OK, based on your comment about "eight months," I'm assuming you plan to be in SF and either officially looking for work, or have a job lined up already, starting on May 1st.
If I was in your position, this is what I'd do:
- pack
- fly to SF
- in SF, put my worldly possessions into storage
- fly to Vancouver
- bicycle tour from Vancouver to LA (about 6 weeks)
-- start slow, in order to avoid overuse injuries
- using the Adventure Cycling routes: cycle out to the Grand Canyon, then if the weather allows, up to the Western Express and back to SF (about 7-8 weeks)
One possible option of this route is that you could wait until you get to Vancouver to buy a good-quality touring bike, so you don't have to lug it all over the place. Just make sure to get a tune-up after about 200 miles.
Out of curiosity, what line of work were you in that allows you to only need 2 months of gainful employment per year?