Southern California - Anyone from Hemet?

Help. I'm visitng my family for Thanksgiving and was hoping to ride to Hemet from Monrovia (Pasadena area). Is the 79 rideable? I know people drive pretty fast on it, but does anyone have any experience riding this road? I'm assuming it's open to bikes. Any alternative suggestions would be great, too. Thanks in adavance.

I've only ridden the Beaumont section of Hwy 79, through Lamb's Canyon.

Its a fast downhill ride, with a nice size bike lane, but there are grates in the bike lane every 100 ft. or so. So you end up riding either close to the mountain, or on the white line, closer to the very fast traffic.

I've ridden it from Beaumont to Hemet a couple of times. I honestly don't remember too much about it, so it must not have been really good or really bad. I recall there being a shoulder.

The AYH christmas bike ride goes from Palm Desert to Hemet via Beaumont every year. In 8 or 9 times I've never gone the official route, which comes in via 79 from Beaumont, but gone over the mountain instead. I don't recall anybody complaining about the traffic very much, but the winds can be pretty high. If you're eastbound it's probably not so bad. In any case, it's apparently rideable and not too terrible.

I live in Hemet and 79 has a pretty wide shoulder both ways. From Beaumont it is down hill most of the way. You can get up a real good head of steam on the last section just before the Ramona expressway. But that being said, right after you go through the light at Ramona take the first left about 100 yards Sanderson. Take that to Lyon and ride into town. You will avoid a lot of two lane traffic on Sanderson.