Southern California - Mt Soledad... ridiculous

I was going back to North County 35 miles into a planned 65 mile ride and Mission suddenly turned into La Jolla Mesa or something and this hill comes out of nowhere. Having never been on this road or hill i assumed it was small. The road was windy so I couldn't exactly see how far it went.


The road turned, and the hill continued. The road turned again and the hill got steeper. About a mile and half later I reach a fork and decide to take the safer looking road called La Jolla scenic route or something and... then the climbing started again and I see a huge cross and am completely dumbfounded. I then see a sign that says Mt. Soledad and I was very impressed. I got off my bike and I could see everythng in San Diego all the way to North County and all the way to Mexico. If you have never been there you should check it out.

I wouldn't really recommend climbing it on a bike unless you are prepared for it. It was pretty tough considering it was a complete surprise.

Soledad is one of my favorite rides in San Diego. It is a short, but steep climb, that fits nicely into my prework ride. How long did it take you from bottom to top?

Good thing you didn't accidentally find Hidden Valley/Via Capri...

I accidently found palomar mountain one time... I was just riding around and next thing I know there was this observatory

I accidently found palomar mountain one time... I was just riding around and next thing I know there was this observatory

Did you try riding to the top of it?

oh you bet chuckles... I remember I was supposed to ride up it one day with me and these two other guys but one guy bailed out supposedly from a back injury. I think he just got scared

Good thing you didn't accidentally find Hidden Valley/Via Capri...


Hidden Valley huh?
I live in RB and accidentally found that road. Also because of that climb (and some other similar climbs) I decided to buy compact crank.

Talking about it.......I may do the Hidden Valley climb tomorrow morning :D

I accidently found palomar mountain one time... I was just riding around and next thing I know there was this observatory
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you doing the Pie Ride on the 14th?


Hidden Valley huh?
I live in RB and accidentally found that road. Also because of that climb (and some other similar climbs) I decided to buy compact crank.

Talking about it.......I may do the Hidden Valley climb tomorrow morning :D

Yeah, it's steepie for sure.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you doing the Pie Ride on the 14th?



Yeah, it's steepie for sure.

I know the Pie Ride question wasnt meant for me but I was thinking about it too. I'm just not sure yet as I wont have the compact crank until the end of October when the Shimano 7900 will be available and I'm not sure if my 53/39 is enough for the hilly ride.....

What's your cassette look like?

What's your cassette look like?

12/27 which may be OK for some but I was having really hard time doing Hidden Valley on this set up and had to even stop twice... so if Pie ride is climbing killer I would be f....

There's nothing as difficult as Hidden Valley or Via Capri on the Pie Ride route. There are one or two spots where it gets steep for relatively short distances, but nothing that really approaches it. The thing about the Pie Ride that makes it tough is the length of the climbs and total overall elevation gain. If you're OK with the distance and the amount of climbing on the ride, you should be fine with a 39/27 as your easiest gear.

Mt. Soledad is one of my favorites too. And you're right about via capri!

By the way, for those interested, this route sheet for the Five Faces of Mt. Soledad was provided to me by another forum member about a year ago. At some point I'd like to add another two routes.
_________
The Five Faces of Mt. Soledad Ride Directions

From Fiesta Island Entrance:
Head North on E. Mission Bay Dr.
E. Mission Bay turns into North Mission Bay Dr.
There is a bike path heading north along the channel skirting the side of the Mission Bay golf course. Turn right on this path. (it is kind of hidden in the bushes, you might ride past it the first time)
Follow the bike path until it goes under Garnett St. Turn back on the path
to Garnett St.

SIDE 1:
Go over the bridge, turn right on Soledad Mountain Rd. Begin Climbing!
Turn right on La Jolla Scenic Dr. South, ride around the cross at the top.

SIDE 2:
BRING YOUR CLIMBING GEARS FOR THIS SIDE!
Turn right on Via Capri. (VERY STEEP! If you do not want to climb excess of 20% grades skip this side)
While going down Via Capri, you must make a left turn onto Hidden valley Rd. (this is an obvious turn) Once you reach the bottom turn around and ride back up around the cross.

SIDE 3:
Go down La Jolla Scenic Dr. Turn Right on Nautilus St. Turn around once you reach the bottom (La Jolla Blvd.) and ride back around the cross.

SIDE 4:
Go back down La Jolla Scenic. La Jolla Scenic runs into La Jolla Mesa Dr.
Turn right and take it to the bottom (Turquoise St.) Turn around and ride back around the cross

SIDE 5:
Head Back down La Jolla Mesa Dr. Turn Left at Cardeno Dr. Take this to the bottom and turn around. (Turquoise St. again) Ride back around the cross at the top.
_______

we went down via capri and Hidden Valley to get back to Torrey Pines road. There would be absolutely no way I would try to climb the way we went down... ahahha... never

There's nothing as difficult as Hidden Valley or Via Capri on the Pie Ride route. There are one or two spots where it gets steep for relatively short distances, but nothing that really approaches it. The thing about the Pie Ride that makes it tough is the length of the climbs and total overall elevation gain. If you're OK with the distance and the amount of climbing on the ride, you should be fine with a 39/27 as your easiest gear.

Correction: I have only done Mt. Soledad from PB. When talking about Hidden Valley I was referring to the Highland Valley Rd west of Lake Hodges. My mistake. I do find Highland Valley Rd. climb very challenging and even though that I was able to make it today without a stop I cannot imaging doing several climbs of similar difficulty in one day.

Where is Hidden Valley?

The short section of road leading up to Via Capri is Hidden Valley.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you doing the Pie Ride on the 14th?

Yes I will be doing the pie ride. Shouldn't be that hard just depends on the weather hopefully it will be cool enough.

there's one more road that's almost as crazy as via capri, except without the cars. Country Club Drive. On the north side of soledad. The view is very good. Better than the soledad cross in my opinion.

So is this a 5/6 faces of Mt Soledad ride in the making? :D

So is this a 5/6 faces of Mt Soledad ride in the making? :D

I do it once a week. I call it the Le Tour de LJ (La Jolla). It's pretty good. I don't have enough sunlight to get all of the hills in after work as often as I'd like to, but the routes from UCSD are often 25-35 miles and about 100-110 feet of climbing per mile. I'll lead the tour sometime if people are interested.

Good thing you didn't accidentally find Hidden Valley/Via Capri...

Is that the way that we went?

That's the one. Of course, it's not the struggle it once was.

I live on the PB side of Mt. Soledad and do this short climb on my commute each morning - I never get bored of the view from the monument - awesome. The return climb via Hidden Valley Rd. feels far worse after a day at work! It seems like cars appear from nowhere just when you take that 90-degree right-hander from H.V. Rd. onto Via Capri!

I live on the PB side of Mt. Soledad and do this short climb on my commute each morning - I never get bored of the view from the monument - awesome. The return climb via Hidden Valley Rd. feels far worse after a day at work! It seems like cars appear from nowhere just when you take that 90-degree right-hander from H.V. Rd. onto Via Capri!

you should move! ..... just kidding :D

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5742/img0873zx3.jpg
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8064/img0862qt3.jpg
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2225/img0853xw2.jpg