diphthong

hay all...got 4 days off in mid-april and looking to do some three days worth of 3-4 hr morning road rides in the southern california region (excluding san diego & orange counties). could be deserts such as jtnp, mojave np, dvnp
or it could be central coast stuff such as jalama, carrizo plain nm. not looking to venture into az, nv, mexico or north of an arbitrary line stretching from morro bay/slo to lone pine. unfortunately, i think the mtns will
be off limits. we just got another storm and it's a big rain/snow year so i'm counting the mtns out till mid-may. what are some of your favorite campgrounds for scenery that you've hit in the past? will be accessing
them with a fairly low-slung honda. recommendations don't all hafta be in the desert, or beach or foothills. actually looking to do three diff campsites over 3 diff nites so as long as the sites are within a 4-5 hr drive max
of each other, it works. ultimately, the weather will determine the route but ideally, i'd like to hit mojave np or dvnp one night, the lone pine area-like tuttle creek-one night and a central coast site one night. i have some
ideas but i'm sure there's more than a few places either off my radar or forgotten. thought i'd ask the experts. thanks in advance for your time, consideration and response.

skidder

MTB or road?
Carrizo Plain NM doesn't have much pavement, just dirt roads. And you have to stay on the roads/dirt roads with your bike. It'd be fun to MTB up Martinez Peak (highest point in the monument
Not much in Death Valley unless you want to ride the main north-south paved road through the valley, or try some of the dirt roads up into the canyons that'll put you in conflict with vehicles (DVNP gets crowded in springtime).
JTNP doesn't allow MTBs on trails, and the paved roads are pretty limited there.
If you go up to the Owens Valley there are some pretty awesome hill climbs - Whitney portal, Onion Valley, Horseshow Meadows, White Mtn road (hwy 168?). You could also try some MTBing around the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine. Look on Google Maps and you'll find the Hills with all the dirt roads around them.

diphthong

^thanks for the clarification-road or light gravel/dirt with road (i'll be riding 23's altho i'll be bringing another wheelset with 25's/28's). dvnp has a few roads...all either interminable climbs or flats.
i will say the stretch from furnace creek to the turnoff to dante's view (past zabriskie point) may be my fave small climb ever. if i hit lone pine, i'd try to tackle horseshoe meadows, whitney portal
and/or prob onion valley as far as the snow line/legs allow me. i've done 15-30 mile portions of carrizo plain nm on 23's and 28's.

alan s 

My head hurts after reading that.

autonomy

I got an eye twitch at 'hafta'

I'm far from CA but I did stay at a - wait, that's not the joke I want to make.
The Radavist has some pretty cool routes though he's got a 4WD truck so some of these may be harder to access for you
https://www.strava.com/routes/8045053 https://theradavist.com/2017/03/a-su...tional-park/#1
https://theradavist.com/2014/04/road...ryan-wilson/#1
https://theradavist.com/2017/09/endl...wens-valley/#1
https://theradavist.com/2017/06/a-we...wens-valley/#1
https://theradavist.com/2017/12/thre...ectors-tale/#1

Lemond1985

I would spend a couple days here, and check out the Eroica route, and other sights. It's Montaña de Oro State Park, on the ocean near Morro Bay, about 15-20 miles from San Luis Obispo:

Montaña de Oro

alan s 

CraigMBA

I saw a couple of guys doing a two day through there, from Shandon to either Ojai or Ventura. They were on mountain bikes with trailers, and camped in the NM. You need to bring 100% of your own water.

I can't imaging riding that on 23s, I winced just reading that. Ouch.

Lemond1985

Great view of Morro Rock and the Pacific coastline. And this is in January, correct? You really can ride year-round in a place like that, though they have gotten hammered with rain pretty heavily this year.




Trail looks do-able on 32's, from what I can see.

chrisx

Joshua Tree National Park?

Mojave sounds a little a lot windy.

alan s 

Rick

I live near Joshua Tree National Park. This area is the high dessert and it can be very windy also. Most camp areas require you to have your own water. Some have toilets available. I am just getting into shape and will be going on a short Tour in a few weeks with my son. The ranger station 4 miles from the camp site does have water and there are toilets at the campground. I will fill my 10 liter water bag and strap it to it to my son's rack at the ranger station.

stardognine

CraigMBA

MDO drains insanely well, it's never rained out, and wasn't damaged in the least. The rest of SLO county is different.

That part of the trail maybe. I'm sure you could do it, it just wouldn't be a lot of fun.

The worst I ever got hurt and didn't crash was at MDO decending Oats. I hit a piece of shale about the size of a pack of cigarettes at 25+, it pitched it up where you could hear it leave the tire and caught me in the middle of my left shin. Ouch.

diphthong

the longer ride in carrizo plain nm-on 23's-was on elkhorn grade road (harder packed than the unpaved stretches of soda lake rd). only had to dismount twice on the same 75 yard stretch-uphill and downhill.
the 23's yielded a better ride (but got predictably sidewall shredded) than the 28's the previous time along the same stretch on elkhorn grade but it's gonna vary every time. wasn't breaking any speed records but that's never been my goal.
no gravel bike (which would be my preferred choice) or mtb so i've gotta adapt the road bikes to visit the area. glad i have. just not bringing new tires along on any ride into the area.

diphthong

a great recommendation. ridden the paved sections of mdosp and would be happy to do so again whilst incorporating morro bay/slo.
would like to hit the see canyon/prefumo canyon climbs/descents just east of the park at some point on the near future. it'll be hard to beat
mdosp or carrizo plain nm in the central coast south of morro bay but have done zero camping up there and not enuff riding there and guessing
there may be another gem or two in the area.

Lemond1985

Looks like reservations are available, I would not wait long to make them, this area of the state is always quite crowded during the summer, much less so during winter and the cooler rainier months. The Pismo Beach area just to the south is known colloquially as "Portuguese Palm Springs" and quite popular with the ATV crowd. I don't think they allow ATV's in Montaña de Oro though, fortunately.

diphthong

typing it to eliminate 90% of the snark and accentuate/low energy encourage useful responses wasn't exactly a sound of music cinerama/technicolor picnic in the alps either. the things we do for love...er...information.

diphthong

hoping "gonna" is colloquial enuff (sorry) to digest. the radavist has some great western us vids/travelogues to assist w/mixed roads and adventures. was aware of but always an inspirational visit.
thanx for posting.

CraigMBA

My former simi local MTB club has camped at Morro Bay the past couple of years to facilitate riding at MDO (maybe ten miles away). It's got great facilities and welcomes hiker/bikers.

I concur. Riding the bike you have is always a valid choice.

stevepusser

You could luck out and have some calm days in the desert, but remain flexible and make plans for other locations if you see a bad forecast. The Paso Robles area has a lot of great rides, plus many private campgrounds and a few public ones. Franklin Hot Springs is nearby, not a ritzy resort, but hot springs are always great after a day of riding*. Read the reviews first. The San Diego desert has some hot spring campgrounds, too, but you've ruled that area out.

The Owens Valley should be OK at 4K ft elevation, except for possible winds. Rides can be as hilly or flat as you want to make them. The Santa Ynez Valley also has a lot of camping and great rides--not hot springs, though.

*Don't know if or why the ACA Pacific Crest bike route skips Grover Hot Springs SP south of Tahoe--it's 4 miles off the route, but has hike and bike camping, great scenery, and that hot spring water (in concrete pools, though). I tried to stay there every tour through the area.