RR: Otay Mountain Fire Road

[bajamtnbkr]

I will take a shot of a ride report.
Fist a disclaimer that no single track was harmed today it was all wide gravel fire road with hardly any dirt on it.
So Travis MT_ID wanted to ride today and since the weather guy said we are having "the worst rain storm in San Diego in 3 years" we had to ride fire roads, He wanted to explore east Chula Vista and I suggested the fire road to Otay Mountain from the Thousand Trails RV Park near Jamul.
I done this ride but from the south road near the Donovan State Prison in Otay Mesa so I was somewhat familiar but not under this weather conditions.
We also had Pete Masiel joint us later, he is a local racer with lots of experience and races under his belt, you can check him out at www.peteandwendycycling.com/
Travis and I started first and Pete half and hour later. Needless to say that it was wet since it didn't stop raining all morning, it was very cold and windy, in fact it was so windy that at one point I almost lost balance from the crosswind hitting so hard.
Not big number to show, only 5 miles of climbing with hardly any flat spot at all and 2700 feet of elevation gain and 5 miles of straight downhill.
I have to give thanks to Pete for sharing with us tips and mainly for motivating us to keep pedaling even we had such a hard time pedaling against the wind and rain.
Thanks Travis for coming out with this crazy idea.
Not that many pictures where taken since we had such a poor visibility and riding in and out of clouds but here are a couple taken by Pete.

[sdyeti]

Thanks for sharing, Jose. Your ride report was great

This might be a promising local ride for VQ training. 5 miles and 2700 ft of climbing...hmmmm

[allison]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Thanks for sharing, Jose. Your ride report was great

This might be a promising local ride for VQ training. 5 miles and 2700 ft of climbing...hmmmm

If we really want to hurt... Nate Harrison Grade. It's ridiculous.


Glad you guys got out and enjoyed the day as well!!

[bajamtnbkr]

sdyeti"Thanks for sharing, Jose. Your ride report was great

This might be a promising local ride for VQ training. 5 miles and 2700 ft of climbing...hmmmm"

Let me know if you need a guide but is very hard to get lost if you stay on the fire road with gravel over old pavement and don't wonder off to the dirt fire roads. I also saw some singletrack but not much. I will probably wait for a nice toasty sunny day to explore.

[Pain Freak]

Damn Jose, that's a steep climb even without the wind. Great job!

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Damn Jose, that's a steep climb even without the wind. Great job!

Yeah, fighting the elements made it more interesting!

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by allison

If we really want to hurt... Nate Harrison Grade. It's ridiculous.

Come on, Nate is not that bad. (Nate has special place in my heart - not my legs)

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by bajamtnbkr

He wanted to explore east Chula Vista and I suggested the fire road to Otay Mountain from the Thousand Trails RV Park near Jamul.

Nice! I think that is the toughest of the three ways up that mountain. I have some sunny day pics of the mountain hiding on one of my hard drives I will have to dig up. Have any of you done a loop going up the west side on Otay Mountain Truck trail and down the fireroad you went on incorporating the Otay Lakes stuff?

[jonathan_sykes81]

Originally Posted by MTBBill

Have any of you done a loop going up the west side on Otay Mountain Truck trail and down the fireroad you went on incorporating the Otay Lakes stuff?

I have done a loop that incorporates what you are talking about. Pretty soon we will be doing a "Chula Vista Death March", starting at the Performance shop on Bonita Rd, making our way out to Otay Lakes, climbing up Otay Mt, regardless of the exact route, it ends up around 52 miles.

[emfc]

Let me know when and I'm in.

[jonathan_sykes81]

Originally Posted by emfc

Let me know when and I'm in.

Sure thing. This will definitely be a "geared" day.

[emfc]

The geared is ready to go, she got new tires yesterday.

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by jonathan_sykes81

I have done a loop that incorporates what you are talking about. Pretty soon we will be doing a "Chula Vista Death March", starting at the Performance shop on Bonita Rd, making our way out to Otay Lakes, climbing up Otay Mt, regardless of the exact route, it ends up around 52 miles.

Yep that would certainly be in beater range.

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by MTBBill

Nice! I think that is the toughest of the three ways up that mountain. I have some sunny day pics of the mountain hiding on one of my hard drives I will have to dig up. Have any of you done a loop going up the west side on Otay Mountain Truck trail and down the fireroad you went on incorporating the Otay Lakes stuff?

Hey Bill if you can find your pictures it will be great, I know you get amazing views of the San Diego bay, Tijuana and the Laguna Mountains but not yesterday, all you see is a white wall all around, did I mentioned it was wet?

[MT ID]

Thanks for posting Jose. We'll definitely have to attempt the loop sometime. I am thinking about adding this climb as part of a training plan. Have to admit it will get you in better shape, especially if done on a fairly regular basis.

Travis

[ChipsandSalsa]

Nice Report, Jose. Now you have me itching to try this ride.

Do you think the trail/road will be completely dry and free of mud by tomorrow (Wednesday) morning?

Also, what is the best way to get to the trailhead via East Hwy 94?

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by ChipsandSalsa

Nice Report, Jose. Now you have me itching to try this ride.

Do you think the trail/road will be completely dry and free of mud by tomorrow (Wednesday) morning?

Also, what is the best way to get to the trailhead via East Hwy 94?

Hey Greg, the fire road was in good shape with the rain so you'll be ok to ride it any day.
To get to the trailhead go east on Hwy. 94 and after Jamul turn right (west) on Otay Lakes Rd., park on the left side of the road when you get to the Thousand Trail RV park and park outside the store. The trailhead is the paved road that starts uphill to a big water tank, you keep going and follow the graveled fire road.
Have fun and if you can take some pictures, on a clear day the views are wonderful.
Jose

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by MT ID

Thanks for posting Jose. We'll definitely have to attempt the loop sometime. I am thinking about adding this climb as part of a training plan. Have to admit it will get you in better shape, especially if done on a fairly regular basis.

Travis

Hey Travis if you are in town on saturday we should try "The Rock House", a pretty good climb near Sweetwater, let me know.

[ChipsandSalsa]

Mega respect for you, Jose. I did this ride yesterday, and it was pretty tough, even with the clear weather. Not at all technical, but a great conditioning ride, both mentally and physically.

Has anyone ever ridden from this trail/road all the way out to wherever it ends, and back? I am curious about the mileage and elevation gain for an out-and-back.

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by ChipsandSalsa