I grew up in Eugene and travel back regularly to visit my parents. Personally, I love the road riding out there and would say you can nearly ride all year. Basically as much as you can stand/have the gear for the near constant wetness during winter months and some spring. Great access to mtb trails S or W within 45 minutes, Bend an hour East if you need to get away from the wet to some powder. Some good group rides via Eugene velo all year long as far as I know.
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It’s almost November. This was my ride this morning. Min temp @ 7am was 57f, avg temp was 71f. Blue skies and no cars for 60% of ride time. Yes it’s Los Angeles. And yes the air quality is good along the coast and in the mountains. It ain’t Montana but when I was there last week it was 24f.
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Are you riding on the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu? I’ve driven on that, and it seems crazily unsafe for a bike … and I ride on buy-ish roads all the time.
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Yes. It’s definitely not the best but there a healthy shoulder 90% of the way. I find riding in town worse. At least on the pch the traffic is flowing so there’s no cars turning or crossing bike lanes etc. obviously better in a group. But we’re on the Pch for 15-30 min. Once you’re in the canyons It’s dead. I climbed latigo yesterday and 2 cars passed me in an hour.
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This. All of this.
If money were no object, I’d move to the LA area in a heartbeat. You really can’t beat those canyon roads, and there are so many other cyclists to connect with.
Crossing fingers my wife matches in Cali for residency 
My friends who have ridden all over the world tell me those canyons rate pretty highly. Tom piddock was just riding here for two weeks. WT Pros are often here through the winter due to the long climbs and warm weather. And yes it can be expensive but salaries are usually commensurate. I call it the weather tax.
I mean this descent is 10 miles from downtown Santa Monica.
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My coach is a pro originally from LA, and I come out every couple months to train with him. In fact, I’ll be out there next weekend! I’m very familiar with all the canyons, and how they can always lead to Pedaler’s Fork if you’re creative 
It’s the goal to get to Cali - we will know about residency match in March, and then I begin the job hunt for the relocation.
I’d say California, specifically SF Peninsula and the way down to Santa Barbra. Fires are a wildcard, but days you’re forced to ride inside are few and far between.
Oh and it can be freaking expensive, but you get what you pay for.
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We usually stop at old place for a coffee and a cookie. Good luck. Hope you get to move!
I’ve been out there a few times this year (inc. just last weekend for the cookie fondo) and I love it! Traffic doesn’t seem any worse than any big city but you can easily get away from it all in the canyons. Pretty good bike lanes in the westlake/agoura areas too. Curious of there’s any good gravel or mountain biking in the Thousand oaks area for future visits?
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There’s tons of gravel out here. I don’t ride gravel but all my friends do. Pretty much the entire canyons is gravel. Hell there’s gravel 5 miles from Beverly Hills.
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These threads kill me every time. We always get from the “best” place to a series of arguments about how if you can just get past this one or two crippling flaws, where I live is actually the best.
Look man, I’m not judging people for living in LA, FL, Arizona, Midwest, inland CA, etc. I’ve lived in many of these places myself and agree you can totally make the best of it, but y’all high if you think they are the “best” place in the US for cycling.
PSA, if any of this applies you do not live in a place that has the “best” year round riding:
- Drive more than 30 minutes to avoid traffic or get to interesting routes
- Wake up at 4am to avoid heat
- Wait a few days for the snow to melt
- Where you live is pancake flat
I grew up in FL, lived in the midwest for years, lived in San Diego for years, have lived in CO for years, have ridden across all of CA on a few occasions following Tour of California route, have done training camps in Tucson, Texas, etc. I’ve had some truly great riding experiences in all of these places, but there’s major drawbacks to pretty much everywhere. Closest I’ve experienced is certain areas of costal California, only catch is you’d need either go back in time and buy a house 30 years ago or be a multi-millionaire.
I honestly don’t know where the best year-round riding in the US is, but I do know where it isn’t 
/hot take concluded
edit: to be clear, I do not think CO is the “best” place. Immediate disqualification due to winter. We don’t have freaking leaves on the trees for 7 months of the year
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Alright, this post wins the thread. The bullets here are spot on. If the place has snow or ice on the ground for some part of the year (I’m looking at you Boulder), how can it be the best? OP didn’t say anything about cost, so it’s California. Call the real estate agent.
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Definitely need to get up early in AZ during the summer; I get up at 5, ride till 8 or until it gets hot, then go home and go back to sleep! 
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I lived in Eugene. The riding is great 3/4 of the year, but there is often freezing rain or snow in the winter. I recall heading out for a ride and sliding out on black ice twice before I got to the meeting place. Turned around and went home.
This may sound insane, but Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. You’ll need a fat bike in the winter, but hear me out: empty roads, miles of gravel, lots of other outdoor recreation options and it is beautiful.
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That was a good one!
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Correct, it does. 
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Knoxville Tn. We have an enormous amount of great roads and trails, and everything from flat to steep to long climbs.
Theres a reason why pro team come here for training camps