For those wanting to get out for an early spring ride, here’s a route for you combining bits of the SoCal Desert Ramble with the Stagecoach 400. I figured I’d share and hopefully save someone some planning time. I’ve gotten so many great ideas/advice from this group so I hope this helps someone else out.
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/162622617
Ridden March 19- 29 with one day off.
I went back and forth on riding the SoCal Desert Ramble to Big Bear Lake (which I was told was possible, snow wise) but would have had a hard time biking down to San Bernadino. In the end, this route helped me avoid the snow at higher levels and be out a bit longer than had I simply ridden the Stagecoach route.
Just to note, I’ve mapped the route as ridden to the best of my abilities with some of my minor detours and wrong turns taken out. Originally I had planned to follow the Stagecoach from Anza back to the coast to ride more dirt tracks but in the end I opted to ride the roads and bike paths south of Warner Springs as I was getting tired and had to make it to a wedding in time.
To further lengthen the route you could turn off hwy 74 and ride up to Idyllwild to the official start of the Stagecoach.
The route itself is beautiful and varied with lots of long ascents and descents. The highlights for me were biking through the canyons and camping out in the desert. Huge props to the folks who created the original SoCal Desert Ramble and StageCoach routes.
Original SoCal Desert Ramble Route by Cass Gilbert:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42956459
Original Stagecoach Route by Brendan Collier and Mary Metcalf-Collier. Now managed by Mary Knobel
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12130864
Insta @aly.winkler
by treezinaforest