The Santa Monica's are a nice ride. Even riding just along the coast from Pt. Mugu to Santa Monica over the rollers is peaceful sometimes.

But;

There are other places to ride out there that are more spectacular, more challenging, and have less traffic.

A couple of examples: Last weekend we decided to do some climbing in the Santa Monica's. We took off going south from Mugu rock and turned inland on Mulholland. The air was brisk with a slight breeze, and we climbed until we hit Decker Cyn. We went west on Decker to Encinal (geeze, was it only 2 years ago I was whining my way up Encinal from the beach?). Left on Encinal & down the hill past the fire station and then up and up and up to Mulholland again. We had EVERYTHING on the road blasting past us. LOUD motorcycles doing wheelies, cars racing around blind loose corners, more motorcycles in huge groups, and a couple of senior citizen tour buses. We even got asked "is this the way to the beach?" at one point Highlight of the ride? We saw a fox up on Yerba Buena and the downhill run to the coast hwy was memorable for the cramp it put into my hands from braking.

Contrast this with yesterday. We did 100 flat miles along the coast north from Ventura to about as far north as you can go in Goleta without using the 101 and back in around 7-ish hours. Traffic was light and we were able to enjoy the views along the rincon and through Carpinteria as well as along Cabrillo Blvd in Santa Barbara. No air brakes, horns, loud motorcycles, or lost tourists. We even had time to stop and enjoy a latte at Java Junction on Hollister Ave. Of the people we talked to everyone seemd interested in where WE had begun our ride instead of showing off. Highlight of the ride was all the sailboats on the water, the peaceful climb up Bates Rd, all the weekend sidewalk display noise and crowd and movement on Cabrillo Blvd, the awesome ride through Hope Ranch, and the sprint along Hollister to the Bacara Resort where we watched a couple of platform tenders leave their anchorage. And, don't forget the Latte.