volosong

No, no, no! It's really "paradise" here. Too many people are leaving the state. Taxes, earthquakes, lost jobs to illegals, smog, who knows? We need to encourage more people to come back ... so that my house price will recover and I can sell it before I retire in a few years. Then, I can escape to eastern Washington or Idaho where I can ride all day long, every day of the year.

jmX

I'm not sure it's been mentioned yet, but OC has more bike lanes and more MUP miles than portland, LA, santa barbara, riverside county, austin texas, or most anywhere else in this country. It has got to be one of the premiere spots for cycling in the nation. Not to mention we have mount baldy just a 20 minute drive to the north for our real climbing (6000ft in 26mi, plus another 1200ft climbing on the way back down).

It should also be mentioned that with all the miles of MUPs we have here, they are very sparsely populated during most of every work day. MUPs seem to be constantly made fun of here in the 41, but in SoCal they are simply fantastic on weekdays. Perfect for intervals, time trials, or just cruising without worrying about a jackhole in a car running you over or tossing a milkshake at you.

JforDrafting

https://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/95589981

Nope...no hills to be found. Minimum climbing on any of my 35-60 mile rides (from my front door) is 1800'. If I actively seek out hills (still from my front door) that easily becomes 5k' +. If I drive 30 minutes to the mountains.... good luck.

Only have been here 9 months, and I love the riding. Still getting used to certain "crowds" of people, but overall it's great. Lots more waiting at stoplights than country roads, but there's also no redneck Wisconsinites throwing hot dogs at you (yes that happened).

learnmedia

Saddleback is the landmark. The mountains are the Santa Anas. And supposedly there's paved fire road not open to traffic that provides some really nice climbing and descending. Accessible from the Riverside County side. I was recently invited to accompany a small group that swears it's a really nice ride, albeit not well known. Hope to do so soon.

rooftest

Shh... don't tell them that.

It sucks here - you certainly don't want to move here! Earthquakes, fires, Carmageddon, Jerry Brown...

caloso

Paradise is in California, it's just 500 miles north of you, in Butte County.

andrewluke

Agreed. Loved riding up toward Lake Cachuma... The 154/101/1 loop is awesome.

Carbon Unit

Have you ever riden here? We have hills here that motor scouter can't climb. I live between Anaheim Hills and Tustin Hills. If the hills aren't big enough, Big Bear is an hour away and that is about 8,000 feet of climbing.

Carbon Unit

Here is a photo of Orange County, I see some hills. Click on the photo.

mmamalyga

I'm heading out to CA in September and am looking to do some riding. I'm going to be in SF, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Santa Monica.
I found a place in Santa Barbara that rents road bikes. Any ride suggestions for SB? Any places that rent in the other cities?
I'll be riding with my girlfriend and she rides a 47cm so they need to have smaller frames available.
Thanks!

rat fink

^ Old San Marcos, Painted Cave, El Camino Cielo, Gibraltar, Refugio. All good.

andrace

Santa Barbara group rides are worth checking out.
https://www.bicicorsa.com/rides/index.html

Steve90068

I wouldnt trade NorCal for any place in the country

curiouskid55

So dont ride in rush hour. If you cant handle riding on a highway go ride around your own block.

Palomar01

My only advice is to make reservations on your road bike rental if you can.

idoru2005

I live and ride in OC. But I've been discovering what you have in N. LA County since springtime. Did the Ojai Valley Century, Cruisin' the Conejo, and most recently the Grand Tour (double metric). Lots of good climbing, and diverse landscapes. LA riders are very lucky, IMO.

Palomar01

For some reason people come to visit the state, maybe ride by the coastline, then come to the conclusion that it's all like that throughout SoCal. LOL!

Then there are others who mistake a hill to a mountain. I live in a hilly area but the longest climb I've seen here is about 2.5 miles continuous. The usual "long" hill is about half that. A mountain will usually have a climb that lasts 10 miles or more. That is a totally different animal entirely and requires some training.

Having said that, I dare anyone to go climb a hill that stays constant for a mile or more. Now take that same hill and maintain 9-11 mph. Now do that but add another hill and on and on....even with a descent after each hill, repeated climbing like that on a single ride will challenge any rider unless they are one of those ride-6-days-a-week competitive types. Yes, it is easy to find routes like that in Orange County, CA. I have a route like that right outside my front door. In fact, I have to go out of my way to find somewhere flat. Irvine is flat and it's because it sits in a valley. So if an area of SoCal or norcal or wherever in CA sits in valley, whether it's a coastal plain, central valley, or desert, then it's going to be flat. CA is a large state it has mountains, deserts, coastline, and plains. It's all here in large quantities a single state.

Unfortunately, many people have figured it out so they are also ALL here! LOL!

shokhead

Bet my hill is bigger then yours. Sounds silly doesn't it.

rooftest

Well said. That photo looks like it is Serrano in Anaheim Hills. That big white house in the upper left, (the "Schwarzenegger house" in Yorba Linda), is on a hill. Those white-capped things in the back are your mountains.