Messages

16

Routes / Re: Pfeiffer Bridge at Big Sur work around

« on: June 06, 2017, 10:24:25 pm »

It's been such a cool spring in California that for most days, the Indians Road "short cut" would have been glorious. Who knows what will happen later in the summer, but for the riders who are planning to go through King City anyway because the coast is closed, might as well take Indians Road. Probably won't be any hotter than King City.

17

Routes / Re: Gravel roads/ alternatives on the Pacific Coast Route

« on: June 06, 2017, 10:21:56 pm »

Before the enormous Mud Creek slide, my plan was to take Indians Road, then Nacimiento Fergusson Road to the coast. That's out now. Instead, this: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/21295177

18

Temporary ACA Route Road Closures / Re: Pacific Coast Route Section #4, maps 47-49 February 2017

« on: May 30, 2017, 01:02:05 am »

The ACA reroute already avoids the Mud Creek slide. Good thing, too, because nobody is getting through that slide area any time soon. It will maybe be fixed in time for spring 2018 riders. Maybe. Not definitely.

This slide is massive. It created 16 more acres of California, extending out from the coast.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/26/massive-big-sur-slide-may-keep-highway-1-closed-for-a-year/

19

Routes / Re: Gravel roads/ alternatives on the Pacific Coast Route

« on: May 04, 2017, 05:05:22 pm »

Oh my gosh, cgarch, that looks fantastic.

20

Routes / Re: Worth cycling around Olympic National Park on Pacific Route??

« on: May 02, 2017, 10:47:10 pm »

Astoria Bridge is OK for cycling?

21

Routes / Re: Worth cycling around Olympic National Park on Pacific Route??

« on: May 02, 2017, 06:40:58 pm »

Hey Jamawami, I'm looking at your proposed route. It's something like this? https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47.1816891,-123.1195072/Montesano,+Washington/Blue+Slough+Rd,+Montesano,+WA+98563/Westport,+WA/46.7270387,-123.9323873/46.4524083,-123.8719625/@47.4465515,-123.5828847,9z/data=!4m23!4m22!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x54922162b92bda33:0x7d3ec398381ee092!2m2!1d-123.6026629!2d46.9812062!1m5!1m1!1s0x54923106ac92cbdf:0xce87fd6fe9dc3905!2m2!1d-123.7168148!2d46.9394847!1m5!1m1!1s0x54924505ccae2a2f:0x51a1814a0ee953a6!2m2!1d-124.1040613!2d46.8900903!1m0!1m0!3e1

But then how do you get to Astoria?

22

Routes / Re: Gravel roads/ alternatives on the Pacific Coast Route

« on: May 02, 2017, 06:16:08 pm »

Some detours are not a lot of work. Some are just following the routes that local cyclists take. For example, 11 miles south of Half Moon Bay in California is Stage Road, which parallels the coast road and is about a mile inland. Cyclists who ride that stretch of the coast often take Stage Road instead of the Coast Highway. It's maybe a bit more hilly (although the coast there is hilly), quieter, and beautiful. Plus it goes through Pescadero where the hungry cyclist can find good things to eat.

23

Routes / Re: Gravel roads/ alternatives on the Pacific Coast Route

« on: May 02, 2017, 01:25:05 pm »

The Oregon Outback is on my bucket list (maybe next year) but it cannot be called a coast ride by any stretch of the imagination. I'm thinking of little alternates like Old San Pedro Mountain, where the riders are off Highway 1 but still in sight of the ocean, not a wholesale reroute to the desert.

24

Routes / Gravel roads/ alternatives on the Pacific Coast Route

« on: May 01, 2017, 05:40:37 pm »

I'm riding the Pacific Coast this summer. Can any locals suggest good alternate routes? I'm not afraid of climbing or riding on dirt.

If anyone wants alternatives on the San Francisco Peninsula, I can give you many. One excellent route is skirting around Devils Slide by going on Old San Pedro Mountain, AKA Planet of the Apes Road. It's an abandoned road, now mostly dirt. Magnificent.

I'm kicking around the idea of doing the Lost Coast, from Honeydew down to beyond Leggett, a remote dirt detour. I'm a little nervous about the steep downhills, but I suppose I could walk them.

Because Big Sur is now off the table, I'm considering including Indians Road on the detour. It's an abandoned road that runs from Carmel Valley Road to Fort Hunter Liggett. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I weren't worried that the winter's storms have made it too difficult.

Other suggestions?

25

Routes / Re: Camping IN San Francisco

« on: May 01, 2017, 05:29:39 pm »

There is in fact a safe place to pitch a tent in San Francisco: the Rob Hill campground, a public campground in the Presidio. Unfortunately, it's only for groups, not for individuals. I stayed there once. Nice place. But as I said, it's only for groups.

26

Routes / Re: Pfeiffer Bridge at Big Sur work around

« on: March 24, 2017, 10:47:32 pm »

Thanks for the link to the map, Craig. There are two closures south of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, one just south of Gorda and the other at Ragged Point. Last I heard, it'll be weeks before those slides are repaired.  The third slide I was thinking of is at Lucia, north of N-F Road.

27

General Discussion / Re: Aussies cycling SF to LA re Big Sur

« on: March 22, 2017, 12:33:58 am »

As of today, in addition to the now-destroyed bridge at Pfeiffer, there are three more slides south of Nacimiento Fergusson Road.  Getting through any of them would be difficult.  mstroy's detour is nice, but right now it will put the rider north of the three extra slides.

28

Routes / Re: Pfeiffer Bridge at Big Sur work around

« on: March 22, 2017, 12:25:24 am »

ACA might not have recommended Nacimiento Fergusson Road because it's been closed. But it opened up yesterday. However, Highway 1 is still closed in three places south of Nacimiento Fergusson Road. Check road closures before you go.

29

Routes / Re: Skinnyish Tires on Great Divide Mountain Bike Route Section

« on: March 20, 2017, 09:39:13 pm »

I took the route that goes past Brush Mountain Lodge, which I believe is the main route, not the alternate route through Columbine. The rocky part was on FR 42.

30

Routes / Re: Skinnyish Tires on Great Divide Mountain Bike Route Section

« on: March 20, 2017, 05:41:13 pm »

Dubois to Pinedale was pretty good gravel roads, as I recall. (But remember, I was riding 3" tires, so I could tolerate sand and gravel without really noticing.) There was one section on the way down off Union Pass, at the end of the descent, that was bumpy, but not that long. South of Pinedale, we followed the Tour Divide Route to Wamsutter, but the conditions were probably more or less the same as the route to Rawlins. I hated that section, but not because of bad roads. They were OK.