IR Baboon

Greetings! I'm looking to take a tour from the Olympic peninsula to Redding, CA for a trip to the In-n-Out burger next summer (why not, right?). I'm just starting to scout out routes, but Google maps wants to take me on a pretty big loop East then back West through the mountains on route 58 then 299. It's hard to tell looking at the map, but it looks like it could be rather exciting in narrowness. Any experiences out there? The I5 corridor looks more direct, but I'd rather not take the freeway for long stretches. Are there smaller capillary roads out there that follow the interstate?

valygrl

I'd take a look at this:
https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout...erra-cascades/
or this:
https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout...pacific-coast/

Following the interstate is tantamount to saying: I would like to take the flattest, ugliest route with the most cars and the least local flavor.

The I5 corridor is also very very hot in summer, it would be much nicer to be either in the mountains or on the coast. Not in the hot, smog-filled, boring valley.

Personally, I would just revise the end point, unless there is a stronger reason to end in Redding than a fast-food-chain meal.

IR Baboon

Thanks for the links. You're right, following the freeway sounds boring. I should clarify however, that my job is not going to let me take that much time off. 16 days is probably pushing things ( round trip), that's why I was looking for a more direct route.

Everybody's got a right to their opinion, but man I haven't had a double double in years! It's a good enough excuse for me.

fietsbob

Inland , Ellensburg, Yakima , the Dalles , Bend,.. Klamath Falls, US 97

you are following the Amtrak Coast Starlight route by then..
so you can always jump on the Train in K Falls ..

I've taken the train out of Eugene a few times , to SF Bay,


so, a Mixed option, do the Willammette valley bike way south from Portland , to Eugene

OR 99 is a ways from the Interstate. to the west of it.. so not present mostly..
decent shoulder for the most part.

Southeast over the Willammette river headwaters, hwy 58 pass, then meet US 97

ACA follows the Mc Kenzie river so goes NE a bit more to also meet US 97.

OR 247 is the part that the pass closes in the winter..


Or the Coast, then climb over the Coast range just above Arcata-Eureka Cal..

stevepusser

I've ridden from Redding N to Mt. Shasta a few times along the I5 corridor. This is no doubt the fastest route between those two cities, since it follows the big Sacramento river canyon. I'd say you have to ride on the freeway maybe 1/3 of the distance, since there are no available frontage roads, but it was safe, though I did get three flats in one day from exploded truck tires and their steel belt wires.

It's fairly hot, but it's forested most of the way, and there is a very nice hike and bike site at Castle Crags State Park just S of Dunsmuir, about 55 mi. N of Redding.

I'd guess that you'll find secondary roads that follow the Interstates for most of your proposed route. You'll have to zoom in on some mapping program to see them, though. They're often the older two-lane highway that was there before the freeway was built. For example, the southern tier ACA route follows the I-8 corridor out of San Diego instead of 94 as it used to (narrow with lots of traffic), but it's almost all on the old US 80 route, which has much less traffic and good shoulders. I also did a ride up from San Diego to Lake Perris last weekend along the I-15/215 corridor, but was able to stay off the freeway by taking the old US 395 route, which has become a frontage road for the freeway. In very mountainous country, however, due to lake of space, the freeway was often just built over the older highway and you'll be riding on the shoulder if legal.

B. Carfree

If I were heading to Redding, I would likely take to the coast and then cut in on hwy 36 followed by a northeast jog on some small road like Platina to get to Redding. If you want to ride an inland route, I most definitely wouldn't ride hwy 97; too many drunks and way too much traffic. I prefer hwy 395 (Depending on your timing, CycleOregon will be there this year). Come back west either by choosing your own small roads (lots of unpaved pleasures in that area) or just ride hwy 36 to hwy 44 and drop into the furnace of Redding.

Medic Zero

Can't really help with the Oregon and California portions of your route, are you looking for suggestions for the Washington portions as well?