Please
join me this Saturday for a 67-mile road ride in the mountains north of Los Angeles
which features the Ridge Rouge, 3 Points Road, and Lake Hughes Road.
It's a clock-wise loop which will start and finish in Castaic. There's a
lot of climbing, especially in the first third, with about 8000 feet of
total elevation gain. The Ridge Route has been closed to cars for quite
some time, but, to the best of my knowledge, it is totally passable.
(But if you read this blog, and/or know me, you know that I like a bit
of rough stuff on my road bike.)
Pictured, L-R: Paul Sparrow Hawk Byron, Chris Kostman (me), Mike Miller, and Peter Penguin Pop on the Ridge Route in 2001 during a 400km Brevet which I hosted.
Here's snapshot of the map and elevation profile:
(Note that RidewithGPS is known to heavily overstate elevation gain!)
Route Description:
The route heads north along I-5 (not literally), and the climbing begins immediately. We'll head northbound on the appropriately
named Ridge Route, climbing higher and higher into ever more beautiful
and remote territory up above I-5. After crossing Templin Highway at
elev 2960, we'll have an 18 mile "epic adventure" as the Ridge Route
becomes an "unmaintained road." Don't freak out, though: based on my experience in 2001, 2002, and 2003, it's easily
doable on a standard road bike. (And it's as true here as everywhere
else that 19mm tyres are a bad idea.) We'll climb about 500', then roll
along through an incredible set of rolling hills that vary between 3400'
and 4000'. A few patches are very ripped up, some are gravelly, a few
are hard-packed dirt, but 95% of this stretch is perfectly fine. The
other 5% is never scary or dangerous. When scouting the route originally back in 2001, I
drove this at full speed in my low-to-the-ground Saturn SL2, then rode
it on my Kestrel with 28 hole wheels and 23mm tyres. I had no problems,
just lots of fun! At the top is the checkpoint and incredible views of California
Poppies in the surrounding gone-back-in-time valleys. At this point
you'll have done about 4000' of cumulative elevation gain. From here we head
east on Pine Canyon Rd and Three Points Rd, then south on Lake Hughes
Road back to the start/finish.
Route Directions (approximate):
0.0 Head east on Lake Hughes Road
0.3 Go left / north on Ridge Route, continue
6.9 Cross Templin Hwy
8.6 "End County Maintained Road"
26.0 Maintain road resumes
26.5 Right / east Pine Canyon Road/N2
34.5 R Three Points Rd. (SS, T-Int) - There at least used to be a bathroom on right around back
44.0 R Lake Hughes Road - There at lease used to be a market on right after turn
67.0 Finish at McDonald's at Lake Huges Road and Castaic Road.
Schedule:
Meet at 730am at the McDonald's at 27701 Lake Hughes Rd, Castaic, CA 91384
Depart at 800am sharp.
Return time? That's up to you. I am planing about a 4 to 5 hour pace with a few stops for photos and to enjoy the view. There are almost NO services along this route, so come prepared!
Please come prepared with food, drink, bike repair needs, money, ID, route sheet, map and/or GPS, etc. NOTE: The
ride is unsupported and all are on their own. Further updates will
be posted to my Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/ChrisKostman
More Photos of the Ridge Route, from the 2002 400km Brevet I hosted there:
Pictured above: Ann Crossland, Kerin Huber, Big Ring Dave, and yours truly in '02
See you "out there"!
