The ride down to Pine Valley , located in south-eastern San Diego County, California, offers some breath taking views of the mountains and d...
The ride down to Pine Valley, located in south-eastern San Diego County, California, offers some breath taking views of the mountains and desert. And once you get into town, be sure to visit El Rancho Grande, a biker friendly bar and mexican restaurant.
Yesterday, some friends and I from the Temecula Motorcycle Riders, we headed south along Highway 79 and rode all the way to Santa Ysabel. If you've never been to Santa Ysabel, be sure to stop in at Dudley's Bakery for some delicious bread and coffee.
From there we gased up, and headed south along highway 78 into Julian. In Julian, we turned down Highway 79 South again, and rode it to County Road S1. The S1 takes you through rolling hills and then leads you into a forest of Pine Trees, offering you a scent fresh Pine. There is a rest stop here where you can get an awesome view of the Colorado Desert floor.
The road continues on through lots of twisties, more trees, and fog! There were some places where the fog bank was just above your head, and it was almost like you could hold your arm up and scrape it. When we rode down from the mountains, we pulled into another rest stop that offered a view of Pine Valley, and a glimpse of Interstate 8 in the distance.
The town of Pine Valley was only few miles from here. Once in town, we stopped at El Rancho Grande. The bartender and owner is a very nice guy and welcomed us all. I ordered the Carne Asada French Fries, which was a plate of cheese fries, but with chunks of carne asada beef and green onions, and dollops of guacamole and sour cream. Very good!
From there, we continued through town along Old Highway 80, until we found Highway 79 and took it back up north. This part of the highway offers a lot of tight turns with a small brook running along side of it. There was water running in the brook as it had just rained in the days before. The highway takes you into the town of Cuyamaca, which was totally burned down during the "Cedar Fire" of 2003. But it also takes you past gorgeous views of Lake Cuyamaca.
Eventually, we came back to the town of Julian, and turned back on to Highway 78 and rode it down to Santa Ysabel. We gassed up, and backtracked on Highway 79 until it met up with Highway 76. We took the 76 west until we reach the Pala Indian Reservation, and rode through town to Pala Road. We took Pala Road north into Temecula, headed into Old Town, and stopped in at Texas Lil's for some beer.
All in all, a great day's worth of riding, about 176 miles I believe.
Yesterday, some friends and I from the Temecula Motorcycle Riders, we headed south along Highway 79 and rode all the way to Santa Ysabel. If you've never been to Santa Ysabel, be sure to stop in at Dudley's Bakery for some delicious bread and coffee.
From there we gased up, and headed south along highway 78 into Julian. In Julian, we turned down Highway 79 South again, and rode it to County Road S1. The S1 takes you through rolling hills and then leads you into a forest of Pine Trees, offering you a scent fresh Pine. There is a rest stop here where you can get an awesome view of the Colorado Desert floor.
The road continues on through lots of twisties, more trees, and fog! There were some places where the fog bank was just above your head, and it was almost like you could hold your arm up and scrape it. When we rode down from the mountains, we pulled into another rest stop that offered a view of Pine Valley, and a glimpse of Interstate 8 in the distance.
The town of Pine Valley was only few miles from here. Once in town, we stopped at El Rancho Grande. The bartender and owner is a very nice guy and welcomed us all. I ordered the Carne Asada French Fries, which was a plate of cheese fries, but with chunks of carne asada beef and green onions, and dollops of guacamole and sour cream. Very good!
From there, we continued through town along Old Highway 80, until we found Highway 79 and took it back up north. This part of the highway offers a lot of tight turns with a small brook running along side of it. There was water running in the brook as it had just rained in the days before. The highway takes you into the town of Cuyamaca, which was totally burned down during the "Cedar Fire" of 2003. But it also takes you past gorgeous views of Lake Cuyamaca.
Eventually, we came back to the town of Julian, and turned back on to Highway 78 and rode it down to Santa Ysabel. We gassed up, and backtracked on Highway 79 until it met up with Highway 76. We took the 76 west until we reach the Pala Indian Reservation, and rode through town to Pala Road. We took Pala Road north into Temecula, headed into Old Town, and stopped in at Texas Lil's for some beer.
All in all, a great day's worth of riding, about 176 miles I believe.
