Viejas grade is one of the dirt roads that masters riders in San Diego need to tackle at some point. This tour of Lake Jennings, Viejas Grade, and Julian makes for a fast east county alternative to a ride like the Henshaw Loop.
San Diego cycling is filled with legends and folklore. Ride in San Diego for any amount of time and you will find suffering riders mumbling the phrase "WWMD" over and over. WWMD (what would Muller do) is a motivating chant we are told is better than Motivators when you are suffering. Although the origins of this term are a bit sketchy, they can be traced back to one of the mythical San Diego cyclists named Mueller. Mueller, like Madonna, Prince, Coolio, Liberace, and Alf, only has one name. Legend has it that he was so dominating and powerful at birth that after a 77 hour labor, his mother passed out in a fit of sweat and exhaustion...said the word "Mueller"...and never spoke another word.
Although we have never seen or met this Mueller we have heard stories from riders who claim to have had Mueller sightings. Two cyclists that were interviewed for this piece say that they both saw Mueller on this loop. Perhaps you will see Mueller on your ride. If you do, be sure you do not look him in the eyes and do not speak first. Mueller will speak to you when he is ready. You have been warned.
Leaving the Lake Jennings Park and Ride head out Old Highway 80 through Alpine and over to Viejas Grade. The Grade is hard packed dirt so be ready for the decent. Legend has it that Mueller once hit a bobcat while riding down Viejas Grade. The bobcat was stunned but Mueller was unphased. One eyewitness claims that Mueller dismounted and attacked the stunned bobcat. Careful not to deliver a death blow Mueller maimed and bit the bobcat and ultimately let the bobcat live. Before releasing the cat, however, the sky turned dark as night just before Mueller jammed a bicycle spoke in it's eye screaming "Let this bicycle spoke be a warning to you and all bobcats!" To date no other cyclist has been injured by a bobcat on Viejas Grade. For that we can all thank Mueller.
There is a store at the top of Viejas Grade. Better fuel up here because it is a long haul over to Julian on the 79. Our traditional stop is at the Julian Pie company. You might see an old timer in Julian (actually you will see many of them) at JPC walking with some of those Forrest Gump type leg braces and crutches. If you do not see him ask around. He is a fixture in Julian. This old timer was not always lame. He tells us that he once tried to race Mueller to the stop sign just past the Library on the run in to Julian but there was a "vortex or energy" coming out of Muellers cranks that left his legs weak and they never quite recovered. This unfortunate old soul never walked straight again and now he drowns his misery in pie, cinnamon cookies, and Goldschlager.
Head out the back of Julian to Old Julian Rd/Julian Hwy and follow that East through Santa Ysabel on Old Julian Rd/Julian Hwy. Just
after Slaughterhouse Road stay on OLD JULIAN HWY. Follow
that into Ramona and out main street to the 67. By this time you will be getting tired. We have had numerous cyclists tell us that Mueller only very rarely eats or drinks on his rides. One cyclist said they saw him ride 100 miles on a single Raisinet. Another had a similar story claiming that they rode for 5 hours and Mueller only consumed a Junior Mint and 3 of those nasty orange circus peanuts. It is clear that Mueller 1) likes candy his grandma used to eat and 2) can survive on next to nothing. Other cyclists claim that he is human and he does actually eat. Several cyclists say that at the end of the ride he is known to pull out a bottle of HammerGel. They also tell us that if you are fortunate enough to see him eat his HammerGel you have about 5 minutes to "do what you need to do." These cyclists were not able to comment further as they all broke down in tears. As such, we do not know what happens after the HammerGel comes out but it is clear that whatever happens, it will be scary and painful.
Head South all
the way into Lakeside. Then there are a few side streets and turns so be careful to take a map. If you do, you will find yourself back on Lake Jennings Park Rd and safely back at
the start.
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 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
