Originally Posted by
ooga-booga
it's even better in spring when it's green.
i'd also recommend nearby wynola rd and farmer rd up the hill closer to julian. if you park in that large gravel lot just north of the julian pie co/don's market complex in santa ysabel
at the 78/79 junction, you can tackle both mesa grande and the wynola/farmer loop. it is about 40 miles and a little over 4,000 el gain. you've got support in santa ysabel, wynola and julian.
p.s. how good is the gravel riding in San Diego? When I looked online, it didn't seem that impressive: mostly some connectors bridging parts of standard routes. I would have thought East County would be great.