After Ashland OR and Palo Alto CA, our West Coast tour next took us to San Luis Obispo along California’s Central Coast. SLO, as the natives ref it, has some killer mtb action near town, including on the Cal Poly campus and at Montana de Oro State Park right on the water.
But for a quick ride from town itself, you can’t beat Mount Madonna. Named not (as many assume) for biblical reference but rather after a prominent real-estate developer, Alex Madonna, the mound looming over SLO is a tantalizing network built around a fire-road climb to the top.
Here’s BikeIntelligencer’s video take on the Mount Madonna downhill.