The Next Big Cycling Destination? 

cycling in California is amazing, but the thing Europe seems to have over it is driver respect/road safety in certain parts of Europe that doesn't exist here in the states.

You can't beat the alps and the dolomites in my opinion...

cycling in LA would be better than Europe if drivers in LA weren't borderline insane

I know it's just a fun little video, but comparing LA/California to "Europe" as a monolithic place in terms of riding is...interesting. Cycling conditions (roads, cycling infrastructure, drivers, weather) are SO different from region to region, let alone country to country. Somehow most people from the US and UK focus on Mallorca and Girona, but there are so many other places with great cycling culture. I was amazed how different riding in Germany is from riding in Switzerland or Italy. You should visit! edit: Ah, looks like you will very soon :D

I haven’t ridden in California but it does look incredible! One point I would make, and I think a lot of people in the US don’t realize, is that a week long cycling holiday in Spain is likely much more affordable than in somewhere like LA. Honestly even if you live within driving distance of LA, you could probably spend the same amount to go to Spain given how much cheaper accommodation and eating out is!

What makes Girona perfect is how much respect cars give you, and the tarmac is excellent.

LA looks amazing; the Brian Safa clips got me convinced. The traffic down the coast seems a bit risky though. Some destinations that haven't been mentioned are Calpe (the number one most popular winter cycling destination for Euro pros), Tenerife and Granada. While none will score higher than LA on the weather, Calpe has excellent, endless roads and is very laid-back and safe for cycling. Mallorca is cycling heaven as well, and with regards to the weather: any pro will have to ride / train in some rain or chilly circumstances, if only to get used to it when such conditions are occurring in the actual races. I would also argue that at least 1-2 months of chilly and even wet weather are good for variety and even training: you can go more off-road and you won't melt when doing hard efforts on shorter climbs.

Went to Tenerife for the first time last year for a weeklong cycling trip. I can see why pros go there to train for the Grand Tours. The pavement is unbelievable, drivers courteous, food amazing, and views are absolutely breathtaking. You gotta go there next!

Could you also do a similar video on the cycling in the Bay Area and San Diego??

Northern California (San Jose, CA and nearby cities) give LA cycling 😊a run for its money!

Dang this is a good video - Can’t wait for the alps video this summer.

What a great intro to biking in LA! I've lived in LA for 4 years now without a car and while I've always bike everywhere, I've only recently embraced it as a hobby. Can wait to try some of these routes once I can afford a road bike and build up a bit more (lot more) cardio!

Every country in the world has the potential to be amazing for cycling, it all depends on cycling infrastructure and people's attitudes towards cyclists.

Vids keep getting better and better

Did not expect a Wilhelm scream.

I’m in Montreal and it’s much cheaper for me to spend a week in Girona than a week in LA.

I MADE THE CUT! I feel famous :P

True, CA has best cycling. But it's in Nor-CAL ;)

Loved your interview with Mark. I admit I’ve been so busy the last 6 months that I haven’t watched many of your videos but I will make a point to watch and comment to help boost your awesome channel. I didn’t understand why I was captivated by your videos until hearing the interview today. It’s because you’re so talented and skilled in cinematic execution (something I don’t understand). So basically, your delivery seems effortless - although I now understand it takes a lot of heart and soul. Thank you PS - My husband grew up in Torrance. I grew up in Merced (NW of Fresno). We left CA in 1994. I really don’t think much about it anymore but this video makes me want to take a cycling vacay in LA area.

So happy to be riding with you out here! 🤩

Riding in LA seems fun. IF the car drivers weren’t completely out off their mind

At the beginning of the video you stated, "everybody thinks that where they live has the best cycling." I live in Omaha, NE. A lovely city and a fine place to live, however, we do not have the best cycling here....

No lies detected. I’m partial to La Canada / Pasadena but epic rides all over this crazy town…

Hello from a fellow French cyclist who actually lives in Nice and would never leave this place even for a fortune 😁 I would definitely love to try LA roads one day. I was there years ago but I was not into cycling at that time. LA looks awesome as long as you don't get too close to the city.

Europe: Mont Ventoux, Tourmalet, Mortirolo, Cobbles sections of Paris-Roubaix, Paterberg, Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Angliru, Canary Island High Altitude rides + good weather all year, Mallorca, Balkans, the Dolomites, countryside roads of Portugal or France, Vasque Country or Flanders (in general), cycling infraestructure of The Netherlands, Euro Velo, Camino de Santiago and so on, and so on... California: Sorry, I am going to leave the debate. We know how US always try to sell their thing as "the best", but comparing California with an entire continent as Europe is pretty lean. *Kindly, add more European cycling destinations, climbs or routes below 🙂

You sold me onto sungod.. they’re amazing.

im a east coast guy but spent a year cycling in los angeles..great stuff and you will become a better climber...malibu is mind blowing

Met a buddy on the Ponies ride visiting from Scotland. He insisted we climb Mt. Baldy (30 miles east of the county border) and by God, we took the train, midwinter, and did it. Another month I met an Australian who showed up without any other plan than “riding and eating through the city”. He titled our Malibu ride “Gotta get my Visa!” Here you’ll ride alongside a traveler, a world tour pro, or newbie who depends on you. We have as many unique cyclists as we do roads to share them with. Oh, and I too find myself stuttering over Celsius. Always a pleasure riding with (chasing) you, Mitch.

I will say, LA and the thousand oaks area are climbing DESTINATIONS

It's great here, but I will say that Europe is mostly as good but the cars aren't trying to literally kill you the whole time. How you get treated in Spain is way way way different than I get treated here in Nor Cal.

Unfortunately California and Los Angelos are two of the most mismanaged areas of the country as a double whammee. So even if your correct the fact that your likely be carjacked or your bike stolen means this is not a tourism mecca.

Also the weather point or not having rain; I find the nature in LA is just dry and desert like. Plus the road surface seems to be pretty bad in comparison to Mallorca at least.

The Donut, and Friendly Donut, rides are great if you live outside of Central LA or The Valley and don't want to hop in a car. Riding south of LA in Palos Verdes doesn't offer climbs as epic as Malibu, but it does provide fun climbs with stunning views of the ocean, LA county, and Catalina.

Boyer-velo Tours of LA... When?

Been waiting for this vid! Love it, I'm going to do Latigo for my next Malibu ride

Come up to Norcal again and we can show you Iowa Hill Road for some tough hills. Team Coconut Cycling will come and support you

"more of LA touches mountains than beaches." woah

Drivers everywhere can be insane. Here in southern France I was riding through a natural park and a driver through trash at me when he passed me for seemingly no reason. I would love to see a video like this highlighting Mountainbiking/gravel in LA, since this has seriously changed my view of the city.

I live below Baldy. Love riding in SoCal.

Granted, a lot of LA does look like a burnt Fallout hellscape, but the cycling season is basically forever.

I’m fairly new to cycling. I live in the South Bay where beach rides are perfectly fine and Palos Verdes does have some fun climbs, but getting out to Malibu on PCH sounds pretty sketch and Griffith requires riding through the famously safe LA streets so I’ve definitely been missing out on all that LA has to offer.😂

I know Mitch rode a mountain bike many years ago. An interesting video could be of him getting a modern bike with the suspension dialed in for his weight and give it a try on local trails.

And on the topic that his zone 2 is like your zone 5.... and you already being an above average cyclicst makes me wonder - what would be the best area to ride for a below average Cyclist? Area that has nice roads, beautiful landscapes, low/allmost no traffic and not too much variation in altitude?

I laughed in Oceanic Climate when he said they'd had a rough year because it was 17C and foggy outside LOL

dude, I live in Boston and the cycling is kinda.. bad. I have to go to NH to get anything close to what you guys have out there... You're convincing me to get a new job in LA so I can ride bikes.

I think once LA introduces more bike friendly infrastructure it could easily become the cycling capital of the world

I live near the alps, so definitely keen on seeing this video.

If you only have a couple hours then I recommend Pedalers Fork, down 7-min, up Piuma, across Saddle Peak, down Fernwood, back via Old Topanga.

East LA county and the IE can be heatwave hell late June to early Oct where the long,mountain climbs, tons of hills, and more dirt riding. So best CA riding year round is up north for mid spring to mid fall. Late fall to spring is Socal if you avoid the heavy traffic areas.

I live in Markdorf (Germany) on the Bodensee. We have very cool route variety and I can access quickly and easily (without a car) routes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland… if you want you can ride around the Bodensee through 4 countries in 1 day 👍 your area in the US looks really cool 😎 I hope I get the chance to check it out some day… great content 🥳

I always poo pood LA since I grew up north of Sacramento and only ever really experienced LA in passing, never rode there. But I know that is an error. This video is amazing and makes me homesick! I also would say that up north going from Sacramento up into the Sierra Nevadas there is also tons of great riding but I have to agree with some of the other comments here that the drivers are just not as cyclist-tolerant in California. I live in Paris and riding to get anywhere requires busy roads but at least drivers are chill for the most part. No beach though... 😭 PS: My first year in France, I lived on the "route de Chamrousse" just outside Grenoble. That was when I was in my best shape ever. Just constant alpine riding and trail running and views for days, I sure do miss that...

We plan a trip to Westlake and ride the Malibu canyons (Latigo, Piuma, Yerba Buenu, Decker, Encinal....) to prepare for cycling the Alps and Dolomites in Europe. Those Malibu canyon roads are beautiful and quiet. The PCH is busy but not terrible. LA is easier for us to get to than Europe for great cycling. We will be back

Really been struggling 63 f 😅

I grew up in the Valley and I've been riding road and MTB in the Santa Monica mountains for 10 odd years. Yes, the terrain can be pretty, but as other people have said, the drivers here are nuts. And if you decide to go on some dirt, good luck finding shade, especially during the summer. People always say the weather here is amazing, but what they don't mention is when it's 100-110 degrees and there's no shade and no water stops around. I think the Bay Area could make a pretty good case for being just as good of a cycling destination as LA.

Don't believe you, buy me a ticket so I can test this 👀

there are no trees in la, forests, and obviously the nonstop massive flow of cars is stressful for bike riders. Phil;s videos always have loud engine noises flying by at 50 mph in the background. Im from norcal surprise. Santa Cruz and San Mateo coastal mountain range are sublime, as well as Alameda, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Shasta etc etc etc Admittedly Marin is like LA, with way too much high-speed traffic on narrow roads. Half of sanfranciscans drive through Marin on the weekends. I've ridden a lot in Germany and Spain, a little in Austria and France and really liked those countries surprise . Germany has the same high density population issue but its trail system is the best anywhere

Weather looks nice but the asphalt looks terrible. Been cycling in Utah, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Norway (where i live). Italy is hands down the best place to cycle!

Hey Mitch where in the Alps are you going to this summer? Will you be in Nice for the final stages of the Tour? As a native of Nice living in LA I'm happy to share recommendations with you (cycling and non cycling related!). Love the rides in LA, but the world class climbs a stone throw away the city and the food in Nice are hard to beat

palos verdes, has a ride that is peaty good, phil has the KOM on switch backs

spectacular vid, love it! yeah angelest crest is kinda the worst lmao. People literally race that on motos all day long its super sketch. Griffith is my jam tho

Nice to see the nice Phil (not the prickly defensive Phil)

You're giving all our spots away Mitch! 😂 Angeles Crest I agree with the Palmdale Speedway portion of it is terrible. Better to park and ride after the fork in my opinion. Further over there is also GMR, Crystal Lake and Baldy. Last two being probably the toughest in LA. Crystal from East Fork is Hors category. Baldy looks just as tough. I've driven those Malibu canyons many times. Maybe have to make out to Latigo Tuesday for a long threshold effort. That looks fun. The drive out and back not so much.

Speaking as one who’s lived in Southern and Northern California for many years, there isn’t even a question. Europe is far better. The difference comes down to two points: First, road surfaces are better in Europe. California has an increasing number of chip seal roads that, quite simply, make for rough, teeth rattling riding. Maybe it’s a budget thing, but it’s lousy for biking. I long said gravel bikes should be renamed-to California road bikes instead. Second, drivers are far more patient and respectful of cyclists in Europe than here. In fact, it isn’t even close. I can ride in France or Italy for weeks or longer without ever worrying about close calls with overly aggressive drivers. Meanwhile, I can barely complete a short training ride here without having a close call or almost getting taken out.

I would agree. As a Californian road enthusiast, cyclist and motorcyclist, if I didn’t go outside and enjoy the outdoors, California wouldn’t be worth it. Year around cycle season, all sorts of types of riding MTB gravel road town beach urban whatever. Phil had the KOM on all my local mountains too, I trust his opinion. 😂

Having cycled through 28 countries, my favourites are: Switzerland, Turkey, Cuba, Thailand, New Zealand

My son lives in Thousand Oaks so that's where I go to vacation. I'm from Pittsburgh. But my last trip last November was the worst. The winds were insane 60 to 70 mph and if you tried riding anywhere it was scary just to stay on your bike. I literally felt like I was going to get thrown off the cliffs on my descend down Mulholland Hwy down to the coast. I don't really know what would be the best time to go. But I have had some good trips also.

Man I’d love to ride anywhere in the US it looks amazing 😊❤ Pete 🚴🏻🚴🏻

Long sleeves in 17°C - LOL! Try living and cycling somewhere without a Mediterranean climate. Would love to try cycling in SoCal though.

Latigo beach, nice point break!

Living in the Midwest isn’t the best for cycling but Minneapolis is still one of the best cities for cycling in America. No big climbs but great coffee and beer to stop for

I would like to say i do not live at the best place to ride. I live in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. We have about 45km of roads, mostly gravel, practically never above 15°c. But we DO have the best views!

As a European I just can't even imagine to start my ride at another place than my home. Since I was little, we learned to be kind of ecological and autonomous with our bikes, so having to take your car to go to a place where it's safer to ride or just to narrow down the distance of your ride... Can't imagine. In that way, Nice (it's the only of the examples you named that I know, so I will talk about Nice) is a really "small" town compare to LA so in like 5 or 10km you are in the countryside from west to east to north with the diversity of landscapes, roads and nature you can get ! 20minutes from the ultra center of the city and you are cruising along the beach or in the "pre-alps" : short and steep climbs or mid long and not really steep ones (perfect for threshold sessions). And if you ride around two hours starting in the city to the mountains, you've got such epic alp's pass Of course that's really different from LA, can't judge if that's objectively better or not but to me, that's the most important thing !

Well what about cycling culture, infrastructure, traffic and drivers? Most of the roads featured in ths video I would probably avoid if they were in Europe, they just seem like wide open "main" roads. Part of what makes cycling in Europe great is the abundance of quiet narrow backroads with almost zero traffic.

I was born and raised in L.A. and had no clue L.A. was a great place to ride a bike. The map around Griffith was amazing. One thing is I know L.A. divers hate cyclists. I've learned that L.A. is great for training but don't ride alone. Someone will run you down and not give a sh*t. Good luck.

Canadian rockies .. Oregon coast .. Bend Oregon.. Chang mai Thailand..

As someone that lives in Utah, a state with some of the best cycling... the LA area and California in general is better, and almost certainly the best state in the country to ride.

This video has been brought to you by The City of Los Angeles 😅

Having ridden in both LA and different parts of Europe, riding in LA is definitely not better than Europe. It is underrated though because once you do get out of the city (which sucks to do and never feels safe because the US is so tunnelvisioned on cars) the riding is amazing. In Europe though... The riding is always amazing, much more diverse views compared to LA and much much much safer.

I had to grab a tissue during the weather portion of this video… too soon 😢

Beautiful! 👌

I think Phil should go to Allicante.

California might have a great climate etc for cycling, but overall i would expect Europe to have better cycling conditions when it comes to roads, safety standards etc. And when it comes to areas like Mallorca people on the Road just expcect Cyclist to be there - especially the early "vacation time for cyclist" on Mallorca is still kind of off season for regular tourist, so it is even better!

No love for World Famous Montrose where pros ride all the time. Phil used to ride it when he was a pro.

How much does it cost cost to rent an apartment and do a 2 week training camp in LA vs Mallorca? I bet it's more than double.

Thank god I live in Altadena

Weather…terrain…altitude

whereever you live is the best place because it doesn't cost a dime to get there.

Respectfully disagree ;) - wait until you see the Alps. :P (European living in the Alps here)

I live in the west of the Netherlands and the cycling here is very very average. Too many intersections, too many traffic lights, too many other road users. It's one big traffic park.

“Everyone thinks they have the best cycling in the world”, and here I am in New Orleans, ha. No hills, drunk drivers, hot and humid as Satan’s grundle…

Glad to see im not the only one scarred from learning about Vegan Cyclists frozen equipment 😅

17 Celsius isn't 2 Bad . Try 6-12 Celsius. Wouldn't live in Down Town or the Suburbs in LA. If there was a nice little town @ the bottom of these Climbs l would be up 4 it . Otherwise the Warm part of Spain 🇪🇸 in Winter & Andorra/ sLOVEnia in Summer ☀️

I dont feel it's fair to just use LA when comparing california cycling to europe. LA is just one city center/region. The state has soo much more to offer than just Socal. All along the bay area and north coast has amazing cycling routes. Eastern Sierras are also amazing.

French Riviera for ever. Best cycling place. PERIOD

The City of L.A. Is tiny, however the County of L.A. Is massive.

Loads of amazing places to ride bikes around the world, the main issue is cars.

It does look beautiful in LA wow, but the roads look terrible 😮, that being said , we have terrible roads in Belgium as well 😅 AND crazy car drivers...

This is just very subjective....everyone have its own preference based on different aspects.....

Coffee Region in Colombia.

Nothing beats European Alps and the Pyrenees. You don't have there 3000m moutains to ride :)