> Southern California looks interesting but someone else complained that the roads could be a bit busy.<

Even if roads are a lot busy, why let that stop you?

Urbanknight is right, though - there are plenty of remote - i.e. fairly empty - roads in the Los Angeles area.

As for where to stay if you wanted to ride in the Santa Monica and adjacent mountains, they split the L.A. area, and are, as they say, freeway close. Whether you stay in expensive digs in West Los Angeles, at a Motel 6 in Thousands Oaks, or the cheapest flophouse downtown, you're close to lots of great riding.

And with a week, if you aren't adverse to renting a car, don't limit myself to one area. In addition to all the great rides in the Santa Monica Mountains between, say Malibu and Thousand Oaks, which you could polish off in a few days, there is:

- Griffith Park, closer to downtown L.A., with miles of riding, including some roads closed to cars.

- To the northeast, there are San Gabriel Mountains - at least portions not burned in the massive Station Fire earlier this year.

- Ninety minutes or so north of LAX: Santa Barbara and environs, with some awesome climbs into the mountains behind the town.

- Two hours north of LAX: Solvang (where Lance trained and maybe still does) - lots of rolling terrain through miles of vineyards and farmlands.

And to the south:

- PCH, from Oceanside south to San Diego (I like the ride through Torrey Pines State Park).

- I think it might still be possible to ride through portions of the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, too, although I haven't done that since prior to 9/11.

- The afore-mentioned Palomar Mountain; you wouldn't have to start your ride there from San Diego, of course, and there are numerous rides in the general area; also, temps up the mountain are going to be opposite of what you're looking for.


However, you're coming in the middle of winter - so be prepared for, yes, rain, even in California. This year has already given us amounts of precip well above average. And although there is less rain south of Los Angeles, the area isn't immune from winter, either. Expect early morning temperatures in the 40s and even into the 30s.

Coincidentally, I just got a text from my daughter, who's been on vacation in Hawaii: "Major bike riding in hawaii. Just sayin..think about it."