'Who is from California?

Hi Hribman:

I am 30 miles North of San Diego 90 miles or so South of Los Angeles in Escondido. Once you firm up the arrival date let me know and we can do something while you are in the area. It would be much, much better if you came before May 30 because 99% of riding here is desert and it is way too hot to ride. I have got heat stroke trying to ride when it heats up.
The beaches will be nice though and you should make a trip to Oceano Dunes if you do come out in the summer. We ride mostly in and around Ocotlillo Wells but not in the summer. Ocotillo Wells, Desert USA website.
Berg #3 is on its way so I will have a bike for you to ride. They are not street legal though.

As I come across interesting links of places to visit I will PM them to you.

Try to get here before summer or just plan on surfing your way across Southern California.

Riding in the San Francisco area should be fine but once you get near L.A. its over.

Here is a real good list of all the major off road riding areas in the State:

California Off Road Riding areas

Hi Hribman,
San Francisco "East" Bay Area!

Best Regards,
Dale

Ps.
Bring a bullet proof vest and sidearm as this is indeed the wild west .

hribman,

I must agree with husabut on desert riding. Ocotillo Wells is my second home, but the summers are too hot. Most of the summer riding I do is in the mountains; Big Bear Mountain (east of LA), the Sierra Nevadas (eastern/central/northern California), and the Sequoias (central California). I live in Riverside County, 60 miles east of LA/Orange County and there are a couple of tracks out here; Perris Raceway, Lake Elsinore, and Starwest.

Renting a car and driving from San Francisco to San Diego is a great idea. Make sure you drive the coast down. It's about 500 miles, 700 km, and the coast line is beautiful. Take your time and enjoy yourself. There are a couple of riding areas along the way, Oceano Dunes and Hollister. At Oceano Dunes you can rent quads and single seater buggies. It's the only place in California that you can legally drive on the beach.

You will definitely enjoy yourself here. Be prepared for a difference in weather from Northern (San Francisco) to Southern California (San Diego). The northern coast line can be cold and Southern California will be hot. "The coldest winter I ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco" - Mark Twain.

dvasquez

Hribman,
I am from northern California on the east side of the San Francisco bay. I ride at Hollister hills year round It is about a one hour drive from my home in Fremont. I would be happy to set you up with a bike and take you there for some trail riding. Here is a link to Hollister info www.hhora.org .Let me know when your plans are set .

Phil

Hi Hirbman:

If you have never been to Las Vegas you may want to consider it. It is only a slight detour and would be about an extra 6-7 hour drive (one way)as you work your way down the coast. All of my relatives from Germany have really enjoyed going there. From there the Hoover Dam is close and is quite a feat of human achievement. Another Hoover Dam/Colorado River link. It will be hot in July averaging 104 degrees, bring plenty of water.

If you rent from Enterprise Rent A Car I can probably get you a good price on rental with a couple of phone calls.

Hi Hirbman,

Since you are starting your trek in the SF area, I would suggest a visit to Monterey CA. Not far from SF, they have a really cool aquairium there and there is Canery Row which has allot of great restaurants. The legendary Laguna Seca road course is also nearby, although I don't what kind of tourist opps there are there.

As you work your way down the coast there is also Big Sur, Half Moon Bay, Montecito, Santa Barbra, and a great little suedo Dutch town called Solvang. Be sure and hit one the Anderson's (a chain of restaurants) for some of their split pea and ham soup. There is also a nice little town of Arroyo Grande which is close to Pismo beach. This area is a good spot for wine tasting and if you're interested I know of a good wine tasting, and cycling tour company called "Breaking away Tours". It's run by a High school aquaitence of mine

If you are interested I might, I stress might, be able to get you some free passes to DisneyLand as my best friend is an Electricial there.

If you venture inland a bit from the coast on your drive down you will be in the classic california area with rolling brown hills, and lot's of Oak Tree's. There is also another great wine area in Sonoma which is closer to SF area. Since you are driving you might even consider a trip through Yosemite, but, it will be very crowded that time of year, but, I would think less crowded during the week.

Everything east of SF and Sacramento is Gold Rush country and there is allot to see in that area as well. It would be a great drive if you visited Coloma, site of gold discovery in 1948, and took Highway 49 south from there and visited GeorgeTown, starting point of the infamous Jeeper's Jamboree. This route will take you through "Gold Country" and past the Forks of the American River where you should be able to take in some white water rafting as we have had record snow falls (19 feet) in the Sierra Nevada's so far, and we aren't really into our rainy season yet!

I don't do much riding in the desert during the summer either, although there is a couple of races on the calendar for August this year. My friends and I usually go up to the Sierra's in the Sequoia National forest which is just north of Lake Isabella at about 8400'. There are some nice drives in this area as well on narrow winding roads. I can even show you where to look for Indian arrow heads in this area. There are many trails in this area that are multi use trails, bikes, Dirt Bikes, horses, and hikers. There is a stereo type that Germans like to Hike, and if you do, there is plenty of hiking in this area as well. There are also some hiking only area's in this area as well. There are known as wilderness area's.

Anyway, if you would like, I can gather maps and mark all of these places for you and send them to you if you like. There is much to see in California.

Hope this helps,

Hi Hribman,

I live right smack dab in between L.A. and sandiego. Off the 15 freeway, in temecula. Some places that I would recomend are some of the amusement parks. Since you cannot go rideing you may want to hit them up.

Knott's berry farm

Disney land

Magic mountain

Then there is a lot of hikeing at big bear.

I don't know the area to much. But I would be happy to meet with you for a day and go to an ammusement park or go hikeing. I know of a great place not to far from me that we can go to.

Unfortunitly I don't have a spare bike. Plus it would be to hot anyway.

PM me when you get closer to leaveing.

hribman said:

And maybe there is something I can do for you..!?

best regards

hribman

Click to expand...

A couple pair of Soelva forks would be nice :wink: .

I'm sure that Brett and the Supermoto Team could use a pair also. They would go nicely with the Fastway handguards.

Hi,

I don't know if you will stay close to Long Beach while your'e visiting your friend bu that where I live. If my work schedule permits we could try to get together.

Hakan

It's never too hot to ride!!!

Hi Michael:

In July temperatures here (15 miles from the coast) will be 100 degrees +. The desert will probably be around 110. Today is June 24 its 108. We can however go to the La Jolla Indian reservation (Planet X Sports Park) which is close. They have three practice tracks, camping, water park (slide) and go cart racing. I'll ride the vet track and we'll watch you fly on the main track! You will be riding my 01 470 with stock suspension so be careful on the triples 8O

Figure out how many days you will spend in the San Diego area and let me know.

Eric

Hey Eric -

Are you interested in joining my friends and I when we ride in Baja?

Thanks for the invite!

Its so hard for me to take any time off running a small business. Going to Moab was my BIG vacation for the last 10 years. I am usually chained to my desk but at least I have this site to frequent during the day to break up the daily grind

I have a very full plate right now but thank you nonetheless,

Eric

Hey Eric -

I'm in the same boat; running a small company. But surely you could join us for a Saturday ride down to San Quintin, stay the night, then back through Hansen's Sunday... :roll:

... I see we're going to have to kidnap ya'... :lol: :lol: :lol:

May I suggest you always keep your bike prepped... you never know when we'll show-up... :wink:

When winter rolls around and desert season begins we will be planning a get together at Ocotilo Wells. Dezduster and hopefully more members from Nevada and Arizona will attend. Its mostly easy riding and there are plenty of amenities and accommodations.