Touring - Help Me Get There! Bike Route Suggestions and Tips

I'm 25 years old, 5'7", 145lbs
I ride a cheap fixed gear on the street and a Specialized Allez for roadie rides.
I've been riding a fixed gear and a road bike for about a year and a half, almost 2 years.
HELP!

There are 3 places I want to ride to before the end of 2010, San Diego, Morgan Hill/San Jose and Las Vegas, I live in Orange County, Garden Grove to be exact, if there's anyone out there who has ridden to these places, please help me get there. Tell me what I need to bring, how much it would potentially cost, what routes I should take...etc.

This is my cycling opus.
I'm pretty sure I can die happy if I complete these three rides.

DeusExBicycle
This is my cycling opus.
I'm pretty sure I can die happy if I complete these three rides.

I wouln't do it! Bike touring is addictive; and even before you finish the trilogy, you will be planning something longer and more exotic. You will never have any rest or peace of mind again.

San Diego is easy. Just head to PCH and go south. Once you hit pendleton you either ride the freeway to oceanside or go through the base (I.D./helmet needed). Once you're in Oceanside you just head south and keep as close to the ocean as possible and you'll get there eventually. Ask locals for directions as you go and you can't go wrong.

This was my first over-nighter trip and is a blast. Its also a very easy ride to do in terms of hills/miles. I stayed at San Elijo campgrounds which has a hiker/biker site. Good luck and have fun!

Why San Jose/Morgan Hill? I can maybe understand Morgan Hill to visit Specialized or something but San Jose? Anyway, have fun!

What time of year do you have in mind for each ride? I'm just going to assume you're riding from where you live to where you're going. It would be very helpful if you could tell us all a few things 1. What daily mileage do you have in mind? 2. Will you be riding the Allez? 3. Do you intend to camp or stay in motels and eat in restaurants (helps with estimating costs)? 4. Do costs take into account new equipment purchases? If so, do you have panniers and camping gear? 5. What are your time windows? 6. Do you want to do some exploring once you arrive? 7. What are your interests -- climbing, scenery, challenging terrain?

There's actually a lot to recommend San Jose/Morgan Hill beyond Specialized. If you're riding up from where you live, you can expect some extremely remote country, very scenic, on your way. Once you're there, tons of great rides into the surrounding mountains. Riding in San Jose proper is pretty horrendous. Lots of traffic and bad planning for cyclists. But getting out of town is easy enough and the ride options are almost unlimited.

Once you give us something more to go on, you'll doubtless get more information than you will be able to use in a lifetime of cycling.

Use Google Maps, toggle for 'walking'. Will keep you off freeways. Refine with a state map and street views. Easy. If you're interested in elevation profiles, use bikely.com. If unsure of a section, post specifics on here and you'll very likely get a knowledgeable response.

I did the Tierra Bella century in Gilroy last year and loved it. I'm going up again this April. Check out their website. http://www.actc.org/ There is some real pretty country up in those hills.

I live in the San Luis Obispo area. We also have some beautiful country for riding. Check out www.slobc.org for routes.

"Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Kirkendall/Spring has a detailed route, as does the Adventure Cycling Association.