Located 30 miles due east of San Diego in the Cleveland National Forest, a little bit south and east of California's beautiful Anza-Borrego State Park.
Since we were a little bit pressed for time, we were at the trailhead, ready to ride at the tree-rimmed Pine Valley parking lot about 8:00 that morning.
There are a few variations of the ride that can be done, with many others doing the ride as a shuttle. We chose to "earn the turns" by making the trek up the steep road to the trail head.Pine Valley Road is a narrow paved road that climbs from the parking lot (elevation 3700') to the start of the trail - about four miles long and 1600' up. The climb is pretty constant, but at times became a 20% grade. Aside from other riders shuttling up, there's zero auto traffic.
one of the steeper parts of the road
looking back down
still more climbing - see road cut across the slopeAfter the long climb we finally hit the dirt.
There were a couple of other groups that were taking the trail on the same day, a little map check was in order. Note the dead trees - a forest fire swept through the area back in 2003.The trail starts out as relatively mild (but fun) singletrack in a pine forest.
Surprisingly there were a few small creek crossings.
About a third of the way down is where the technical and rocky sections start.
pushin' back up a loose and steep section
Most of the trail is exposed with scrub brush providing zero shade along the way. Bring lots of water - and it's probably best not to ride it in the middle of the summer.Towards the bottom the trail is mostly buffed smooth and super-grippy. Here's Derek pushing the pedals after a long morning in the saddle.
The Pivot worked admirably; an efficient pedaler with just the right amount of travel (140mm) for a longer ride on rougher terrain.
And finally a map of the ride, ridden clockwise starting on the bottom left corner.
mileage - 13.13 miles
time - 2 hours, 46 minutes
2500' elevation gain
max speed - 41.5 MPH
Here's a link to more info on the trail.
