Excited over seeing the photos from post on our Facebook group doing a loop through the Pilot Rock Truck Trail and Cleghorn Pass, it was a ride that looked hard to turn down.
The timing was fortuitous that week as we had already mapped out a ride in Big Bear, but this route was closer and shorter seeming to yield a double win.
We knew it was going to be warm, but we underestimated a little bit that Victor Valley would be about ten degrees warmer than LA at the lower elevations.
Still, we were prepared enough water wise and properly placed our Crestline stop right in the middle to resupply.
On paper we thought that the Pilot Rock Truck Trail was going to be the harder effort of the two dirt sections.
At 8.2 miles averaging 4% to the peak, the numbers are misleading as a few flat areas don’t reflect the slope being in the high single digits for most of the way.
Also factoring in the number of times we pulled over for drivers, it was hard to get into a flow.
Exiting the dirt taking Tunnel Road out for the last 2.5 miles added to the strain factor before another punchy climb on the road before dipping into Crestline.
Starting off our second half of dirt on Monument Peak, this short 1.2 mile section really took the life out of us early.
It was just steep enough to suck your energy while at times teetering past that having to dismount what would take a couple of hands to count.
Turning back was a hot topic, but seeing how we drove all the way out here, continuing on 2 N 49 was mutually agreed upon.
Surface wise, I’d give it a four out of ten as the rocky conditions weren’t the worst, but enough to draw the line between slowing down or turning your arms into rubber bands.
While it this ride ended up taking about seven hours (factoring the stops, walking and mechanicals) and we may not be returning for some time, it was an adventure and we learned a bit more.
Know it’s up to you to apply that knowledge!!