planning my first tour, need help..
 

a couple of us are planning our first tour from San Jose down to San Luis Obispo, California.

the longest we've ever rode with small breaks is 53 miles. what are some good and safe routes to take doing down south?

i bought my sirrus in 2004 and she hadn't been ridden much since then. going to tune her up and install some panniers & racks and head down south.

any suggestions on the routes would be greatly appreciated! we are so looking forward to this ride...

Did you search, ruirui? http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-871122.html . Make sure the Sirrus is comfortable.

Brad

Looks like the 1 or the 101. 101 less challenging(4 v 5 days)and probably "safer." Far less scenic no doubt.

Your touring experience level suggest the 101 might be better. Google pics be a good way to check out both.

I do not know if you are planning on fully loaded camp type touring, or just credit card type with hotels? Your first issue may be the extra weight on the bikes, getting them over the hill, and the stretch between Pacific Grove and San Simeon is long. Gearing could be an issue. Will your specialized have low enough gears? I would recommend a few test rides with at least full load up some hills for your evaluation.

This is one of my favorite rides, though it has been a while since I lived in the Bay Area. I did this multiple times and would make a three day ride and take the train back (first day to Monterrey, second day to San Simeon and half day to SLO to catch the afternoon train). I was using motels as often as camping, so if camping that gap from Monterrey south can be long to San Simeon.

The general idea was to cross over to Santa Cruz, going by way of Los Gatos bike trail and Old La Honda road. After mostly back roads to Monterrey and then mostly US 1 to San Simeon and then back onto some back roads into SLO.

This link from Caltrans: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/bike_ped/bikeguide/bikeguide.pdf gives some of the better routes and this link: http://www.terrymorse.com/ also looks like it has a bunch of good information and maps. Adventure Cycling and Bicycling the Pacific Coast (Spring and Kirkendall) both also include route from Santa Cruz southbound.

I've driven 101 but not cycled it. I've both driven and cycled 1. 101 is just an ugly and wide road with a lot of traffic. US 1 can have some hills and narrow bits, but the scenery is spectacular and there are campgrounds along the way. From my experience, US 1 is a much better choice. The other factor that affects US 1 is when storms come in along the Pacific Coast. However, you often have weather forecasts a few days out to know when these are coming.

bradtx: oh snap~ sorry about that. thx for the link. yea my sirrus is comfy. so from the link, it looks like going from 101 would be the easiest, but also the most boring? personally i'd love to try hwy1 route, but not sure about doing that route during mid to late december.

Cyclebum: yea.. 101 does seem to be safer bet with our gear going along.

Brian25: my sirrus has a tripple in front, so i have plenty of granny gears. but good tip on doing some test runs on climbs with fully loaded.

mev: we'll staying at hotels and what not. thought about camping, but not sure how to secure our bike while we sleep though. and thanks for the links for the caltrain.. :)

Mid-late December...well, you could luck out and hit one of the dry spells than can often last one or two weeks between rainstorms, or you could have heavy rain each day. Big Sur has mountains that can rise to over 5000 ft with three miles of the coast, and this wrings a lot of extra rain out of the storms.

Inland along 101, though not as scenic, is "classic California", with rolling hills scattered with oaks, wine country, and lots of cattle and agriculture. You don't have to ride the highway shoulder, as there are plenty of frontage roads and alternates.

Try Google Maps and asking for directions for bikes between the two cities, but then zoom in to check the roads out...the parts where the route leaves the river valley for excursions up into the hills seem a bit arbitrary, and leaving Santa Margarita, they route you on some dirt roads, when the reasonable route is to take the freeway shoulder up and down Cuesta Grade into SLO (wide shoulder, legal here)

Ahh...here's a good cycling map PDF of the SLO county section: http://www.rideshare.org/Libraries/D...0g_1.sflb.ashx

It's not by chance that they have the Great Western Bike Rally at Paso Robles; it's surrounded by many quiet, scenic backroads.

Over the hill to Santa Cruz and head south on the coast , is all I can offer.