Where’s the best place on the west coast to get away from the rain and ride a 29er on paved trails? San Diego, LA, N. Cal, Arizona? A rail to trail is probably the best since I’m not yet climbing hills. Or perhaps an easy dirt trail with a 24" Muni.
I’d love to go to Moab or Az muni weekend but I don’t think I can make it on those dates. Also I’m fairly new to riding and probably couldn’t keep up.
Any suggestions?
Hi Vertigo,
In my opinion, the best place in So Cal for a long, uninterrupted (and not difficult) ride is the beach path that runs from Santa Monica to San Diego. (There are a few breaks in there, but there are several long, continuous, multi-mile sections.) Interesting scenery along the beach, and mostly flat and smooth. Nice if you like “road” riding, as opposed to muni.
Let me know if you plan a trip down this way and I’ll join you for a ride. (And probably get a few others along as well.)
Cheers!
edit: I just remembered, there’s a real nice paved trail that runs from Ventura to Ojai along a former railroad line. There are a few stops, but it is a very popular bike riding path here in So Cal. It runs slightly uphill from the beach inland, then downhill on the return.
Way back in the day, I used to run on the equestrian trails in Griffith Park in LA. They were nicely maintained and gently graded for the horses, with some great views. I’d go from the top of Beachwood Canyon over to the Griffith Park Observatory and back but it looked there were many more miles to explore. Has anyone unicycled them? Would it even be permitted?
Thanks guys. I’ll officially become a “geezer” this year and my hubby came up with the idea of taking my unicycle some place warm to ride and celebrate. San Diego came to mind because I recently came across that video about the guy called Slo Mo who skates on Pacific Beach. This weekend I’ll look for more info about trails in So Cal. I’ll let you know what we come up with.
My family is originally from the LA area. I’ve been to Griffith Park as a kid. Saw the observatory and rode the trains. That’s about all I know about it. Wasn’t an episode of Weeds filmed there? I think Nancy was jogging the trails. Looked like a nice place for riding.
For an incipient geezer that’s a mighty up-to-date cultural reference. I’ve got no idea but I know about the scene in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean and Natalie Wood at the Griffith Park Observatory. 
Good luck! I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
If you don’t want to travel that far, I can also offer the American River Bicycle Trail in Sacramento. It goes from the downtown of California’s capitol, all the way out to Folsom Dam/Folsom Lake, 33 miles. It’s very much on the flat side, with the only real hills coming in toward the Folsom end. The trail is wide, most of the users know what they’re doing (it’s not like a sidewalk), and there’s also some beautiful scenery.
There are also numerous spurs and alternate trails, mostly out in the Folsom area. You can see pictures in my Misc. Riding photo albums:
:o Thought about it more … no matter how old I get I can never be a geezer.
I don’t think I’ve seen that classic. At least not the whole movie. Wow, it came out in 1955 … about the time my parents met in middle school (in the LA area).
I did find a website about Griffith Park. Looks like there is a bike trail.
After talking further, I think my husband wants to go to the beach. Apparently he’d try surfing again.
Wow that looks like a great place to ride. So many nice places to ride and so little time.
I didn’t say that I saw it right when it first came out.
That’s the thing Angelenos like to brag about. On a clear day, you can see the ocean from Griffith Park. Or go about an hour the other way if you want to ski.
Folsom hosted a Tour of California stage last year and, in exchange for sponsorship I’d guess, TV coverage included a featurette about the trails and facilities. And it looked like they were very serious about it. They had a slogan too, something like: “It isn’t just a prison.”
Well we decided on San Diego. Now I’ve got to decide whether I want to take my 29er or 24". I’m not so sure I can get the 29er in a box small enough to fit the airline checked baggage allowance.