Southern California - High speed descents

Where have you hit some really high speeds in SoCal?

My big descent is Mt Baldy Rd. My top speed on the top section so far is 51.8 MPH. From Baldy Village down to Claremont, I've hit 48.x MPH on several occasions. I once hit 49.7 MPH descending Scripps Poway Rd (going west).

Places where I've hit speeds up to 46.x MPH are too numerous to keep track of. I can't think offhand of other places where I've cracked 47 MPH.

Any favored places to hit some really high speeds? :D

i have a 50mph downhill on my daily loop - college blvd. north from mesa drive. you really have to work for it, though.

i've broken 52 a number of times coming off palomar, but everytime i do that, i always reflect on it with a feeling of sheer stupidity.

straight-line speed isn't really my bag.

55+ on Mission Gorge Road descending towards Princess View. I make up for it by doing 6-8 the other way. :)

freeway

lol jk

Where have you hit some really high speeds in SoCal?

My big descent is Mt Baldy Rd. My top speed on the top section so far is 51.8 MPH. From Baldy Village down to Claremont, I've hit 48.x MPH on several occasions. I once hit 49.7 MPH descending Scripps Poway Rd (going west).

Places where I've hit speeds up to 46.x MPH are too numerous to keep track of. I can't think offhand of other places where I've cracked 47 MPH.

Any favored places to hit some really high speeds? :D


I got up to 48.5 on a downhill in Palmdale..(cant remember the name of the road)...it was great..but skeery

My big descent is Mt Baldy Rd. My top speed on the top section so far is 51.8 MPH.

Are you referring to the 15% pitch at the top just below the lifts?

Westlake Blvd as it leads from Westlake to Thousand Oaks. I've reached 50 mph down that one, since it's a nice smooth surface with a gentle curve.

51mph going down on Via Rancho Parkway in Esco from Del Dio Side
63mph going down Community from Scripps to Poway road
55+ going down Palomar Mt
42mph going down GMR, on my MTB with knobbies:D
56mph down a fireroad from the top of Snow Summit on my MTB:D
48mph down the DH section of Cardiac Hill in Sycamore Canyon Trail on the MTB

wow, the only time I've gone over 35 mph on a mtb was in a downhill competition, with full body armor, elbow pads, knee pads, hib pads, tail bone pads, and full face helmet. Still managed to move the elbow pads and scrape my elbow when I slid off a rock surface at 30 something.

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:

51mph going down on Via Rancho Parkway in Esco from Del Dio Side
63mph going down Community from Scripps to Poway road
55+ going down Palomar Mt
42mph going down GMR, on my MTB with knobbies:D
56mph down a fireroad from the top of Snow Summit on my MTB:D
48mph down the DH section of Cardiac Hill in Sycamore Canyon Trail on the MTB

I've topped out at 48 and would like to hit 50 (once would be enough), but your numbers scare me--63?!!!! I'm glad you ride a SS, not a fixie....

I seem to top out at 48. Whether it's my wheel bearings or other mechanical thing slowing me down, or a subconscious block that makes me inadvertantly feather the brakes...I don't know. I get to 48 all the time coming down the 78 toward the Wild Animal Park and down Lake Wohlford grade.

I'm actually thinking my cheap-o wheels (or my Specialized Armadillo tires which are not made for racing) have a big affect on my top speed. The wheels just feel like they could literally disintegrate and I dream of cartwheeling ass over teakettle at 50 mph down a 1' wide bike lane.

wow, the only time I've gone over 35 mph on a mtb was in a downhill competition, with full body armor, elbow pads, knee pads, hib pads, tail bone pads, and full face helmet. Still managed to move the elbow pads and scrape my elbow when I slid off a rock surface at 30 something.

I crashed going down the top section of "fallline" at Snow summit doing about 33mph or so. I slide prolly about 30-40 feet rolling downhill next to the trail, over 3 small bushes and manage to come to a stop within 5 feet of a giant pine tree. Not one scratch, I had knee/shin gaurd and Elbow/arm pads, no full face, just a normal lid. I got mad and was a mad mahn on a mission, I finished 2nd in that race, lost by 11 seconds:mad:

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:


To me fast is a relative term. Relative to the road or trail Im riding. I like to kinda be on the edge of safe and fun. Ive done trails on the mt bike where 15mph is really pushing it, seems like yer really flying though. Fastest Ive gone was 47.8 on the roadie.

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:

Oh, I am right there with you Brandy!!
Over by me there is a steep descent called Decker Cyn...YIKES!!!
People always try to go as fast as they can...
no, not me....I am white knuckling my brakes the whole time, thinking the whole
time that my brakes aren't working cuz I am scared to death!!!
Sometimes I wish my road bike had the brakes like my mountain bike does (Disk brakes work wonders!!)

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:


nope..... me neither.... 40 is the fastest i'll go.... any faster than than an i'm feathering the brakes..... (i'm not a white knuckler... but i'm not an idiot on the hills, either!)

56mph down a fireroad from the top of Snow Summit on my MTB:D
holy crap

Over by me there is a steep descent called Decker Cyn...YIKES!!!




oh.... i've never descended decker.... only climbed it! i can see where it would be a hairy descent, though!

To me fast is a relative term. Relative to the road or trail Im riding.

Exactly, most of the trails I ride fast, I get in the zone, once you loose focus for a split second you can be off the course and over the bars doing 20+ on flat single track. I once ghost rided my bike off the side of a steep cliff cuz this, I managed to unclip in the air and threw the bike out from under me. I landed about 10ft from the trail and the bike was another 30ft down the cliff. No damage to either me or the bike. It was kinda funny and was laughin about it. My buddy was in front of my and heard the "OH $HIT" echo off the trail:p This type of stuff makes you a better rider, cuz you now know the limit line and not to cross it.

One of the trails I love riding is Sycamore Canyon, the lower section rides along the creekbed and through twisty trails going through trees and ruts. Even 10mph seems FAST cuz you can't see the next turn or it's exit. I guess you get fast every time out cuz you remember the trail more.

I've been on Decker Canyon and it's already scary enough when driving a car that's already outfitted with better brakes/suspension/tires... :lol:

I've topped out at 38mph afew times. I'm too tired to pedal any harder because i'm already tired from the climb up whatever hill it is...

Are you referring to the 15% pitch at the top just below the lifts?
Yes. Have to get on the brakes quickly in case someone gets in the way crossing through Manker Flats, but that quarter mile is plenty long enough to hit some absurdly high speeds. The day I hit 51.8 MPH, I had forgotten to zip up my jersey. :( That probably would have bought me a bit more speed.


51mph going down on Via Rancho Parkway in Esco from Del Dio Side
63mph going down Community from Scripps to Poway road
55+ going down Palomar Mt
42mph going down GMR, on my MTB with knobbies :D
56mph down a fireroad from the top of Snow Summit on my MTB :D
48mph down the DH section of Cardiac Hill in Sycamore Canyon Trail on the MTB
You're one crazy fast descender! :eek:

50-52mph on encino hills drive, the street that mulholland turns into before you dump back into the valley. and the record is 54 coming down san fracisquito canyon from the lake elizabeth side back to valencia....drafting another rider...too cool!

Turtle Rock in Irvine, 55 mph on the tandem. We would have picked up more speed, but the wife wanted me to not go any faster.

Highway 38, Ride Around the Bear, low to mid 40s.

53 on Davenport in Canyon Country, over 50 on Mulholland in Calabassas and a few other places. I have no desire to cross 50 again, when it gets to abut 45 I start thinking. I guess that's part of getting older, the desire to get even older.

53 on Davenport in Canyon Country, over 50 on Mulholland in Calabassas and a few other places. I have no desire to cross 50 again, when it gets to abut 45 I start thinking. I guess that's part of getting older, the desire to get even older.

What a concept going downhill on Davenport, I'm always climbing it. I guess one of the days I'll have to turn around after I've recovered from the climb and ride it downhill. Its definitely not technical.

Around 55 mph, coming down Sagehen Summit, up by Mammoth. I probably could have hit 60, but there was a strong cross wind, and I got a little freaked out :D

I know these aren't SoCal but...

49.4 in the Rockies descending from Ward down to Boulder.

51.4 in Tahoe descending the Truckee grade from Tahoe into Truckee. Could have hit 55+ but the road had grooves parallel to the bike... not a good thing as you can imagine. I was bummed I didn't hit 55!! It was rough enough to shake my buddies water bottle out of the cage. :eek:

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:
Oh no, all of my top speeds are from when I was 14-16 years old. Now I have a personal speed limit of 40 mph, and that's only if the road is straight and smooth!

55 down laurel canyon into the valley towards ventura with cars, traffic lights and bad pavement with a nasty gap between the asphalt and concrete.
my friend who i used to race with has done the high sierra century above mammoth a few times there's a long straight downhill - 70 mph behind a tandem!

you guys are crazy. ive hit 52mph on a trainer at a bike shop tho.

46 coming down from Onyx Summit on Ride Around the Bear on my single. Usually about 42 on other hills.
56 on the tandem going down Grand Ave. on the Mt Sac hill going towards the 10 fwy. The tandem was stable and great. My sunglasses and helmet shaking violently made me ask myself ,"why?".

I can handle the thought on my own, but thought too much about what would happen to Gina if I made a mistake while having fun with a hobby!:(

50 mph on rollers before a race in a 53-12, hmm, i'll have to try it with an 11

So far my top speed has only been ~45mph when descending Vista Ridge (?) behind jschen.

Recently when braking down a local street at ~35mph (Genesee in SD), my rear wheel swayed wildly. That indicates to me I need a new bike (or I need to brush up my downhill braking skills), so I've backed off to only a controlled 40mph top speed.

So far my top speed has only been ~45mph when descending Vista Ridge (?) behind jschen.

Recently when braking down a local street at ~35mph (Genesee in SD), my rear wheel swayed wildly. That indicates to me I need a new bike (or I need to brush up my downhill braking skills), so I've backed off to only a controlled 40mph top speed.

Soloist Carbon, of course.

63mph going down Community from Scripps to Poway road
56mph down a fireroad from the top of Snow Summit on my MTB:D

60+?!?! i would crap my pants before i reach 50!
and 56 down a fireroad?!? dont you skid like hell when you hit a rock?!
u r krazy

and 56 down a fireroad?!? dont you skid like hell when you hit a rock?!

umm, it was like pea gravel surface so it was fast and slick, there was the racing line that was cleared out a bit so it was smoother, some turns had more gravel on top surface then others so I had to motocross slide it through the turns (one foot out and the back end swung out to make the turn), otherwise the front would just wash out in the gravel if you turned just the wheel and not enough lean. There was one sharp right hander that I missed the entrence of the apex and went stright!!!! luckly there was about 20ft of run off before the cliff. I stopped about 4ft shy of the drop. In that case, as long as I stayed in the racing line that has been cleared out from the faster riders, I was ok, once I got outside of this line (about 12" wide) then the sliding started.

On the next race, I had known about the turn and slowed down a bit, some guy passed me on the inside, relized the apex and did the same thing I did the first time, he freakout and unclipped both feet, dragged one the ground to help slow down enough, somehow turned the bike down course and jumped back on and pedeled off. Amazing move at around 40mph through this turn.

The type of racing we did that year was Super D, take the chair lifts up, LaMans Start over a climb or two then race down the side of the mountain back to the chairlifts. The top part is Fire road, every fast stuff then goes to technical single track. The races were about 14-16min sprint downhill.

60+?!?! i would crap my pants before i reach 50!
and 56 down a fireroad?!? dont you skid like hell when you hit a rock?!
u r krazy

Me too. I usually start feathering the breaks when I hit the high 40's. Anything in the 50's and I am going to fast on a bike!

I have hit too many pot holes screaming down a hill to never want to be in 50's again :eek:

I am not a fast descender. When I approach 40mph my eyes usually start tearing and that's as fast as I'll go. :)

55 mph coming down Gaviota Pass along the 101 on a bike loaded with camping gear for a 2 week ride down the coast. Of course that was 25 years ago, and measured using an old Huret cable driven speedometer.

My Garmin says I hit 46 mph on Hwy 67 downgrade into Ramona during Tour de Poway.

I hit 45 on that hill in front of Pepperdine going south towards Santa Monica. I wouldn't want to go any faster than that though. I'm a big guy, my brakes are worthless at high speeds. I just sit up which will slow me to under 40 and then I just hope I nothing jumps out til I get to under 30 when my brakes start to have a chance at slowing me further.

I hit 49+, but not quite 50, riding solo on PID. We regularly hit ~45 on Bake, Newport Coast, Saddleback Ranch/Glenn Ranch, Live Oak Canyon, Spyglass, etc...

31 .5 Willow metro park, down the hill just past the rail road crossing

I am not a fast descender. When I approach 40mph my eyes usually start tearing and that's as fast as I'll go. :)
lol me too
tears = my speedometer

I agree on the crazy bit. :eek:

41 was my fastest.. for just a few seconds going down the *hill* :rolleyes: behind my house.

I routinely hit in the low 40s, but that's all I care to do.

Am I the only one who has no desire to ever go that fast? Too skeery for me!! :eek:No...emphatically.