JeffThompson

I'm getting ready to bike to SF from SANTA MONICA, which is happening with a friend of mine in a month.

We are both in great physical condition, so that won't be a problem; we bike everyday, 40 miles or so.

My question is what route is the best scenic and overall best ride there? Preferably one with camping spots or national parks scattered along the way.

Also, we plan to pack moderately light(few change of clothes, water, small two person tent, bags, cash, etc)

If anyone has any tips, tricks or has done this ride before, any advice and ideas would be great..
I looked on google and couldn't find barely anything on this subject.
-thanks

Homeyba

It'd be helpful if you stated your starting point.

JeffThompson

AHHHHHH SORRY! We are starting from Santa Monica. Right by the promenade....
I feel dumb..

Homeyba

Don't we all at one time or another?

You have a couple choices. You can go inland or you can go along the coast. If you go inland in July it's going to be hot, possibly very hot and you'll have headwinds most of the way. There also aren't as many services or parks. If you go along the coast you will also have headwinds, probably stronger than inland but the temps will be much more moderate and the cycling route is much better established. There are plenty of places to camp along the coast all the way to SF. If you ride 40 miles/day you should be able to do it pretty easily. I'd get an early start to avoid the prevailing headwind which can be easily in the 25-30mph range. From Santa Monica all you have to do is head over to Hwy 1 and head north. Pretty simple. You'll have to hop on the 101 in spots. There are a ton of online resources, I'm sure someone will supply you with some links. The headwinds are going to be the biggest thing you're going to have to deal with (which is why most people ride from North to South) but if you plan properly you can minimize that problem.

JeffThompson

Ok. I hope someone does provide me with resources....because I'm kind of lost.
I also meant to ask if anyone knew if my campagnolo 1010 eyeleted dropouts could support a pletscher rack and maybe 30 pounds on it?
Im riding a 1973 paramount p-10. I dont want my dropouts or my frame to be damaged in any way.

valygrl

Post in the Touring forum, we do that stuff all the time over there.

maps: https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/pacificcoast.cfm (order maps on that site)
book: Bicycling the Pacific Coast by Kirkendall & Spring (amazon, REI)

camping: lots to choose from, many state parks have "Hiker/Biker" sites, $5/person

It's better to ride North to South on the coast, there is a very strong prevailing wind pattern. If you must go north, ride early in the day, before the wind picks up.

Rack for road bike: Tubus Fly - www.thetouringstore.com - add a quickrelease adaptor if you don't have/want to use your eyelets. Go ahead and call if you have questions, it's a one-man show, Wayne, and he sells a ton of racks & touring equipment. The Lone Peak brand of panniers is a nice light solution for this kind of thing, but other cheap/light house-brand panniers are available at REI & Performance Bike.

bike tour journal site, lots of examples, look for "Pacific Coast"
www.crazyguyonabike.come

valygrl

Oh yeah - yup, I have done that ride before, in both directions, it is completely awesome, but definitely more fun if you ride south with the wind.

unterhausen

Do you mind if I move this to the touring forum?

BigBlueToe

I think the San Luis Obispo bike club (www.slobc.org) has some nice routes between SLO and Santa Barbara on their website.

MTBMaven

Check out the route of the Cool Breeze Century or the 200K the PCH Randonneurs did in January for routes along the coast from Santa Barbara to Ventura. It gets a little tricky through there where you have to ride along the 101.

JeffThompson

I dont mind, in actuality it would prbably be better.
How would i do that?

JeffThompson

I dont mind, in actuality it would prbably be better.
How would i do that?

JeffThompson

I don't need a rack, I just need to know if the campy dropouts on my paramount will stand up to 30 pounds of stud on them. I REALLY WOULD NOT LIKE MY FRAME OR MY DROPOUTS OR ANYTHING ON THAT BIKE TO BE MESSED UP

prathmann

Your frame and dropouts should be able to handle the load without any problems.

But you mentioned a Pletscher rack which does raise a couple concerns. One is that many of these racks were secured to the seatstays with a clamp that had a tendency to slide downward and scratch the paint of the frame as well as possibly interfering with the rear brake. One solution is to add a support for the clamp that attaches to the brake bolt and secures the clamp at the proper level. The second concern is that those racks only have a single vertical support on each side. That allows some types of panniers to sway enough to get into the spokes if you have to make a sudden turn or hit a bad bump. Check your rack and pannier combination to make sure they will be stable enough.

I second the advice already given to go north to south if at all possible. Three advantages:
1) prevailing wind is from the northwest and usually gets pretty strong by noon.
2) better views. Many sections of Hwy. 1 have steep dropoffs on the coast side and you have great views down to the rocky shoreline when on the west side of the road. But due to the steep dropoff you miss those views from the other side of the road.
3) in general the shoulder conditions are better for cyclists riding south - presumably because the highway dept. expects there to be more cyclists on that side.

JeffThompson

I'm not using panniers, I'm using drybags and a handlebar bag, maybe a backpack. And pertaining to riding south, I can't because I'm going TO San Francisco. We are riding back as well but to get there we must ride north. We plan on riding early morning, hopefully 5 or 6 in the morning to avoid winds.

Rareearthmetal

Im doing the same the same ride! on in 22 days, from santa monica. Just to let you know I hear its grueling because the wind is always against you. But the best scenic route is pch hands down. at least thats what i hear. Hope you have a great trip!

JeffThompson

Cool to hear that another person is doing this trip as well. Maybe we'll see you on the way up there.

NoGaBiker

Au contraire... head south from Santa Monica and just ride (and sail) long enough and you'll come to San Fran.