The Best Damn Mountain Biking in California

Because it's a safe bet that Tom Stienstra knows more about the wilds of California than any other outdoors writer,  when Stienstra tells us that the best mountain biking in that relatively capacious state can be found at the Wilder Ranch State Park, just north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1, Geezer politely accepts the judgement. As this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle (Stienstra's day job) reports, the park's  7,000 acres include 34 miles of bike trails-- some easy, some, such as the Wilder Ridge trail that climbs 1,000 feet, not so easy. The climbs, Steinstra tell us, "are rhythmic pumps, followed by cruises through the flat spots amid grasslands, chaparral and cypress woodlands....At an overlook above one cove, we spotted a sea otter on its back, grooming its whiskers and fur. As the sun dipped below some distant cirrus, a squadron of pelicans sailed past." Read more about Wilder from Tom Stienstra.