General Cycling Discussion - senic road 1 pacific coast,California ?????

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xhikingmen
01-20-02, 03:56 PM
Hi everybody! Am new on this post ,I want some information about the senic road 1 along the pacific coast in California.

more about the main winds directions, the temp, the best time in the year to go and the % incline for hills and by witch directions are they declines/climbing north or south.

Thank you so much!

P.S . sorry for my english on the keyboard but I am losing my english.:)


cyclezealot
01-21-02, 11:10 AM
Welcome xhikingmen. I see you like height, then you should like the California Central Coast tour. It is very scenic. Are you from Europe? Reminds one of Italy's Amalfi coast but a little more rugid and forests are coniferous.
I did this as my first tour last September. We had a great time. As to weather. Winter, Summer, Spring the central California coast has lots of fog that lasts usually until about 11 am. Caused by the cool Pacific meeting the shore. Sources repeatedly told us to take this tour in late September. Fog lifts more then. you can be lucky rest of the year, but best weather is September.
One friend has an altimeter on his odometer. Each day in the Big Sur area, your daily climbs will be about 5,000 ft. Wind can be calm each morining and from the north in the afternoon. You will have long steep decents of up to 5 miles.
Going south you abut a scheer wall than can be 1.000 feet, along with hair pin curves, straight to the sea, so I would not want to do this in wet conditions. Bike lanes are often non-existent. On weekends traffic can be heavy.
Most cycle tours travel from north to south so as not to face the wind. It takes at least two difficult days and the southern part of Big Sur can have long distances with no camping facilities. Like about 90 miles. South of the town of Big Sur development is limited.
Camping facilities in the north end are great. Big Sur state park is in the redwoods. If no campgrounds can be found in the south end of Big Sur you will find a couple hotels, build on the hills.
Weather even in September rarely gets above 60 degrees F. and conditions are humid. As to scenery, it is breath-taking.
Once you get south of San Simeon (where is Hearst's Castle), the cliffs are under 100 feet and the seashore is motly undeveloped until you get to Moro Bay. Lots of sea life are on these shores. Near San Luis Obispo are lots of inland tours in an agricultural wine country.Was sort of nice to get inland once in awhile and see the bright sun.
For a great cycle map of this area, I would contact " Adventure Cycling" in Missoula, Montana. Good luck and enjoy it, it is an awesome tour.

cyclezealot
01-21-02, 01:43 PM
An afterthought, Xhinkingman. Maybe you mean CA Hwy. 1 further north of San Francisco, between San Francisco and Oregon.. Hwy. 1 runs with interreputions from Oregon to Santa Barbara, Calif. Have never traveled Hwy. 1 up in 'Mendeinco Country' as we call it. It is redwood country. Again Adventure Cycling has maps of this area too. They have a web site.
From what I understand, to those I have talked to- who have toured it. Bike lanes are scarce and lots of fast moving logger trucks. But the scenery up there is incredible, dense redwoods.
Most cycle tourists think of Hwy. 1 as the Big Sur tour in the Central Coast area. If you think of traveling the Redwood country, be sure and invest in a Cycle Adventure bike map. They will recommend the safest routes. Cyclists I have known have been forced off the road- up in redwood country.


John E
01-22-02, 07:23 AM
Prevailing winds tend to be from the north and west, making a southbound ride significantly easier than a northbound one. One of my fondest young adult memories was my first metric double century (122mi/200k km), which included fighting a headwind in a 45-inch gear (on level ground!) for 70km/43mi from Santa Cruz to San Gregorio.