A Load of BS (new route)

600km/19410ft ACP Brevet

This 600k brevet is full of BS. You’ll start from BS and sleep in BS. You’ll climb out of BS and then dive right back into BS. You’ll ride around BS and eventually finish in BS.

In this case, the BS is Borrego Springs. Your mission on this 600k is to complete 2 loops: 1 challenging 300k over the mountain and back and 1 deceptively easy 300k around the Salton Sea.

The Challenging 300 Loop

The first 300k will be scenic but challenging. Leaving Borrego Springs, you’ll climb up to Yaqui Pass followed by Banner Grade to reach Julian. Rather than the usual Hwy 79 route south to Descanso, you’ll take the Boulder Creek Rd/Engineer Rd route through the Pine Hills community just south of Julian’s main town center. Don’t be complacent with the steady downhill through this section as an extended and punchy climb awaits you to your way toward North Peak. At the top of Engineer Rd, you’ll get to enjoy a short descent to rejoin Hwy 79 on the shore of Lake Cuyamaca. The lumpy terrain will finally give way to an extended descent down Hwy 79 until you reach Old Hwy 80 where you’ll continue your descent on Japatul Valley Rd and then Lyons Valley Rd, the southern route of the famous “Great Western Loop”. The views of southern San Diego landscape are uncompromisingly stunning with canyons carved into the hills covered with native scrubs and bushes as large and small boulders are scattered like nut sprinkles on multiple scoops of ice cream. From Julian to Jamacha Rd you can count the stop signs with just one hand and no traffic lights. Upon reaching Rancho San Diego, you will now need to “cut your way” through the urban jungle as you ride through various neighborhoods. However, there are some sections such as the 52 bike path and Kearney Villa Rd through MCAS Miramar where there are no usual urban interruptions to stop your travel. About 2/3 way up Scripps Poway Parkway, you’ll leave that human-infested sprawl behind as you make your way back to the overnight control in Borrego Springs. Passing through the quaint town of Ramona, you’ll climb up Black Canyon Rd through the reservation lands of the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians. You’ll enjoy a quiet climb on a tame dirt road to reach Mesa Grande Rd where you’ll continue on Hwy 76 to follow the Race Across America Day 1 route. If there will be wind, it will highly likely be at your backs as you climb up to Ranchita, home of the Ranchita Yeti. As a final award after a long day of hard work through the hills, you’ll descend down Montezuma Grade, known famously in the RAAM community as the “Glass Elevator” as the views extend out across the desert floor. With minimal light pollution, you can see the brilliantly bright stars blanketing the sky before finishing at the Stanlunds.

The Deceptively Easy 300 Loop

The second loop will be the polar opposite of your prior day’s adventure. You’ll pick up the RAAM route by riding east toward Brawley. Aside from the short climb out of the Texas Dip on Borrego Springs Rd outside of town, the road is a gradual and extended descent out to the south of the Salton Sea. Just before reaching Hwy 86, you will technically become a human-powered submarine as you’ll be below sea level from that point on. Should the wind blow, it will be from the west to push you to Brawley. Though you are in the desert region of Southern California, you’ll instead see vast fields growing various crops on either side interspersed with solar energy farms growing electricity. Continuing north, you’ll see the eastern shore of the Salton Sea when you reach Bombay Beach. On a clear day, you’ll see Mt San Jacinto in the distant horizon. On this portion of the route, distances between turns are in double digits with few, if any, traffic interruptions until you arrive at a town. When you finally pass Mecca to reach Thermal, you’ll begin your journey south to Salton City. At this point, this seemingly “easy” loop will become treacherously difficult as the “favorable” wind will start to collect on the loan. To make matters more challenging, the unmaintained shoulders collect various sharp objects to cause flats. You may be advised to consider riding on tubeless tires for this brevet to hedge against these punctures. After being spoiled by the endless flat roads, your return will be guarded by the climb on Borrego Salton Way. On the Imperial County portion of the road, the tarmac is in such poor conditions that a dental filling or two may be shaken off your teeth. And did I fail to mention the howling winds over the pass that will whip up the sandstorms if conditions are right.

Please read our accepted proof of passage.