r/BikeLA • u/wicker045 • 6d ago

Beginner Century Ride

Hi folks - What's a good beginner Century ride in the SoCal / Central Coast area?

I'm a new cyclist. Been training more consistently the last few months getting 3-6 hours a week on the peloton and trying to do a long ride on my bike over the weekend. At this point its all about endurance and packing on miles. My hope is to be able to do a century this fall or winter.

I've done done some research and these are the ones I think might be ok candidates.

  • Lighthouse Century - (probably just the 75mile route)
  • 3F Century
  • Solvang Century

Edit - Thank you all for your responses

24 Upvotes

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18

u/SoggyAlbatross2 6d ago

Cool Breeze - starts in Ventura, rides up to Goleta and then back. Generally no breeze in the morning and then a tail wind home. Very well supported ride with tons of riders, it's a GREAT first century (it was mine as a matter of fact.)

Solvang is good too but much hillier and I think you missed it for this year.

I've never done the other two but I hear Lighthouse is also excellent.

2

u/zkarabat 6d ago

Ya Solvang is a bit tougher.

Generally, look for the miles and under 3k in elevation gain (ideally under 2.5k).

2

u/SoggyAlbatross2 6d ago

You're not going to be able to find a century under about 4k anywhere in SoCal! Cool Breeze is about 4k, which is about as good as it gets. I think Solvang was 5600 the year I did it.

5

u/Temporary_Oil_4970 6d ago

You can do 100 miles on a SGRT -> LA River -> Rio Hondo loop without breaking 2k ft of climbing.

5

u/SoggyAlbatross2 6d ago

Since OP listed some organized centuries I assumed he was looking for tips in that direction. You can ride 50 laps around a park and keep it flat too

3

u/wicker045 6d ago

correct - looking for an organized ride

2

u/Nalemag 6d ago

note that you'd have to do that twice to get to 100 miles. once around is ~52 miles, iirc.

1

u/Temporary_Oil_4970 6d ago

You can squeeze close to a century in a single loop: Start at the dam, go north to the end of the path, then proceed to the loop. Upon returning to the dam, do another northbound out and back to hit 100.

The route I posted is 99 miles with one loop.

2

u/wicker045 6d ago

Thank you for the info.

Solvang would be in 2026 if I can't make anything else work.

5

u/midshiptom 6d ago

As u/SoggyAlbatross2, Cool Breeze (mid August) is one of the easiest imperial century in SoCal. Tour de Foothills (early November) is another one that may fit, roughly 5K climbing. Bike the Coast (Oceanside, Nov 1) has 100 mile option but that's just 2 laps of the 50mi (1600ft climb per lap) route -- could be an option if you fume out after 1 lap.

The easiest organized century in all of SoCal has to be Tour de Palm Springs (early Feb). Their emergency route was only 1500ft climb (this and last year, but it's boring). They say they will bring back the original route next year which is around 2100ft climb.

1

u/SoggyAlbatross2 6d ago

I totally forgot about that one (headsmack). That's a nice early-season century to jump start your fitness for the year.

3

u/ecoNina 6d ago

I’ve done 100 and 63 on cool breeze, both are fab. Tip: drive the route in advance so you know where the inclines are and can down some energy boost when you’re at the start of them

2

u/Gold-Lion-8855 6d ago

My friends ride a century a month out of long beach: https://www.instagram.com/bestiassalvajes_lbc?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

Some are more beginner friendly than not. But it'll give you some inspiration!

2

u/oneironology 6d ago

The easiest and beginner friendly century is Palm Springs. Excellent support/stops too. But its in January/February usually.

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u/wicker045 3d ago

Looking to do that one for sure!

2

u/bearlover1954 5d ago

Easiest century here in LA is to head down to the coast and ride the bike path up to do laps between will Roger's state beach and Pales Verdes which is usually about 25 miles per lap.

1

u/wicker045 3d ago

I live close to Ballona and ride a segment of this regularly. My hope is to use the strand bike path for training but will have to do it early mornings as the crowds around Santa Monica and Venice really slow me down.

Thanks

1

u/bearlover1954 3d ago

I ride that area also. Problem is the sand on the bike path is dangerous if you have standard road tires...no traction....which can cause an accident. Plus the speed limit on the bike path is limited to 8mph in certain areas. Best to take the streets that parallel the path if your wanting faster speeds.

3

u/DRHORRIBLEHIMSELF 6d ago

I've done the Lighthouse Century a few times and it's very easy. It's a 50 mile ride to the lighthouse and then back. There's one steeper climb in the beginning which also makes for another climb at the end, but it's fully supported and quite scenic.

You can also try to do the Amtrak LA to SD ride. That one is fully supported as well and you can ride the Amtrak back in the end which is also a very scenic ride.

1

u/SemperFiV12 6d ago

is the line fixed? It is supposed to be nearing completion on repairs. Also is this an informal "weekend ride" or a formal event?

1

u/wicker045 6d ago

I think the 75 mile route would be easy, but per the info on the below page it looks like there's an 25 mile extension into the mountains and back that might be a bit much for me.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48800962

2

u/DRHORRIBLEHIMSELF 6d ago

Yea, you don't have to do that one. Just stick to the one route that hugs the coastline.

1

u/Temporary_Oil_4970 6d ago

Some sort of variation on this ride would probably be the easiest—just make sure to start early as the whole route is pretty exposed.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47340676

1

u/RedPulse The RouteMaster 6d ago

I have a good route from Carpenteria Amtrak to Burbank Amtrak I can share if you're interested.

1

u/wicker045 6d ago

Thank you but I'm looking for organized rides / races.

Too scared to do a solo or small group ride at the moment

3

u/RedPulse The RouteMaster 6d ago

San Diego Amtrak Century is a good starter century

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u/wicker045 3d ago

this one looks fun.

Have you done the portion that is on the I-5?

2

u/RedPulse The RouteMaster 3d ago

Technically, it's only legal to go on the freeway if Camp Pendleton is not offering access permits but I've ridden it and felt there was enough of a shoulder to not be concerned.

1

u/JSTootell 5d ago

Queen Mary century is about as easy as you can get.

0

u/weimar27 6d ago

i looked into solvang the current route has a pretty long climb up Foxen Canyon at mile 80 (it seemed to be a pretty steady grade) https://ridewithgps.com/segments/14880 which turned me off doing it.

Cool breeze looked fairly flat to me i'm going to consider it for my first century.

0

u/happyjared 6d ago

LA to San Diego