Touring - Seattle to San Francisco in August?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning on my first "real" touring ride from Seattle to San Francisco along the Pacific coast in August. Is anyone else planning on a similar trip around the same time? I may be doing the trip alone or with a couple of friends, but in any case am always interested in meeting new folks to ride with. :)

I'm also interested in any advice anyone has for that route in particular. I've read "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" and everything I could find online, but would love to hear from anyone who has made this trip before.

Thanks!

Do it, it's awesome. The Oregon coast is particularly spectacular. I did it in August 2003, and had great weather.

The camping is very good - hiker/biker sites. You'll probably meet other touring cyclists at those. You can go pretty light if you want, there are plenty of services on the route. Do bring rain gear, but you might not need it if you get lucky. You can use a lightweight sleeping bag, you probably won't get a lot of cold nights.

If you don't already know how to identify Poison Oak, you should look that up - it grows in the coastal areas, and is easy to avoid if you know how to identify it, and can be really really annoying if you get it - bad rash.

Have a fantastic ride!

A friend & I rode from Aberden, WA to the Golden Gate Bridge last September, and are going to repeat it this Sept. It was great. One beautiful vista after another. We followed the Adventure Cycling route.

Hey valygrl, thanks for the advice! We don't have poison oak up here in New England. I haven't spent much time in that part of the country, so this is going to be an adventure in many ways. I'm hoping to go as light as possible--the big pre-trip weigh-in will begin this weekend.

Hey spaceman, I'll be there!
I am flying to Seattle on 7/30 and will spend a couple of days visiting my cousin & her husband who live near Port Angeles. I will start riding on August 1st or 2nd. My flight home from San Francisco is 8/28. This is also my first big tour.

Awesome, savage24! Do you have your route all planned? It looks like you have plenty of time to do the ride at a casual pace. I'm planning on starting around the same time, though my schedule is still a bit up in the air. A friend of mine is planning on doing the same ride, though on a *much* shorter timescale. She will have a driver though. So for me, it's a matter of deciding whether I should go for companionship and support (bags in the car!) but ride a lot faster than I was planning, or go it alone but be able to take my time. Hopefully gonna sort some of it out today.

Awesome, savage24! Do you have your route all planned? It looks like you have plenty of time to do the ride at a casual pace.

I hope I have plenty of time! I'm trying to plan conservatively. I have the Cycling The Pacific Coast book and the Adventure Cycling maps have been ordered and are on the way. I don't have a day-to-day plan; I will plan as I go. I will be carrying a full load (clothes, food, stove, tent, sleeping pad, etc.) and plan to camp as much as possible. I plan to stay at state parks with hiker/biker sites and showers whenever possible. I may get a motel room for rest days or bad weather. It's about 1250 miles and I'm planning on averaging 50 miles per day and one rest day per week. That schedule will have me arriving in S.F. on Saturday 8/25. If I can make better time (without turning it into a race) I would like to get to S.F. on Friday 8/24 so I have the whole weekend to explore the city.

Wow--that sounds like exactly the trip I want to do. Unfortunately, I'm now going to be a little more compressed for time than that. I'm going to be moving sometime in the next couple of months, but I don't know exactly when or where, so life is really complicated right now. Perfect time to plan a 1000+ mile tour!

So it looks like my choice is now between the shorter trip with friends plus car or no trip at all. :(

I did this ride many year ago. Actually went Seattle to LA. It was really nice but do be careful of a few things.
It is chilly on the coast, and potentially foggy.
Also on the coast you will be on the cliff side on small roads with RV's going by with people that don't drive big trucks well, I think it was even more dangerous than the loggers in Oregon. Be very careful.
On the good side, the prevailing wind is usually from the north, so this is a good thing.

It is a great ride, make sure to go through the redwoods! and have fun

Thanks joesteam!

It is chilly on the coast, and potentially foggy.
I have a sleeping bag that is too hot unless the temp is below 60 F...I'll bring it along.
Around here in the summer I try to get on the road early and get miles in before it gets so hot. I realize out there I may need to relax in camp or a cafe and drink coffee while waiting for the fog to burn off.

Also on the coast you will be on the cliff side on small roads with RV's going by with people that don't drive big trucks well, I think it was even more dangerous than the loggers in Oregon. Be very careful.
My biggest fear is some old cogger who has forgotten to fold those metal steps in on his motorhome!:eek:

Also on the coast you will be on the cliff side on small roads with RV's going by with people that don't drive big trucks well, I think it was even more dangerous than the loggers in Oregon.

I was thinking about planning my off days for the weekends to try to minimize exactly that problem. Does it get any better on weekdays? How about September vs. August?

Savage24, I know exactly what you mean--I've done most of my long-distance riding in Georgia, where I try to hit the road by 6am with the idea of finishing for the day by lunchtime. It'll be a very different schedule out there!

In general in the Bay area, September is definately warmer than August. But this is not true for Wash and Oregon. Has to do with central valley heating that pulls in the cold air over the water near SF.
For the rest of the ride, I am not sure. It does REALLY depend upon the closeness to the coast you are taking. Just 10 miles in, it gets HOT!

Thanks, joesteam. I'm planning on sticking pretty close to the coast, especially in CA. I did 450 miles in south Georgia in June, where it was close to 100 degrees and 100% humidity :eek: , so hot's not a big deal for me.