It's the heart of winter—put a good spin on your weekend with one of these Bay Area bike rides.

1) Saddle up, road riders—here's a 30-mile loop ride on the San Mateo Coast that has it all: You'll wind along the coast, go past a lighthouse, roll along quiet backroads, and make a pit-stop in a charming three-stop-sign town.

2) Grab your cruiser bike, 10-speed, or anything with wheels, and go on a mellow creek-side roll in rural Marin County. The Cross Marin Trail in Samuel P. Taylor State Park even offers glimpses of salmon swimming upstream during the rainy season, if you're lucky.

3) Mountain bikers who don't mind a little mud will love the 30 miles of marked trail in Santa Cruz's Wilder Ranch State Park. Check out the swooping singletrack on the Wilder Ranch Loop and Englesman Loop trails (heavy rain closes trails; check ahead).

4) Experience NASCAR on a bicycle. Every weekend San Jose's Hellyer Park Velodrome hosts a training session for track bicycling. Start your engines!

5) One of the best ways to enjoy those crisp, sapphire-blue winter days? From the seat of your bicycle along the 4-mile (one-way) ridgetop Nimitz Way Trail in Oakland's Tilden Regional Park.

So here's a crazy idea: Some people are riding bikes from San Francisco to Los Angeles this summer. It's going to take seven days and we'll pedal through some of California's most beautiful landscapes—from the forest to the sea, through rolling golden foothills and along quiet country roads. Even better: It's fully supported with pit stops, gear transport, hot meals, and even free massages! It's all to benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. And Weekend Sherpa subscribers get $20 off registration by using PROMO CODE: SHERPA. What do you think? Check out their video.

KICK OFF PARTY: Join AIDS/LifeCycle at their annual kick off party on Jan. 24! With a DJ spinning and refreshments on hand, it's a great place to meet people as curious as you are, and talk to veteran LifeCyclers. Plus, win some awesome prizes and get all the information you need on training and ride schedules. RSVP required.