Mountain Bike Trail Review

Cerro Gordo in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico

Review written by Lemuel Beauchamp

Cerro Gordo Mountain Bike Trail Infomation

 
Directions to the Trailhead

Cerro Gordo Beach
Road 690
Vega Alta, PR

After you get to the Cerro Gordo Beach Facility and park your car, go to the east and climb a small road, then follow a path next to the fence until after about 500 yds. you will find an entrance to your left.

Trail Classification

All Mountain 

Trail Difficulty

Whoa Air Time (Medium)

Trail Traffic

Little Help Here (Medium)

The Cerro Gordo Trail Review

 The Living Trail

 I remember the first time I rode my favorite trail. Every turn gave me the feeling of Christmas morning opening gifts. Every technical section was thoughtfully designed to challenge and entertain at the same time. “It has it all” I thought silently in my mind, while the wind from the beach traveled through the palm trees, as a prelude of what was soon to come.

The demanding climbs are rewarded by steep and molded descents, which in many occasions surprise you with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean. Ah’ nothing like the tropics to bring out the blue in the water.

Cerro Gordo Beach, in the town of Vega Alta, is located in the north central section of the island of Puerto Rico. It is home to many great beach spots, resorts and privately owned beach houses that will have you staring at their designs. There are many of these that are available for rent, making this area an ideal homebase for mountain biking the northern part of the island, while having many other amenities just minutes away.

 But back to the trail. Thanks to the topography, design, terrain and great maintenance, this trail is virtually “ridable” 365 days, even during light rain. The compact sand that shapes this single track drains like a natural filter. As any other tropical island we get many short but strong showers, and even if it falls, it will drain in no time. Erosion, as in many trails, hits it hard, but thanks to these conditions and a dedicated group of individuals, this is one of the best kept, if not the best, trails in the island. The trail starts with a shallow ascent bordering a fence until you get to a small entrance to your left and then the fun starts. Singletrack over roots and rockbeds start warming up your ride, small descents and small climbs until you get to the first of two bridges and continue with the up and downs, up and down, while going through ferns, palm trees, small forest, you name it, we got it. Then, when you thought you were not even near the beach, ba m! the blue awakes your senses, but only for a while because we have to climb again. A few turns ahead, the other bridge, longer than the first one, greets you after a small downhill. 

 By now you are saying to yourself, how did they mixed all these elements in one place? The answer is much bigger than that. You see, in my humble opinion, Mother Nature had a big role shaping this place. For starters, the location is ideal for this, and only this. There could not have been any other development in this stretch of land, and that is a gift to us. 

 After you get to your fourth run by the sea, you are entering in the speed section of the trail, easily identified by the burns on the turns. Yes, there is also speed fun on this trail. Suddenly, it all turns up, you start climbing and then some more, you never felt you had descended so much! and after you reach one of the highest points in the trail an extremely nice singletrack into the woods (yes, woods) is your prize and joy for all the climbing you just did.

 One thing that you must keep in mind is that the descents are steep, and it is very important to pick your line preparing for sharp turns, usually to the left, at the bottom of each slope.

As you advance in this section, you will run into one of the iconic signs of this trail, a small square building with a NO BRAKES painted on the sidewall, an then, adjust your seat belt because you are in for the descent of your life which will be topped by one of the most spectacular views of the trail. At this point there are just a few more turns a small hills and you will soon be finishing the longest 3.5 miles of your life. It all be like a blur, but if you feel like it, and believe me you will, you can turn left and start all over again.

Most locals at least run the trail twice, and on low traffic days, we run it backwards. Luis Tiles, a good friend and the best bike mechanic I know, told me once, “If you can ride a trail backwards, it was a good design” In this case, riding the trail backwards has given me the opportunity to understand it better and ride it more efficiently every time around. It also gives you the understanding of why they put this here and that there, it is like picking the brain of the designer without his permission.

Thanks to it’s variety, conditions, scenery and design, this trail deserves to be my favorite, and it will be yours after you ride it.