biking sycamore canyon, hollywood sign, hike to hollywood sign, mr and mrs adventure, brittany rouille, drew neumann

For past few months or so, we have found ourselves staying close to home, exploring the little gems in our incredible city and spending more time with the dear friends we have made in LA over the past 3 years. For us this is odd because in the past we would rarely spend weekends in LA, we were always off to some mountain, cabin or seaside escape located a few hours outside the city. As time has gone by, we have both realized how much we truly love Los Angeles, not only as our landing pad between adventures, but as our home. We feel truly blessed for the life we have built in this busy, glittering, opportunity-filled, relentlessly-inspiring and sun-soaked place known as LAlaland.

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With all of that being said, we hadn’t had a biking adventure in entirely too long and found ourselves craving a blood pumping excursion. So, we decided on just that and set off to Sycamore Canyon in Malibu to bike from the mountains to the sea… the real doozy would be the ride back!

Trailhead: We took the 101 exit at Wendy Drive and turned South towards the mountains. We then drove 2.7 miles to the intersection with Potrero Road and parked in the dirt lot on the South side.

Biking distance: 24 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: With the 2 mile side trip up the appropriately named “Hell Hill” aka Cardiac Climb aka. Heart Attack Hill= strenuous! but doable if you want it bad enough; without side trip= moderate with one long and steep incline at the end of the loop

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After parking we entered the gate and started on Wendy Trail. We continued straight and veered right at the trail closed to bikes. We then passed the Wendy Trail sign (below) and made an immediate left onto the asphalt road.

We continued straight until we passed the sign for Point Mugu State Park and made a pit stop at the benches located just to the left of Big Sycamore Fire Road, sign below:

We soon enjoyed a dreamy downhill run, and as the trail leveled out we pedaled through the bottom of the canyon, shaded by the sycamores and oaks, breathing in the fresh, salty air rolling off the nearby Pacific.

One thing that was apparent was the damage caused by the 2013 fires. Over 80% of Point Mugu State Park was burnt and while you can still see remnants of black char, the good thing is that you can finally see little hints of green bringing this beautiful piece of Malibu back to life:

Just over 8 miles into our ride and we found ourselves staring into the blue, sparkling waters off the Malibu coast:

We dipped our toes into the FREEZING Pacific, ate our PBJ’s by the sea and did one of the best things you can do in Malibu: relax.

Accepting the uphill fate that awaited us, we hopped back onto our bikes and soon found ourselves on the infamous side trip up “Hell Hill.” We actually had no idea it was called this until researching facts for this post, but recalling our experience, it makes complete sense:

Thighs en fuego, drenched in sweat and desperate to hide from the sun’s burning rays under my hat and helmet, with no end in sight, this uphill trek broke my spirit a couple times. Nothing makes me cry like a sappy movie or mountain biking… yep, that does it for me. Luckily the views were absolutely breathtaking and soon enough there was a cool summit breeze to dry my sweat soaked tears:

Drew, on the other hand, was having a merry ole time. Popping wheelies, and his tire!

All happy go lucky, he hopped over a cairn and didn’t clear his back tire before landing when “POP!” His back tire went as flat as a pancake. Luckily, he always carries an extra tire tube for situations like this (it’s not the first time this has happened). Here’s Drew’s flat tire face:

And his fixin’ my tire face:

I was more than happy taking a break to enjoy the view:

We even spotted Mugu Peak in the distance, which we summited just a few months earlier (post here)! It’s the one on the right:

And there in the distance, you can spot the flag pole we shimmied up!:

With Drew’s fixed flat and more miles to climb, we continued on until we reached the seemingly non-existent peak that would end Hell Hill. We even encountered a fallen bicyclist who broke her leg! We helped her friend call an ambulance and kept on keepin’ on.

Here’s a video/proof of our journey:

Having enjoyed our 50 mph downhill ride (!!!) with nothing but a sweet, smooth path ahead, we finished the day with a smile, knowing that we had conquered Hell Hill and we would do it again (… in a very, very long time from now).

Remember, there are harder things in life than biking up a mountain, or running a marathon, or whatever it is that makes you say, “I can’t.” What matters is that you fight back and prove that YOU CAN. It is in these moments that you find humility, gratitude and a sense of appreciation for who you are, and let me tell you, that downhill slide on Hell Hill was like heaven on earth.

Conquering "HELL HILL" + Biking from the Mountains to the Sea: Sycamore Canyon

Copyright Mr & Mrs Adventure 2021