Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - West Coast Tour '07

Hey all,

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I know you guys are the ones with the good info on what to do in various cities.

For thanksgiving this year I'll be celebrating in a non-traditional way. My family is 3500 miles away. So me and my 3 closest friends will be filling up the car and heading north!

We're starting in San Diego, and planning on going to SF, humboldt?, Portland, Seattle and finally Vancouver before turning around.

All in all it should be about 8 days so we'll have plenty of time to see each place.

So I need your help! Besides a weekend in SF and Seattle, I've never been to any of these places.

Suggestions on places to go? Places to ride? Half of us are vegan, so any vegan eats in any/all of these cities would be greatly appreciated! Places to camp? Places to stay besides camping? Bars to enjoy?

Wow me with your worldly knowledge!

Thanks guys,
James

it's a bit off of route 1, but andersen's (http://www.peasoupandersens.net/index.shtml) split pea soup in buellton is really good and i think it's vegan.

eat at nepenthe in big sur, you wont regret it. it's right on highway 1 (which i assume you'll be taking). i dunno about vegan stuff, but the menu's here (http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/). edit: on closer inspection it looks like the vegan options are few, sorry man.

also big sur state park is worth a stop for sure.

in santa cruz you'll have a lot of vegan options. my vegan friends always spoke highly of saturn cafe. (http://www.saturncafe.com/) stay away from the santa cruz boardwalk (as if you needed me to tell you that). i used to live by the seabright brewery and they have great beers. go surfing if you're inclined, or if you've got knobby tires head up to ucsc and check out the fire trails.

north of sc highway one gets kinda sketchy, lots of cliffs and blind turns, be careful.

north of there you're getting past my old stomping grounds. but good luck! i'm jealous.

i never did make it to humboldt, but from what i understand its main attraction is definitely worth the trip :)

it's a bit off of route 1, but andersen's (http://www.peasoupandersens.net/index.shtml) split pea soup in buellton is really good and i think it's vegan.

eat at nepenthe in big sur, you wont regret it. it's right on highway 1 (which i assume you'll be taking). i dunno about vegan stuff, but the menu's here (http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/). edit: on closer inspection it looks like the vegan options are few, sorry man.

also big sur state park is worth a stop for sure.

in santa cruz you'll have a lot of vegan options. my vegan friends always spoke highly of saturn cafe. (http://www.saturncafe.com/) stay away from the santa cruz boardwalk (as if you needed me to tell you that). i used to live by the seabright brewery and they have great beers. go surfing if you're inclined, or if you've got knobby tires head up to ucsc and check out the fire trails.

north of sc highway one gets kinda sketchy, lots of cliffs and blind turns, be careful.

north of there you're getting past my old stomping grounds. but good luck! i'm jealous.

i never did make it to humboldt, but from what i understand its main attraction is definitely worth the trip :)

Thanks!

I appreciate the response so far. I've been to big sur and humboldt a few times, what I really need info on is farther north than that. I've never been to portland, seattle once for a weekend but didn't get out enough, and never to vancouver. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

:-D

My input on Portland:

For food: Paradox Cafe on Belmont or Bay Leaf on Division. Lots more on here: http://www.nwveg.org/Dineout.htm

For biking: If you like biking in the city then go mess around in the NW or SE neighborhoods. If you want nature and climbing hills, head up towards the zoo. If you like recreational riding hop on Spring water Corridor trail under the east side of the hawthorne bridge (the green one).

For bars: I like good beer, so the Rogue public house is great. The horse brass has more taps than I know what to do with is low key English style pub. If you like something more trendy then try Henry's downtown.

For camping: I dunno in town. The closest place I have camped is at Oxbow park which is at least 30-45 minute drive east of Gresham.

Thanks!

Now where are the seattle and vancouver people at ?

when you're in humboldt be sure to smoke some dojah.

Thanks!

Now where are the seattle and vancouver people at ?

Anybody? Anybody?

Important question for Seattle-ites. Do I need a passport to drive into British Columbia right now? I'm finding very conflicting info on this and will likely determine whether or not we go...

thanks guys,
-J