Solvang Autumn Double

Solvang Autumn Double

October 25 2025

Solvang California USA

Date Confirmed

Distances: 100, 200 miles

Difficulty: Extreme terrain with frequent steep hills and long sustained climb

Just as beautiful, but significantly more challenging than the Spring event. 193 miles with 11,800 feet of climbing. A spectacular 200 mile route in Southern California’s most scenic and most popular cycling region!

The first big climb of the day is Tepusquet Road. This is a meandering 9 miles of climbing – with a few steep pitches in the 8-10% range. The five mile descent is a blast! Enjoy the ride! At the bottom riders hang a left on Highway 166, where they’ll roll along to the second checkpoint and fine refreshments. The route continues down 166, then hangs a right on Thompson Road, heading towards San Luis Obispo via Nipomo and Arroyo Grande. This part of the route will be familiar to veterans of the Spring event. After the third checkpoint (“lunch”) at our usual park in San Luis, riders will continue straight onto Tank Farm Road, and then work their way south via the quiet and beautiful Prefumo Canyon Road. This is the second big climb of the day – and it’s a quad buster! Bring some gears – as you’ll need them for the occasional 12-16% grades. Less than a mile down from the summit, there’s an unpaved section of road that’s totally ride-able, with an abundance of caution (meaning “slowly”). About a mile later after the pavement resumes, comes a very rewarding descent. Then the route once again meets up with the original route at San Luis Bay Road, winds back down Avila Beach Road, ultimately continuing south through Pismo Beach, Shell Beach and on to the fourth checkpoint at Guadalupe.

The route then diverts off Hwy 1 on Black Road which becomes the awesome Lompoc-Casmalia Road. Then comes the third big climb of the day, up Hwy 1 and the challenging Vandenberg Grade. After a nice descent to the edge of Lompoc, riders come to the last checkpoint at River Park Campground. From there they’ll make their way back via the beautiful, rolling Santa Rosa Road (usually with a super strong tail wind), and Hwy 246 back to Buellton.

193 miles with 11,800 feet of climbing. This route is significantly more challenging than the Spring route – with substantially more climbing and many steep pitches. Riders should expect to require a bit more time on the bike between checkpoints. As such, if a rider is concerned about riding 40+ challenging miles between water/food stops, then a camelbak or other hydration system is recommended.

Solvang Autumn Double