Route Description
PLEASE NOTE: The road surfaces in and around the Santa Ynez Valley can be, and often are, pretty lousy. Expect cracks and bumps and potholes on Foxen Canyon, Cat Canyon and Ballard for sure. Please bring appropriate, wider, more cushy tires. Also, the map shows the ride starting/ending at the Marriott. We’re looking into moving to a better location.
The event starts and finishes just down the road from its namesake, Solvang, a quaint, Danish village with excellent restaurants, window shopping, real shopping, horse-drawn carriages, parks, people in costume, wine-tasting, vineyards, and lots of fun things for the whole family to see and do. Bring your family and make a weekend of it. We promise they’ll all have a great time while you ride your bike!
You’ll start with a spin through Solvang before heading towards the vineyards, and Foxen Canyon, that make this area famous. At mile 22 you’ll take a break and refuel at Tres Hermanas Winery before you continue towards Sisquoc and your biggest challenge of the day: Cat Canyon.
Cat meanders a bit before pitching UP, where you’ll tackle a one mile climb with an average 10% grade (and do watch your line as the road is terrible here). A super fun, fast descent on nice pavement takes you to a section of private road through ranch and farmland, which leads to Los Alamos, where you’ll enjoy your next fuel stop in a lovely county park.
The last leg has a couple miles of barely paved frontage road which leads to the lovely, meandering climb on Alisos Canyon. Then back on Foxen, a short steep pitch, and all downhill to your final fuel stop at Fess Parker Winery.
UP and over “the Wall” on Foxen, then through Los Olivos and the rolling hills of Ballard Canyon back to Buellton and the end of your amazing day on the bike.
72 miles with 4,500 feet of climbing. Three SAG stops along the course. You may view a map of the route, the elevation profile and download GPS files here.
Towns/regions visited: Solvang, Ballard, Los Olivos, Foxen Canyon, Sisquoc, Los Alamos, and back to Buellton.