It seems to be universally advised against. The advice is consistent enough that it is likely to be good.
That said when I rode the coast I had head winds while I was travelling south some of the time and generally didn't have strong winds at all. That is probably not typical though. Also the fact that I started every day at the crack of dawn and was in camp by early afternoon may have been a factor. If you do go S-N I'd plan on doing my riding very early in the day before the winds kick up.
One other thing I found was that it was nice to be going the same way as the other cyclists. I made a bunch or friends and camped with them most nights.
I mostly avoid cities when on bike tours so that wasn't really a factor for me.