towerfab

I'll be visiting Pismo beach next week and hoped someone might be able to recommend a relatively nearby route with moderate to long climb, hoping for something with 2000 foot or more elevation gain, thanks, T.R.

umd

There's not a lot that high in the area but Prefumo Canyon out of San Luis Obispo and Old Creek Road out of Cayucos (just north of Morro Bay) are good climbs I've done. The mountains just to the east are about that high but I don't think there are any roads into them, at least to the peaks. It's a little further away but Tepesquet Canyon just to the east of Santa Maria is about 2000' I believe and if you can travel a little further one of the best long climbs around IMO is Figueroa Mountain, out of Los Olivos.

BigBlueToe

+1 on all of this. Old Creek Road has a hill the locals call "The Wall". I'm not a big hill climber so I've only ridden it once. I called it a "Barf Road" when I did. But it's also a famous motorcycle road, and I ride mine on it. When I do I always see bicyclists all over the place. One of the nicest centuries in the area is the Lighthouse. The normal route goes on Highway 1, but they offer a variant called the "Hilly Hundred" which takes riders over Old Creek Road and The Wall. Not for me, thanks.

Prefumo Canyon Road out of San Luis (which becomes See Canyon Road on the Avila Beach side) is very beautiful, but there's a substantial portion which is gravel. Be aware.

Another nice ride that features a substantial (to me) hill is Peachy Canyon, out of Paso Robles.

NuBiker

What they said, hopefully you get nice weather.

towerfab

of the two you mentioned to the south of Pismo (Tepesquet and figueroa) which would have the better road conditions/traffic conditions? Obviously I prefer the least amount of traffic poss. and the most shoulder, thanks for your replies, Tom R.

umd

Tepesquet has better road conditions; although both have very little traffic, tepesquet is likely to have more. Figueroa is a loop, Tepesquet you would probably want to climb to the top, descent the backside, then climb back up and descent back to the start. Figueroa has is about 5000' of elevation gain, and has a short gravel section.

terrymorse 

A good nearby climbing route on quiet roads is Cayucos to Cambria and back, via Montecito and Santa Rosa Creek Roads.



Start at Highway 1 and Old Creek Road. Turn around at Rainbow Coffee in Cambria. It's about 50 miles total, with maybe 5500' of climbing. Highest point is about 1900'.

Santa Rosa Creek Road is steep, be careful on the way down, and be ready for a big effort on the way up. The only facilities are in Cambria, so get what you need at the turn-around.

prendrefeu

MMMMmmm.... climbs..... I just drooled.