Ramona - Black Canyon - Mesa Grande - Santa Ysabel morning group ride

I normally go explore unfamiliar roads on my own, but last Wednesday a few friends volunteered to come with me to check out Black Canyon Road, the unpaved back route connecting Ramona with Mesa Grande Indian Reservation. We had quite a road party!

Sunrise in Ramona, Ca.

We carpooled up to Ramona early enough in the morning to catch this pretty sunrise and a sky full of cirrus clouds. There wasn't much traffic on Main St/Hwy 78 yet as we made our way east to Magnolia Ave, our turn off from the main road.

Where pavement ends on Black Canyon Rd

Magnolia Ave soon turned into Black Canyon Road as it gently climbed north. After a couple of miles, the pavement ended and we continued on on the well graded dirt tract.

Black Canyon Rd a few miles north of Ramona.

 There was hardly any traffic at all. We were passed by three enthusiastic mountain bikers and a handful of cars and trucks, but spent most of the time enjoying the view of the surrounding canyon. There were a few patches of the road where the top layer was a bit soft for my 700x25 road tires, but most of the time the road surface posed no problem.

A shot up mile marker along Black Canyon Rd

A Steller's jay perusing the world from a branchy perch by Black Canyon Rd.

The road is quite twisty with some tight blind curves. We descended down to the Old Black Canyon Bridge where the road to Sutherland Lake branches off. A good photo-op if there ever is one!

Old Black Canyon Bridge. Est. 1913.

After the bridge the road started on a gentle climb toward Mesa Grande, the big mesa. The view was quite beautiful. After a mile or so we traded sandy dry view for rocky one as we passed an almost dried up roadside creek. I guess it should have been full of water this time of year, but only a trickle of spring was all there was. If we don't get more rain this spring we will surely be in for water restriction later in the year!

Roadside creek along Black Canyon Rd

We picked up lots of shady oaks as we climbed north. And then all of the sudden the oaks gave way to wide open green fields. We had arrived at Mesa Grande!

Mesa Grande

 Passing a cow pasture on the left, one of my friends spotted a mother cow in distress. She had obviously just given birth to a calf, which was lying unresponsive by the fence. She stood guard over the baby calf, umbilical cords still dangling from her rear, as we stopped to investigate. After a while two of us went looking for help for the cows at the ranch houses nearby. It turned out the ranchers weren't all that alarmed about the cow. The owner was off somewhere and his neighbors weren't keen on intervening (apparently ranchers don't like other ranchers looking in on their business). One friendly rancher did spend a few minutes chatting with us, though.

Green fields and wild daffodils along Mesa Grande Rd

We had planned on turning NW on Mesa Grande Rd to Lake Henshaw before turning back, but our pace was slower than expected, so we just turned east instead and headed for Santa Ysabel.

Mesa Grande Rd, looking east.

The top of the Mesa Grande featured gentle wide curves with rolling little hills. The last 2 miles east it dropped precipitously in a series of S-curves before leveling onto a straight run into Hwy 79. I was surprised to find that the road crew hadn't been by to fix the potholes and surface cracks on Mesa Grande Rd yet, since stage 1 of this year's Tour of California cycling race will pass through there in May.

Hwy 79 at Mission Santa Ysabel.

We turned south on Hwy 79 for a couple of relatively uncomfortable miles (it's a narrow two lane highway with very little shoulder and quite a few very speedy cars and trucks) before pulling into the welcoming pie shops of Santa Ysabel. I paid a visit to The Julian Pie Company for a really delicious hot slice of apple mountain berries crumble pie with two huge scoops of vanilla ice-cream... and did away in one sitting all the climbing I had done so far.

Lunch at Julian Pie Company in Santa Ysabel.

After all too sweet a brunch we hit the road again, headed west on Hwy 78 toward Ramona. It is a beautiful road with two gentle hills, though not much road shoulder to ride on and a whole lot of speedy trucks to share the street with. It was a relief to reach Witch Creek Mtn, and soon after that, the turn off to Old Julian Highway.

Heading west on Hwy 78 from Santa Ysabel.

Old Julian Hwy was the main road between Ramona and Santa Ysabel before Hwy 78 was laid. Now it's the extremely well paved back route beloved to cyclists for its beautiful scenery and near absence of cars and trucks. The Oasis Camel Dairy to the right right after it branches off from Hwy 78 is always a treat to stop and watch. Further down the road were also herds of sheep, goats, and even a stray flock of wild turkeys!

Old Julian Hwy denizens.

From Santa Ysabel to Ramona, Old Julian Hwy mostly descends (with a couple of steep pitches) in a delightfully curvy manner. As we neared Vista Ramona road junction Hwy 78 can be spotted meandering along to the north.

Looking north on Old Julian Highway

View north of Old Julian Highway just east of Ramona.

We reached the T-intersection and turned right (north) to stay on Old Julian Highway into Ramona (it reaches Main St/Hwy 78 as 3rd St). It was a beautiful spring morning ride, and, as it turned out, we lucked out a bit and got back to town just as the west wind began to pick up. It could get quite windy in the corridor between Ramona and Santa Ysabel, especially in the afternoon, so missing the wind made the ride's home stretch that much more enjoyable! The whole trip was 40 miles long with elevation gain of 2579 ft (all gentle climb at 5% grade or less).

Untruth in advertising...

Riding bicycle 150 miles each week is pretty effective at keeping me from pudging up like a soaked Sponge Bob so far, though I wish people would quit telling me that all that riding means that I can now eat anything I want. It's true that I can now down the deliciously fatty Carl's Jr Double Bacon Cheeseburger every now and then without immediately trying to spill out of my jeans, but every pounds that I can shave off and keep off (without re-speedily introducing by way of psych-soothing fast food) also make the many steep or long (or both) hills around town a lot easier to cycle up.

A 'Hey, look at skinny me eating this fatty burger' poster at a Carls' Jr Restaurant.

I really dislike those promo posters at fast food places like Carls' that have outrageously skinny models pretend to put an arterial-clogger burger into their mouth. I don't believe for a minute that those beautiful models would stay in the shape that they are if they actually regularly eat the burger that they're advertising. Neither do I believe that those sexy women with shiny curly hair that do hair products commercials got their beautiful hair from using the products they're trying to sell. Rather, the hair product companies are hiring people with naturally beautiful hair to pose with the company's hair products for pay.

And so on and so forth. So, I think burger joints ought to shape up and hire pudgy people to feature in their burger ads for them. It may not make their burger look sexy, but at least it would be more believable.

Great Western Loop road cycling ride (clockwise)

If you road bike recreationally in San Diego County sooner or later you'll be asked if you have done the Great Western Loop yet. This 42 or so miles mountainous loop is one of the rite of passage rides amongst local cyclists. It is one of the more accessible mountain rides in the area, and very doable even for casual cyclists (though the route tends to be dominated by serious riders and racers).
I would have loved to have a partner riding with me on my first ride of the GWL, but the route is reportedly most bikes-friendly on weekdays and early in the morning (part of the route is subjected to Sycuan casino traffic... think older folks in big trailers and casino buses) and that sort of interferes with most people's work schedule.

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

At any rate, I got up early a few Wednesdays ago and decided to go explore it on my own. By 6:30am I was on the green line trolley heading east to El Cajon Transit Center east of the city. I had decided on making the Starbuck's coffee at Washington Plaza my official start/finish point, and do the clockwise loop. This is not the same Starbuck's that serves at the GWL meetup spot for most GWL rides, however. I chose this shop further north on Jamacha Rd because it's closer to the trolley station and to avoid traffic going east on Willow Glen past the golf course.

Starbuck's on Jamacha Rd at E Washington in El Cajon.

It was cold out! I had 4 layers of clothing on and it still took a while to warm up, riding east on E Washington Rd. A mile or so east of Jamacha Rd E Washington turns into Dehesa Rd and does a seriously curvy drop down into a valley. I imagine this bit of the road wouldn't be very pleasant to cycle on during heavy traffic hours... very narrow shoulder, precipitous drop off the right side, and lots of view to distract drivers.

Dehesa Rd drops down into Singing Hills

At the bottom of the drop the traffic light at the intersection with Willow Glen Rd doesn't recognize bicycles. If one is willing to pretend to be a pedestrian, however, there is a pedestrian crossing button at the right corner that one can push to get the light to change. I headed straight thru on Dehesa Rd, which starts out level enough before angling up on a gentle climb toward Harbison Canyon Rd turn off. Traffic was mild, and the road shoulder wide and well paved. The golf course on the right hand side used to be known as 'Singing Hills', though it had been purchased by Sycuan a few years back.

Dehesa Rd at Harbison Canyon Rd

Hanging right to continue on Dehesa Rd I soon passed the entrance to Sycuan Casino. I was lucky and traffic was surprisingly light (I had been warned by a few people about this stretch of the road and its casino traffic). After passing Sycuan casino it got even lighter, still, as the road climbs steadily ENE at near constant 5-6% grade for about 5 miles to the Tavern Rd/Japatul Rd turn off. Turning left here would take you to the rustic town of Alpine, CA.

Information post at Loveland Reservoir

Turning right onto Japatul Rd the upslope eases a bit as I rolled past Loveland Reservoir on the right side of the road. This is a favorite local fishing spot, though there was no service off the road aside from a wide unpaved parking lot and two port-a-toilets. Another layer of clothing came off, though the sparse traffic meant that there was no one around to witness my little public striptease...

The steeper bit of Japatual Rd a couple of miles before Lyons Valley Rd turn-off.

There are a couple of short shallow downhill stretches, but most of the time on Japatul Rd is spent climbing. The gradient picks up a bit past the high voltage power lines, this is the famous Japatul 'Wall'. Look out for a metal plate denoting the top of the wall on the road shoulder. When you see it, you are only 1/2 mile or so from being done with Japatul Rd.

Look for this plaque near the top of Japatul Wall.

'Le petit col du Japatul' at the junction with Lyons Valley Rd.

The right turn onto Lyons Valley Rd brings welcomed relief as the road levels out before plunging into a long, twisty and amazingly scenic downhill stretch. Crumbly rock wall lined the right side of the road, and a sheer drop with a panoramic view of the valley and mountains surrounding Barrett Lake to the left. The two lane road is quite narrow and there's no shoulder to speak of. There were enough pebbles small and big-ish on the pavement to necessitate keeping an eye on the road most of the time. This would probably be worse right after some rain. Something to keep in mind riding around here during the winter months.

As scenic Lyons Valley Road curves back east it levels out and more climbing commences. It was a bit disappointing, really. After hours of climbing I had expected the downhill stretch to last quite a bit longer. The couple of miles of climbing back up to Four Corners (the intersection with Honey Springs Rd/Skyline Truck Trail) was grinding without much interesting view to keep one motivated. The narrow road shoulder was in the process of eroding off, and the trees blocked much of the view.

Scenic Lyons Valley Rd between Four Corners and the trading post.

At Four Corners one has the choice of either continuing east on Lyons Valley Rd (scenic twisty valley view, mostly downhill but also with a few more bits of climbing) or taking a right onto Skyline Truck Trail (scenic mountain-top view, big wide shoulder to ride on, not so curvy and, after the mile or so of climbing to start with, is downhill all the way to Jamul). Being on my own with no one to worry about I took the traditional Lyons Valley Rd, partly for a snack stop at Lyons Valley Trading Post, the only general store around for miles. Located on the north side of the road about 1.5 miles east of Four Corners, it is well stocked with cold drinks and pre-packaged snacks and some grocery stuff. There is a restroom (Lyons Valley Relief Post) in the back-west side of the building.

Lyons Valley Trading Post

An acorn woodpecker attempting to quack in tune while flying

The trading post is well frequented by passing cyclists, a chorus of quacking acorn woodpeckers, some flighty blue birds and even occasional visiting red-tailed hawks. Across the road you might spot Black Jack, the valley's friendliest donkey, grazing in a green ranch. He quite enjoys petting and isn't shy about asking for any grub you may have on you, but please feed him nothing sweeter than celery (or better yet, don't feed him at all!). He's a well-nourished beast, whether he himself agrees or not!

The Lyons Valley donkey

Lyons Valley Rd soon drops into a series of s-curves and a really cool switchback which likes to blind-side cyclists not familiar with the road with a rather hideous steep climbing ramp immediately after the sweeping left curve over the ravine. The ramp isn't short enough to sprint it out on the big ring, so you really want to be ready, as you make the sweeping left turn, to shift straight to climbing gear as your momentum rapidly dies on the up-slope. The 18% ramp eases into a long gradual uphill as the road curves right and afford a rather nice view of Lyons Peak's north face (and if you look closely, the twisty paved access road that services the fire lookout towers on top of it).

The little steep climb is followed by a long false flat lined by horse ranches and orchards before kicking up to the junction with Lawson Valley Rd where you can hang a left to stay on Lyons Valley Rd or veer right to join up with Skyline Truck Trail. I stuck with Lyons Valley since both roads are now heading downhill and Lyons Valley Rd has twisty fun curves ahead to offer. If I were taking a group riding there I would descend on Skyline Truck Trail. On my own, I'm a fast descender and can just ride down the middle of the traffic lane since cars aren't going to pass me having to cope with the tight turns on their clumsy 4 wheels.

Lyons Valley Rd and Skyline Truck Trail join up again and descend into Jamul as Lyons Valley Rd. I took Jamul Rd turn off on the right side halfway down, however, and was treated to another bit of really fast descent into Steele Canyon. This descent can be rather hairy when there's a lot of cars on the road. The shoulder is really narrow and there are lots of broken glass debris.

A quick right turn onto Steele Canyon Rd and then left on Willow Glen (nicely paved and wide bike lane there!) takes you to Jamacha Rd. There is another stretch of climbing to take you back to the Starbuck's, but nothing indecently steep and there is good road shoulder (and even bike lane on some stretches) to ride on.

I'm afraid I waited too long to write this up and lost most of the photos from the trip when my hard-drive crashed last week. Luckily I made and posted a youtube video of the route earlier...


It was a good ride! The whole loop took me 3 1/2 hrs at moderate pace. The views were very enjoyable and the climbing not very taxing. There are bits along Japatul Rd that are vulnerable to flooding from mountain run-off and bits on Lyons Valley Rd that tend to get covered with pebbles from the cliff-side after a bout of rain, though, so I wouldn't recommend this ride if it rained in the mountains that morning or the day before. The valley also gets very hot during the summer months, so anyone wanting to ride it from July-November should pack extra bottles of water (remember, there's only one water stop in the mountain).