# Circle of Doom Ride



## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

The HWY 39 to HWY 2 loop, aka, the Circle of Doom had been on my todo list for a very long time.

This past Saturday I was finally able to make the time to do this ride.

We started in La Canada and rode down to Hwy 39 under a nice cloud cover. At about 4000 ft we broke through the clouds and had plenty of sunshine and warmth - my Garmin read 90 degrees at one point. We rode Hwy 39 to Crystal Lake Cafe before heading up to Hwy 2. The views from that point on are not to be missed.

Hwy 2 from this point (Islip Saddle) is a series of rollers with a climb to the summit of Cloud Burst at 7,018 ft. Amazing sweeping descents for miles on end. After a quick lunch stop at Newcombs Ranch we descended home, more rollers and one final climb to RedBox.

At this point we were riding back down into the cloud cover where the winds and fog kicked up dramatically. From RedBox to the Clear Creek junction the fog turned to mist which turned to rain and we road the final miles in a complete wet & freezing fog (low of 57 degrees).

The final ride ended up being 97 miles with 9,500 of gain. A great adventure and one I highly recommend. The elements just added to the adventure .

A few pictures of the ride:


























Here is the route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14116000


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## the omegaman (Nov 16, 2007)

*+1*

yep.....epic 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1353622


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

the omegaman said:


> yep.....epic
> 
> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1353622



Your route is much more epic'er!


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## J.R. (Sep 14, 2009)

Very nice, I'm jealous. Most of the long climbs here in PA are only 3-4 miles long.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Thanks JR! We are lucky to have such climbs.


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## the omegaman (Nov 16, 2007)

Funny thing is..last time I did the route, my weather was just the opposite of yours. it was beautiful 70-75 degrees in Azusa...started climbing..once past Crystal Lake, right on the other side the _closed road_ barrier, there was ice all over the road, howling winds, almost blew me off my bike several times,snow flurries...crazy..but I was laughing to myself the whole way. Suffered two flats on the way down Angeles Crest...but a cup of espresso at the bottom charged me up for the ride back to Venice. This is 1 of three local rides that I consider my toughest.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

the omegaman said:


> Funny thing is..last time I did the route, my weather was just the opposite of yours. it was beautiful 70-75 degrees in Azusa...started climbing..once past Crystal Lake, right on the other side the _closed road_ barrier, there was ice all over the road, howling winds, almost blew me off my bike several times,snow flurries...crazy..but I was laughing to myself the whole way. Suffered two flats on the way down Angeles Crest...but a cup of espresso at the bottom charged me up for the ride back to Venice. This is 1 of three local rides that I consider my toughest.


I guess one should not underestimate mountain weather and I would agree on the tough factor of that loop!

From this:










To this:










What are your other 2 rides?


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## the omegaman (Nov 16, 2007)

great pics!


"Tour de Lakes"
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1201990

"Mt. Baldy - Up n Back"
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/141653

and also my once a year ( 3 years now ) trip down to San Marcos for the BWR.


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## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

Since all your rides are 150 miles that immediately puts them on the epic'er list ;-)

I have not done Tour de Lakes - I'll need to check out that loop.

Baldy I've done, both the up n back as you have it and up Mills Rd > Mount Baldy Rd and taking GRR > GMR for the return trip. I think Mount Baldy Rd is a much tougher climb as there is no rest to be had until right before the village.

BWR 3 years in a row! Major kudos!

Thanks for sharing.


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