Northern California - cycling in Monterey

I'll be in Monterey from 19-22 October and would like to rent a bike. So far I've found Bay Bikes (http://www.baybikes.com/); any other recommendations?

What kind of weather can I expect in Monterey that time of year?

Foggy in the morning, with temps in the high 40's to low 50s, getting to sunny in the afternoon (sometimes) with temps in the high 60's, maybe low 70's. Cool and windy along the coats, but some beautiful rides, especially in the 17 mile drive/Pebble Beach area, as well as plenty of hills.

Not sure about where to rent bikes, though

You are going to Monterey at one of the best times of the year.
Lots of places to rent bikes
http://www.yelp.com/c/monterey-ca/bikerentals. They will have maps to get you to Pebble each 17 mile Drive. Great riding. A few hills though and lots of traffic. People ae aware of bikes thogh, so you shouldn't have much trouble. If you start from Monterey, follow the 17 mile drive to Ocean Dr. Lots of great restaurants. Have lunch, then head back to Monterey.
There is also a bike trail that follows the ocean all the way to Castroville (north). Very lightly travelled.

If you want a harder loop, (30 miles) follow Highway 68 toward Salinas. It has a wide bike shoulder. Turn right at Laurelles Grade and climb over the hill to Carmel Valley Road.Turn right and go toward Carmel. Ask the bike shop how to get from the mouth of the Carmel Valley to Monterey without using the 17 mile dr.

Thanks for the replies and information.

Now can you recommend other things to do in the area? For example, the wife and I are interested in whale watching and wine tasting...

1. Go to the Aquarium. Plan on spending several hours there. If you are divers, you should get reservations (now) for Point Lobos.
If the weather is clear, then...
2. Walk along the shoreline from Monterey through Pacific Grove.
3. Drive down the coast . There is nothing like it on the east coast. Pull out at every opportunity and take pictures. Go all the way to Hearst Castle and take a tour
http://www.hearstcastle.org/
Don't know about whale watching. Here is a link
http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/
Wine tasting:
There are several wineries up the Carmel Valley. Bernardus makes some very good wines
http://www.bernardus.com/
Chateau Julien is a little further up the valley. Also good, but not as good a Bernardus. Here is the wine link
http://www.carmelvalleychamber.com/wineries.html
Tell me what kinds of food you like to eat, and I'll get recommendations. We have friends that have lived in the Carmel Valley for 30 years, so I can get lots of recommendations.
Enjoy it. We loved Vermont and got a lot of help from locals - what to see and do. Hope I can repay the halp.
Cheers

Thanks for the local tips. I like seafood (which I'll have to find on my own during lunch because the wife is allergic), but otherwise, we prefer to avoid the chain restaurants. Are avocados fresh year round? What can you recommend for Japanese, Vietnamese, authentic Chinese, Italian, and steaks?

You can also rent higher end bicycles from Joselyn's Bicycles (http://www.joselynsbicycles.com/services.htm).

You can also rent higher end bicycles from Joselyn's Bicycles (http://www.joselynsbicycles.com/services.htm).

Thanks, that's more in line with what we were looking for. But maybe it would just be worthwhile to travel with our own bikes, although I've never flown before with a high-end carbon bike and am kind of leery about trusting the airlines...

You can fly your bikes with a hard shell with your frame super padded. Unless you are S&S coupled, expect to pay premium prices. 26"x26"x10" (max 62")

i'm local of 20yrs, and i ride every day...
if you are looking for a guide/wrench of sorts, I'm happy to take you out for a ride.

what size bike do ride?

my e-mail
AsanaCycles@mac.com

peace...d

i'm local of 20yrs, and i ride every day...
if you are looking for a guide/wrench of sorts, I'm happy to take you out for a ride.

what size bike do ride?

my e-mail
AsanaCycles@mac.com

peace...d

I ride a 52cm Scott CR1 Pro, and the wife rides a 53cm Orbea Diva. We're still not sure whether we will rent bikes there or try to fly and bring our own, but we may very well take you up on your offer. I will be attending a short training seminar at the Naval Postgraduate School during the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so she may definitely want to get out and ride during the day.

I ride a 52cm Scott CR1 Pro, and the wife rides a 53cm Orbea Diva. We're still not sure whether we will rent bikes there or try to fly and bring our own, but we may very well take you up on your offer. I will be attending a short training seminar at the Naval Postgraduate School during the day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so she may definitely want to get out and ride during the day.
awesome!
NPS has a cycling team, of which is part of Velo Club Monterey
i know some of the guys, etc...
i know all the local loops, etc..
pebble beach, carmel, carmel valley, ft. ord, Elk Horn Slough, basically you name it.

tuesdays, at 9am Velo Club Monterey meets at Fisherman's Wharf, its a mixed group, the route thru ft. ord, no drop, various fitness levels, nice group dynamics, and the route gives everyone plenty of room to get their workouts in, if thats what you need/want.
after the ride, we hang out for coffee...

I'm also a UBI certified wrench, so i can help out if needed.


peace...d

wheres a good place to park the car?

wheres a good place to park the car?

well, i don't own a car
but i think parking near Dennis the Menace Park, near the cemetery.

depends on what your agenda is.

i mean... where you want to ride, etc...

Rather than renting bikes locally and bringing our own pedals, helmets and clothing, we would prefer to have our own bikes to ride. I even have a quality hard bike case I bought used, but I'm still hesitant to use it, in part because I don't trust the airlines not to damage my bike, but more importantly, now that my bike is properly fitted and everything is just right, I don't want to mess with it and risk changing any settings. Hence my hesitation to take it apart to transport it...

Any recommendations one way or other?

Rather than renting bikes locally and bringing our own pedals, helmets and clothing, we would prefer to have our own bikes to ride. I even have a quality hard bike case I bought used, but I'm still hesitant to use it, in part because I don't trust the airlines not to damage my bike, but more importantly, now that my bike is properly fitted and everything is just right, I don't want to mess with it and risk changing any settings. Hence my hesitation to take it apart to transport it...

Any recommendations one way or other?

simply measure your settings.
saddle height
tip of saddle to center of steer tube

the handlebars usually do not come off of the stem
rather, remove the stem from the steer tube, or rotate

remove pedals, etc...
use foam to protect the frame, etc...

you could also possibly ship your bikes
Winning Wheels bike shop in Pacific Grove is awesome.

Asana, do you have torque wrenches? By LBS properly torqued my stem/handlebars to 6 N-m and the seat post clamp to between 5-7 N-m; I wouldn't have the proper tools to do that in Monterey.

Asana, do you have torque wrenches? By LBS properly torqued my stem/handlebars to 6 N-m and the seat post clamp to between 5-7 N-m; I wouldn't have the proper tools to do that in Monterey.

yes, i have a torque wrench.

Restaurants - these are the really good ones
http://www.carmelsbest.com/
http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/best-montereycarmel-ca_28mc.html
http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/california/monterey-bay/restaurants.html?ref=ckwdrr44
Enjoy

Thanks for the restaurants tips, I'm sure we'll hit up some on those lists!

Our friends favorite restaurants (all in Carmel)
Chi-Chi
Cassanova's
Luca
Il Fornaio
Mission Ranch
Bernardus also came up on their favorites list.
They love good food, so I don't think you will miss with any of these.
Weather is forecast to be in the upper 50-low 60 range. Sunny skies. You picked a great time.

We are flying to San Jose this Saturday and will drive straight to Napa Valley. We'll try some winery tours and spend the night there in that area.
Then on Sunday we'll drive over to the Muir Woods and walk around. I hope we can find a relatively inexpensive place to spend the night around there.
On Monday we'll pass briefly through San Francisco (she wants to see the sea lions on the wharf) on our way to Monterey for my conference Tuesday through Thursday. We will plan to just rent bikes while we are there in Monterey.
On Friday after the conference, we plan to drive to Yosemite before we fly back the following Sunday.

You will have a wonderful time. Definitely stop at Cakebread winery in Napa Valley. Ask for Nancy Maffey at the tasting room. I am her cousin. She knows her stuff and can help you select some great wines to taste. She can also recommend some places to eat. I would suggest getting a place to stay NOW in the Napa Valley. Lodging will be very tough to find, and the prices are sky high, as you are going during the wine crush season and everything is booked. Don't know what to suggest.

Muir woods is unlike anything you have seen on the east coast. Enjoy the serenity that you will find in the Woods. I'll ask some friends where to stay around there.

My suggestion is to not waste your time seeing the sea lions at the wharf in SF. They are on every wharf in Monterey. I would recommend taking the Alexander exit before you cross the Golden Gate Bridge and go back under 101 toward Sausilito. Turn left at the tunnel and go to the Ft. Baker Army base (decommissioned). As soon as you get through the tunnel, turn left on McCollough Road and climb up to the ridge. You will be treated to spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge with SF and the Bay Area in the background. This is not something that is on the tourist maps.

Yosemite should be pretty good too, although we haven't had much rain to keep the waterfalls going. There should be very few people there.
Will keep in touch
VG

monterey has seals on the coast guard pier...
and there is also whale watching.
http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/

In addition to what's been mentioned in Monterey, you might want to visit the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove. The butterflys should be coming for their annual migration this month.

Easy to stop by there if you're riding from Monterey out to 17-mile Drive.

Thanks for all the tips. We're on the plane now (wi-fi is great on American Airlines).

One of the weirdest things we've seen in Monterey / Pacific Grove is all the tame deer just strolling around (this evening we followed a young buck for 3 blocks in our car as it strolled down the sidewalk).

One of the weirdest things we've seen in Monterey / Pacific Grove is all the tame deer just strolling around (this evening we followed a young buck for 3 blocks in our car as it strolled down the sidewalk).

:-)

I just finished my conference, and we will head over to the Del Monte Cinemark to watch the Leadville 100 film in 3 hours.

I just finished my conference, and we will head over to the Del Monte Cinemark to watch the Leadville 100 film in 3 hours.

my girlfriend and I should be there too.

maybe catch ya there.

Devian

I just finished my conference, and we will head over to the Del Monte Cinemark to watch the Leadville 100 film in 3 hours.

It's fun to hear the play by play of your visit :thumb: Many people post questions about their planned trip to Norcal and then never follow up with a ride report to tell us how it went! Enjoy the movie and the rest of your trip

We enjoyed the Leadville 100: Race Across The Sky film. On Friday morning, we left Monterey and headed to Yosemite, where we drove and hiked a bit in the afternoon. Today we plan to do a 7-mile hike and more sightseeing in the park before we have to fly back tomorrow. We've also been surprised by the numbers of relatively large deer we are able to see up close in the park, but we haven't spotted any black bears yet (and we wouldn't try to get close to them).

I've had a couple of nice dinners at The Fishwife in Pacific Grove...the Carmel Town Beach is my favorite for walking.