Touring in California
-
bikercolin
- Posts: 201
- Joined: 14 Feb 2009, 1:01pm
Touring in California
I am planning a couple of weeks touring in California to in 2019. I would like to ask if any one on the forum has experiance of this tour. What time of year, and route would be best. I was thinking of starting in San Fransisco.
Re: Touring in California
I live in San Francisco and have ridden north, south and east of here. West is the ocean.
Going north from SF usually means wind because the prevailing wind is from the northwest. Going east means the Sierras and steep mountain, but very pretty, climbs. South usually means LA but the Big Sur coast is impassible due to a major landslide near its southern terminus. The weather on the coast is good starting in April. In the summer months, it can get foggy along the coast, making for cold rides with obscured views. Inland can be very hot in the summer.
Instead of starting in SF, you might consider starting in Oregon and riding south toward SF. The Redwoods in Northern California are stunning and worth an extra day for hiking through. The Oregon and Northern Californian coast is truly stunning with cozy towns and great, inexpensive camping opportunies.
Going north from SF usually means wind because the prevailing wind is from the northwest. Going east means the Sierras and steep mountain, but very pretty, climbs. South usually means LA but the Big Sur coast is impassible due to a major landslide near its southern terminus. The weather on the coast is good starting in April. In the summer months, it can get foggy along the coast, making for cold rides with obscured views. Inland can be very hot in the summer.
Instead of starting in SF, you might consider starting in Oregon and riding south toward SF. The Redwoods in Northern California are stunning and worth an extra day for hiking through. The Oregon and Northern Californian coast is truly stunning with cozy towns and great, inexpensive camping opportunies.
Visit my on-line bike touring archive at www.biketouringtips.com
Re: Touring in California
I'd second that - two weeks is a nice amount of time to ride from Portland to San Francisco. It's a lovely ride!
Re: Touring in California
raybo wrote:Instead of starting in SF, you might consider starting in Oregon and riding south toward SF. The Redwoods in Northern California are stunning and worth an extra day for hiking through. The Oregon and Northern Californian coast is truly stunning with cozy towns and great, inexpensive camping opportunies.
I agree with the recommendation to do the west coast. It's a brilliant tour.
I would go a little later; May or early June. I think the weather tends to be nicer, and you can take a detour to see Crater Lake. The roads up there don't usually open until at least the middle of May.
Whichever you decide to do, there are lots of resources available at https://www.adventurecycling.org/
And the Pacific Coast route in California could also make up part of a California tour, if that's what you decide on https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes ... fic-coast/
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Re: Touring in California
I did Canada (Vancouver) to Mexico (South of San Diego) through California in 2016. Great trip all the way, but Washington State and Oregon were the highlights
Re: Touring in California
In 2015 I rode from Astoria, Oregon to San Francisco, CA (where I live).
I took the train from San Francisco to Portland, then a coach from Portland to Astoria. Spent the night in Astoria, started the next day.
Astoria is at the very top of Oregon, on the coast, so it was a good place to start. It's also where they shot the movie "The Goonies", in case you're interested in that.
I've been told that that section of the coast is the best; cheap camping at hiker/biker campgrounds every 30-50 miles (they're required to find a place for you, and it's something cheap like $5-$9 per night). I did the trip in 2 weeks, I think; stayed in a few hotels along the way when I got tired of being grubby (though the campgrounds in Oregon usually had hot showers).
In Astoria, I stayed at this place:
https://www.norbladhotel.com/
Interesting, funky hotel, friendly to cyclists.
- Tim
I took the train from San Francisco to Portland, then a coach from Portland to Astoria. Spent the night in Astoria, started the next day.
Astoria is at the very top of Oregon, on the coast, so it was a good place to start. It's also where they shot the movie "The Goonies", in case you're interested in that.
I've been told that that section of the coast is the best; cheap camping at hiker/biker campgrounds every 30-50 miles (they're required to find a place for you, and it's something cheap like $5-$9 per night). I did the trip in 2 weeks, I think; stayed in a few hotels along the way when I got tired of being grubby (though the campgrounds in Oregon usually had hot showers).
In Astoria, I stayed at this place:
https://www.norbladhotel.com/
Interesting, funky hotel, friendly to cyclists.
- Tim