What would be the best city/neighborhood for road cycling, fast-paced group rides? Is there a specific area that's known as a cycling mecca in SoCal?
I live in the SF bay area and am contemplating a move to either San Diego or the L.A. area. I can live pretty much anywhere. I'm looking for a place that has:
-Access to great local group rides without having to drive to get there
-Great weather (warm, sunshine, little rain)
-Climbs/nearby hills & mountains
-Safe riding, roads with wide bike lanes (and sparsely traveled mountain roads)
-Good air, not smog city
-Basically cycling paradise :)
In the SF Bay area, I think the cycling mecca is the Peninsula, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Woodside area, but to access it I have to put my bike in the car and drive there (most houses around Los Altos/Palo Alto are very expensive). I want to live somewhere where I can gear up and ride from my driveway, and access lots of great rides and roads where there are cyclists out in droves.
Any place like this in SoCal where you'd move to in a second if job/money/family ties weren't an issue for you, or someplace where you already live?
Psydotek
03-10-07, 12:18 AM
Hmmm, somewhere between Murrieta and Escondido should suit you well, Temecula perhaps? Plenty of roads ranging from hills, mountain roads, to long open stretches of less traveled highway. It's also Floyd Landis' home training grounds. :)
kb5ql
03-10-07, 12:28 AM
Carson. Lots of trucks, oil refineries, etc. Plus there's the great Dominguez Hill. 8% elevation gain for 50 feet.
Can't go wrong.
But seriously, Palos Verdes would be the place to go in the South Bay (for LA County), Santa Monica/Malibu for the westside, and definitely +1 for the N. San Diego area. Puts you in the sweet spot btw. San Diego OC Pacific Riding area.
G_Sup
03-10-07, 12:32 AM
Carson. Lots of trucks, oil refineries, etc. Plus there's the great Dominguez Hill. 8% elevation gain for 50 feet.
Can't go wrong.
But seriously, Palos Verdes would be the place to go in the South Bay (for LA County), Santa Monica/Malibu for the westside, and definitely +1 for the N. San Diego area. Puts you in the sweet spot btw. San Diego OC Pacific Riding area.
Carson...LOL!!! If you can live anywhere go Malibu. Get a 11 room mansion on top of a hill and invite us to come and stay with you.
bikingshearer
03-10-07, 02:22 AM
I live in the SF bay area and am contemplating a move to either San Diego or the L.A. area.
Don't. Just don't. I've lived in the Bay Area. I've lived in the LA area (west side/Santa Monica mostly, with a brief exile to the San Fernando Valley). Trust me on this. Stay in the Bay Area.
Where do you live that you can't ride from the door? Anywhere like that I can think of off the top of my head puts you within reasonable distance of BART, which opens up pretty much the entire East Bay to you, which is God's Country for pretty much any kind of riding you could possibly want to do.
With apologies to my SoCal BF brethren and whatever the equivalent word is for women, moving from the Bay Area to SoCal for the riding is like moving from San Francisco to Des Moines for the Chinese food.
cyclezealot
03-10-07, 04:00 AM
No. San Diego County is great. Stay south of the Riverside County line and as far west as you can afford, you'll find it perfect. Nice balmy weather even in August. On foggy winter, days just ride a little inland and the fog is normally gone by 10 am. ANd the hills are great. One of the best cycling spots in the world.
BCIpam
03-10-07, 07:10 AM
Although I live in OC, I've always consider San Diego "God's Country". Beautiful beaches, gorgeous inland climbs with trees and color, good weather. Decision would be to live near the coast (say LaJolla) or inland like Escondido (think of rides out to Julian) mmmmm or maybe even the Julian area.
Drew12
03-10-07, 07:51 AM
Bay Area to SoCal for the riding is like moving from San Francisco to Des Moines for the Chinese food.
And I was going on a road trip to get the best chinese...
Thats it, pop my bubble.....
kb5ql
03-10-07, 10:16 AM
I've lived both places as well. It's true there is some great stuff in the mid-peninsula and in Marin, but keep in mind that the rainy season is shorter and there's less of it.
Don't. Just don't. I've lived in the Bay Area. I've lived in the LA area (west side/Santa Monica mostly, with a brief exile to the San Fernando Valley). Trust me on this. Stay in the Bay Area.
Where do you live that you can't ride from the door? Anywhere like that I can think of off the top of my head puts you within reasonable distance of BART, which opens up pretty much the entire East Bay to you, which is God's Country for pretty much any kind of riding you could possibly want to do.
With apologies to my SoCal BF brethren and whatever the equivalent word is for women, moving from the Bay Area to SoCal for the riding is like moving from San Francisco to Des Moines for the Chinese food.
I sense a So Cal playa hata in the house. hehe Like mentioned earlier, there are some incredible areas in Northern San Diego County.
urbanknight
03-10-07, 11:23 AM
Ojai. If I could live anywhere and didn't need to worry about commuting and stuff, I'd definitely live in Ojai. Small town with many mountains and low traffic, and the neighboring cities have bike lanes.
clutchy
03-10-07, 11:43 AM
redlands meets all the criteria except the smog... we're smog heavy b/c of all you *******s in LA...
heresy
03-10-07, 11:49 AM
As much as I like Pasadena, I choose San Diego. Hands down. Inland North County (Poway, Rancho Penasquitos, where I grew up) is great. I lived in La Mesa, next to Lake Murray, during graduate school, and I like that area a lot. I guess it would depend where I worked.
nesdog
03-10-07, 12:32 PM
San Diego is great. I went to college there but it has gotten pretty crowded since then. Still some excellent places to live though.
Notwithstanding all of this...I already live where I want to be in the Conejo.
Sheldon
TrevorInSoCal
03-10-07, 12:51 PM
redlands meets all the criteria except the smog... we're smog heavy b/c of all you *******s in LA...
I was going to say the same thing.
The summers here suck 'cause of the smog, and the oppressive heat (Triple digits, or pretty darn close, are routine from about mid-May through to late September. Heck, it's supposed to hit the 90s *this week*.).
The rest of the year the riding is incredible. All the climbing you could ever want, good group rides, excellent mountain biking within a 30 minute drive, or if you don't mind a ~25 min. road ride (For me anyway. +/- 10 min. depending on *where* in Redlands you live.) across town, there are decent trails you can hit w/o even having to drive.
It's too bad about the summers though. :( Pretty soon the mountains will be making their annual migration to the north, and they won't return again 'til around October. ;)
cyclezealot
03-10-07, 12:59 PM
# 15. all one has to do is shuffle over the coastal range and all is well.
R.O.P.
03-10-07, 01:03 PM
To heck with CA, move to Minneapolis, MN!;)
bikingshearer
03-10-07, 04:22 PM
I sense a So Cal playa hata in the house. hehe
Nah, not a hata - if I had to leave the Bay Area, SoCal would be on the short list of places I'd go to. And truth be told, I can't speak to San Diego County at all, and I tend to think of San Diego as its own world apart and separate from SoCal, which is kind of dumb. But I can say from experience that there are damn few areas in LA or Orange Counties that match up to almost anywhere in the Bay Area for cycling, at least on the road. Between the traffic and the air, the Bay Area is just a lot more enjoyable to ride in, IMHO.
The cars that pass too close are much cooler, on average, in SoCal that in the Bay Area, though. I mean, I've never been buzzed by a Lamborghini (sp?) up north like I was once on Mulholland Drive . . . .
bikingshearer
03-10-07, 04:23 PM
To heck with CA, move to Minneapolis, MN!;)
Ah, yes, Minnesota. "Warm" days of -5 degrees in the winter and thermonuclear mosquitoes in the summer. What's not to love?
Chucklehead
03-10-07, 04:33 PM
...and I tend to think of San Diego as its own world apart and separate from SoCal, which is kind of dumb.
not dumb at all. in fact i think you've got it just about right:D it's VERY different from LA.
Pigtire
03-10-07, 04:38 PM
Venice, Baby:D
G_Sup
03-10-07, 04:51 PM
Nah, not a hata - if I had to leave the Bay Area, SoCal would be on the short list of places I'd go to. And truth be told, I can't speak to San Diego County at all, and I tend to think of San Diego as its own world apart and separate from SoCal, which is kind of dumb. But I can say from experience that there are damn few areas in LA or Orange Counties that match up to almost anywhere in the Bay Area for cycling, at least on the road. Between the traffic and the air, the Bay Area is just a lot more enjoyable to ride in, IMHO.
The cars that pass too close are much cooler, on average, in SoCal that in the Bay Area, though. I mean, I've never been buzzed by a Lamborghini (sp?) up north like I was once on Mulholland Drive . . . .
Well, I don't know if Santa Barbara County is really considered So Cal since it's more central, but I live in the Santa Ynez Valley (Solvang, Buellton, Santa Ynez) and it's a bikers heaven. It's a tad on the spendy side, but a great place to live. Beach is 8 minutes away and no Box stores. Good wine too!!!
dolophonic
03-10-07, 06:18 PM
Pasadena, you get to ride the rose bowl every tues and thurs,you can do bud's ride on weds if you feel up to it and you get the whole angeles crest san gabriel mountains for weekends,you cant beat that.I dont think the south coast has the mountains to compare.Come down and check it out.
dolophonic
03-10-07, 06:21 PM
santa barbara would be fantastic,just cant afford it!
clutchy
03-10-07, 06:25 PM
I was going to say the same thing.
The summers here suck 'cause of the smog, and the oppressive heat (Triple digits, or pretty darn close, are routine from about mid-May through to late September. Heck, it's supposed to hit the 90s *this week*.).
The rest of the year the riding is incredible. All the climbing you could ever want, good group rides, excellent mountain biking within a 30 minute drive, or if you don't mind a ~25 min. road ride (For me anyway. +/- 10 min. depending on *where* in Redlands you live.) across town, there are decent trails you can hit w/o even having to drive.
It's too bad about the summers though. :( Pretty soon the mountains will be making their annual migration to the north, and they won't return again 'til around October. ;)
hehe, too funny!
when is the tuesday ride starting up again?
here and there
03-10-07, 06:26 PM
South San Diego.
From where I live I can ride west 2 miles and I'm at the Coronado leg of the bayshore bikeway. Or I head west for a mile then turn north and I have access to another route along back roads/bike paths with connections to downtown San Diego and to the hills inland. There are good mountain biking trails within a 20 minute drive, bike lanes are pretty much everywhere, and there's a nice ocean breeze pretty much everyday. I wouldn't dream of living anywhere else. :)
TrevorInSoCal
03-10-07, 07:43 PM
hehe, too funny!
when is the tuesday ride starting up again?
Not really sure. There was some discussion of that this morning, but I dunno that a consensus was reached. I won't be out there 'til the first week of April.
Have we ridden together before? You do the Raincross ride, or the Sunday ride from Stell?
clutchy
03-10-07, 07:50 PM
Not really sure. There was some discussion of that this morning, but I dunno that a consensus was reached. I won't be out there 'til the first week of April.
Have we ridden together before? You do the Raincross ride, or the Sunday ride from Stell?
i've been doing the sunday stell ride for awhile. I ride a black lemond with a bright safety green yellow jersey...
I leave with the 8 o'clock guys though. I've ridden with the jellies before, but they're a little out of my league... atleast they were a few months ago.
G_Sup
03-10-07, 08:04 PM
santa barbara would be fantastic,just cant afford it!
Either can we...we just keep trying.
G_Sup
03-10-07, 08:06 PM
i've been doing the sunday stell ride for awhile. I ride a black lemond with a bright safety green yellow jersey...
I leave with the 8 o'clock guys though. I've ridden with the jellies before, but they're a little out of my league... atleast they were a few months ago.
The Jellies as in Jelly Belly?
TrevorInSoCal
03-10-07, 08:28 PM
The Jellies as in Jelly Belly?
Yeah. One of the local club teams was, until recently, affiliated with the Jelly Belly team, pretty much in the same way that most pro teams have smaller, local, club teams.
We dropped the Jelly Belly sponsorship this year though, and are simply Team Redlands now.
I'll keep an eye out for a black LeMond, though I'm most likely not going to be out there tomorrow, might start out with the group, if I'm up that early.
clutchy
03-10-07, 10:27 PM
Yeah. One of the local club teams was, until recently, affiliated with the Jelly Belly team, pretty much in the same way that most pro teams have smaller, local, club teams.
We dropped the Jelly Belly sponsorship this year though, and are simply Team Redlands now.
I'll keep an eye out for a black LeMond, though I'm most likely not going to be out there tomorrow, might start out with the group, if I'm up that early.
cool, yeah you probably know my friend mark h. skinny guy red scattante. I've ridden with you guys maybe twice...
won't be out there tomorrow, my father in law is coming to ride so we're taking him up to angelus oaks...:)
ken cummings
03-10-07, 10:50 PM
I've lived in Orange county (south LA:o ) and Bay Area (north) for years. And ridden in San Diego Cty (Fallbrook, Julian, I-10, and back to Camp Pendelton. OC was nice with lots of riders but the air was iffy. Take SD north, as near the coast as you can afford.