jennymanby

We are looking to cycling up from San Diego to San Francisco in the new year - has anyone cycled this route before? Any tips? What is Highway 1 to cycle up? Really Busy? We are a family of 8 cycling on the TOPtoTOP global climate expedition.... expedition.toptotop.org.

Thank you and very merry christmas!!

Wulf

You will probably be facing stiff headwinds the whole way. Better to go the other way.

hamster

Most folks do seem to go the other way. Here's a thread with a couple writeups covering the stretch from San Francisco to Los Angeles:

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/92...s-angeles.html

Two older threads (with broken links)

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/21...san-diego.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/49...periences.html

raceboy

[QUOTE=hamster;17386719]Most folks do seem to go the other way. Here's a thread with a couple writeups covering the stretch from San Francisco to Los Angeles:

I rode from Santa Cruz south to Redondo Beach last October and it was fantastic. I used Google maps for routing and clicked on the bicycle option. The route was pretty similar to the Pacific Coast Bicycle Trail, a combination of Highway 1 with side reoda where possible to keep away from cars. The route seemed pretty safe and the car traffic was very light to moderate at worst. The busiest section for jousting with cars was on Hwy 1 from Oxnard to Malibu. It didn't seem bad to me but I wasn't traveling with kids. I second the idea of riding south. I think you would miss a lot of great ocean views going north.

Pamestique 

The recommended route is San Francisco down to San Diego for about a thousand reasons. Do some research before you decide your trip. Check with Adventure Cycling for route maps or even your local Automobile Club will provide maps just for cyclists. If you are experienced cyclo-tourists, this won't apply to you, but I suggest you do some short weekend trips in order to get use to what to carry, bike handling fully loaded, etc.

The route in either direction is difficult; alot of climbing also alot of very narrow but busy roads, especially along Route 1. Basically you are on a HIGHWAY for a long while. Time of year is key; if fall/winter versus spring/summer, traffic will be better. During the late spring or summer; traffic is sucky but you will have lots of cycling company since that is a popular route (South down the Coast). Coming up the Coast however, not so much.

Also be aware that along along Route 1 camp grounds, motels and even rest stops can be few and far inbetween.

I have gone from San Francisco to Orange County 4 times. I have travelled up the Coast in small sections - like for instance, doing the Lighthouse Century. The headwinds up Route 1 have literally made me cry... just saying...

Jenny - where do you live? Are you familiar with CA and the Coastal route?

Popeyecahn

I think if any of you read the linked TOPtoTOP page, you'll see this family is probably ready for anything that gets thrown at them...

fietsbob

Most Cycle Tourists start from the North , 1 thing nice.. is not needing to cross the Highway to access the Sea View Points. .

Touring the Irish West coast I started in the South. for the same reason. its a Drive Left country, Atlantic Ocean on the Left.



.. also only in the Winter, Are the storms, & thus Prevailing Winds , coming out of the south , Summer it comes out of the North Pacific.

Of course between SF & SD is LA , the 2nd largest City in the US. Traffic will obviously be Heavy.

hamster

Prevailing winds are from the west year-round unless there is a storm system nearby, peaking in mid-afternoon. It's a combination of steady high-altitude westerlies and onshore breezes (wind blowing onshore from the ocean when the land is warmer than the ocean). In winter we occasionally see the reverse pattern: if it gets sufficiently cold at night, wind starts blowing in the opposite direction (offshore), though it usually lasts only till late morning, and, when it happens, it's too cold to ride a bike anyway.

Since the route from San Diego to San Francisco is northwest most of the way, it's mostly into the wind if you go in this direction.

You only go through the "outskirts" of LA, since the only sane SD<->SF route is along the coast, and the downtown LA is ~13 miles inland. Traffic is not as bad along the coast. But it's an almost continuous city from Malibu to San Diego (except for 20 miles through Camp Pendleton), late summer months are worse because of all the beachgoers, particularly on weekends.

fietsbob

Yea, + the Santa Ana winds off the Sonora desert is not replicated up here..



Hostel in San Pedro @ peace park was a nice stay..

hamster

Santa Anas would help going north, but they are too unpredictable and I don't think they extend much past LA.

GP

According to their website, they're already in Southern California.

Gallo

No kidding. Very Impressive journey.

The 1 can get busy in areas but is not full on traffic the whole route. It is windy and from the south there are many better than rollers to climb that always seem to work against the cyclist coming from the south travelling north. The wind can be brutal and especially this time of year as storms blow in often and more so as you head north.

Getting from San Diego to San Clemente definitely go through the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. Have ID ready. Traffic in Orange County and LA can be brutal on the 101. There are some ride arounds and alternative routes maybe someone familiar with that part of the route can chime in. Once out of Malibu traffic will subside compared to the heavy LA basin traffic but will be relevant getting heavy near communities then calming down as you leave all the way north.

Popeyecahn

It looks like they've headed out from SD and on to SF. From there they sail to the arctic and through the NW passage and eventually returning to SD. Wow...

BBianchiSurfer

I've done that exact route you are talking about but in reverse order (SF to SD). Starting in SF is preferred because of the tailwinds vs the headwinds you will get cycling north. Also, cycling north through Big Sur isn't as safe as south (lots more places to pull off and take pics on the ocean side of the hwy versus having to cross the hwy to take pics.