Portland is a cyclist-friendly city with fantastic urban bike paths, but nature calls and you should answer. About 30 minutes from downtown a century-old railroad line, once a fundamental tool of the Beaver State’s lumber industry has been reforested into a 21-mile-long trail.

The Golden State is lousy with purpose-built paths—seriously we’re talking in the triple digits—and annoyingly moderate-to-outstanding weather. You could ride twice a week for a year without ever repeating a route and see frolicking dolphins, fruiting vineyards, Yosemite’s Half Dome, or swaying palms and Venice street performers without ever leaving the saddle.