos and Palomar Mountain.
View attachment 197762
Viewing's best in the clear, dry air brought by Santa Ana wind events, usually in the fall. That's when you're most likely to see a razor-sharp Pacific horizon to the west. But this day, the marine (air) layer put a thick offshore cloud bank in the way.
View attachment 197761
Just to the east of Double Peak are Mt. Whitney (1,736 ft, left) and Franks Peak (1,688).
View attachment 197747
These 3 summits are the highest points in the San Elijo Hills, a large and prominent outcrop of roughly 160 million year-old metavolcanic rocks lumped under the name Santiago Peak Volcanics (SPV).
Erosion left these hills high above their surroundings — not because they were thrust up along faults, but simply because the highly resistant SPV are harder to remove than the younger granites and sedimentary rocks around them.
View attachment 197763
SPV rocks hold up many of the prominent peaks in SW SoCal and adjoining Mexico, many of them visible from Double Peak. Geologists call the metavolcanic rock making up this SPV boulder at the summit greenstone for obvious reasons.
SPV is easy to identify, even at a distance. No other rock type in SW SoCal has this color on fresh surfaces, and nothing else weathers to the telltale off-white patina seen here to the left of the green. More on Double Peak geography and geology
here.
View attachment 197766
The rollercoaster route back to the ocean at South Ponto Beach added another 1,000 of climbing. Pulled into the driveway totally wiped but elated to have won this 1st Tour de Carlsbad. Fine by me that there was no podium to climb.
www.goodtimes.sc
This kid made of very good useable folded model,
hackaday.com
bikepacking.com
