Originally Posted by Garfield Cat

Dana Point has the nice harbor area. There's bathrooms there and some local supermarkets to get stuff to eat. You get to pass some nice areas like Newport Harbor, the Le Montage hotel in Laguna and the Ritz Carlton just before Dana Point. There's some bike shops along the way. REVO cycles in Dana Point; Laguna Beach Cyclery in Laguna Beach; JAX in Huntington Beach;

The trick is to avoid the traffic. Monday is Memorial Day so if you decide on the Dana Point destination, you need to get through Laguna Beach before the crowd starts up at 10 am. Coming back you will hit some of that Laguna Beach traffic. Its a holiday weekend and the dangerous drivers might just be the visitors, not the locals.

If your ride is a solo century, the SART and SGRT will be boring. Actually the head winds are usually at the SGRT and SART as you approach the beach. I'm willing to bet that there will be lots of riders on PCH. On your return trip, you may stop by the Huntington Beach pier area, Main Street and take that as one of your rest stops. JAX bike shop, I don't know if it will be open on Memorial Day, is on Main Street, maybe 3 short blocks.

If you want to avoid traffic, I would not start from Norwalk but closer towards PCH. To make up for the mileage, I would do Newport Beach Back Bay Loop and only a portion of the SART just to get the mileage in.