Worth renting a mountain bike in California, Santa Cruz area?

I’m going to be stuck in California, near San Jose/Santa Cruz next week.

Is there any mountain biking worthy of the name around there, such that it would be worthwhile renting a mountain bike of some sort?

Or would I be better off getting a road bike and dragging my lazy a*** up and down Skyline all day long?

Oh, and if the latter, is there anything that can pass as a proper cafe on the other side, one that serves proper cake?

Thanks.

Santa Cruz is awful for MTBing 😉

Soquel/Demo Forest. Get it sorted.

Is that area not part of the speed limit Forest Police…so if you are doing over 15mph you get fined?

The brief half day i had in the Santa Cruz hills was ace!

Wilder Ranch is ace , watch out for mountain lions ! Seafront cruise watching the surf dudes and the fairground from Lost Boys . Can think of worse places to be stuck !

do some googling for rental costs – may be worth taking your own if you plan more than one day as I’ve found it pretty expensive in the past (bit further south though).

Used to be free; now a moderate cost with most airlines .Bit of a pain, mind

Santa Cruz. Rent a bike from the santa Cruz factory.

Ask at santa Cruz, download trail forks and the cali region.

Short answer: yes.

Totally agree on Soquel Demo Forest. You may want to check on the Norcal forum on MTBR to see what the state of the trails are though – they’ve had some serious floods recently. Last time I checked the road in was washed away in places and the trails were firmly closed by Calfire.

Good point about the flooding, I’ll ask around.

oldnpastit – Member
I’m going to be stuck in California, near San Jose/Santa Cruz next week

My heart bleeds for you!! 😆

Hmmm, it does seem like it’s been quite rainy there!

Soquel – The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Soquel Demonstration State Forest (SDSF) was officially closed to all public use, including hiking and cycling on January 11, 2017….

…SDSF is closed due to multiple active large landslides that continue to flow massive amount of mud, trees and other debris across roads, trails and other visitor areas without warning….

…With the current lack of access, it would be impossible to perform any rescue at SDSF and therefore must remain closed until access is restored….

….Please respect closures and don’t risk your life by going to closed areas or areas with active operations.

Violation of the SDSF closure is a misdemeanor under the authority of Title 14, Section 1439, California Code
of Regulations. Violators found at SDSF will be cited.

Hmmm, might have to content myself with visiting Alcatraz 🙁

I took PeteT’s advice, and asked on the MTBR Norcal forum. Not only was I told it was all good, but some people from the forum offered to take me round. Naturally I accepted!

We set off from a golf course just outside Santa Cruz, shuttled up to the top of a great big hill in the middle of an enormous forest, and then…Just Wow! Those trails really are something else!

For a simple Cambridgeshire boy used to getting most of his excitement around Thetford Forest, it was really pretty amazing! Just loads of lovely steep techy descents, swoopy singletrack, berms, jumps, and more swoopy goodness. So much grip. And dry. And trees. Lots and lots of trees.

I was on a rented Santa Cruz Bronson. That was also pretty amazing – it’s really not much fun going uphill on fire roads, but pointed downhill it is really rather good. On more than one occasion it bailed me out after going down stuff that no sensible person would ride on a bike.

Amazing. Best day out on a bike ever! Very grateful to the guys who showed me round!

Sounds fantastic.

Awesome, always good to see what other people ride 🙂

Ace 🙂

It used to be free to take a Santa Cruz out on test from the Factory but there is now a small charge. Still not too bad and you get a top spec bike of your choosing. You can book online at their website.

Easy access from the factory to most of the local riding spots and they were super helpful in suggesting suitable rides.