NYC_Cyclist

Hi, roadie from NYC here. I am going to be in Long Beach, Jan. 18-26th, just north of Orange County off PCH.

Looking for rides of 20-60 miles. would you recommend just heading South on PCH or something else?

any good group rides around the area, pace ~14-17mph.

thanks!!

TrojanHorse

Well, depending on where you are starting and what you want to see - you're probably between the terminus of the San Gabriel River Trail (ends in Seal Beach) and the LA River Trail (ends in Long Beach near the aquarium area). I ride that portion of PCH reasonably frequently and it doesn't bother me but be aware that the prevailing winds will help you as you go south and make you cry on the return trip. Plan accordingly. Once you get to Huntington Beach where the Santa Ana river trail starts my experience diminishes and I don't really hear many positive things about riding on PCH in Newport Beach. Matter of fact, it seems like cars hit cyclists with unpleasant regularity somewhere in there.

There are tons of bike friendly streets all through irvine so you can definitely head inland just about anywhere you want, or just hop on one of the river trails if you just want an uninterrupted workout. There should be water in the "rivers" in late Jan so it won't look like a post industrial wasteland at least.

You might want to think about heading the other direction up towards PV as well, there's a bit of nice climbing in there and it's pretty scenic along the water.

NYC_Cyclist

Thanks. I am staying "Naples": https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=&q=s...ed=0CDUQ8gEwAA

Does that change any of you great recommendations at all?

allroy71

If you have access to a car, I would check out some of the riding in the San Gabriel Mts, like Glendora Mountain Road, Mt Baldy or the Santa Monica Mts. Closer to Long Beach, you could ride through Santiago Canyon.

TrojanHorse

Aw, bummer for you - you're missing all the Christmas lights on Naples. They go a little over board.

I second the GMR recommendation, it's kind of an iconic ride to those of us in the LA basin. Borrow your host's Mercedes S500 and drive up to Glendora, park and ride up the hill. The base of GMR to the village and back is about 44 miles and about 5000 feet or so.

Santiago Canyon is another decent place to ride... but you'd probably want to drive to somewhere closer to the start unless you want a long day in the saddle.

Hop on San Gabriel River trail (take PCH to the trail) and ride towards the mountains as far as you care to go, and then turn around. Enjoy riding on top of the damn dam that doesn't appear to be actually damming anything

Here's an example of a ride that goes down PCH to newport, rides around the back bay and back - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1838767 (not my route, just found it)

Here's a loop featuring both of the river trails near you (and how to cross over from one to the other) - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/62962

Here's a PV loop (note that one of the bridges used in the Tour de Cure is inaccessible outside that event) - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1478176

Here's a loop featuring Santiago canyon - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/61798 You can ride it either way and the Cooks Corner is a sort of biker bar joint. Kick over a Harley when you ride by and see what that does for your top speed.

Here's Glendora Mountain Rd all the way to the village and then up to the lifts (for the truly ambitious cyclist... the last couple miles are crazy steep) - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/481336

Mayday.JP

if you're looking for a group ride, check out TriPacific on 2nd st right there in naples just around the corner where you'll be staying. They roll out every tues/thurs and sometimes saturdays. They are a good group of guys and are accommodating to all levels of experience plus offer free espresso before rides They ride down from LBC to Newport, stop for coffee and some of the group comes back and the rest continues on to Dana point. About 30 miles to Newport and back. Look them up on Facebook (tripacific).

Also, i third the SGRT (san gabriel) idea. It's a really great road, you'll see a lot of other cyclists and the views of the mountains on the way over are pretty cool. Plus, you can get into a real groove not having to worry about cars or stop signs/lights.

have fun!

NYC_Cyclist

THANKS everybody

Beachgrad05

**Crosses fingers that construction on SGRT will be FINISHED by the time he visits**

RIRview

Second the motion on the Tri-Pacific rides. I've been on several of them--former pro Tony Cruz sometimes comes out and rides with the group. Really nice group of people.

Garfield Cat

Best thing to do is to call up the local bike shops in Long Beach and get information on local group rides.

https://jonesbicycles.com/

JSMaxwell

Velo Allegro rides daily out of Marina drive just over the bridge from Naples. 7 AM during the week and 7:30 on the weekends. Their rides are open, but they will not wait for non-members and after the 10 miles warm up, they average 20mph even with the stop lights mixed in.

https://veloallegro.org/

This club rides out of El Dorado Park, they are very safety concious. You can meet them by riding up the San Gabriel River Trail about 5 miles or on most rides they will ride down the SGRT to PCH just east of Naples. This group is mostly likely to have a 14-17mph ride, and may have a no drop policy. Check the website.

https://lightningvelo.org/

If you like riding with triathlon types, Tri-Pacific group is nice, especially is Tony is there to keep the surging & attacking business to a minimum. Speed depends on who shows up. It can get very, very fast on the way home. Check them on FB.

Local Triathlon Club, TRIBE of Long Beach. Ride set ups are ad hoc. Best to check them on FB for updates.

https://triclublb.com/

I don't believe Jones has a shop ride, but I could be wrong.

There are others, and you can PM me for more info, but Lighting is probably the best option for the speed you outlined.

NYC_Cyclist

Thanks so much JS. I already contacted Tri-pacific. I will look into the others.