Pacific coast

[karen silver]

Hi,

My daughter and a friend are planning to ride the Pacific coast from Bellingham, WA to San Diego.  They are about 200 miles into the trip and have run into some rainy, windy weather.  I am worried about the safety of riding in this weather and along the roads along the route as the cars seem to travel at fairly high speeds on RT 101.

Does anyone know of safer routes to take that do not go on high speed roads?  My daughter and her friend do not care how long the trip takes so any routes that take them on smaller local roads would be fine.

Also, if you have have any information on how safe or not safe you think the Pacific coast route is, could you let me know?  It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[John Nelson]

If they are on the ACA Pacific Coast Route, rest assured that this route keeps them off of 101 as much as possible, and they are already on the least-traveled roads in the area. If they are not on the ACA route, send them the maps.

[karen silver]

Thank you for the reply.  Could you tell me if the ACA route is different from the Oregon coast bicycle route in the area that the Oregon coast bicycle route covers or is it pretty much the same.

Thanks, again.

Karen 

[Norsman]

When I did the Pacific Coast route in 2009 I used the Oregon Coastal bike route and found it very good. It gets you off Hwy 101 as much as possible. I took most of the suggested bypasses and would recommend most of them. I would hesitate to recommend the Three Capes Route. I did not take it because others had told me it was too difficult. I would also not recommend the Seven Devils Road, which I took and found not worth the bother.

A better route has been designed around North Bend. Check the following link.

www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=12467

Generally the riding in Oregon, even along Hwy 101, is quite good.  The drivers are very used to cyclists.

[Pat]

Hi Karen,

I second the observation that Oregon drivers are generally pretty good, and the shoulders generally pretty wide and well kept.

We used the ACA maps, except :  (a)  we chose to ride US-101 from Astoria (no problems);  (b)  Slab Creek Road was closed and we had to ride US-101 from Pacific City to Lincoln City (long hard grade).

We wonder if better routes exist than the ACA route for:  (a)  crossing into North Bend over that long bridge - a very time consuming walk;  (b)  Seven Devils Ride was dispiriting;  (c)  Cedar Valley Road seemed to go on for a very long time.

Happy trails and may the winds be at your back,

Pat

 

[cgarch]

Given the hundreds of cyclists on the Pacific Coast route, I'd say it is one of the safest and best routes around. ODOT has worked to improve the shoulders on the southbound side of 101 for cyclists. In Oregon it's pretty much a no brainer. California is a different story. I'd be more concerned about CA than OR. CA varies from no shoulders to huge shoulders. But in general cyclists have been riding this route for years with few problems. Follow the ACA route and they should be safe. If you want to know more about the route, please check out the journals on CGOAB. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/categories/index.html?o=RrzKj&category_id=10&doctype=journal

Craig

[Norsman]

I agree that the California section of the ride is more of a problem than Oregon. However I used the ACA maps and found them to be excellent. You are still going to have some issues but again this a a route that many cyclists have traveled safely.  They are going at the best time possible. The summer rush is over and generally speaking the weather should be pretty good. Tell them to check the California State parks website to make sure campgrounds they plan to go to are open. It is my understanding that some them close at the end of September.

[karen silver]

Thank you, everyone.  I really appreciate the information and advice.  If anyone knows any ways to avoid the highway in California, especially in the sections that have no or small shoulders, I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks again,
Karen

[cgarch]

Again, sticking to the ACA routes will generally keep cyclists off the highways, even the ones with wide shoulders. There are spots with nil shoulders that simply cannot be avoided e.g. 101 south of Crescent City. My experience has been that motorists, whether they like it or not, will be as accommodating as possible. While it may seem daunting, it just is not that bad. Cyclists that are visible and that ride sensibly will have little trouble. It sure beats staying at home. If you're going to worry about this, then no amount of words here are going to assuage you. Like I said earlier, there are hundreds of cyclists that ride this route every year in sun and rain. There's very little to worry about.

[johnsondasw]

Are they using mirrors?  I found a mirror to be essential on that route.  I could see the traffic coming from behind and react accordingly. After a while, a rider with a mirror can even kind of sense what riders coming from behind are going to do with just a glance. If they are not using mirrors, I would suggest they get them at the next bike shop on the route.  With experience and with mirrors, the ride should get safer and safer.

[karen silver]

Yes.  Apparently they are using mirrors.  Thanks again, everyone.