Southern California - Visiting SoCal for work - biking options?

Hello everyone,

I will be in southern California for work for a few weeks over the next month or two, including a few weekends. I am interested in hearing about biking options in the area. I will be staying out in the middle of nowhere about two hours north of Los Angeles, out in the desert. I'm a roadie by trade, so I'm interested in doing some road riding somewhere in the area. Over the weekends I'll have plenty of time to drive to good riding, since I'm guessing the immediate area I'll be staying in will be pretty boring. Looking at maps, it looks like there are plenty of mountains in the area north of LA, plus there's probably lots of spectacular stuff near the coast.

Some options I'd like to potentially try:

1) Buy a bike case ($250 or so) and take one of my bikes with me. Most flexibility, but probably most expensive.

2) Rent a bike there. Unknown cost/complexity, plus unknown difficulty of finding a place to rent from, etc.

Let me know if anyone has thoughts. I've done plenty of riding when traveling in my own general area (the northeast) for work, in which case I just drive and throw a bike in the back. But I've never ridden when I've flown for work travel. I have a big season coming up and can't really afford to go several weeks without some time in the saddle.

Welcome! You'll love riding up in the San Gabriel or Santa Monica Mountains. Keep checking this SoCal forum for upcoming rides.

In the desert? Out by Lancaster? What area will you be in?

The question of rentals has come up several times. Not much where I live, in the Conejo Valley. However the riding here is superb. On a Saturday, you can join any of several groups. Post a few more details of your trip and we'll steer you various places.

Sheldon

I just realized that stage 7 from this year's TOC is only about an hour from where I'll be staying. Has anyone ridden it?

I just realized that stage 7 from this year's TOC is only about an hour from where I'll be staying. Has anyone ridden it?That was like 3 weeks ago...

I'll be staying just east of Edwards AFB, more or less.

That was like 3 weeks ago...

Indeed, I watched it on TV - just wondering if people on here have ridden the route and if it's worth trying on one of the weekends I'll be in the area.

I'll be staying just east of Edwards AFB, more or less.

Boron?

Buy this book. (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=373539)

:)

Hello everyone,



Some options I'd like to potentially try:

1) Buy a bike case ($250 or so) and take one of my bikes with me. Most flexibility, but probably most expensive.



You could also get your LBS to pack up your bike with a new bike box. They should do it for about $20 or so. There's shops here that will do the same for the return.

Check out the Victor Valley Bicycle Club, http://www.vvbc.us/
The High Sierra Cyclists webpage has rides in the Ridgecrest area: http://www1.iwvisp.com/hsc/
Three of the four rides here are within reasonable driving distance: http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/lifestyle/centuries.html
Some of my favorite rides are on the desert facing slopes on the mountains north of LA: http://www.briandesousa.com/bicycling/road/socalmtns.htm

Some shops may also let you rent a Bike Box from them. Or you can have them pack it and just UPS it to wherever your staying. 20-45$ depending on the shop. There are very few shops that rent road bikes, and those that do, will generally only rent the lower end ones.

Check out the Victor Valley Bicycle Club, http://www.vvbc.us/
The High Sierra Cyclists webpage has rides in the Ridgecrest area: http://www1.iwvisp.com/hsc/
Three of the four rides here are within reasonable driving distance: http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/lifestyle/centuries.html
Some of my favorite rides are on the desert facing slopes on the mountains north of LA: http://www.briandesousa.com/bicycling/road/socalmtns.htm

Awesome, this is GREAT info, just what I was looking for - descriptions of good rides in the area.

Thanks everyone else for the comments so far, too. I don't really want to trust my bike to a cardboard shipping box, especially in the hands of airport baggage people. (This is unfortunate, since I have piles of empty cardboard bike boxes in the garage!)

And I don't exactly have any awesome LBSs in my neck of the woods, so I doubt any would rent a bike box, but I hadn't thought of that - so I'll ask around.

Still interested in hearing if any shops in the area rent nice road bikes. . .

Awesome, this is GREAT info, just what I was looking for - descriptions of good rides in the area.

Thanks everyone else for the comments so far, too. I don't really want to trust my bike to a cardboard shipping box, especially in the hands of airport baggage people. (This is unfortunate, since I have piles of empty cardboard bike boxes in the garage!)

And I don't exactly have any awesome LBSs in my neck of the woods, so I doubt any would rent a bike box, but I hadn't thought of that - so I'll ask around.

Still interested in hearing if any shops in the area rent nice road bikes. . .

Call Bicycle John @818 848 8330 and ask about a rental. He has a store in Lancaster.
As for the stage 7 route, I have ridden all those roads. You could start in Acton, climb Aliso to Angeles Forest and go down Big Tujunga and up Little Tujunga for about 85 miles and 8500 feet of climbing. I can provide more details if you want them.

The guys at the Path were good to me when I was in Lancaster. What size are you?

Hey everyone. Digging up an old thread here. . .

So I'm in the area now, and have made arrangements to get a bike tonight. I'll be here over the weekend and all of next week.

Still looking for some advice on routes. I've found some good looking stuff up in the mountains/desert near where I'm staying, but I'd still like to find something "epic" for over the weekend. As a reminder, I'm in the high desert just northeast of LA, more or less near Victorville/Apple Valley. I'm looking for something that involves awesome views, mountains, a beach, whatever.

Actually, since I already have some routes in the mountains, are there any good routes that stop/start/go near any cool beaches? Looking on Google maps, it looks like the coast is pretty heavily developed, so I'm not too eager to just pick a beach and try to ride to it without knowing how safe/traffic heavy/whatever it'll be.

Anyways, let me know if anyone has input. I heard a rumor from someone that there was a rec path from Corona to the beach that was only open to bikes and peds. How can I find this path? Is it worth riding?

Thanks again for all the great help so far.

Anyways, let me know if anyone has input. I heard a rumor from someone that there was a rec path from Corona to the beach that was only open to bikes and peds. How can I find this path? Is it worth riding?
Yes, and it's pretty easy to find. Take I-15 south to 91 west, exit Green River, take a right at the end of the ramp. The road ends after a mile, at the entrance to a golf course. Park there and you'll see the beginning of the trailhead.