This is a classic San Diego North County route that everyone does at one point or another. This route will challenge the new club rider but the hills are just steep enough they are manageable for those who have been riding a while.
The ride has it all. A few hills, some nice scenery, a maneagable level of traffic, and you dont ever get that far from the coast. This is also the same ride that the Swamiis bike club does for their short loop. For our ride, however, we will be doing this in the reverse direction from the Swamii's group. Some locals call it the "Swamiis Reverse Ride."
The ride starts out at B and L bikes on the 101. Go South from B and L and take a right on Lomas Santa Fe drive. This road will take you through the scenic (and uber expensive) neighborhood of Rancho Santa fe. Once you are through the town of Rancho Santa Fe it is time for some climbs. The hills on Del Dios are long but gradual. Hand in there and dont wanter into the middle of the road. Trucks can come by pretty quickly. The road will change names from Del Dios Highway to Valley Parkway. Take a left on Citricado Parkway. Gone are the fancy homes of Rancho Santa Fe. You are in the trailer park zone now. At the corner of Avenue Del Diablo and S. Hale Avenue, there is a little church where you can fill your water bottles. The spigott is on the left side of the building by the little patch of grass. The water is safe and the worshipers wont smite you for taking their water.
The ride kicks into gear when you turn on to Harmony Grove road. Get ready for some nice (not too steep) rollers in the (sometimes) shady Elfin Forest. The name of the road will change to Elfin Forest road. At the end you come to the little town of San Elijo. Turn left on San Elijo road and head back toward the coast.
View Swamii Short Loop in a larger map
o download additional information about your ride, right click on
the links below and then click "save link as" to download the file to
your computer.
Download a cue sheet to see the route in Microsoft Excel
Download a GPX file you can use to upload to your Garmin
Download a KML file you can use to upload to Google Maps or Google Earth
