SF to Seattle--the "wrong" direction
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SF to Seattle--the "wrong" direction
Hi all-- I would like to bike to Seattle from Berkeley, CA this summer with some friends, but you would think that this is impossible given the overwhelming amount of posts urging cyclists to head the opposite direction.
I have toured south along the coast many times (from Gualala to as far south as Santa Barbara) and I can attest to the fierce winds that blow south especially around Cambria and Santa Cruz.
However, I've never ridden the coast north of Fort Bragg. Is the wind miserable (from the point of view of a cyclist heading S2N) here? How about Oregon and Washington? Does anyone know of a good inland route that would get us from SF to Seattle? I've searched crazyguyonabike and BF, but I can't seem to find anything.
Thanks for your advice!![Big Grin](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
I have toured south along the coast many times (from Gualala to as far south as Santa Barbara) and I can attest to the fierce winds that blow south especially around Cambria and Santa Cruz.
However, I've never ridden the coast north of Fort Bragg. Is the wind miserable (from the point of view of a cyclist heading S2N) here? How about Oregon and Washington? Does anyone know of a good inland route that would get us from SF to Seattle? I've searched crazyguyonabike and BF, but I can't seem to find anything.
Thanks for your advice!
![Big Grin](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
![Big Grin](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
#2
Banned
Do It in the Winter and the winds will come from the southwest. , Summer the winds come out of the northwest..
Summer : AmTrak to Seattle, then ride home , there is a reason people start in the north ,
and its the following winds.
Summer : AmTrak to Seattle, then ride home , there is a reason people start in the north ,
and its the following winds.
#3
Every day a winding road
Well I can't give you advice north of San Francisco to Arcata but I can tell you that the wind is pretty bad all down the Oregon coast to Arcadia. You might consider and inland route.
I don't know if it was the time of year or I just didn't notice it but while it did seem bad the wind south of San Francisco seemed far worse (or great since I was headed in the right direction
).
You could consider an inland route.
I don't know if it was the time of year or I just didn't notice it but while it did seem bad the wind south of San Francisco seemed far worse (or great since I was headed in the right direction
![Smilie](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)
You could consider an inland route.
Last edited by spinnaker; 04-20-14 at 07:53 PM.
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I spend a fair amount of time on the Oregon and Washington coast. I can't remember the last time the wind was blowing from anything but the North. And I barely remember the last calm day. I have also read a fair number of cycling stories. Believe me, you do not want to go South to North. Unless maybe you like pedaling into the wind, not breeze, wind. Like having to pedal downhill. My experience in bicycling in California along the coast wasn't anything like up here.
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i've ridden the pacific coast between Crescent City and SF twice. and from Seattle to SF once. both times major winds out of the north. especially from Astoria south. i wouldn't try it south to north. last year i went up the central valley from SF to Red Bluff, major northerly winds in the valley too.
but don't let me discourage you...
but don't let me discourage you...
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#6
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I've ridden most of Hwy 101 through Oregon in the "wrong" direction and have to say the headwind is hit and miss. It's not always bad. Usually the mornings are okay, but the evenings can be horrendous. Still, I don't think I'd chose to ride from all the way from Berkeley to Seattle north along the coast.
The Willamette Valley has a route called the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway - it could be part of a "bail-out" plan if the headwind became too annoying. Consider planing your own route.
#7
Banned
Well inland US 395 to 20 & 97..
or roughly ride the Amtrak Route , Mt Shasta , Chico, Grants Pass Oregon Mc Kenzie pass into Eugene,
Or,you can stay east of the Cascades all the way into Washington
if you want .. or use the Columbia river gorge the Dalles , etc. to get to the west side without climbing over them/.
or roughly ride the Amtrak Route , Mt Shasta , Chico, Grants Pass Oregon Mc Kenzie pass into Eugene,
Or,you can stay east of the Cascades all the way into Washington
if you want .. or use the Columbia river gorge the Dalles , etc. to get to the west side without climbing over them/.
#8
The winds howl inland through the Golden Gate, then tend to diverge to the north and south once in the Valley. I'd head up through the wine country to Clear Lake (hike and bike sites at the state park), then north either through the ranges or the valley to Redding, and then along the I-5 corridor up to the Oregon border. There's another nice hike and bike about 55 miles N of Redding at Castle Crags SP, but that's the last HB site in CA you'll see. Expect it to be very hot inland along this route in summer, especially near Redding. I've gone north from Redding a couple times in August, and the wind was not a factor at all, just beating the heat and avoiding flats on the I5 shoulder through the Sacramento River canyon.
Can't help you much past the Oregon border inland, though I have read journals that headed that way on cgoab, and they did not mention the wind, either.
Can't help you much past the Oregon border inland, though I have read journals that headed that way on cgoab, and they did not mention the wind, either.
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Thanks everyone for the tips!! You all have confirmed my suspicion that biking north along the coast is a recipe for frustration. I remember biking from Berkeley to Davis, CA last summer and cursing for at least 1 hour solid as the wind is relentless north of the Carquinez straight...that was not very fun and biking all the way to Seattle with a howling headwind sounds nasty.
Maybe if I ever want to bike north on the coast I'll try riding north in the winter, as fiestsbob suggested.
We're pretty set on biking to Seattle this summer, so it looks like we have many options to explore! I-5 would take us through Eugene and Ashland, which are places I would like to check out, however I associate I-5 with semi-trucks and cars going 90mph, but maybe it's different farther north. At least I hope so! Staying east of the Cascades looks good too; clearly I have a lot to research! Thanks everyone for the route ideas and all the responses to my very first post!
Maybe if I ever want to bike north on the coast I'll try riding north in the winter, as fiestsbob suggested.
We're pretty set on biking to Seattle this summer, so it looks like we have many options to explore! I-5 would take us through Eugene and Ashland, which are places I would like to check out, however I associate I-5 with semi-trucks and cars going 90mph, but maybe it's different farther north. At least I hope so! Staying east of the Cascades looks good too; clearly I have a lot to research! Thanks everyone for the route ideas and all the responses to my very first post!
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There's another issue besides the wind--the views. Southbound, you can easily stop anywhere along the guardrail and look the seals you hear down there. You don't have to cross traffic getting in and out of viewpoints. You have views uninhibited by traffic, pavement, guardrails, etc.
#11
Every day a winding road
There's another issue besides the wind--the views. Southbound, you can easily stop anywhere along the guardrail and look the seals you hear down there. You don't have to cross traffic getting in and out of viewpoints. You have views uninhibited by traffic, pavement, guardrails, etc.
![Smilie](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)
You are right on the views. The Oregon coast was spectacular. Someone described it as one big long Big Sur and they were pretty much right.
Sadly no matter how beautiful the view there were still those that chose other distractions:
![](https://i61.tinypic.com/xm4iu9.jpg)
#12
Every day a winding road
One problem with winter is it is also the rainy season. Of course if things keep going they way they have been going you won't need to worry about rain. Then again water will become an even harder thing to find.
#13
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When I was a lot younger, 1981, and without much prior knowledge, I rode the Oregon Coast south to north. Actually, it was part of a larger loop. I was tempted to bail over into the Willamette Valley a couple of times, but the valley temps were near the 100F mark; so I gutted it out up to Astoria, before turning east. The winds didn't sound too bad in comparison. Based on that experience my advice is don't do it! My wife and I have also ridden the Pacific Coast Route from Lund, BC to the Mexican Border, and that is the way to go. We would always feel sorry for those poor folks we met heading north.
We have explored a route from Visalia, CA to Oregon's Willamette Valley. We think it can be done with only a short stretch on I-5 near near Shasta Lake and the pass over the Siskiyous on the Oregon/California border. There might be a couple of other short sections until you get up to the Roseburg area where you might have to use the Interstate. From Eugene north there are a lot of options using secondary roads to get to Seattle. We've never ridden it but we have looked at several options when we head south to visit family. Someday we may just give it a shot to see if we can get from Visalia to Oregon without a lot of I-5 time.
Riding on I-5 is not fun, however, it is safe. Again, in my younger, read dumber, days, I rode from Portland to Roseburg on I-5. The plan was for my wife to pick me up on her way south after visiting relatives in Portland. However, she somehow missed me, turning a 4-5 hour ride into a 12 hour one
Again, my advice is not to do it.
We have explored a route from Visalia, CA to Oregon's Willamette Valley. We think it can be done with only a short stretch on I-5 near near Shasta Lake and the pass over the Siskiyous on the Oregon/California border. There might be a couple of other short sections until you get up to the Roseburg area where you might have to use the Interstate. From Eugene north there are a lot of options using secondary roads to get to Seattle. We've never ridden it but we have looked at several options when we head south to visit family. Someday we may just give it a shot to see if we can get from Visalia to Oregon without a lot of I-5 time.
Riding on I-5 is not fun, however, it is safe. Again, in my younger, read dumber, days, I rode from Portland to Roseburg on I-5. The plan was for my wife to pick me up on her way south after visiting relatives in Portland. However, she somehow missed me, turning a 4-5 hour ride into a 12 hour one
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Last edited by Doug64; 04-20-14 at 10:02 PM.
#15
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Reminds me of the cyclists we met in Banff (around July 1). They came west across Canada. Got to Winnipeg and took a bus to Calagry. They'd had enough of headwinds. We had more of an off the right shoulder tail/crosswind but it made riding easy...and hot.
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#16
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The north wind on the OR coast are generally much weaker than the winds south of Fort Bragg, CA. That doesn't mean they're fun to ride against, but they aren't the kind that bring you to a standstill like you get around Point Arena. You can substitute hills for wind by riding some of the parallel roads through the coast range, like the Lost Coast in Mendocino/Humboldt and some of the similar routes through Sonoma County. There's few of these in OR as well, but many of them involve unpaved roads.
If you want to ride north, you're likely to find north winds in the summer. From the delta to just north of Redding is the one exception. After that, the only non-north winds will be driven by either a temporary weather system (If you get a tail wind, don't stop until it does even if you end up riding all night.), or some eddy effects from a local mountain. If you're an early-bird you can mitigate the wind since it usually doesn't hit its stride until after 10:00 AM and often much later.
If you want to ride north, you're likely to find north winds in the summer. From the delta to just north of Redding is the one exception. After that, the only non-north winds will be driven by either a temporary weather system (If you get a tail wind, don't stop until it does even if you end up riding all night.), or some eddy effects from a local mountain. If you're an early-bird you can mitigate the wind since it usually doesn't hit its stride until after 10:00 AM and often much later.
#17
You generally can use frontage roads along the I-5 corridor, or the ACA Pacific Crest route has much less climbing in Oregon and Washington than in the Sierra and Southern California, plus you can cut out more of the climbing by skipping Crater Lake. Here's a fellow that headed north along it in the late spring of 2012. crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Free Range Retiree-2012 Ride (S.Pacific Coast to the Sierra Cascade Route N), by Art Birkmeyer
They had some late spring weather fronts go by once he was in Oregon, which are generally followed by northerly winds, so he had one day of headwinds. Not something you'll encounter in the middle of summer, though. In my experience in around there and in the Sierra, you will encounter little if any wind in the morning, followed by upslope winds in the afternoons--that is, winds will blow up toward the crest of a range from either direction. An exception is in the long trough east of the Sierra with a strong 4-corners high pressure system providing a southeasterly monsoon flow--we encountered strong southerly winds in that situation.
They had some late spring weather fronts go by once he was in Oregon, which are generally followed by northerly winds, so he had one day of headwinds. Not something you'll encounter in the middle of summer, though. In my experience in around there and in the Sierra, you will encounter little if any wind in the morning, followed by upslope winds in the afternoons--that is, winds will blow up toward the crest of a range from either direction. An exception is in the long trough east of the Sierra with a strong 4-corners high pressure system providing a southeasterly monsoon flow--we encountered strong southerly winds in that situation.
#18
Senior Member
Don't ride I-5, soooo boring, super hot, and yes it continues to be a high-speed heavy truck-traffic route the entire way. Actually - not even sure it's legal to ride I-5.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
#19
Don't ride I-5, soooo boring, super hot, and yes it continues to be a high-speed heavy truck-traffic route the entire way. Actually - not even sure it's legal to ride I-5.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
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The winds howl inland through the Golden Gate, then tend to diverge to the north and south once in the Valley. I'd head up through the wine country to Clear Lake (hike and bike sites at the state park), then north either through the ranges or the valley to Redding, and then along the I-5 corridor up to the Oregon border. There's another nice hike and bike about 55 miles N of Redding at Castle Crags SP, but that's the last HB site in CA you'll see. Expect it to be very hot inland along this route in summer, especially near Redding. I've gone north from Redding a couple times in August, and the wind was not a factor at all, just beating the heat and avoiding flats on the I5 shoulder through the Sacramento River canyon.
Can't help you much past the Oregon border inland, though I have read journals that headed that way on cgoab, and they did not mention the wind, either.
Can't help you much past the Oregon border inland, though I have read journals that headed that way on cgoab, and they did not mention the wind, either.
#21
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Thanks everyone for the tips!! You all have confirmed my suspicion that biking north along the coast is a recipe for frustration. I remember biking from Berkeley to Davis, CA last summer and cursing for at least 1 hour solid as the wind is relentless north of the Carquinez straight...that was not very fun and biking all the way to Seattle with a howling headwind sounds nasty.
Maybe if I ever want to bike north on the coast I'll try riding north in the winter, as fiestsbob suggested.
We're pretty set on biking to Seattle this summer, so it looks like we have many options to explore! I-5 would take us through Eugene and Ashland, which are places I would like to check out, however I associate I-5 with semi-trucks and cars going 90mph, but maybe it's different farther north. At least I hope so! Staying east of the Cascades looks good too; clearly I have a lot to research! Thanks everyone for the route ideas and all the responses to my very first post!
Maybe if I ever want to bike north on the coast I'll try riding north in the winter, as fiestsbob suggested.
We're pretty set on biking to Seattle this summer, so it looks like we have many options to explore! I-5 would take us through Eugene and Ashland, which are places I would like to check out, however I associate I-5 with semi-trucks and cars going 90mph, but maybe it's different farther north. At least I hope so! Staying east of the Cascades looks good too; clearly I have a lot to research! Thanks everyone for the route ideas and all the responses to my very first post!
Some people don't mind riding alongside highways though. It's the big difference in my girlfriends and I's touring styles. We've discovered that she would much prefer to ride alongside a noisy road or even highway than ride over gravel or hills. I don't mind gravel at all (she HATES it for some reason) and I'd prefer moderate hills and nice scenery to riding alongside the noise and view of a highway. I'm hoping that she'll get to the point where she starts to enjoy the journey more instead of largely seeing it as how you get to where you are going. Until she decides to take on some of the route planning, I'm mostly winning right now though!
![Big Grin](https://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
If you do go inland, I don't know which route they take, but I believe the annual Seattle to Portland bike ride (STP) takes an inland route and I'm pretty sure their old routes are up on the web somewhere. If I had thought of that before I took my trip from Seattle to Mount St Helens, I probably could have avoided that 32 mile stretch of I-5 I took, but I wasn't on the 'net at all the early 2000's when I did it. Be aware that if you are doing the reverse of the direction they go, there may be a spot here or there that their directions don't work for you, but it should be very minor.
Oh! The other thing to look out for when using highways is the on/off ramps. This is easily the most dangerous part about using highways as a cyclist. Pick a technique*, and then sprint across when it is clear(ish)! Having a mirror is super helpful for this!
* Either cross right where the ramp meets the highway, essentially taking a straight line from your path on the shoulder, or ride towards the other end (where the ramps meet the surface street) to deal with traffic when it is moving much slower. The latter method is safer if there is a shoulder on the on and offramps, but entails a detour each time you cross one, sometimes with a bit of climbing.
** I'm not sure this is true going from California to Oregon, I'd be concerned about the grades on the inland route through here.
Last edited by Medic Zero; 04-22-14 at 07:43 AM.
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Don't ride I-5, soooo boring, super hot, and yes it continues to be a high-speed heavy truck-traffic route the entire way. Actually - not even sure it's legal to ride I-5.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
Sierra Cascades route would be better than the coast. If you've toured before, you know how much more important the roads are than the cities. "It's the journey not the destination" - right? So, maybe re-think that "have to ride to Seattle" think if you don't want to ride in the mountains.
#24
Senior Member
Yes, this happened to me in Ohio, I played dumb and the officer just ended up giving me directions for an alternate route.
#25
Senior Member
WSDOT - Washington State Highways Closed to Bicycles
And on the state bicycle map of Washington, it will indicate where a highway is closed to bicycles. It does that as well on the Oregon bicycle map, but they go the extra step of listing out the specifics of the "bicycles prohibited" on the back of the map. For example, I can ride the entirety of I-84 to the Idaho state line from milepost 10.25 eastbound (NE 122nd Ave), or milepost 15.14 westbound (Sandy Blvd).
As far as I know, it is legal to ride the interstates/freeways on many of the states west of the Mississippi, except where it's prohibited. The prohibitions are usually in urban areas or where the shoulder is going to be compromised. And this is regardless of whether there is another road paralleling the freeway, or a better option for bicycles exist.