Miss this one and you dumped it. End of story. The Great Western Loop is rite of passage for all San Diego Cyclists as it is the most accessible San Diego Mountain ride.
To San Diegan cyclists, the Great Western Ride is something of a rite of passage. At some point every San Diego cyclist who sticks with it will find themselves fit enough to get off the coast and see what riding in the mountains is like. This ride will challenge many riders but with long climbs that are not too steep, most club level riders will find this ride enjoyable and memorable. Located just East of the city it is possible to bike to the ride or drive your car. Ample parking can be found at the start of the ride which makes The Great Western Loop the most accessible mountain ride San Diego has to offer. Keep in mind though - there is no water or food stop on this loop. Bring at least a few water bottles and ample calories or the buzzards will get you. There is a store on Lyons Valley road (see the map below) but the store is just off the main ride route.
View Great Western Loop in a larger map
Starting out on Willow Glen Drive you will warm up on a long flat stretch. See those mountain in the distance, you are about to tame them. The ride gets started after the hard right on Dehisa Road. The Dehisa is the first climb. Nothing real steep here but it is a long one that will take most riders 15+ minutes to climb. At the top of Dehisa go right at Japatul Road. Enjoy the descent because at the bottom things turn up again. You will know when you are nearing the end of this section because you will be on the steepest part of the climb (affectionately known to locals as "the wall"). Go right at Lyons Valley road and get ready for some rollers. The last turn of the ride is on to Skyline Truck Trail where it is up and down and up and down all the way home. As you descend be careful. Cross winds can sometimes kick up and give you a scare. Be on the lookout for the right turn on Jamul Drive. It will come up pretty quick on you but there is a church on the left side of the street that you can use as a landmark. After you make the right turn you will be in Mexican canyon and it is all downhill and flat on the way home. At the end of Mexican Canyon you will come to a T intersection, go right and then go left at your next T intersection. Right now, I am too tired and lazy to look up the names of those roads but they are on the map. Since I know you wont be going out to the desert without a map and proper cue sheet I will leave it up to you to make sure you know where you are going. Good luck.
To 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
