TimJ

My wife and I finally got a 2nd set of panniers and basically have enough gear for 3 days on the road at least. Any suggestions of either a good loop ride or a good one-way ride? Anywhere in the state, ideally we'd want to find someplace we could take the train to to start but we just want to get some informed suggestions first.

For suggestion purposes don't worry about if we're gonna camp or stay in hotels or total mileage or what-not, we just want to hear some suggestions of rides that would take about 3 days and we'll use those as a jumping off point to figuring out what we want/can do.

Shadiyah

We took a quick trip in the redwoods, this is on the trail just past Fern Canyon:



I'm not sure what to connect it to, or how to make a loop out of a redwoods ride, but there is something really amazing about riding a bike next to and under the giants. Wildlife viewing was great too!

mev

A favorite tour of mine has always been along the coast from San Francisco Bay Area to San Luis Obispo. In my case I lived in the Bay Area and took Amtrak back.

fantom1 

Wine Country, Redwoods, Yosemite (in the off season), Joshua Tree to or from somewhere (winter/spring only for me) are all very very beautiful. But if it were me, I'd head somewhere less traveled, probably the Mid or North Eastern part of the state near the 395, just because it's a place I've never been.

(The coast, etc. are nice and all, but there is just too much traffic to make it as enjoyable as a more rural excursion, for me anyhow.)

TimJ

You mean down big sur? Can you do that in 3 days?

BengeBoy 

I did this once; had a great time.

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...7,14.27124&z=7

rodar y rodar

What season? All paved? Anywhere in the state? Since the middle to eastern part (speaking in a side to side manner) of Northern CA is close to home for me, that`s what I`m familiar with. Up through maybe early Oct, I`d say to consider a counterclockwise triangle of 36/89/44, starting from somewhere in the Hat Creek area, through Lassen NP, Childs Meadows, skirt the N. end of Lake Almanor and back to the starting point. I did the 89 portion of that as part of a four day trip in early July and enjoyed it immensely. Then again, there are SO MANY options for a three dayer in CA!

mev

I typically did this ride in three days. One to Monterey, a second to Cambria and third to SLO.

prathmann

Depends on how fast you ride and how long per day you want to be on the road. If camping I'd be more inclined to do it in 4 days: 1) San Francisco to Capitola and stay at New Brighton park, 2) Capitola to Big Sur park, 3) Big Sur to San Simeon park, and 4) San Simeon to San Luis Obispo and Amtrak back. About 80 miles/day with a shorter last day to catch the train. The route usually has the advantage of favorable winds along the coast and beautiful ocean vistas. But it's not flat, especially in the Big Sur area.

The Smokester

Interesting route. I have been contemplating something similar. The northern part is pretty remote. Did you do this supported or unsupported and fully loaded?

BengeBoy 

Unsupported and fully loaded. It was just part of my trip - the whole thing looked more like this...around to Mt. Shasta, then across the state to Reno. I was going to also do a lap around Lake Tahoe, but it was fall and starting to snow a bit, so I just headed to Reno and flew home.

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...56,7.13562&z=8

rodar y rodar

Mmmmm- tasty.

paxtonm

Of course, it depends on the time of year you're thinking of. Winter shuts down the Sierra for touring, and winter is wet on the north coast.

Here's a different take on the Big Sur ride, done over three days. I'm not sure where you live, so I'll assume proximity to an airport is a given.

Start in Monterey and after 17 Mile Drive, take Ocean in Carmel to Junipero to Rio to head south on Hwy 1 through Big Sur. You can stay at Lucia or Gorda (if you want rooms) or camp at the USFS campground west of Hwy. 1 at Nacimiento-Ferguson Road. Start the day going over Nacimiento-Ferguson, then enjoy 13 miles of downhill into Fort Hunter-Liggett. Jolon toward King City and then follow the signs to the east entrance of Pinnacles National Monument for night two at the campground (there's a pool and showers there, too). Day 3, north on Hwy. 25, through Hollister, 156 to San Juan-Hollister Grade, then across Salinas Valley (use Reservation Road) to the coastal bike trail back to Monterey.

Google does two weird things with this map: it doesn't show the coastal bike trail, but it's well marked and easy to find -- a great end to the ride. It also doesn't let you get off the 17 Mile Drive, but routes you up to the highway and back before going through Carmel.

Paste this loooong link: https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.109692&z=13

The route offers the coast and some magnificent stretches of a California you probably thought disappeared 100 years ago.
The

TimJ

I was trying to figure a route out that included pinnacles. Thanks.

paxtonm

Hi,

I work with the Pinnacles Partnership, a nonprofit affiliated with the monument. There are some pretty posh lodging options near the park that are waaay below most folks' radar. Shoot me a pm if you want me to get you more information about those, the park or anything else along the way. Also, you might want to check out the Condor Classic cycling event Oct. 10. Take a look at www.pinnaclespartnership.org or www.condorclassic.com for details.

Mark