Originally Posted by
Polaris OBark
I just did that route by car from Santa Cruz. I'm not so sure I would want to do it by bike. Highway 1 is closed at Ragged Point, but an out-and-b-sihck might be more enjoyable. If Hwy 1 opens up by May, I would give that serious consideration. (We went to the Solvang area, fwiw. The wildflowers were out in force there now.)
I have done the HWY 1 down the coast to Paso Robles. What I found was the views are awesome from Carmel to Ragged point, but the traffic horrendous. Much of the trip is on narrow-ish two lane road with distracted tourists.... and that was nearly 30 years ago. The inside route has some gorgeous scenery, empty roads (no you don't go down HWY 101!). Most people don't stop in the Salinas valley other than to take a pee or get gas and food. Then again maybe its just me who like flat empty roads surrounded by hills with a tail wind.... This trip goes by several missions as well.... To me the worst day of the trip is the 1st, getting to Marina, which is also not a very nice destination.... after that it just gets better every day.