Friday Ride Options
MAIN ROUTE: 42.3 miles, 2795 vertical ft, Friday, Main Route
SHORTER OPTION: 33.9 miles, 1707 vertical ft, Friday, Short Ride
Today’s ride is called SLO for San Luis Obispo which is where we will start our ride. We will roll out of the Adelaide Inn at 8:15 am by carpool for San Luis Obispo. We will meet in Meadow Park in SLO. You can use this link to guide you to the parking area of Meadow Park from where the ride will begin around 9:00 a.m.
Once we inaugurated this route, it became an instant classic! I know several of us have been talking about it during the year and are looking forward to doing it again. The route begins in SLO and navigates us southeast on Broad St toward the SLO airport (Broad St becomes Edna Road). We turn right on Price Canyon Road at about mile 5.8 and take that to mile 7.5 where we turn left on W. Ormonde Rd for a few hundred feet and bear left at the intersection to stay on W. Ormonde Rd. At mile 9.6 we turn right on Old Oak Park Rd and stay on that until we turn right on Noyes Rd. at mile 11.4. We then cruise through the beach towns of Grover Beach and Pismo Beach and stop for coffee in Avila Beach at Kraken Coffee Co, 310 Front Street, just across the street from the beach.
After a coffee and a couple of pulls through the rosary, we then climb up See Canyon for the main route (42.3 miles and 2795 feet of elevation). There is a section of gravel on See before it makes its final steep ascent to the top. There will be a newly staked out SAG stop a little ways down and after the summit where there is enough room for Shawn to safely and fully pull off the road to keep him and us safe and keep the locals happy. We can refill our water while taking in the fabulous views. We will make a spectacular but technical descent on Prefumo Canyon Road (also known as “Kyle’s Ride”), before coming back into SLO. (Note, Google Maps seems to refer to the canyon area as Perfumo Canyon, perhaps it smells musky with hints of outdoor wood and tobacco, but the road name and other establishments there use Prefumo.)
The short route (33.9 miles and 1707 feet of elevation) will follow the same route, but at Avila Beach it will head back into SLO without doing the climb up See Canyon.
There is no long route option today. Those of you desiring some additional miles, check out Komoot’s 10 best cycling routes in SLO (https://www.komoot.com/guide/1842414/road-cycling-routes-in-san-luis-obispo-county)
An option for a post ride lunch is to have a change of clothes in your car and drive into Avila Beach. The Avila Beach downtown promenade is a beautiful setting with the majestic Pacific as the backdrop. Oftentimes they have live music, great food from local restaurants, Central Coast wine tasting, and fun for everyone right on the Promenade. Steps from the Promenade is Peloton Cellars, a bike themed wine shop and tasting room. They have a great selection of bike themed clothes and gifts. Sitting on the beach eating a post ride meal might be a lovely way to take in more of Avila Beach before heading back to the Adelaide for dinner on your own tonight. Some of you may recall our private tasting with Peloton General Manager Trish Kesselring several years ago. Trish and Bill Kesselring (Winemaker) are among the leading wineries in this area promoting regenerative agriculture. Should you happen to visit their vineyards, you will now find sheep, chickens, geese, pygmy goats, owls, bats and ducks assisting with their soil augmentation and carbon sequestration.
Darren Pollard, who is always an impeccable resource of good recommendations in this area (food and rides), has in prior years provided us with some great lunch suggestions close by in SLO. Here they are:
- High Street Deli: SLO sandwich institution. Close to the ride finish but gets busy
- Giuseppe’s
- Finney’s: downtown, pub fare
- Scout Coffee
- Taste!: sliders, macaroni, salads with outside dining on Broad St.
- Lincoln Market and Deli: similar to High Street but may be a little quieter
- Hoagies: Pismo and SLO
- Woodstock Pizza: great pizza downtown
- Petra Mediterranean Pizza and Grill: even better pizza at the north end of town
- Taqueria Santa Cruz Express: awesome burritos on Monterrey and also Foothill
Here is a RidewithGPS overlay option of today’s routes – check the box for “Show all on map” to see both routes together.