# Best Winter Cycling Vacation Destination?



## cascadebiker (Aug 17, 2004)

If you could spend three weeks cycling somewhere in late December or early January, where would it be?

Important criteria-

1) Warm and sunny, but not too hot
2) Decent roads with little traffic and respectful drivers
3) Good food

Thanks for your thoughts!


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## Fltplan (Feb 27, 2009)

Sounds like San Diego, depending on what you consider cold. Can be cold up in the hills NE of SD. I've seen a few pro teams around in the winter time.


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## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

solvang area in ca, east of santa barbara. could be rainy though.


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## pulser955 (Apr 18, 2009)

When i was in Sedona Arazona a few years ago it was full of mountain bikers and road rides in January. I was all over the state and I saw guys road riding every ware down in the southern part of the state. The weather that time if year is perfect in the mid 70s. And the roads are really nice.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

Borrego Springs, California is the place. Located in the east part of San Diego its pretty quiet with lot of back roads including the flatter roads of the desert and lots of mountain roads if you are inclined to do a lot of climbing. From the village of Borrego Springs there is a terrific hill climb of 10.6 miles from the intersection at the bottom to the summit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0nafK3zHcY


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## ptfmb71 (May 16, 2007)

Pretty much all of Southern California....average temps are in the 40's in the morning and low 60's in the day. Chances are you will have a couple of weeks where the temps will hit the upper 70's and low 80's. If you go up in the San Gabriel Mts....temps will dip to the 20-30's at night and 50's in the day (at above 5000+ ft)


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## icsloppl (Aug 25, 2009)

New Zealand -

Rent a mid-size caravan and day-trip out of it. It's a great way to see the country.

Also works great with mountain bikes, like this -

http://www.naturalhigh.co.nz/_cycletours/results/tour_result.asp?tid=67


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Wisconsin is awesome if you ignore your first 2 criteria.

and replace your bike with xc skis. 

and then keep driving until you actually get snow.


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## GerryR (Sep 3, 2008)

Bonaire, Dutch West Indies. The condition of the roads is a bit iffy in a few places but there isn't a lot of traffic, there are flats and some killer hills, drivers tend to be OK and there is absolutely terrific food, especially Will's Tropical Grill. It would be my ideal vacation spot, do 3-4 dives a day, bicycle 40-60 miles a day and pig out at night. Stay at Den Lahman condos with a great dive shop right there and Bari Reef about 20 yards off the end of the dock.


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## Lighthouse Cycles (Apr 22, 2009)

Here is another vote for the Solvang/Santa Ynez Valley area of central CA. Check out this site for photos of the area and an affordable winter camp. www.jalachichi.com. For years U S Postal,
Telecom, and other pro teams had camps here as well.


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## StillRiding (Sep 16, 2006)

Western Puerto Rico. Get as far away from San Juan as possible. Good roads, not much traffic, plenty of flats, plenty of good climbs, good food, and inexpensive. Better still, there are direct flights from major U.S. cities, and they use U.S. currency. Did I say the other end of the island from San Juan?

https://www.armandocaussade.com/personal/photos/100_9968_montana_santa.jpg


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

Can't beat So Cal. :thumbsup: 

The Santa Monica mountains have some of the best riding in the world. Mulholland, Stunt, Encinal...etc. Climbs, fast descents, twisty roads. European pros come here to do their winter training.

Your also right ouside of Los Angeles. There you got Santa Monica, Beverly Hills...you name it.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Tucson Az.


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## borregokid (Jun 9, 2005)

*Tucson's Great*



Mr. Versatile said:


> Tucson Az.


Tucson is great however in the winter it is not as warm as the lower desert with temperatures maybe 6 degrees or so cooler than the Coachella Valley or Borrego Springs. I was down there a couple of years ago in December and it seemed every morning started out in the low 20's. The Tucson Chamber of Commerce has one set of winter temperatures and then there is the real temperatures.  Still because of all the club rides and the Saturday Shootout Tucson might be the place. If you go to BS or many other places you will be riding solo.


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## muscleendurance (Jan 11, 2009)

teneriffe -its a long way but worth it.
New Zealand - ever further but even more worth it


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

*San Diego*.
Weather is great and very little rain.
Roads are pretty clean.
Drivers are used to cyclists.
Lots of different scenery to please any rider.
Lots of reliable bike shops.
My garage has almost any tool you need.


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## rward325 (Sep 22, 2008)

I'm kind of partial to SoCal. Orange County to San Diego for great Road and Mountain riding.


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## FlatGrinder (Aug 16, 2009)

*San Diego to Borrego Springs Route*

Does anyone have an idea where I could find info on a fairly specific route from San Diego to Borrego Springs? I'm not at all familiar with the area, but I'm interested in doing a self-supported tour from SD out to Palm Springs and back down the coast. Or any other suggestions for where to do roughly 5 days for winter riding?


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## RC28 (May 9, 2002)

StillRiding said:


> Western Puerto Rico. *Get as far away from San Juan as possible*.


My picks would be SoCal or Tucson. However since I live in PR, I'll have to second what StillRiding mentions. Can't stress the "get as far away from San Juan as possible" part enough....and I live in San Juan!


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## zriggle (Apr 16, 2008)

RC28 said:


> My picks would be SoCal or Tucson. However since I live in PR, I'll have to second what StillRiding mentions. Can't stress the "get as far away from San Juan as possible" part enough....and I live in San Juan!


+infinity billion

Driving through PR from Mayaguez to Humacao was the most amazing drive ever. Also, being closer to the equator, there are more daylight hours to burn.


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## joe4702 (Aug 31, 2008)

Another San Diego vote. 

It was 50 degrees when I left at 8AM this morning for a ride and 70 when I got back home 3 hours later. This is the Rancho Bernardo/Poway area (where the 2009 Tour of CA stage 8 started from). It can get down into the low 40s and even high 30s on occasion, though. Temperature swings are less closer to the coast. Although this is the "rainy" season, we only average 10" per year, so rain will rarely affect ride plans. This area does get occasional morning fog, but it usually burns off by 9 or 10AM.

Roads are rough in certain areas due to lack of maintenance (google San Diego financial problems), but not un-rideable just yet. There are bike lanes along many major roads. I mostly ride solo, but you'll see lots of other cyclists on the weekends - solo, groups and teams. I commute during the week, but don't see nearly as many cyclists on weekdays, especially now with the shorter days. Most drivers are courteous, but do tend to speed (50-55 in 45 zones, etc).

Enjoy your trip wherever you end up going.


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## Fltplan (Feb 27, 2009)

I would check out mapmyride.com. There is probably a lot of routes to get you out to Borrego and Palm Springs. 

That being said, I would go East out of San Diego from Rancho San Diego, Sunrise Hwy into Julian, then take a right on 78 and head out to Borrego Springs via Yaqui Pass. Then you could come back up Montezuma grade take a right on hwy 79 and head out to Palm springs. I'm not sure about getting from Palm Springs to the coast unless you came back up the hills and then maybe a route through Hemet (uck!). I'm going to be out in Borrego Springs riding for a few days the week of December 7-11. Probably doing 60 - 100 miles/day.


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## FlatGrinder (Aug 16, 2009)

Hey, thanks for the advice. I live in Chicago where we basically have 2 rideable routes which are entirely flat (N or S along Lake Michigan), so I am looking to do some riding in nice weather with hills and somewhat scenic terrain (not concrete jungles like we have here). I actually got the idea from looking into a supposed route at 

http://www.cyclingescapes.com/bicycletours/california/sandiego/biketour.html

but, I'm not sure if the google map that they posted is actually the route since they have a disclaimer at the bottom of their page. If you've got time to look at it and tell me if the proposed roads they've mapped out are rideable or should be avoided, I would really appreciate it. Also, what is the low-down on Hemet? It sounds like maybe a crappy place?--not sure, b/c the above route would apparently take me through there as well.

Take care and have a good ride in Dec.


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## hclignett (Dec 18, 2006)

Death Valley!


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## Spezzoto (Dec 17, 2004)

*Not Bad but...*



zriggle said:


> +infinity billion
> 
> Driving through PR from Mayaguez to Humacao was the most amazing drive ever. Also, being closer to the equator, there are more daylight hours to burn.


Not bad option. I am from there also. But now that I live in Florida P.R. is too hot for me. Even in the winter temperature can get to 95 deg. And get your riding in the morning because it almost rain every afternoon after 3pm.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

To the OP, looks like you might be in the NW given your cascadebiker tagline. I vote for Hawaii, the big island specifically. Stay in Kailua-Kona and ride north or south. The riding is pretty decent IMO, not the biggest variety of routes but there is a little bit of everything and for the most part the roads are wide and very safe. I stayed north of Kailua near Waikoloa and the riding was great. Uphill to Waimea, or north to Hawi and over the top of the ridge, or south on the big road to Kailua and beyond. I was there in January 2006, perfect weather on the dry side with only the wind to keep me honest. 

Riding on Maui is also good, maybe even better in terms of terrain variety but there is more traffic. The ride around West Maui is awesome plus there is the Haleakala volcano summit. I was there in late January in 2004 and it was pretty much perfect weather as well, except for fog above 7500 ft on Haleakala.

This year I am hoping to return to the big island or possibly Arizona.


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## eyebob (Feb 3, 2004)

*Tucson*

I lived there for 8 years. Great riding in the Winter AND you can bring both bikes with you, road and MTB. Both are good,the MTB riding is borderline epic.

bt


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## skeedunt (Sep 10, 2008)

Las Vegas has plenty of sunshine and good food. Roads aren't too bad either.


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## cascadebiker (Aug 17, 2004)

Thanks for all the great input. I ended up riding in Tucson. Sunny every day and 70 degrees by early afternoon. Did some wonderful climbs up Mount Lemmon, the Kitt Peak Observatory road, and up and down Gates Pass numerous times. Also did a few spins through the east and west units of Saguaro National Park. 

Even attempted to hang with the Shoot Out group ride one Saturday morning, but got spit out the back of the pack after only half an hour or so.

Super friendly local riders, and lots of pros training through the winter months- just missed Team Radioshack's December camp.

Great weather, affordable restaurants, reduced population while the University of AZ was on break, and affordable accommodation- great time!


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## rickyscuba (Jul 22, 2009)

Consider this for next year: http://www.vueltapr.com/


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