Weekly Rough Riders Ramble in La Jolla Area: Photos and Route Information Posted: Join Us!

NOTE: On hiatus until next summer! However, if you will be in the San Diego area (of if you live there) and would like to go or a Rough Rider ramble, please get in touch and we'll make a plan!

Greetings, fellow Rough Riders! You are invited to join us for a weekly Rough Riders Ramble on Wednesday evenings from 5 to 7pm in the La Jolla / Sorrento Valley area of San Diego. This weekly adventure began on Wednesday, April 29 and has been happening weekly since then! (Now on hiatus until Summer 2010.)

We usually post photos from each week's ramble. See them in our SmugMug "Rough Rider Rambles" Gallery!

Route is pictured above in two views, courtesy of Rough Rider Sigurd Kallhovde.
For more details, check out the Google Maps page of the route!

Meeting / Start Location: We'll meet at Infusions of Tea at 5pm (or sooner if you have the time to imbibe of some very high quality tea) and depart at 508pm SHARP, yes 508pm. Infusions of Tea is located in the northern region of San Diego county (Golden Triangle / La Jolla), about a 15 minute drive north from downtown San Diego, near the intersection of La Jolla Village Drive and Genesee. If you are arriving by car (heaven forbid!), the store is part of the Costa Verde Shopping Center at the far eastern end. For convenience, they recommend parking in the lot adjacent to Trophy's.

From there, we head east just six-tenths of a mile to a nearby fire road which drops down into Sorrento Valley. Once in Sorrento Valley, we'll ride to the far end of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve and back. It takes about an hour and 45 minutes round-trip (with about 90-95 minutes of actual pedaling time). The only real climb is back up the fire road to return to the start/finish, but there are a few good humps, lots of rolling terrain, and all manner of riding surfaces to enjoy on this route. The trail surface itself is extremely variable and has just about everything except for deep sand and mud (to protect the trails, we don't ride in mud). Tyres of at least 32mm are recommended as some of the surface is rocky and some of the downhill is sandy. Mountain bikes are welcome. Ride whatever bike you please. Come prepared for flats and such. Here are some pix from our recon ride today, April 29:

Above image: The fireroad from the UTC area down to Sorrento Valley. How cool is that?

Ride Stats:

Total Distance: 20 miles
Riding Time: 90 minutes (add 10-20 minutes for stopping for photos, to enjoy the view, etc.)
Paved / Unpaved Mileage Data (15 miles off-road and 5 miles of pavement):
0.0 to 0.6: Pavement from Infusions of Tea along Genesee to the trailhead on Eastgate Mall
0.6 to 2.0: Dirt fire road down into Sorrento Valley
2.0 to 3.7: Pavement on Roselle Street and Sorrento Valley Blvd to western entrance to Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (15 minutes elapsed)
3.7 to 9.5: Dirt fire road and parallel singletrack to eastern end of Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (45 minutes elapsed)
9.5 to 15.3: Return westbound on fire road and parallel singletrack to western entrance (72 minutes elapsed)
15.3 to 17.0: Pavement on Sorrento Valley Blvd and Roselle Street (78 minutes elapsed)
17.0 to 18.4: Dirt fire road back up to Eastgate Mall (87 minutes elapsed)
18.4 to 19.0: Pavement on Eastgate Mall and Genesee back to Infusions of Tea

Note: Other eateries adjacent to Infusions of Tea (for post-riding chow) include La Salsa, Subway, Robeks, Starbux, Bristol Farms, and several nice to very nice restaurants. There is very ample parking. This location is "freeway close" - situated in the UTC area of La Jolla, off La Jolla Village Drive between the 5 and the 805.

Added 730pm, April 29, 2009: Gallery of images: Rough Riders Ramble Recon. Click that link to check out this fabulous route and you'll see why you want to join this Ramble!!! A few sample images are posted here on the Rough Riders blog, but be sure to enjoy the slideshow at the link above (hosted over on our SmugMug site). Watch it "full screen" in "slideshow" format for best effect.

Above image: The fireroad from Sorrento Valley up to the UTC area. How cool is that?

Note: This ride is unhosted, unsupported, and everyone who shows up is on their own. Neither we, nor anybody else, is responsible for anyone who rides. If you ride, YOU are responsible for YOU and YOUR bike.

PLEASE JOIN US! PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

GOT A ROUGH RIDERS RAMBLE IN YOUR AREA?
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(Remember, we Rough Riders enjoy getting "out there" by riding roads, dirt roads, trails, and paths on whatever bike we happen to be on or have handy. Sometimes the pavement's long gone and we're still on our "road bikes" or some bike that would be commonly considered inadequate for the job - and that's just fine by us! Rough Riding is not defined by the type of bicycle or type of riding surface. Rough Riding is a state of mind, a riding style with limitless freedom and an all-pervasive sense of adventure.)