Oleanshoebox

I wanna climb mount Rubidoux. I live in the La Sierra area of Riverside. Where do I start (at the base)? Can anyone help?

rgourley

I think it's Mt Rubidoux drive and 9th, but it's been years since I lived there.

map

Psydotek

9th and Mt. Rubidoux Drive for sure. Start there for the long way up (2 miles gradual incline). For the short way up (1 mile steeper incline), start at the southeast corner where the trail meets Glenwood Drive.

I recommend starting at 9th and Mt. Rubidoux Dr. though. Just go up 9th and look for the big gate on your left. Beware the steep climb right before the gate. You'll see when you get there.

Oleanshoebox

Thanks guys

Mr. Beanz

Haven't done it since 92. That's when I firist started riding...don't tell anybody, but...on a hybrid!

We'd start from Fairmont Park. Not sure what the name is but one of the streets near the tennis courts takes you straight up to one of the gates. Pretty easy to make your way. Plus adds a lil warm up.

Brian Sorrell

Why not ride the SART while you're at it Absolutely lovely ride. It goes behind Mt. R by the dog park and you can make your way up to a Mt. R. entrance from there. Go to google maps and type in "mt rubidoux riverside, ca" and you'll get a good feeling for where to go. When are you planning on riding it?

Oleanshoebox

I'm thinking I'll leave my house tomorrow at 5:30 ish. Do you know if I ride up SART from Van Buren towards Mt Rubidoux where I will end up? I'd rather do that then take Arlington all the way which is what mapquest is telling me to do.

lsits

The bike trail takes a little jog at Tequesquite (sp?). you turn right and then left and you're back on the trail. If you want to go up the steep side, don't get back on the trail. Go past the barrier and make a left onto San Andreas. That'll take you to the entrance to the trail. To get to the less steep side, take Tequesquite to Pine Avenue and make a left. Make another left at 9th St & you're there.

Brian Sorrell

From Van Buren, SART will take you to the San Bernardino County line. There is currently construction that will connect all the way through SanBerdoo -- I can't wait! On the SART from VB, you'll pass a water treatment facility first off, then you'll approach a great old train bridge just before Anza Narrows Park -- at that point, you're adjacent to Jurupa. Then you'll ride through a few rolling inclines (I resist calling them hills), and eventually pop out on Tequesquite -- though beyond where traffic is allowed. You'll need to go left there -- you can't miss it -- just keep aiming for the giant cross on the top of MR. Next stop is the dog park at the base of Mt Rubidoux. I *think* you can get to the road up from there, but I've never tried from that side.

Go under Mission Inn Blvd and you'll get to a fork in the trail. The right fork takes you to Fairmount Park, the left takes you to the county line. Take the Fairmount Park fork and you can find your way through the neighborhoods to one of the official entrances to Mt R.

It's a really lovely ride with wildlife in the river bed the whole way. You can see Mt. R. from almost anywhere on the trail, so it's just about impossible to get lost. The whole length of the trail is about 8 or so miles. If you do a loop around the park it adds about 1.5 miles. I ride it from home (I'm 2 miles from a trail entrance) and do the loop for a quick 22 or so mile ride -- that's all I ever have time for these days. I'd offer to ride with you and try tackling the hill too, but 5:30 (assuming you mean morning) is way too early for my blood! If you ever want to do a ride like this in the afternoons, I'm always willing to pound out 20-something miles through there and soak in the beauty.

Have fun!

(I see that Isits responded with a route from Tequesquite. Can you tell that I'm encouraging riding as much of the trail as possible His route is perfect, and you can stop at Butch's Grinders for lunch -- it's right there at Tequesquite and Palm. Mmmm. Yummy.)

Oleanshoebox

The ride was great this morning, thanks guys. I took the steep side rather by accident but it was nice and punishing-it almost felt like I got to the top too soon. The view from up there is amazing. Pulled the whole ride off in just under 2 hours which I am very happy with because it means I averaged around 15mph.

I will definitely be back up there soon. Maybe as soon as next sunday.

clutchy

I just went up that 2 sundays ago, it takes like 5-10 minutes max... but it's a fun ride, watch out for the people!

uh... we must be talking about 2 different places... I went into a park and did circles around roubidoux til we hit the top...

Oleanshoebox

When you get to the top there is a big arrow painted on the rock that says 'down road'. that is the one I came up. There were a lot of people though, and the pavement is horrendous. SART + up/down rubodoux is only 24 miles or so for me so my estimate of 20mph was slightly off. I need a computer.

Psydotek

Yeah, the trail pavement is definitely less than stellar... But you're not really going fast to begin with when climbing so it's not too much of an issue usually. A MTB or Cyclocross bike with fatter and knobby tires would be better but then they'd wouldn't be ideal for when you're back on the road.