We are off to Scotland this year for our jollies 😀

But next year it will probably be California.

My plan ( which will probably come to nowt ) is to get wife and 2 kids to pick a couple of days were they can do whatever they want, so we all get a least a few days of doing something we really want to do not just wandering around the sites willy nilly.

Obviously my pick would be doing a couple of days mountain bike.

my question is were is the best place, and what can the rest of the family do when when I am riding ( non of them bike 🙁 )

Depending on here in CA you are you could go biking in Santa Cruz, meant to be pretty good for biking.

Cheers somouk, I will check it out, plan is to move about all over California.

Head down to the OC and check out the numerous trails in the Laguna hills. Family can go to laguna beach, do beachy things, hire some sups, go shopping (Newport Beach and the Newport centre is not that far up the coast). Irvine and the oakley factory are just up the road. Holiday inn at laguna beach is cheap, cheerful, clean and tidy. Lots of great places to eat nearby and the orange countyites are really quite nice.

Travel is easy in America and that side of the country doesn’t have many toll roads so should be easy to drop the kids/wife in San Fran and you head down to Santa Cruz for the day. Or drop them on the nearest beach for the day in the sand, loads of good beaches round there.

San Fran let the kids and wife explore you go and see Chris at Roaring Mouse cycles and go and have a few days fun in Marin. Roaring Mouse are down on the Presidio.

Mammoth Lakes. Best place I’ve ever been. Superb bike hire there too, and the shop will give you a trail map. Plenty of places for the wide and kids to visit too, like Mono Lake.
Man, I wish I could go back.

Mono Lake

My plan ( which will probably come to nowt ) is to get wife and 2 kids to pick a couple of days were they can do whatever they want, so we all get a least a few days of doing something we really want to do not just wandering around the sites willy nilly.

So you want your wife to look after the kids on her own, in the guise of doing whatever they want so that you can go off biking? 😀

She may fall for that one, who knows?

By the time she’s had a couple of days ‘me’ time while you look after the kids, you’ll only have a few more days to fill 🙂

Jota, that’s a much better idea than my original one do you mind if I steal it ?

Kids are 13 and 16 and will be looking after us, soon 😀

any more ideas ?

any more ideas ?

Trust me, you don’t need any 😉

as above- Marin, its where it all started for Gary F and the guys, some of them used to post on here I think…

Mt Tamalpais, get the bus or boat from SF and head to the trails, not sure where they are, not much help, but there looked some good ones around Fairfax.

I’d advise only doing marked trails as I’ve heard bikes are confiscated by police/rangers quite commonly for cheeky riding.

I’d fly up to Reno and do some Riding in Tahoe and Mammoth then drive back. It’s a stunning part of the world.

I rode round Tahoe quite a bit, but have not had any other California experiences on a bike. While I was there I did look at Donnieville, but did not get out there. Looks awesome, although they had 8ft of snow on the top – in July.

Recommendations – definitely by the Tahoe trail guide map is really good. Google it for proper name. Trails I remember as bein some of the best I have ridden, in terms of combination of riding, views, fit birds on fancy bikes. Flume Trail is a must, if only for the views.

Also, get onto mtbr forums and look up the southcalifornia and northcalifornia threads. I have posted questions before and generally people have been very helpful, with the heart warming offers to show you trails etc.

The world (or at least the state) is your toastrack.

I only really know about the Bay Area firsthand, but here it is:-

Demo forest near Santa Cruz is good – if you were looking for a 1 day getaway and were in the SF Bay area it would probably be my choice.

Marin is appealing as it’s the start of everything – but its a lot of fire roads. There is a ‘trail center’ type thing at Taramancho near Fairfax, which is pretty good.

If you can get more time, or if your family like the mountains then Downieville is another top spot. There is bike hire and shuttles are available. It’s 2+ish hours from SF off Highway 80.

There is some good riding in the Napa/Sonoma areas but I’m not sure it would give you the ‘California’ experience you’re after. I know when I was in Moab, the Slickrock trail was top of my list (for my one day of freedom). There are arguably ‘better’ trails in Moab, but I wanted to ride the trails that I remember drooling over in MBUK in the mid 90’s.

If you are really tight for time and staying in SF, them Mt Diablo in the East Bay can offer some good (if occasionally cheeky) riding that is accessible form the BART (train thing). That’s my local ride, and I’d be happy to show you around. It’s fairly hot in the summer though, early start is best for both temperature and people.

The Mendocino area is supposed to be excellent for riding, but I’ve not been there yet, fixing that in October. I’m also hoping to get riding in Tahoe in September – so might have some more first hand info then.

Cheers

Tahoe is fantastic – I rode Stanford Rock trail (tons of singletrack downhills, tons of climbing), but there are plenty out there. It was a few years ago now, but there was a good choice of hire bikes available.

Riding in Santa Cruz is good. Wilder Ranch is great for wide open trails and great views (and you can ride there from the town centre). UCSC is good for short blasts (again, rideable form the town centre). The best area is Demo Forest/Soquel about an hours drive out of Santa Cruz. Lots of wooded singletrack (up and down), jumps & obstacles if you want them, and most of the trails are technical.
Plenty of choice on bike hire in Santa Cruz itself.