Northern California - SF to big basin

This weekend i am going to go camping by bike to big basin redwoods SP.
How are the road from SF to big basin?
I plan on taking HWY35 to HWY 9 into the park. HWY 9 looks steep and curvy, but is there a good shoulder on which to ride?

No shoulder on Hwy 9, but good pavement. Traffic will be no different than on Hwy 35 on a weekend. Both roads are just fine for an experienced cyclist.

I try to stay off 35 (Skyline) on the weekends- too many idiots on motorcycles treat it like a personal race course.

I try to stay off 35 (Skyline) on the weekends- too many idiots on motorcycles treat it like a personal race course.

How wide is the shoulder?

How wide is the shoulder?

Hwy 35 south of San Mateo has essentially no shoulder. This is the section with lots of motorcycles on weekends.

damn, so is it not really doable at all?
Is this where the sawyer camp trail is?

It's doable, depends on your comfort levels. Parts of it there is a decent shoulder. If you do it, use a blinky taillight.

Weekend mornings especially in questionable weather are better, there won't be so many "squids" out (squid = irresponsible motorcyclist). Weekend afternoons in nice weather are the most popular times.

In general I'd rather be passed by motorcycles than by cars, but that's me. BTW Hwy 9 is also popular for motorcycles.

damn, so is it not really doable at all?
Is this where the sawyer camp trail is?

We're talking about the upper part of Hwy 35, which is south of Hwy 92 and well south of the Sawyer Camp Trail. Many people happily ride their bicycles up there. A minority do try to avoid weekend bicycling because of the motorcycles. You will see even more motorcycles on Hwy 9 between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz.

Motorcycle/bicycle collisions are super rare, don't worry about it. The pavement is excellent all the way, bikers (them) are watching out for bikers (us), enjoy the excellent ride! You're more likely to hit a deer than be hit by someone else on those roads. I lived on Hwy 9 near Boulder Creek for 9 years.

yeah, thanks
i did a search about skyline and cycling and i found a few articles of cyclists getting hit, and it kind of freaked me out, but i will suck it up

Good followups. Msincredible is right to point out that the 'squids' are the minority. I used to ride a motorcycle (had a beautiful Triumph Thunderbird Sport) but sold it to buy my Seven. Two incidents, plus getting 'buzzed' a couple of times on Skyline by squids, contributed to my attitude. While descending Rte 9 once, I saw a guy staggering around; he had just dumped his motorcycle into the weeds. And once, while ascending 84 (going east), I saw a motorcyclist being loaded into a body bag. My preference would be to take Cañada/Foothill to route 9 instead of Skyline. Just one opinion though...

you wouldn't happen to have a bikely or mapmyride link to that would you?
I can't seem to find how you would do this on the map.

Does this help: mapmyride (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/palo-alto/205035610) ?

Any road with twists, hairpins, and switchbacks will be a popular venue for motorcyclists, as well as cyclists. I find that for the most part, cyclists and motorcyclists get along well. I generally have no problem with them, even with them screaming past me at breakneck speeds ... I guess I'm just used to them.

Does this help: mapmyride (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/palo-alto/205035610) ?

I think you're going to see more motorcycles on that route than on Hwy 35. In my experience, there are a lot more motorcycles on Hwy 9 than on Hwy 35.

BTW - I disagree with the claim that motorcyclists and bicyclists like the same roads. I think bicycles outnumber motorcycles 100 to 1 on Old La Honda Road or Page Mill Road. Motorcycles tend to stick to wider and less steep roads (i.e., where higher speeds are possible).