Louis Le Tour

When do the winds along the Oregon/Washington coast start to kick in with a gusto? I've been told April is the start but I'm hoping it's later. Has anybody toured there in April?

spinnaker

From what I understand is that they change in bad weather. The rainy season is the first few months of the year so if you want to ride in the rain just so you can go north go right ahead.

The wind will switch during other parts of the year in the odd chance there is bad weather .

Louis Le Tour

It looks like I may have to go with plan "B" and take the inland roads north to Seattle.

fietsbob

Winter storms come out of the South , on the North coast ..
summer highs from the north west

some years the 6th month is called Junuary, here

why not Take Amtrak to Seattle Or Olympia?

Doug64

I believe that fietsbob's recommendation is a good one; the train will get you to Seattle in much better shape to start a XC tour.

Regardless of the winds, April on the coast is very wet, with cool temperatures. When you get up into western Oregon and Washington, anywhere west of the Cascade Mountains, it can also be very wet in early spring.

My wife and I are pretty experienced bike tourists, and plan to ride from our home in the Willamette Valley, Oregon to The Visalia, California area this fall. We still had a pretty challenging time figuring out a route that would get us over the Siskiyou Mountains, and into the Central Valley with minimal freeway riding. When we complete it, I'll send you a report on the pros and cons of an "inland passage". We are planning on going to Lassen NP and over Tioga Pass into Yosemite, which will involve some climbing. Both of those options could be eliminated if weather conditions at the higher elevations get sketchy.

I think I'd go to plan "C", the train. We'll be taking the train back home at the end of our ride.

Louis Le Tour

Plan "C" would be a good option IF I didn't have a trailer and a dog. However, I just may be able to "hitch" a ride to Seattle from Grant's Pass. Then again, maybe skipping the coast for now and just heading east from Seattle would be the wisest move, I'll have to mull it over awhile. Thanks for all the input folks.

fietsbob

Today the damp marine overcast only burned off at mid day, 6:00 it will roll back in ..

Nick94804

I do a bit of riding and a LOT of sailing. The prevailing summer wind direction is from the NW, and it usually dominates from Pt Arena south. North of Pt. Arena the wx patterns are more impacted by the NORPAC low pressure systems that make it to the coast. When they do, the wind is more SSW, but in the summer its short lived and soon reverts to a NW breeze. If you go online to the Ocean Prediction Center and look for the forecasts out to 10 miles, you'll get a very good idea of the forecast winds on the coastal route. If you know enough about meteorology to recognize a "squash zone", you'll know its a good time to make miles to the south.

andrewclaus

I did the ride southbound in mid-May after consulting the wind rose data available at the time in the library in Seattle (1980s) and was very happy with the decision. Strong tail winds nearly every day. I don't recall the April data, but it's out there and probably easier to find now.

Doug64

Louis,

I'm not sure I have been following your posts correctly. Are you planning on doing the Pacific Coast Route or are you starting a cross country ride in Seattle? If you are doing a cross country, you will still have the problem of getting back to the west coast. If you are riding the Pacific Coast from Seattle to your home it is not an issue.

staehpj1

If indeed that is the case, maybe consider this... I find it easier to get the travel on public transport out of the way in the beginning and then riding toward home. It is easier to know when you will start a tour than when you will finish one. If riding toward home you have no need to be on a schedule dictated by tickets home. I don't know what your plans are, but it might be worth considering starting in the east and riding home.

Travel on public transit is complicated by having a dog unless the dog is small enough to be in a crate that fits under a plane seat. I don't think Amtrak takes dogs at all and the cargo hold of a plane is something that I wouldn't subject my dog to. Some info on that at:
Airline Pet Policies and Dog Carrier Dimensions - TheUncommonDog.com

Louis Le Tour

My original plan was to start in Grant's Pass, ride SW to Crescent City, then north to Seattle. From there it's SE to Miami. However, the coastal route in April looks to be a lot tougher than this old fart wants to tackle. So, now I'm think'n ride the inland route to Seattle or just beg my bro-in-law to drive me up there, and at the moment that looks like my best bet because the inland route would lack the scenery I wanted to enjoy along the coast.

Louis Le Tour

This was always going to be a two way trip from day one. I may have to take a more southern route home to avoid getting snowed in for the winter.

Nick94804

Louis, there's no mystery to the breezes. Just go online and check out the NWS weather site. If its breezy from the wrong direction, stay put and go for a hike. I can go to weather for 10-20 miles before I get psychotic. If you wait a day or so, it'll change directions.

stevepusser

Really? I grew up on the Central California coast about 10 miles from the sea, and EVERY freaking day in the summer, we'd have the sea breeze hit at 11 AM at 20-30 mph from the NW, and it would last the rest of the day.

Other parts of the world have changeable weather, but the Pacific Coast in the summer is rather boring. At least the Pacific NW does get some storms in summer...

stevepusser

Do you mean the Sierra instead of the Siskiyou Mountains? I've done a few tours in that area. I guess you want to pick up Hwy 89 in Mt. Shasta to head toward Lassen. You can take a side road off 89 past McCloud (goes to Fowlers Camp and runs along the river) that will eventually rejoin 89, but has no traffic and is much more scenic. Past that, you have no choice but 89 until you get to Burney Falls, but a lot of people complain about the traffic in the afternoons. Just be careful.

Lassen is a joy to ride through, with no trucks and nothing much over 6% grade up to the summit. There's a lying 7000' altitude sign at Summit Lake that's really 6600' feet, though...

Another traffic problem area on 89 lies between Sierraville and Truckee, but past that, Lake Tahoe's a lot of fun.

Some people here have had bad experiences riding through Yosemite Park, though I've done it a few times and didn't think it was that horrible. One of my favorite passes is the remote Ebbets Pass and Pacific Grade on Highway 4, though it does have some very, very steep sections. This keeps out the big RV's and trucks, though, and maybe the scenery makes it worth it--plus a nice hike and bike site at Calaveras Big Trees State Park near Arnold. If you do that pass, you may want to end up in Modesto instead of Visalia. When I've done that, I've followed tree-shaded secondary roads that run along the Stanislaus river instead of the more exposed Hwy 120 four-lane expressway, which runs up on the flatlands above the river valley.

Nick94804

You mean like right now? Pt Sur, winds to 10 kts from the S.

Doug64

Thanks, I appreciate the Information.

No, I did mean the Siskiyou Mts. They are the area between the Coast Range and the west side of the Cascades. They are in southern Oregon and northern California. Not a lot of choices , but the Siskiyou summit on I-5. just south of Ashland, OR. We plan on crossing the Cascades near home and ride the eastside south. It is a much better route to Weed.

We have a wedding to attend so Visalia it is

nickw

You don't wanna ride the hwy from CC to Grants Pass, hwy 199. 0 shoulder for a large portion of it along the Smith River, a good 30-40 mile section along the river. There are some cool 'backroad' alternates, but you really gotta know where you are going.

stevepusser

Yes, the sea breeze is driven by greater heating inland during the day. The air rises inland, drawing in cooler air off the sea. This year, the surface sea temps along the CA coast have been warmer than normal, so the sea breeze has been a bit weaker than normal. I also note that my time for your wind observation is 1154 PM, so if that's correct, that's what I would expect. However, I would also expect that most tourists would prefer to ride in daylight--the current forecast for Point Sur calls for west winds at about 13 mph during the afternoon and evening.

Nick94804

I see. You're one of those people that has to be right, so you'll argue about the time of day.

NDBC - Station 46028

there's a 48 hour record of the wind on the Central Coast of CA.