California in early January

[greg the pole]

right, so my wife and I are making some loose plans.
I should be done work shortly (month or so), and plan to head down to California in January for a few months.
We're bringing the dog, my espresso machine , one of the bikes, and hope to rent a small house for 3 months or so.

My wife works remotely, so wifi is all she needs. We're hoping to stay close to the coast, not picky really.

Any thoughts?
I've sent Tim (Tomatocity) an email regarding the same thing, as he knows my sorry ass, as well as Don in Lodi, and Dan in Sacramento (he rides a GS )

thanks in advance,

Greg

 

[WJBertrand]

What do you want to be close to? Big city? Attractions? Theater? Rural? SoCal, CenCal, NorCal? You can probably find a place near the coast almost anywhere.

 

[greg the pole]

What do you want to be close to? Big city? Attractions? Theater? Rural? SoCal, CenCal, NorCal? You can probably find a place near the coast almost anywhere.

The attraction is California, its weather and great roads.
Preferably SoCal/CenCal. Not sure if NorCal would be rainy...

prefer to stay away from the city, otherwise I'm easy

 

[WJBertrand]

The attraction is California, its weather and great roads.
Preferably SoCal/CenCal. Not sure if NorCal would be rainy...

prefer to stay away from the city, otherwise I'm easy

OK, given those desires I would look anywhere north of the LA traffic sprawl. I live in Ventura and believe the best riding in SoCal starts here and goes north all the way to the Oregon border. The thing about January, and depending on whether we finally see an end to our drought, some of the nicer rides at elevation and inland could be closed for snow, at least temporarily. The Sierra passes are not to be missed but there's a high likelihood several will be closed that time of year. Up there they will leave them closed until spring.

There's some decent riding in San Diego County but most of that will be well inland and traffic issues similar to the LA area. I get my fix for twisty roads in winter by riding the Santa Monica Mountains, close to the coast and not high enough for snow. There is the LA traffic thing though if approached from the south, luckily I am north of there.

 

[jmcgilroy]

Also, give a look to the coast road (Highway 1) from the Monterey Bay /Big Sur area south to Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo. Hearst Castle in San Simeon might be a good distraction in this area. Headed further south puts you into Santa Barbara and Jeff's area...which are also good rides and destinations.

Jim

 

[WJBertrand]

Yup PCH is a must do and in winter the Winnebago road hogs should be much less prevalent. The road is subject to slides and closures in rain storms however so you'll want to check caltrans or the CHP sites for road condition information before starting out.

North of Santa Barbara in San Louis Obispo area there are some nice roads too.

 

[greg the pole]

thanks for the suggestions guys.
I've done three bike trips down to Cali, (3.5-4k km/2k Mi at a time) and know most of the coast roads well. Did not head into the mountains, as the coast keeps me interested.
WEather is always a factor, and I'm mindful of it

 

[AVGeek]

thanks for the suggestions guys.
I've done three bike trips down to Cali, (3.5-4k km/2k Mi at a time) and know most of the coast roads well. Did not head into the mountains, as the coast keeps me interested.
WEather is always a factor, and I'm mindful of it

For what it's worth, January and February tend to be the rainy months in Cali, and places like Big Bear will still have snow. The Santa Monica mountains are a good choice, and playing there weekdays during the winter will minimize the squid factor. I agree with WJB that the coastal run north of LA has the best opportunities that time of year.