jnbrown

We were going to do a mini-tour from San Luis Obispo to Ventura like we did last year, but we are finding it difficult to find hotels in Solvang or Santa Barbara on the weekend.
The ones that have rooms are very expensive and we can't afford it right now. So we are going to go up to SLO and stay at my daughters place and do some rides out of there. I was considering the Pozo / Parkhill loop and wondered if anybody else has done it. It gets hot out there so we would start early and finish before the heat.
Other days we are going to do Foxen Canyon / Santa Rosa Rd and Carpinteria around Lake Casitas and back thorugh Ventura. My other daughter lives in Ventura so we can stay there as well. Any other routes we should consider?

Ritterview

An less expensive alternative in Santa Barbara is to stay at the UCSB Summer Inn. It is a dorm room on campus, and the bathroom down the hall. Its kind of fun, you feel like a college student again.

jnbrown

I saw that during my search for hotels, but also saw this:

Q. Do I have to be a an alumni of UCSB to stay at the Summer Inn?
A. No. UCSB Alumni receive a discount but we are open to non-graduates as well. All guests must have a campus-related reason for staying.

Is a bicycle tour campus-related?

Homeyba

It depends on what you are looking for in your ride. The Pozo loop is very pretty but, as you noted it can get hot. Just depends on the time of year. Most of the inland routes can get pretty warm this time of year. You could ride up the coast from SLO to Ragged Point along Hwy 1. That's a beautiful ride. If you want to add some hills you can take the Old Creek/Santa Rosa Creek roads to add a couple thousand feet of climbing.

rdtompki

We just did the first loop (52 miles) as part of the Windmill Century out of Santa Maria just a few weeks ago. There were a few stretches that were not all that exciting, but the roads were empty and the temperatures very moderate. I think the route is available on mapmyride

diabloridr

We rode this loop last weekend. Started at 7 AM in Atascadero and were done before noon. It wasn't an especially hot day and we had no problems.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Homeyba

Were you in my neighborhood diabloridr??? I thought you lived further north.

jnbrown

Have done Ragged Pt a few times. It is a beautiful ride and Ragged Pt is a great to place to hang out for lunch. But the wind gets old after awhile. Really like riding from Big Sur to Pt Lobos and back, but I don't think we want to drive that far.

Never been on Old Creek but have been on Santa Rosa Creek. Looked on Ridewith gps and it looks like there is a 2 mile climb with steady 10%. That might too much after we do the Foxen Cyn / Santa Rosa ride.

I think we might give the Pozo loop a try and start early. I always like a new ride that we have not done before.

I did send an email to the Summer Inn at UCSB and they responded back that they did have a room available and the price is really good. But still we can't afford 3 nights of hotels so we are going to do that later this year.

Homeyba

If you are willing to head up to Paso Robles there are some really nice routes through the wine country as well. The Pozo loop you can ride out of Santa Margarita which is closer to Cal Poly. There is a park and ride just off the 101. You could also ride up over the grade but that isn't much fun.

diabloridr

Depends, what is your neighborhood?

Homeyba

I live not too far from Paso Robles.

diabloridr

We live not too far from Atascadero.

jnbrown

Thought about that as we visted many of the wineries such as Adelaida and it is beautiful there, but on the roads we have driven there isn't much of a shoulder. Might be ok on a week day when the traffic to the wineries isn't as much.

Homeyba

ohhh, For some reason I thought you lived up towards Livermore or south bay area.

diabloridr

Winery traffic is never an issue for us in choosing routes, though everyone has there own tolerance for traffic,etc.

We rode Vineyard and Adelaida yesterday.

diabloridr

Spent 20 years in Livermore before we escaped a few years back.

Homeyba

That makes sense. One of these days, after my knee gets fixed, we'll have to go for a ride. Are you riding with one of the Atascadero groups?

diabloridr

Usually riding the tandem on Saturdays with the "Zoo Group".

Riding my single on the Sunday morning ride and with a small group who ride Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the summer.

specbill

jnbrown....if you are really considering the Paso Robles area and want a bunch of route slips for the area send me a pm and I will find a way to get them to you. We ride the Great Western Bike Rally most years and have theirs covering a wide range of distances.
You are correct about the roads and not many shoulders, but once you are out of town and off the few major highways it is great riding, light traffic and pretty respectful drivers.
Our favorite summer riding treat is around SLO and the coastline north and south of there. But for spring /winter riding, Paos Robles is really hard to beat....at the same time however, it is way too hot in the summer for me.

Bill J.

chichi

We usually do Prefumo Canyon out to Avilla beach on the coast the day after the Wildflower Century. There is about a half mile of dirt at the top but the views of the coast are worth it. Down hill has some steep sections. From there we head south and have taken a variety of routes back to SLO depending on heat and time limits. There is a funky bike shop in Arroyo Grande if you go that far south.

chichi

Wow,clicked my news button after finishing above forum post and this article comes up.......https://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/07...bike-shop.html
I have only been in this shop one time but Ira's passion was obvious. If you go to this shop and if you are in the area you should, you will know you are in a special place that only bicyle junkies understand.

Wishing Ira and his family all the best.

jnbrown

We ended up doing Pozo Rd / Park Hill loop on Saturday and really enjoyed it.
Almost no traffic and more climbing than I expected.
The road gets rough in spots but certainly tolerable.
We saw deer and lots of wild turkeys.
The second half had what seemed like endless roller coaster hills and then a long down hill that was fun.
Since we are still paying the lease on our daughters apartment until the end of the month we are going back up next week for some more riding, so hit me with some more route suggestions.

diabloridr

What ride length (miles) are you interested in?

jnbrown

40 to 70 miles

diabloridr

A few North Country Ideas, most of these will be from Atascadero, though you can adjust the start point to meet your needs:

1) Vineyard to Adelaida, go left, Left on Chimney Rock, Left on Klau Mine which returns to Adelaida. We usually retrace our route back on Vineyard, but you could alternatively take Adelaida back to Paso and then work your way south.

2) Same as above, but go RIGHT on Chimney Rock, Then Right on Nacimento Rd back into Paso, etc...

3) Same as above, but do not take Nacimento Rd all the way to Paso. Instead turn left on San Marcos. When you get to Hwy 101, go north (it's legal), exit in San Miguel, then take River Rd back to Paso, etc.

4) From Creston, Take Hwy 41 to Shandon (reload here, no services for rest of ride), Leave Shandon on Truesdale Rd, Right on Shell Creek Rd, then Rt on Hwy 58. You can go Right on Either (A) La Panza, (B) O'Donovan or (C) HWY 229 to get back to Creston. [O'Donovan is flat and easy, Hwy 229 has a tough little climb but is the most beautiful, and La Panza has a sweet, long downhill after some climbing for the most smiles.]

5) From Santa Margarita: Head North on El Camino, Right on Santa Barbara, Quick Left on Viejo Camino, the Right on Halcon to cross the Salinas River on a good oiled dirt crossing. Then Left on Rocky Canyon, cross Hwy 41, Rt on South El Pomar, Right on El Pomar, Left on Cripple Creek, Right on Creston Rd, Right on Hwy 41 for 200 yd, Left on 229 through Creston. Left on Hwy 58, Right on Huero Huero, Left on Park Hill for 200 yards, Right on Las Pilitas, Right on Pozo Rd, Left on Hwy 58 back to S.M.

Many more where that came from, but that should keep you occupied.