Calabasas is the last neat suburb before the Santa Monica Mountains turn wild, and for motorcyclists it is where a Southern California ride begins. The town sits at the western end of the San Fernando Valley, with a tidy main street, gated communities and a strip of shops, and just beyond it the road enters canyon country. The name comes from the Spanish word for pumpkins or gourds, and local stories claim it refers to a wagon that spilled its load or to the wild gourds along the creek.
From here, Las Virgenes Road and Malibu Canyon Road drop south through a steep canyon to Pacific Coast Highway, a quick, winding run past rock walls and, on the side, the Malibu Creek State Park, where the television series M*A*S*H was filmed. The canyon road is famous among riders, with tight curves, blind corners and a long record of accidents, so it demands respect. Mulholland Highway, named for William Mulholland, the engineer who brought Owens Valley water to Los Angeles, winds west along the ridge, twisting through oak woodland and chaparral with views down to the ocean.
At Cornell Road in Agoura Hills, the Rock Store, a roadside cafe and gathering spot, has been a biker hangout for decades, and on Sunday mornings hundreds of motorcycles and cars cluster in the lot. The crowds can be intense, but it is part of the culture of the place, and a good place to meet other riders. Weekends are busy, with cyclists, sports cars and sightseers on the narrow lanes, so weekday mornings are better.
Calabasas has plenty of fuel and food, which is why it makes a good start: top the tank here, because the canyon roads have no stations. The marine layer in late spring and early summer fills the canyons with cool fog until late morning, while autumn offers clear, warm days. Fire and mudslides can close canyon roads, particularly after winter rains, and the road surface is often scattered with gravel and fallen branches. Speeding tickets are common, and police patrol the canyons regularly.