Bike touring from Golden Gate bridge to Big Sur Need advice about riding Skyline BLVD
04-12-18, 04:56 PM
#1
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Bike touring from Golden Gate bridge to Big Sur Need advice about riding Skyline BLVD
I am wondering if riding Hwy 35 (also named Skyline blvd) is a better or safer option than riding Hwy 1 South. It's my first day(s) on this trip and I want to start out with the least climbing most calm/safe route I can find from the Golden Gate Bridge to Big Sur. I am very experienced riding a loaded touring bike/touring.
04-12-18, 07:09 PM
#2
Banned.
I would do the 1. Highway 35 on that stretch I avoid, too many crazy drivers imo. I always encounter lots of cars driving fast on that stretch.
The 1 is a more scenic, relaxed road, so less cars, cars more understanding/driving slower to take in the scenery.
Now, you could also do the bay trail to the los gatos trail, then get off in Saratoga, ride highway 9 all the way to Santa Cruz, which is a beautiful ride.
I shy away from that side of skyline, from Saratoga to SF. Cyclists have gotten killed on that stretch.
The 1 is a more scenic, relaxed road, so less cars, cars more understanding/driving slower to take in the scenery.
Now, you could also do the bay trail to the los gatos trail, then get off in Saratoga, ride highway 9 all the way to Santa Cruz, which is a beautiful ride.
I shy away from that side of skyline, from Saratoga to SF. Cyclists have gotten killed on that stretch.
04-12-18, 11:43 PM
#3
SuperGimp
Skyline is road racer central for the crotch rocket crowd. I wouldn't touch it with somebody ELSE'S ten foot pole.
04-18-18, 01:16 PM
#4
Senior Member
Here's what I always recommend to our Warmshowers guests for getting out of SF:
Baytrail to Redwood City; Middlefield Road to just over the Palo Alto town line; Palo Alto Ave, which turns into Sand Hill Road, to Old La Honda; Old La Honda to 84, to Pescadero Creek Road, and out to highway 1 on Pescadero Creek Road.
It's much less nerve racking than Highway 1 south from San Francisco (which doesn't have enough shoulder on the uphill stretches for me to be comfortable riding in traffic with tourists looking everywhere but at the road). Most is on very quiet roads or MUPs, next to the Bay, or through redwoods.
Old La Honda is 1300 feet of climbing, but it doesn't get steeper than about 7% except in a couple of places. (I think 1 out of SF is steeper.) I'm fat and slow, and I've done it loaded.
One caveat: I would avoid Old La Honda at lunch on weekdays, as it is a favorite training ride for the lunchtime racer crowd. (Every cyclist who lives on the SF Peninsula knows their time up Old La Honda.)
Baytrail to Redwood City; Middlefield Road to just over the Palo Alto town line; Palo Alto Ave, which turns into Sand Hill Road, to Old La Honda; Old La Honda to 84, to Pescadero Creek Road, and out to highway 1 on Pescadero Creek Road.
It's much less nerve racking than Highway 1 south from San Francisco (which doesn't have enough shoulder on the uphill stretches for me to be comfortable riding in traffic with tourists looking everywhere but at the road). Most is on very quiet roads or MUPs, next to the Bay, or through redwoods.
Old La Honda is 1300 feet of climbing, but it doesn't get steeper than about 7% except in a couple of places. (I think 1 out of SF is steeper.) I'm fat and slow, and I've done it loaded.
One caveat: I would avoid Old La Honda at lunch on weekdays, as it is a favorite training ride for the lunchtime racer crowd. (Every cyclist who lives on the SF Peninsula knows their time up Old La Honda.)
04-18-18, 04:44 PM
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I live in the Santa Cruz mountains. I stay off of Highway 9 whenever possible, and as noted above, Highway 35 can have a lot of traffic. Also Highway 35 will involve considerably more climbing than Highway 1. I would (and have) take(n) Highway 1 all the way. If you have time to go further south, the road is open to about 10 miles south of Lucia (about 30 miles south of Big Sur). Also, between Santa Cruz and Moss Landing, and again from Seaside to Monterey, Highway 1 is built like an interstate, so you will want to take a parallel route (Pacific Coast bikeway has a safer route).
Last edited by Cyclist0108; 04-18-18 at 04:56 PM.
04-18-18, 04:57 PM
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Stay away from Skyline, at least in the South City, San Bruno area. Too many speeders there.
04-18-18, 06:27 PM
#7
Banned.
Here's what I always recommend to our Warmshowers guests for getting out of SF:
Baytrail to Redwood City; Middlefield Road to just over the Palo Alto town line; Palo Alto Ave, which turns into Sand Hill Road, to Old La Honda; Old La Honda to 84, to Pescadero Creek Road, and out to highway 1 on Pescadero Creek Road.
It's much less nerve racking than Highway 1 south from San Francisco (which doesn't have enough shoulder on the uphill stretches for me to be comfortable riding in traffic with tourists looking everywhere but at the road). Most is on very quiet roads or MUPs, next to the Bay, or through redwoods.
Old La Honda is 1300 feet of climbing, but it doesn't get steeper than about 7% except in a couple of places. (I think 1 out of SF is steeper.) I'm fat and slow, and I've done it loaded.
One caveat: I would avoid Old La Honda at lunch on weekdays, as it is a favorite training ride for the lunchtime racer crowd. (Every cyclist who lives on the SF Peninsula knows their time up Old La Honda.)
Baytrail to Redwood City; Middlefield Road to just over the Palo Alto town line; Palo Alto Ave, which turns into Sand Hill Road, to Old La Honda; Old La Honda to 84, to Pescadero Creek Road, and out to highway 1 on Pescadero Creek Road.
It's much less nerve racking than Highway 1 south from San Francisco (which doesn't have enough shoulder on the uphill stretches for me to be comfortable riding in traffic with tourists looking everywhere but at the road). Most is on very quiet roads or MUPs, next to the Bay, or through redwoods.
Old La Honda is 1300 feet of climbing, but it doesn't get steeper than about 7% except in a couple of places. (I think 1 out of SF is steeper.) I'm fat and slow, and I've done it loaded.
One caveat: I would avoid Old La Honda at lunch on weekdays, as it is a favorite training ride for the lunchtime racer crowd. (Every cyclist who lives on the SF Peninsula knows their time up Old La Honda.)
