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Hey all you Cali people......

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
I may be planning a trip out there again. Where is the best part of the state to visit and why.

I want to hear some suggestions on why you like or dislike where you live.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
stosh said:
I may be planning a trip out there again. Where is the best part of the state to visit and why.

I want to hear some suggestions on why you like or dislike where you live.
I live in Santa Rosa in Sonoma county. The riding is pretty good, and the wine rocks.

I was in Oakland before, the riding was ok and the winos really stank.

Go to San Francisco for the burritos.

Avoid LA and San Diego like they were Courtney Love with ebola.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
H8R said:
I live in Santa Rosa in Sonoma county. The riding is pretty good, and the wine rocks.

I was in Oakland before, the riding was ok and the winos really stank.

Go to San Francisco for the burritos.

Avoid LA and San Diego like they were Courtney Love with ebola.
I liked San Fran but it's way to busy for me. I want something a little more relaxed...
 

Softy

Monkey
Apr 22, 2003
142
0
Don't call it a come back
Where ever the ground is not shaking. :help:

I'm partial to my hood. Where we have at least a thousand miles of singletrack and countless 30mlie epics with 4000 to 5000 feet elevation. All within a 75mile radius.
 

El Jefe

Dr. Phil Jefe
Nov 26, 2001
793
0
OC in SoCal
The best area of the state is southern california...but since I live there, I suggest you visit NorCal. I hear NorCal is more tolerant of stoshisms.
 

Softy

Monkey
Apr 22, 2003
142
0
Don't call it a come back
stosh said:
no f'ing clue where your "hood" is.

Hah hah haah. Wouldn't you and the rest of the country like to know.

No really Orange County has some nice steep technical woodsy gems. And the best of LA ,San Berdino and SanDiego countys stuff about an hour away. Sshhh don't tell anyone OK.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Softy said:
Hah hah haah. Wouldn't you and the rest of the country like to know.

No really Orange County has some nice steep technical woodsy gems. And the best of LA ,San Berdino and SanDiego countys stuff about an hour away. Sshhh don't tell anyone OK.
I stayed in San Bernardino for 13days in jan 3yrs ago. It wasnt' bad down but but everybody seemed like they were on Nip Tuck or The OC.
 

whoopnar

Monkey
Sep 11, 2004
125
0
Chico, CA
If it is during the summer, I would suggest Tahoe. There are a ton of trails including some ski resorts open to mountain bikes. If not the summer, anywhere in the Bay Area. There are trails in Santa Cruz and near SF
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
whoopnar said:
If it is during the summer, I would suggest Tahoe. There are a ton of trails including some ski resorts open to mountain bikes. If not the summer, anywhere in the Bay Area. There are trails in Santa Cruz and near SF
THere are trails in Santa Cruz? I was there this summer. Cool town!
 

Softy

Monkey
Apr 22, 2003
142
0
Don't call it a come back
stosh said:
I stayed in San Bernardino for 13days in jan 3yrs ago. It wasnt' bad down but but everybody seemed like they were on Nip Tuck or The OC.
Yea it certainly isn't Arizona friendly neighbor like. I call it the Disneyland effect. But the trails are sweet as the breast Dr.'s work.
 

VA2SLOride

Monkey
Nov 12, 2003
176
0
San Luis Obispo, CA
I'm in San Luis Obispo, on the central coast. It's some of the sickest riding around, IMHO, unless you go up to Santa Cruz. We've got a little bit of everything....sweet singletrack, some sick downhill, and if you want to do the epic there are plenty of opportunities to do that as well.
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
JMAC said:
Santa Cruz is the Sheee-it..
Word. Sweet singletrack up here, Marin county is nice too.

If you want some really good DH check out SoCal. Santa Barbara has a bunch of world class dh trails, as does San Luis. I haven't ridden south of SB, but San Diego and LA have some mountains with very nice trails on them.

If you are coming here to bike then definitely check out Santa Cruz, huge bike culture and super laid back.

The Ito
 

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
N8 said:
What is Atascadero, CA like?

Anyone know?
Its claim to fame is that it's 15-20 minutes north of SLO. Atascadero is a small country-like town that lives a pretty slow life. Oh yeah, in spanish I think it mean "mudhole." I'd consider living there if I wanted to be near SLO and couldn't afford the price of housing.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,839
15
So Cal
Pasadena. Come to Pasadena and we'll shuttle Mt. Wilson and you can buy me that beer you owe me. :D

Personally I hate SoCal, but if I have to live here Pasadena is not a bad town. Plenty of cool bars, pubs and restaurants. Peoople are OK, and Old Town is fun to ride around. And we're at the base of the mountains (well, Ok, they are really just BIG hills). Come on down, and we'll have a So Cal MonkeyFest!
 

JMAC

Turbo Monkey
Feb 18, 2002
1,531
0
Oh **** there's a guy on here, Grahamcracker I think or something like that, he took me riding near Santa Cruz, very awesome trails...
 

slowSSer

mnoeky
Aug 14, 2002
553
0
Stepford
Softy said:
nice steep technical woodsy gems.
nice? yep
steep? yep
technical? yep
woodsy? no
gems? yep!

woodsy? well, that's generous of you! see how much shade can be recieved from a scrub oak. oh well- i love it here. bring your dry condition tyres!
 

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
El Jefe said:
The best area of the state is southern california...but since I live there, I suggest you visit NorCal. I hear NorCal is more tolerant of stoshisms.
Yeah, we are anti-Stoshists.
;)



It all depends on WHEN yo come.

If it is in the summer, try NorCal. You can hit up Northstar, and it isn't too hot.

In the winter, SoCal is better. Less rain, more shuttle trails.
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,698
1,749
chez moi
stosh said:
I stayed in San Bernardino for 13days in jan 3yrs ago. It wasnt' bad down but but everybody seemed like they were on Nip Tuck or The OC.
Um, what?? SB is not such a chic part of SoCal, man...

I recommend, if you want a laid-back vacation, travelling the whole central coast area from Monterey(ed: and Santa Cruz, right next door) to Santa Barbara, perhaps starting by flying in to San Fran or Oakland and doing a Napa or Sonoma wine tour, then heading south. Check out Big Sur. Stay some time in Pismo Beach. Cental Coast is a very laid-back part of Cali...wide-open, greenish...

I hear the DH stuff in SLO is wickedly treacherous.

Santa Barbara is gorgeous and has fantastic trails, too. As Land of the Independently Wealthy, it's widely-spaced and uncrowded; lots of neat inns and hotels. It's not terribly far from LA, so you could even fly out of there, or see LA for a day or two (Getty museum is worth a look) and head to San Diego for a stop and a flight home.

San Diego is a cool, fun, beach city, too, where you can take it slower or a little faster if you like. Not going to give you the big expansive travelling possibilities you'd get in the central coast, though. LA is pretty much all fast-paced, unless you're a trillionare with a mansion in Malibu or someplace. OC doesn't have much to see that's particularly unique IMHO.

MD
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,698
1,749
chez moi
Ciaran said:
And we're at the base of the mountains (well, Ok, they are really just BIG hills).
Um, he's coming from the east coast. The San Gabriel mountains are enormous compared to anything back east. They're over 10,000 feet in places... And even John Muir, as quoted in Southern California Mountain Biking Guide, was impressed... "I have never made the aquaintence of mountains more rigidly inaccessible."

-junior naturalist, Mike Diamond
 

whoopnar

Monkey
Sep 11, 2004
125
0
Chico, CA
VA2SLOride said:
I'm in San Luis Obispo, on the central coast. It's some of the sickest riding around, IMHO, unless you go up to Santa Cruz. We've got a little bit of everything....sweet singletrack, some sick downhill, and if you want to do the epic there are plenty of opportunities to do that as well.
I have done some rides there as well. San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara are great places to ride. They are well worth checking out.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
whoopnar said:
Why would he post something in a mountain bike forum just to visit. He could look up information on travel guides.
Dude were talking about Stosh here, you'll learn more about him (more than you ever want to know) as time goes on.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
VA2SLOride said:
I'm in San Luis Obispo, on the central coast. It's some of the sickest riding around, IMHO, unless you go up to Santa Cruz. We've got a little bit of everything....sweet singletrack, some sick downhill, and if you want to do the epic there are plenty of opportunities to do that as well.
I have a family friend who lives there. He's an architect and I really really really wanted to visit him but he didnt' get back to us by the time we headed out to Cali.

I really wanted to go there.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
manziman said:
Stosh, when you coming? If you come next month, I could put you up for some time. Bring your bike, we'll roll Mt. Diablo and Santa Cruz with paulbug. c'mon whitey.
I thought you couldn't ride Mt Diablo?
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
MikeD said:
Um, he's coming from the east coast. The San Gabriel mountains are enormous compared to anything back east. They're over 10,000 feet in places... And even John Muir, as quoted in Southern California Mountain Biking Guide, was impressed... "I have never made the aquaintence of mountains more rigidly inaccessible."

-junior naturalist, Mike Diamond
Muir did a lot of the work in establishing Yosemite right?
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Brian HCM#1 said:
Dude were talking about Stosh here, you'll learn more about him (more than you ever want to know) as time goes on.
Hey you're still the only one brave enough to actually meet me in person in Cali and you actually bought me a beer and dinner too......