Best place in US to train and race?

[mergeforthekill]

Where in Southern CA do you guys ride? And where do you ride from? Do you need to drive out of the city to get to the place where you train?

LA and Orange County. You dont have to drive anywhere to ride if you dont want to. It all just depends on where you are and where you want to go. LA/OC have some of the fastest and hardest group rides in the country. Have two very good and very different mountain ranges in the Santa Monica's which are more of a coastal range with shorter but punchier climbs and the San Gabriels which are longer but more gradual, alpine climbs, plenty of HC climbs in the San Gabriels. Oh and the weather is perfect nearly year round. The biggest downside is the price of everything out here. But at the end of the day the LA/OC basin is pretty big so a lot of this will just depend on where you'll want to be, but really you can find just about anything you'd want.

[AJS914]

LA may "win" but then one has to live in LA. I also don't think LA passes the "and not too many cars" criteria.

I'm born and raised in the SF Bay Area and would choose that area over LA though admittedly the traffic and congestion in the Bay Area is getting worse and worse. Also, unless you have some money, it won't be cheap to live in either LA or the SF Bay Area. The cost of living has gone crazy in California even in just the last 5 years. There is a real estate boom going on.

I lived in the south of France for a year in college (Montpellier actually). It was cycling heaven. I'd go live there again or maybe in Nice in a heartbeat if I could swing it.

[beatle]

I lived in Tucson and Laguna beach (Southern CA). Not as many races in Tucson, but it wins hands down for riding. Plus, it is cheap to live, HC climb right from the city, much better traffic than OC and the Shootout is ridiculous, especially in the winter.

[OJ]

US is expensive, you will have to race lots of crits, traffic is often crazy and you will end up riding lots of roads that you never considered riding before in Europe. Do not select Cat 3, assuming you're elite amateur racer in Europe.

[raffit78]

I agree so cal. I live in the 91701 area code, which has the tour of California route from Ontario ca. To mt. Baldy, to gmr. Which is also near crystal lake. 30-45 minutes away from big bear, lake arrowhead for higher elevation.

Flat ride to the beach and back is usually 100 miles. Bike path so you carry high mph there and back.

We definitely ride outside a ton.

In fact I did the ride up to baldy to ski lifts yesterday about 5500 ft of elevation. 67 degrees and sunny.

Plenty of road races, tour of Murrieta, sdsr....

SocalCycling.com has a pretty good calendar which shows all the races. Usually every weekend. Ton of crit, a lot of road race....

Ton of fast group rides like the montrose ride, pasadena rose bowl.... it really doesn't stop. Lol






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[KWalker]

I've seen elite amateurs in Europe get shit out the back of cat 3 races. Really depends on where and at what level "elite" they were.

IMO, as a Californian, we are complete snobs to the point where I'm not sure I could justify it as a racing and training base over many other areas. Driving from So Cal up North, for example, or to Cascade wouldn't be much cheaper than buying a budget ticket on an airline and being creative with bike packing. Lots of extremely fast people on the East Coast do this.

Even areas with snow have stupid fast riders and turn out pros. VA turned out Joe D and Ben King. Gaimon was from Georgia. Ted King from Vermont. Friggin Lance was from Texas. None are based out of CA. So if someone is smart with their budget and you factor in cost of living, Tucson is optimal IMO.

[Multebear]

Good stuff, guys. Keep it coming. Sounds like Southern CA or maybe Tucson are the places to be.

[KWalker]

In the Bay Area rent in a desirable place is going to be $800/mo with roommates in a so-so place plus utilities and all that jazz. I'd actually be surprised if you could get it that low without being way out in a suburb or a shitty farm area. No one I personally know pays less than $1100/mo for something somewhere halfway decent and even then they are in SF proper with 3 roommates. I would imagine LA is about the same or more. Marin is just bonkers expensive. Santa Cruz area could be cheaper. Burlingame or the Peninsula burbs could be as well.

One thing that I would consider with LA maybe (and I'm no expert here) is air quality, which is super poor. In the Bay in the Summer it can get really bad near any mountains or hills where there is a freeway or pollution below. My guess is exercising on high smog days is not ideal.

In Tucson my friends are able to rent for $400-$500/mo in very nice locations with roommates. Utilities are dirt cheap. They never have to drive anywhere, ever.

Colorado has had weird weather this year, but tri dorks and pro bros love it for training regardless. Lots of long, gradual sustained climbs and pretend pros as well as real pros. Ashville, NC is another place that is a hidden gem. Bend and the high desert could be fun too. You're going to have to travel for races so I'd look for airports with very cheap flights. Even races in Nor Cal are a 2-4hr drive for the shit races.

And let's not lie- racing is dying at the amateur level here, but you will have to wait a month or two for that analysis which I am working on with a cycling pub....

[KarlC]

Why not in the So Ca, San Diego area ?

Weather cant be beat, lots of good roads, air quality is good, Rent and Snob level is not as bad as SF or LA, close enuf to some good mountains....

https://www.pjammcycling.com/southern-california.html

You want to do some fast training rides, follow these guys....

https://www.strava.com/athletes/52657

https://www.strava.com/athletes/1638733


You want to do some BIG Miles and Climbing rides, follow these guys ....

https://www.strava.com/athletes/1722633

https://www.strava.com/athletes/216100

[KWalker]

and buy a bunch of flat brimmed hats, 311 albums, listen to reggae bands comprised entirely of white middle class dudes...

[beeatnik]

^POTD

Tho Belly Up is a great venue and the beer scene is phenomenal.

[KarlC]

and buy a bunch of flat brimmed hats, 311 albums, listen to reggae bands comprised entirely of white middle class dudes...

LOL .... Your missing out on much if that's all you have experienced

The only reason those things are popular is because the rest of the nation ran with them. lol

[KWalker]

As a Bay Area native and Californian I'm not allowed to like anywhere else in the state until someone from outside of the state starts talking shit, then I fully defend those same areas.

[KarlC]

As a Bay Area native and Californian I'm not allowed to like anywhere else in the state until someone from outside of the state starts talking shit, then I fully defend those same areas.

LOL, I hear ya, I grew up around the Bay Area, my Wife grew up in LA.

Now we are enjoying San Diego

[Matt28NJ]

Bigger questions... do you need to work while here? Is money a concern?

Looking for a social scene? Looking to do other things than riding your bike?