Better place to ride... NorCal/SoCal...?

[Avispa]

I want to take a riding trip in February.... and I'd like to know if you have a good idea if riding in the Sonoma/Napa Valleys or North to Cloverdale are better than riding in the Santa Ynez (Solvang) area.

Thanks!

..A..

[Jack Brunk]

Rudy,

Neither place suck. Weather may be a little better south but it could be a toss up. I may be in Napa the second week of Feb. for my daughters birthday. If the timing right I could show you some great routes.

Take care,

Jack

[thomson]

I want to take a riding trip in February.... and I'd like to know if you have a good idea if riding in the Sonoma/Napa Valleys or North to Cloverdale are better than riding in the Santa Ynez (Solvang) area.

Thanks!

..A..

They are both nice and I think you would be happy with either. One point, it is less likely to rain in Solvang than Napa in February.

Are you going to watch any of the Tour of California?

[Ken Robb]

the winter storms form in the Gulf of Alaska and head south and east. Seattle gets almost all of them, Northern Caliornia gets many of them, SoCal gets some of them. The big difference in frequency comes at Cape Concepcion north of Santa Barbara. The good news is that the storms are easily seen forming in the Gulf and their progress is usually easily predicted. There is a reason that NorCal has more pretty trees than SoCal and Seattle has even more.

Should you choose SoCal you can easily get in some desert riding in the Palm Springs or Borrego Springs area. There are a couple of wonderffful climbs and screaming dscents out of Borrego. I'm available to consult on hotels, inns, restaurants,etc. in the San Diego/Borrego axis.

[Kurt]

sort of suck in both the central area and in sb - gib and fig are the two main climbs in the area, gib is in sb, its 4k and is crater city, goes to camino celio then painted cave. you can do fig from two way, happy canyon is ok but is 2k of rock @ up to 9% and the other way is more gain and some real steep areas. foxen from los olivos to siquoc is nice but again the road is crap for lots of it. lompoc from say solvang via santa rosa then back on 246 is a pretty nice 44m loop. there are two good club rides in sb, the goleta beach ride on sat and the worlds ride from the bathhouse on sunday - if you come out in feb the rides will be @ max speed and the guys up there are quite fast. ever time I go there, like this past weekend I come away really liking what I have in the sm area, much more to choose from if you like hills and getting away from it all.

I would go to sonoma.

[Jack Brunk]

I want to take a riding trip in February.... and I'd like to know if you have a good idea if riding in the Sonoma/Napa Valleys or North to Cloverdale are better than riding in the Santa Ynez (Solvang) area.

Thanks!

..A..
I just confirmed dates of 2/12 through 2/15 staying in St. Helena. PM me if these days are in your plans.

[paczki]

I'll be in La Jolla in mid-February and I can't wait. But Palo Alto is pretty nice too!

[Steve in SLO]

Our area has been the winter training area for Team Discovery, and High Road/Columbia is HQ'd and trains here. That should tell you something...
Give me a shout if you want to ride some in the SLO/Solvang area. We've got some great riding around here.
Steve

[Ken Robb]

I'll be in La Jolla in mid-February and I can't wait. But Palo Alto is pretty nice too!

where are you staying? work or fun? Both?

[Avispa]

I just confirmed dates of 2/12 through 2/15 staying in St. Helena. PM me if these days are in your plans.

Jack,

Thanks for your kindness... I will PM you as soon as I have dates.

Also, thanks for your feedback guys!

..A..

[shinomaster]

Dude come to Portland, and we can go for rain-rides!

[SoCalSteve]

February 14th in Palm Springs...They do the "Tour de Palm Springs" Century...Weather is always amazing and you can ride with 6-8 thousand fellow cyclists...

Always a fun time!

Steve (who goes every year and always has a great time)

[Jeff N.]

February 14th in Palm Springs...They do the "Tour de Palm Springs" Century...Weather is always amazing and you can ride with 6-8 thousand fellow cyclists...

Always a fun time!

Steve (who goes every year and always has a great time)I'm there. Jeff N.

[Avispa]

:no: and you can ride with 6-8 thousand fellow cyclists... :no:

Riding in groups like that is precisely one thing I always avoid!

:D

..A..