Pretty new to bike touring. Living in San Diego, I took a run down the coast from Ventura to downtown San Diego, about 200 miles. Malibu Creek campground lists "Hike and Bike" sites on their site, but the ranger never heard of that, and it would have been $45. I opted for a motel in Calabasas for $60. Second night, the mileage did not work out so I went for motel again in Costa Mesa. This was pretty frustrating.

Questions are:
What route have others taken through LA?
What success have you had with "Hike and Bike" sites? What if the site is taken/full? That would mean $100+ motel (or stealth I suppose).
Do you just go by the city and avoid this part of the coast? I wanted to ride through Malibu, the Santa Monica pier and Venice Beach (which was very nice).

Now that I have done it, when I take my tour from Seattle to SD if I can't find a decent route through LA I might just skip it and take the train from Ventura to Dana Point.