New Third Edition May 2021 now available on Amazon

Press Release for the 3rd Edition.

May 2021 Interview with author on Today in Palm Springs, NBC TV. 

1st Edition was published in April 2014, and the 2nd Edition in November 2017 .  Press Release for the 2nd Edition. 

The 2nd edition is no longer available on Amazon.com.   

Third edition is available at: 

Palm Springs Area:   Tri-A-Bike Palm Desert

We don't recommend buying the out of date 1st Edition available on Amazon.

Password Protected "Update" Pages with Bonus Materials including Take-Along Maps: Password is the first word of text on Top page 342, case sensitive.   The password will change occasionally. Last changed: July, 2022. 

What to expect?  See below for "Contents of the Book."  You can "Look Inside" the out-of-print original first edition ($26.95) to see a similar Table of Contents (TOC) and selected pages via this link on Amazon.  Amazon does not have a "Look Inside" feature for the 2nd or 3rd Editions. As the title describes, the book covers only the BEST easy scenic bike rides, creating the ideal scenic SoCal summary; it does not include every local urban bike trail. Areas that are steeped in easy scenic bike ride opportunities, like San Diego or Orange County, have the most comprehensive coverage. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of easy scenic cycling. There's no need to buy expensive cycling clothes or join a club (not that there's anything wrong with that!), fear for your life on the highways, or be in top physical condition like some of the athletes in your circles. Just hop on a safe, well-fitting bike, put on a well-fitting helmet (our strong  recommendation but not required if over 18), become comfortable riding the bike, and thrill to all that Southern California has to offer, just about any day of the year!

Enjoy some fresh air, scenery, companionship or even solitude if you fancy getting away from it all; a great way to generate creative thoughts. We sampled the trails and routes of SoCal, and came up with the best of the best for your enjoyment. The trails are even rated 1 to 5 stars; of course that's our opinion based on a number of factors combined with the opinion of others that went along with us.

Your experience doesn't have to end with what is in the book. You'll notice that the book is already a hefty volume, but it could have been much bigger and heavier. Just like editors shorten movies to fit within certain space and criteria, the same can be done to guidebooks. While the book is the final optimized product, regard this website as the Director's Cut (or sometimes more appropriately "Deleted Scenes"), and find full versions of a few of the ride descriptions that were chosen for the editing floor because they did not fit our criteria for the purposes of this book as well as others did. Book owners can download copies of those ride descriptions on the two password-protected "Update" pages, as well as selected maps to take along on the ride (some are pending, feel free to request one via e-mail and we will place that one on line).  In some cases, instead of re-inventing the wheel, the Take-Along Map is a link to a publicly available map available to all. 

Some of the special features on the Password Protected pages, besides the take-along maps, are expanded articles such as for Ride SDC1 (the San Diego Coastal cruise), Ride LA9 (Santa Clarita), "Best of" lists such as Rail n Rides, Bike n Brunch, Camp n Ride, and many others. Since the author lives in SoCal and rides all the time, updates to rides and to maps will be ongoing as things change and new features are discovered. Input is always welcome, at info @ encyclepedia . net. 

Errata is indicated by X. In a book this densely packed with info it's virtually impossible to get it all correct. Chances are you wouldn't have noticed these minor items, since we didn't after a gazillion reads! If you find more, please let us know via e-mail.
 

All 3 editions have been Amazon top-sellers at times in several catagories.

Pickleball !  Many casual bicyclists are also dinkers, including the author. Outdoor public pickleball facilities along or near our bike rides have been added to the Updates section (password protected) of this website and where helpful plotted on the take-along maps. Bring your paddles on your ride and enjoy!  See also our blog post on the subject, available to all, and places2play.org for details on the facilities.

Contents of the Book (3rd Ed) and changes since 2nd Edition (and 1st Edition where indicated)

BEGINNINGS: SoCal trains can access and combine rides. Bird & whale watching. Best beaches. The Missions. Rides from campgrounds. Bike to brunch.
CHAPTER 1 San Luis Obispo Co: Tour Cambria, road and path. Morro Bay Bike 'n Brunch. Montana de Oro State Park (SP) MTB, coastal and inland. SLO Town info. Avila Beach's path and streets. Pismo Beach - on sand ride, road rides with  updated routes in 3rd Ed. Carrizo Plain National Monument easy MTB. 
CHAPTER 2 Santa Barbara Co: Wine Country: Solvang, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez loop on road and path. Lompoc-Surf Beach road ride. Santa Barbara waterfront path. Connect to Goleta path via updated routes and UCSB paved and MTB or coast route to Carpinteria.  More detail added to all SB area  routes in 3rd Ed.
CHAPTER 3 Ventura Co:  Beach bike paths, harbor tour. Rail trails: Ventura to Ojai. Oceanfront Rincon road and path, new in 2nd & 3rd Ed.
CHAPTER 4 Los Angeles Co:  Beach trail Santa Monica-Redondo Bch. San Pedro, LA Harbor tour (updated 3rd ed). Long Beach ocean paths (updated 3rd ed), connect to Naples Isl, Seal Beach. Best of San Gabriel River (SGR) Trail: El Dorado Pk, Whittier Narrows Pk, Santa Fe Dam Pk, Coyote Creek Bikeway (new 3rd ed). West Fork SGR paved mountain trail. Puddingstone Resvr Loop (new in 2nd, 3rd ed). Griffith Pk/LA River Loop & new in 3rd ed La La Land E-bike option. Sepulveda Dam trails. San Marino/ Huntington Gardens. Pasadena road tour, path. Catalina Island's Avalon.  Santa Clarita bike paths is described in a paragraph in the Encore section with a public bike map link, plus a full ride description and our map available in the BONUS materials section on this site. 
CHAPTER 5 Orange Co: Huntington Beach ocean path. Best of Santa Ana River Trl (SART): Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Yorba Linda. Newport Beach: Back Bay Loop to Irvine paths, Balboa Isl ferry to ocean path. Irvine's San Diego Crk Path, Shady Canyon/Turtle Rock loop, New 3rd ed: OC Great Park/Jeffrey Open Space Loop. Mountains to Sea Path Newport-Orange (updated maps 3rd ed). Peters Canyon MTB. Crystal Cove SP's paved blufftop, inland MTB. Laguna Beach bike routes, pano fire road. Aliso Wood Canyons Pk MTB, road ride. Aliso Creek regional trail to foothills. Salt Creek Path to beach. Dana Point's Doheny SP beach paths, harbor cruise, connect to San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano (SJC). SJC paved path to beach, mission, horse country. San Clemente beach path or hilly road bike route through town, connect to path/roads to surfing beaches, San Onofre SP, Camp Pendleton (advance permit required) to Oceanside. Yorba Linda Rec Trail. Old Town Orange and Santiago Creek paved path to Santiago Oaks and Irvine Park MTB. Fullerton Loop MTB, connect to historic downtown. Chino Hills SP Telegraph Canyon MTB. Summary of Whiting Ranch and Caspers Parks MTB trails. Trabuco Canyon MTB and paved trails near O'Neil Park.
CHAPTER 6 San Diego Co: Oceanside's San Luis Rey River Trail, beach path, harbor cruise, coast ride to La Jolla.  San Marcos paths. Lake Hodges MTB. San Diego Mission Bay loop, beach path, connect to Old Town, Ocean Bch, La Jolla, San Diego Harbor tour. Road route to Balboa Park/Zoo/ Hillcrest (updated map 3rd ed & detailed new downtown cycletracks in Bonus Materials). Ferry to Coronado's coastal paths and bike route around San Diego Bay (updated in 3rd ed:  full Bayshore Bikeway map round the bay and new option to Imperial Beach Ecoroute). Pt Loma/Cabrillo NM Class II (new map inset in 3rd ed). Paths at Lake Miramar, Lake Murray. Mission Hills Pk paved, MTB. Los Penasquitos Preserve prime MTB. Marian Barr and Rose Canyon MTB. Laguna Mountains MTB/hike on Pacific Crest Trail/visit and bike Julian.  
CHAPTER 7 Kern Co: Kern River Trail, Bakersfield highlights.

CHAPTER 8 Inland Empire: SART Norco-San Bernardino  (new map inset in 3rd ed). Historic Riverside (new tour in 2nd, 3rd Ed incl Mt Rubidoux), Victoria Ave bike path, Citrus SP. Temecula wine country, Old Town (updated map 3rd ed). Claremont downtown, Thompson Crk path. New Lake Perris Loop Camp 'n Ride (3rd ed book only), Pacific Electric Trail through Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cuc, Fontana, Rialto.  Big Bear Lake's Alpine Pedal Path, updated bike routes to alpine village in 3rd ed. Snow Summit lift, MTB down.
CHAPTER 9 The Deserts: Much more detail in maps, 3rd ed.  Updated Palm Springs' stars' homes tour. City loops. CV Link/ Airport Path Loop. Paths through Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage (new North Rancho Mirage route), New in 3rd ed Palm Desert CV Link route, Indian Wells, New East Valley CV Link Route. La Quinta, Indio (Coachella, Stagecoach). Joshua Tree National Park MTB. Anza-Borrego State Park's paths