The event starts/finishes at Mance Buchanon Park in Oceanside. Both routes utilize portions of the RAAM route and both climb Mt. Palomar. The SoCal Challenge has the most varied geography of any ultra-event in the world. Steep mountains, valleys and desert. The weather is generally very good: 60-80 F temps on the coast with orange groves and avocado orchards; 50-70 ˚F in the mountains with oaks and pines; and 80-100 ˚F in the desert with ocotillo, cholla, yucca and other cactus.
The cycling in Southern California is fabulous – extremely diverse. The topography is the most varied of any cycling event we know – avocado orchards and orange groves, the ridges and valleys of the Coast Range, the Anza-Borrego Desert – and the weather is beautiful this time of year.