Sierra Cascades Route, South to North, From Banning CA to Portland OR April 2015

[pirate]

I am thinking about riding the ACA Sierra Cascade Route from Banning CA to Portland OR April 2015 and want to know if anyone has words of wisdom to share about the idea. I know the route is usually done North to South due to wind. My reason for doing it the reverse direction is simply because my bike and I are in Southern CA and need to get home to Portland so why not ride? I have 3 concerns. (1.) Will I freeze my butt off in the Cascades in April?  It's been a very warm winter and snow pack is at unprecedented low levels but still... (2) Are passes going to be open that time of year? (3) I want to credit card tour and will there be enough accommodations along the way to risk going without tent and sleeping bag? I appreciate your helpful feedback.
P.S. I am an experienced cyclist including the TransAmerica among other tours.

[staehpj1]

That is really early in the season.  I know it has been a light snow year, but you are still fairly likely to get snowed on.  On the other hand you will probably beat the heat which can be horrible on the southern portion of this route sometimes.  We went later in the year for the southern half and had temperatures below freezing and over 110 F.

I have my doubts about doing this route without camping.  It is a very difficult route with a tremendous amount of climbing and if memory serves sometimes accommodations were pretty widely spaced.  I myself would not do it without camping, but that is me.  You may be able to make it work.

Tioga Pass would usually not be open yet but they are predicting April 15th this year. http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

BTW, South to North is fine.  Advice about going N-S are usually referring to the coast.

Is flying or taking a train to Portland and riding back to Banning an option?  That would allow a later start and you could either ride the SC route or the coast.

[zzzz]

Hi:

I can only comment on #3 question.

I rode in the other direction from Canada down to LA and I CC'd the whole way except one late afternoon going up a pass in Washington that a storm blew in and I decided to stop at a campground rather than chance getting caught in it.

And I will agree w/ Pete that wind direction is not a predictable issue on this route. At least last September when I went I had 6 straight days of big headwinds out of the south from Mt. Shasta all the way to Monitor Pass.

Pete

[jrswenberger]

My wife and I will be finishing our year-long tour by riding the Sierra Cascades route from LA to Portland as well but we won't be leaving LA until around June 1st. Let's hope the weather hasn't begun to heat up too much by then.

Good Luck in April!

Jay and Janet

[pirate]

Thank you for all the good advice. I am on the route now and started in Tehachapi not Banning as I originally planned. So far it has been a great ride and indeed it has been possible to credit card the entire way (I'm in the Shasta Area now) I'm traveling early in the season so some hotels are still closed but my understanding is that in the tourist season things book up fast.
I want to warn cyclists about a treacherous stretch on hwy 89 between Quincy and Canyon Dam California (Map #3 panel 41) that has NO shoulder, winding Mt road conditions, and non-stop logging trucks taking logs to the mill in Quincy. Another touring cyclist told me not to ride it and I checked with the local sheriff and they strongly encouraged me to find an alternate plan for that 32 mile stretch. For $4.00 you can hop on a transit bus equipped with bike racks and skip that section. It's simple, and worked out great for me! Link to the transit system is http://www.plumastransit.com/default.html The Quincy to Chester bus route stops in Canyon Dam along the way.