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How's socal?

petwhookie

petwhookie

Avocado Bike
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Location
Bay Area
Moto(s)
89 Honda Hawk GT(sold), 99 R6(sold)
Name
will
I'm going to move down to Socal in about 3-5 months, mainly the La Jolla area. I was wondering how the traffic and the roads were compared to the Bay Area. Is it worth having a bike there?
 
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SO.CAL FTMFW!!! La Jolla is bomb dude!:thumbup Great beachs to surf. Weather is ALWAYS better than the yay area as well. Traffic is FTL though...:( The 5 sucks way big during commute hours... Probally comparable to trying to go to the city during commute hours... Plenty of places to ride as well :teeth
 
petwhookie said:
I'm going to move down to Socal in about 3-5 months, mainly the La Jolla area. I was wondering how the traffic the roads were compared to the Bay Area. Is it worth having a bike there?
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i just moved back to the bay after being in LA for a year (i'm actually gonna move back in june). traffic wise LA is THE WORST!!! i suggest the streets unless it's after midnight then the freeway is ok. CAGERS ARE THE WORST in LA. it's like they're all play grand turismo, or something. everyone seems to drive no slower than 80mph which will be a nice pace on a bike. there seems to be a lot of bikes, but not many open roads to cruise around on. the weather is superb, and the people...well, you just have to find the right crowd
 
hey i live in La Jolla.

traffic isnt as bad as the bay. not only does traffic steadily move a bit better constantly, the carpool lane is seperated by a double yellow. yes, its legal to lane-share on the DY... HP officer told me so after i was taken out sharing one lane right. also, traffic can be easily avoided given the number of freeways that run in every direction. esp around La Jolla 5, 805, 52, 56, and 163 do pretty well as long as u avoid certain sections of each during certain hours.

a bike is almost a must if u ever want to head to Downtown La Jolla or most of the other social shopping hangout places like PB, MB, OB, Old Town, etc... its jus soo nice to be able to park in between something instead of driving around for 20min waiting to find a spot for a cage 4 blocks from where u wanna b.

as for the roads, plenty of squid hangout routes and plenty of lesser-touched backroads. check out the "maps" thread in this section for a better look.

oh, and the horrible stuff SWITCH was talkin about does not apply to SD county at all. seems most ppl r in no hurry in SD
 
Hey stang,

Thanks for the input. Seems like I'll have a bike down there too. :thumbup
 
its always better to have a bike to ride no matter where you really live but as for So Cal.
its always sunny thats for sure.
I was thinking of moving to LA if all goes well for my work. SD is okay but I think LA is a better place overall but again depends on where you are going to live.
 
yeah stang is right on. i work in the mission valley area and split my time norcal/socal. ill be full time back there sometime soon. i have to admit i really dont like street riding down there. i was considering leaving my bikes w/ a friend who would bring them to trackdays for me. i mean u can commute, but compared to norcal street riding....its just long to get there and crowded when u finally do.
 
I lived down there for 30 years in and around Seal Beach, Sunset, and Huntington Beach. It's a long way to good sport riding but the motocross scene is the best. MX Tracks are everywhere! That's all I miss about So Cal.

Oh. The water is warm in the summer. Surfing without a wetsuit is great!

We have way better street riding up here.
 
I grew up in San Clemente (about an hour north of La Jolla), and spent plenty of time in the greater SD area. Just keep in mind that people are less vigilant when driving because it's easier (lanes wider, always left turn arrows, faster speed limits, less bicyclists and motorcyclists, no crazy homeless crossing whenever they please, not as many cabbies, etc etc) so people kind of drive in this half-awake state. Lots of soccer moms on cell phones in Chevy tahoes with flip up navigation screens. Lots more bone head moves going on, people drive way too fast, and there's twice to three times as many SUVs but the road quality is always really nice. Surface streets can be like four-five lane freeways in some areas. I'd be hesitant to keep my bike if I went back b/c there aren't many twisites right around there, plus it would be miserably hot in full leathers.
 
San Diego is awesome (as is La Jolla). One of the best "canyon" areas in LA is Angeles Crest Highway. In the San Diego area, the equivalent is Palomar mountain.

My one word of caution if you do go ride Palomar, is that it's known to be a "dirty road" for a myriad of reasons. (ie. sand, people intentionally dumping oil, rocks, etc.)

Actually had a coworker who highsided out there three weekends ago cause someone had dumped oil. Thank god shes ok, but it has been known to happen. WIth respect to San Diego and La Jolla area, I just visit every once in a while, so I would take the locals word for how things are (as I am from OC).

Also, another fun road is Ortega Highway (near San Clemente, about 30-45 minutes north of San Diego). Tons of bikes out there on the weekends and the "lookout" is a cool spot to hang and get some grub.

Anyway, best of luck to you!!!
 
The weather is nice, the girls are hot, traffic sucks, the twisty are better up north IMHO. Better race tracks as well up north.

If you like to party then SoCal is the place.
 
ahhhh i need to get on your level and move down there. two of my best friends go to SDSU so since I'm the first one graduated I need to buy a house and make them pay rentz to me.
 
Just got up here from university city area...off 52 and genessee

99% of the riders down there are in shorts and tees with at most with gloves. They don't lane share much either (mostly on the freeways). I guess when you're in shorts and a shirt, you gotta look good. And you can't look good if you're moving past traffic...hahaha..
 
Can you say Squid? Good, 'cause you'll say it all the time looking at the bikers down here. Shorts and flip-flops are NORMAL . . . I have sweated in full-leathers to the point of a really bad cramp.

Cagers are awful, they will look right at you and then SWING that 4000 lb POS at your knees. Be careful. I came back on a visit and left my bike in the Bay! I hate riding in L.A.! The canyons are not comparable to NorCal and they seem to be populated by 'riders' that most Barfers would quite literally pull over to get away from. Then you see them 20 minutes later as they are getting scraped off the ground. I speak from seeing this 1st hand.

The LEO's down there go after bikes. With a passion.

Stay safe, man!
 
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I have to agree with ElHundo even in the SD area. I would think LA be better but not at all surprise at your statement. Funny cuz I asked some rider why and they say its the weather for rider to be the way they are. sounds like BS but whatever. Overall my experience here with other riders are forgettable at best. Not at all friendly and seems to be on there own. WHY? Have to say the Bay has more and better roads for riders and the riders in the Bay are 10++ compare to SoCal. Haven't been to the roads in LA but there looks to be about 3 good looking roads but thats about it.
 
If you're feeling up to it, take a trip up to Julian. Not the best, but it takes you away from much of the tourist and commuter routes. Stop by the lake, hang out, go for a swim, eat some apple pie.

Lake Cuyamaca is a pretty nice place to go, last time we were up there the fires were going so it wasn't so great, but the snow (we were driving) made it pretty pleasant.

http://www.julianca.com/attractions/index.htm

Other than that, take the 8 toward arizona, and stop at the golden acorn gamble away a little, then come back. The roads aren't that great, the crowd's not terribly motorcycle friendly, and if you're going to be by the UTC area (mainly costa verde apts) the garages are heaven for thieves because it's underground and on weekdays after 11 no one's around. THey recently put up cameras (about a year ago) but we were out of there shortly after. A few HD's were picked up thrown in a truck and driven out in broad daylight.

Are you planning on moving there for school or just to live? Housing is also a fair bit more affordable in Mira Mesa and Claremont if you want to travel a little, but it won't be too bad on a bike.
 
San Diego is the best place I lived so far! (born in new york, grew up in oc/la). Traffic imo is a hundred times better than la traffic, different scene down here, girls are hotter, people are more real.
 
nsrguy said:
San Diego is the best place I lived so far! (born in new york, grew up in oc/la). Traffic imo is a hundred times better than la traffic, different scene down here, girls are hotter, people are more real.
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Aww! Where do ride?
 
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