California Desert Escape
Road Cycling in California with Undiscovered Country Bike Tours
Highlights
- Gorgeous mountain vistas
- Peaceful, uninterrupted cycling
- A private wine-tasting at Churon Winery
Full Description
Consider the ingredients necessary for the perfect Winter bicycle tour. The weather has to be warm and dry. The roads have to be great for cycling. And to make it an Undiscovered Country tour, the location has to be, essentially, undiscovered—but not so undiscovered as to be without the comforts of civilization.
Amazingly, there is a region on the map that has the right mix of ingredients for the ideal Winter bike tour. Just a short distance away from the major urban areas of Southern California lies the Anza-Borrego Desert, a great dry basin ringed by high mountains.
In the center of this large desert park is Borrego Springs, a “quaint desert resort town with no traffic and clean air”. Wide and empty roads stretch across the valley floor with mountain vistas in every direction. Warm weather, a quiet town, empty biking roads, great lodging and dining: these are the ingredients that make up an ideal Undiscovered Country trip.
And while cycling and relaxing daily in a quaint desert resort town makes for a wonderful tour, this itinerary has a little more variety to keep things interesting. The tour starts out in Desert Hot Springs, known as "Spa City". From there it skirts the edge of the Joshua Tree National Monument to Palm Desert, cruises through the Coachella Valley to the Salton Sea, rolls through the Badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert to Borrego Springs. For an exhilirating finish, the tour climbs out of the desert to the orchard country town of Julian, then follows the scenic rolling terrain to the Temecula Wine Country.
If you like cycling rides in Winter without multiple layers of fleece and Gore-Tex, touring on our California Desert Escape may be just the trip you’ve been looking for.
Includes:
- Use of a quality lightweight road biker
- Five nights lodging
- Five breakfasts
- Five dinners
- Snacks and beverages during and after the rides
- Afternoon get-together with snacks and drinks
- Daily route sheets and maps
- One or more guides on bicycles
- SAG support (support vehicle on the bike route)
- Mechanical support for minor bike repairs
Excludes:
- Transportation to Ontario at the beginning of the trip
- Transportation from Ontario at the end of the trip
- Lodging before and after the trip
- Lunches (we recommend places to stop for lunch on the ride route, at your leisure)
- Alcoholic beverages
- Hotel charges for incidentals (phone calls, etc.)
- Gratuities to guides at your discretion
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Desert Hot Springs to Palm Desert
Our tour begins in the morning, west of the Southern California Desert. We gather near the Ontario International Airort, at the Country Inn & Suites. We’ll shuttle from Ontario to the spa town of Desert Hot Springs. Here we will fit everyone on their bicycles, then take a relaxing ride along the desert floor with a stunning view of the San Jacinto Mountains, arriving in Palm Desert at the Mojave Resort, our hotel for the night. Dinner at one of the fine Palm Desert restaurants. Distance: 25-44 miles.
Day 2: Palm Desert to Borrego Springs
After our night's stay in Palm Desert, we head south underneath the tall date palms of the Coachella Valley to the Salton Sea. From here, we head west through the badlands of the Anza-Borrego Desert to Borrego Springs, an oasis of a town surrounded by desert and ringed on three sides by high mountains. Lodging for tonight and the next night is at the Palms Hotel, a classic desert resort from the 1950s — once a favorite getaway for Hollywood celebrities. Distance: 30-77 miles, 0-1400' vertical.
Day 3: Borrego Springs
Today is a day of options. You can choose to join a ride through the Borrego Springs area, or you can relax poolside at The Palms.
Day 4: Borrego Springs to Julian
We bid farewell to our desert oasis and climb (or shuttle) up and over the San Ysidro Mountains to the orchard town of Julian, a favorite getaway destination for San Diego residents. Here we spend a cozy evening together at the historic and cozy Julian Gold Rush Hotel. Distance: 30-42 miles , 2500' or 5700' vertical.
Day 5: Julian to Temecula
Today's ride takes us out of the mountains, through the rolling grasslands and pine forests, to the Temecula Wine Country. Dinner at a nearby winery, and lodging at the charming Inn at Churon Winery, where we will be treated to a private wine tasting. Distance: 30-60 miles, 1000-2000' vertical.
Day 6: Temecula
On our final day, we'll take a short ride through the Temecula Wine Country's rolling hills and alongside the champion horse stables. Then we'll return to the Inn at Churon to change out of bike clothes, load up the van for the shuttle back to Ontario, where we say our goodbyes. Distance: 25 miles, 1000' vertical.
About The Operator:
Undiscovered Country Bike Tours
Headquarters:
Palo Alto, CA
Established:
January 2003
Undiscovered Country Tours specializes in quality road bike tours in California for adults. Our trips are held throughout the state, all year long. We offer more bicycle vacation choices in more California locations than any other company.
At Undiscovered Country Tours, we love bicycling in California and enjoy sharing it with our welcome guests. We've spent a lifetime bicycling the state, so we know California cycle touring as well as anyone can. We feel strongly that traveling through a region by bicycle is a life enhancing experience. An Undiscovered Country trip is a departure from the ordinary—invigorating the body, recharging the mind, and renewing the spirit.
Everyone at Undiscovered Country Tours is dedicated to provide our guests the most rewarding, most memorable, and most satisfying bicycle trips possible.