LA to San Francisco
07-21-18, 05:28 AM
#26
velo-dilettante
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: insane diego, california
Posts: 8,316
Bikes: 85 pinarello treviso steel, 88 nishiki olympic steel. 95 look kg 131 carbon, 11 trek madone 5.2 carbon
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1628 Post(s)
Liked 3,114 Times
in
1,683 Posts
yah, highway 1 just reopened all the way thru. will probably be hella traffic till labor day. looking to hit the area 2nd week of either sept or oct.
07-21-18, 05:50 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Center of Central CA
Posts: 1,582
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 897 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 9 Times
in
8 Posts
Hwy 1 near Big Sur, the shot everyone has to get. You will see well-worn paths to the choicest spots.
OP, there are so many places to see between SF and LA, but many are to the east in the Sierras. If confined to a bike though, Hwy 1 south would be your best bet. Check out Hearst Castle in San Simeon. once the palatial home ofCharles Foster Kane William Randolph Hearst. The cost? . . . no one can say. 
And if you could somehow travel 150 miles due east, this is what you would see in Sequoia Park:
EDIT: I forgot that the iconic Bixby Creek Bridge is along Hwy 1, just south of Monterey, IIRC:
OP, there are so many places to see between SF and LA, but many are to the east in the Sierras. If confined to a bike though, Hwy 1 south would be your best bet. Check out Hearst Castle in San Simeon. once the palatial home of
And if you could somehow travel 150 miles due east, this is what you would see in Sequoia Park:
EDIT: I forgot that the iconic Bixby Creek Bridge is along Hwy 1, just south of Monterey, IIRC:
Last edited by Colnago Mixte; 07-21-18 at 08:16 AM.
07-21-18, 10:41 AM
#28
Full Member
Pat-
A few things to know for the future...
1. If you're thinking about skipping an opportunity for a bike tour, you're not a real tourer.
2. I'm surprised to find out that a backpacker is into bikes. You may be the first. That said, because you won't have a bike with you, even if you were able to buy one off CL or in a bike co-op (I'm sure there's at least one in LA County, but don't know where), you probably would end up spending some money adding a rack, fixing whatever may need to be fixed or upgraded, etc. That would mean time and it sounds like yours is not unlimited. Then there's the question of what to do with it when before you board your flight for home. Unless you wouldn't care about throwing them money away and either giving it away or selling it cheap, that will be a problem.
3. I have biked along the coast twice in the past 2.5 years. First time (which I highly recommend) was Oceanside (San Diego County) down to the border, then over to Imperial County, around Salton Sea and back to Oceanside where I then headed up the coast and ended in San Luis Obispo (which is off the coast, just past the area you would continue along the coast road). Second was last year where part of my ride included SF down the coast to Monterrey, and then because the coast road was closed, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY because I looked at pics of what it used to be like and I'm not interested in biking next to a cliff filled with RV's, tourists, etc and NO SHOULDER (only portions, not the whole way), I headed inland to Salinas and then down that main road thru Paso Robles and onto San Luis Obispo (and then into Orange County). I know there are lots of cyclists who biked that no shoulder route between Monterrey and SLO, but quite frankly, that's stupid. Why risk it? Plus, if you're going north, the view isn't going to be as great even if you could get a few seconds to focus on it and not the road. So consider the alternative route along that section if you do this in the future. As for wind, the first trip was in Jan/Feb and second during the summer. No wind problems either direction.
4. Many of the CA State parks, as mentioned above, offer Hike & Bike rates of $5 or $10 a night. Personally, after having biked 21 countries in Europe and stayed in many campgrounds there, I think the parks here leave a lot to be desired. You have to pay extra for showers, the parks are understaffed and underfinanced and not secure. I stayed at one in San Diego County where they put the tenters right next to a fence which had a huge hole in it and people could come and go as they pleased. (I saw another campground in Malibu with the same problem.) There is a lot of bike theft here due to the unsavory street characters, and I just didn't feel that staying in a park was any safer than free camping. And nothing is going to change. I would free camp when you can. If you bike in farm/orchard country, it's easy to free camp among the groves. Just use a tarp, pad and sleeping bag.
5. Hotels are super expensive in California!
6. Be careful crossing the GG Bridge in SF!!! The local cyclists make it dangerous and unenjoyable to do!
7. Once you do a tour, you'll never go back to that...ewww, backpacking thang! hehe
A few things to know for the future...
1. If you're thinking about skipping an opportunity for a bike tour, you're not a real tourer.
2. I'm surprised to find out that a backpacker is into bikes. You may be the first. That said, because you won't have a bike with you, even if you were able to buy one off CL or in a bike co-op (I'm sure there's at least one in LA County, but don't know where), you probably would end up spending some money adding a rack, fixing whatever may need to be fixed or upgraded, etc. That would mean time and it sounds like yours is not unlimited. Then there's the question of what to do with it when before you board your flight for home. Unless you wouldn't care about throwing them money away and either giving it away or selling it cheap, that will be a problem.
3. I have biked along the coast twice in the past 2.5 years. First time (which I highly recommend) was Oceanside (San Diego County) down to the border, then over to Imperial County, around Salton Sea and back to Oceanside where I then headed up the coast and ended in San Luis Obispo (which is off the coast, just past the area you would continue along the coast road). Second was last year where part of my ride included SF down the coast to Monterrey, and then because the coast road was closed, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY because I looked at pics of what it used to be like and I'm not interested in biking next to a cliff filled with RV's, tourists, etc and NO SHOULDER (only portions, not the whole way), I headed inland to Salinas and then down that main road thru Paso Robles and onto San Luis Obispo (and then into Orange County). I know there are lots of cyclists who biked that no shoulder route between Monterrey and SLO, but quite frankly, that's stupid. Why risk it? Plus, if you're going north, the view isn't going to be as great even if you could get a few seconds to focus on it and not the road. So consider the alternative route along that section if you do this in the future. As for wind, the first trip was in Jan/Feb and second during the summer. No wind problems either direction.
4. Many of the CA State parks, as mentioned above, offer Hike & Bike rates of $5 or $10 a night. Personally, after having biked 21 countries in Europe and stayed in many campgrounds there, I think the parks here leave a lot to be desired. You have to pay extra for showers, the parks are understaffed and underfinanced and not secure. I stayed at one in San Diego County where they put the tenters right next to a fence which had a huge hole in it and people could come and go as they pleased. (I saw another campground in Malibu with the same problem.) There is a lot of bike theft here due to the unsavory street characters, and I just didn't feel that staying in a park was any safer than free camping. And nothing is going to change. I would free camp when you can. If you bike in farm/orchard country, it's easy to free camp among the groves. Just use a tarp, pad and sleeping bag.
5. Hotels are super expensive in California!
6. Be careful crossing the GG Bridge in SF!!! The local cyclists make it dangerous and unenjoyable to do!
7. Once you do a tour, you'll never go back to that...ewww, backpacking thang! hehe
07-23-18, 01:42 PM
#29
Senior Member
It's not a National Park, but the Lake Tahoe area is high enough to escape the summer heat, has numerous campgrounds (some with hike 'n' bike sites, such as Donner Memorial, DL Bliss, Grover Hot Springs State Parks, plus William Kent NFS campground), some nice hostels https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...a.html#REVIEWS, great scenery, and lots of bike paths in the area...though those can be separated by some hilly and narrow sections. It also has Amtrak Thru Bus service to Truckee and South Lake Tahoe. The weather is generally splendid in August, though there can be some afternoon thundershowers if the weather patterns bring up monsoon moisture. I would prefer that area to the CA coast myself, though maybe that's because I grew up on that coast. Winds aren't a real factor in the Tahoe area in my experience.
Many campgrounds also have cabins, trailers, or yurts if real camping is out of the question for you, though you should always check availability.
I know you're talking about the cruddy San Elijo H&B site when you mentioned the hole in the fence. Probably the worst site in the USA. Doheny State Beach is also tiny and right next to the restroom. Believe me, the sites are very nice in the Tahoe area...Grover Hot Springs doesn't have a dedicated site, but lets you camp anywhere in the large picnic area and opens up a "bear box" for you.
You can check out the bike path along the Truckee river (on the opposite bank along the fencing) here in this live stream, or there are other "Tahoetopia" live streams... Truckee River Cam | Tahoetopia
Many campgrounds also have cabins, trailers, or yurts if real camping is out of the question for you, though you should always check availability.
I know you're talking about the cruddy San Elijo H&B site when you mentioned the hole in the fence. Probably the worst site in the USA. Doheny State Beach is also tiny and right next to the restroom. Believe me, the sites are very nice in the Tahoe area...Grover Hot Springs doesn't have a dedicated site, but lets you camp anywhere in the large picnic area and opens up a "bear box" for you.
You can check out the bike path along the Truckee river (on the opposite bank along the fencing) here in this live stream, or there are other "Tahoetopia" live streams... Truckee River Cam | Tahoetopia
Last edited by stevepusser; 07-23-18 at 02:03 PM.
07-25-18, 10:16 PM
#30
Senior Member
Hi, I grew up in Monterey and lived in San Francisco much of my adult life. I'm extremely familiar with bike riding on highway 1. You really don't want to ride up the coast, especially during summer. The prevailing winds would make it miserable, and the shoulder on the northbound side is minimal. There's a lot more traffic than there used to be. Renting a car would be more fun than the bus, since you could drive up the coast. It is some of the most beautiful coastline in the world.
Anyway, if you get to SF, consider renting a bike or something and ride to Point Reyes. You can camp there. There are some big hills The coast north of SF is also spectacular. Or ride south. There are some great state parks between SF and Santa Cruz. This is the redwood forest and it is amazing. Crater lake in Oregon is quite a lot far north, but it's IMO a great bike touring region and also insanely cool.
Anyway, if you get to SF, consider renting a bike or something and ride to Point Reyes. You can camp there. There are some big hills The coast north of SF is also spectacular. Or ride south. There are some great state parks between SF and Santa Cruz. This is the redwood forest and it is amazing. Crater lake in Oregon is quite a lot far north, but it's IMO a great bike touring region and also insanely cool.
