I did this ride on 02/16/2008 on a beautiful spring day. (In the AV, spring comes fast and doesn't last long!) I rode south out of Lancaster into a slight headwind along Sierra Highway. Sierra Highway has a nice bike path for a few miles with almost no bike or pedestrian traffic, but the bike lane does disappear around Palmdale Boulevard. (Sometimes, even though I enjoy bike paths, I wonder why someone spent all that money on so few people. Oh well, at least the best of intentions (or pork barrel politics) can lead to something positive sometimes.)
The sketchiest part of the journey is a 1-2 mile stretch on the Pearblossom Highway from Sierra Highway to the Angeles Forest Highway. There is a pretty wide shoulder, but those cars going 55 want to make a right onto CA-14, directly in front of your path!!! Fortunately, the stretch is short. It only takes a few minutes to get to the quick turnoff to the left to access the Angeles Forest Highway.
Ten miles on the Angeles Forest Highway will get you up to Mill Creek Summit (4,910 ft, I believe). There are some stinky pit toilets up there and there is a pretty broken up asphalt road to the right which takes you to the summit of Mt. Gleason (almost - it's somewhere between 5 and 10 miles or so...really pretty and a great place to get a high altitude run). Today, I thought I should probably head home since it was 3 pm by the time I got up there. I was disappointed that the snow had melted at 5,000 feet, but there was definitely snow a few hundred feet further up on Mt. Pacifico. Before I descended, I put on some more clothes...the descent wasn't really that cold because it must have been at least 60 degrees...at the summit!
2.5 miles into the descent is a turnoff to the left for Aliso Canyon Road. This is a fun spur that I took. It drops you down near Acton and dumps you out onto Soledad Canyon road. Simply take a right and follow Soledad Canyon (which turns into Sierra Highway). Crest after the Vincent Grade Metrolink station and you'll be on that same sketchy stretch of the Pearblossom Highway. Uugh! This time, cars coming *off* the CA-14 are going 60 mph and trying to merge into you from the right. I was doing over 40 mph and I was scared for my life. But such is the life of a road biker. Just be careful when you ride....we can always find a new driver, but bicyclists are hard to come by in this day and age.
On the way back I decided to take a left at Barrel Springs Rd off of Sierra Highway. It is a lovely wide road that has a nice view of Lake Palmdale, but that was a bit of climbing I hadn't anticipated. This lasted 2 or 3 miles, then a right on Tierra Subida to start my trek home. I kinda wiggled over to get on 30th West since this is my favorite way to head north...nice wide shoulder (most of the way). Just FYI, 30th West is *not* a good way to head south since there is almost no shoulder in that direction.
Conclusion: By and large, this is a fun training ride. You probably want to chose a good time of day since there can be traffic on the Angeles Forest Highway, but I got lucky today. My legs are telling me that I need to train more. As always, in the summer you're going to have to be careful about fluids, but I got away with only two 24-oz waterbottles of cytomax and a Belgian Chocolate Chip Organic Food Bar. If you do this early, don't forget that the descent can be cold!