Northern California - Stockton to San Fransisco?

Hey everyone im pretty new to riding bikes long distance but me and my friends thought of the idea to ride to San Fransisco the other day. So i was wondering if there were any good routes to take if i was to ride from Stockton to San Fransisco?

Paging BenRidin. Paging BenRidin.

Hey everyone im pretty new to riding bikes long distance but me and my friends thought of the idea to ride to San Fransisco the other day. So i was wondering if there were any good routes to take if i was to ride from Stockton to San Fransisco?

Hmmm,

Would the goal of this ride be purely on a bicycle or would it include BART?

I suspect the answer is a pure ride w/out any BART help. That would leave you with two choices:
1.) Coming in from the South (Stockton to Palo Alto) then going North
2.) Coming in from the North (Stockton to Marin) then going South.

I have know idea how to do either one. However, a simple search on MapMyRide.com yielded a route from Stocktontucky to Palo Alto. (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/stockton/547029654) Just that portion comes in at a very doable 88.6 miles.

I remember seeing somewhere on this site not too long ago a post asking how to get to SF from the South Bay. I'm sure somebody will chime in to help you w/ that part of the route.

Just one piece of advice. Do not take HWY 4 or HWY 12 to do this daring feat.

Good luck,

BR

Awesome thanks for the info
it seems very doable now all i need is the next part of the route and ill be set
thanks again!

Can't comment on the rest, but the bit from Sunol to Palo Alto looks good.

For PA to SF, are you looking for the most direct route, or something more scenic with lower traffic, even if it is longer and hillier?

i looked up a route on mapmyride and i got this (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/palo+alto/634854521)
which seems pretty nice. what do you think?
getting from stockton to palo alto is going to be the tricky part what with the altamont and everything
and in the equipment area i have a trek 800 sport
will that do the job?

That looks pretty good, although your route in Palo Alto goes farther south than you need, you don't need to go through Stanford unless you want to. On the Sawyer Camp trail (the one north of 92) there is one place where you need to get off the trail, go on the road, then get back onto the trail.

Your bike will do the job, but it won't be the fastest way to do it (fast is sometimes overrated though ;)).

I assume it has a triple ring up front? Do you have skinny or fat tires on it?

Don't forget to bring spare tubes and/or patch kits, pump, multitool, etc.

When are you planning to do it?

Awesome thanks
im not too worried about speed so its all good haha
yeah it has a tripple ring
as for the tires it has fat ones as of now but they are deflated so i was thinking about just putting new tires on it. what do you recommend for this type of trip?
we plan on leaving within the next couple weeks at the latest. This Saturday at the earliest but that seems unlikely

...the tricky part what with the altamont and everything and in the equipment area i have a trek 800 sport
will that do the job?

You will be on Old Altamont Pass Rd. Simple and easy to ride.

BR

thanks everyone for all the info!
hope this trip works out