I have been lurking here for awhile and not posting for a number of reasons, one of those being that up unitl now, I have just been dreaming about touring: riding, reading but not doing. Well, I just returned from a five day solo tour from San Luis Obispo to Simi Valley, California, and it was fantastic! I now know that I can do the Seattle to SLO tour in September that I'm planning. There are a few things that I learned about touring from this tour. I guess number one is that I can do it, and its not scary! Second is to put matches on my list, and third is that it does get easier as you keep peddling!

I used the, "Bicycling the Pacific Coast," book and it helped, but although I just bought this book, the fourth edition, there are already some changes on this particular route, which, when you think about it, really isn't that unusual! Those changes for anybody that is interested are that the two mile path between Refugio State Beach and El Capitan has been washed out and is no longer an option. I got "saved," by the camp host before I took off that way. Its been washed out and not likely to be repaired. The second is that the steep hill on Ortega Way (off N. Jamison way) in Santa Barbara, is rerouted for bicyclist. There is now a bike path that parallels the freeway that circumvents the freeway and that steep hill! (Its right at the beginning of the steep hill on Ortega Way.)

I've learned alot here that helped me make my journey a success...so thank you! Looking forward to contributing a little more on this forum and to my next tour!

Congratulations on your first tour Surly Q! It does get addicting for sure.

So...what hooked you?

One thing to think about when doing the Pacific coast in September - rain. I grew up in the northwest. It doesn't rain as much as people say, but there can be long periods of rain at any time during the year - like two weeks straight of rain. This is rare in July and August, and common in November and December. It's worse along the coast. I've done the coast twice in July and August. Once I got two days of rain in four weeks. The other time I got none. My nephew left Victoria in September. He got rained on a lot - probably more than hald the time. He had a cold, wet trip to San Francisco.

I'm just sayin'.......

Thanks for the kind words! BigBlueToe, I could do the tour in July or August, but I am concerned about the tourist traffic. I figured that in September there would be less cars on the road. I really don't want to ride in the rain for days on end, though. I am going to really give this some thought. Truth be told, I'd much rather do it sooner than later!

What got me hooked? There are a number of things but I guess one of the main reasons is that doing this tour forced me to push my limits and that was very satisfying.

I constantly struggle with the dreaming vs. doing thing. Congrats on doing!

I'd take my chances with Sept. over June any year along the Coast of Washington. Just based on my experience of living in the state for all of my 44 years on this planet. Best months are going to be July and August. I love touring in Sept in Washington. Lower traffic and easy to find vacant campsites. The mornings can be a little brisk but nothing really all that cold.

Hope you have a great trip!

That`s great, SQ- glad you had a good time! Good luck with your down the coast run, too.