San Fransisco to San Diego in January. Is it doable?

[PeteJack]

Would we be completely nuts to consider doing the ACA route down the coast this coming January? I'd love to hear from anyone who's done it at that time of year.

[staehpj1]

Would we be completely nuts to consider doing the ACA route down the coast this coming January? I'd love to hear from anyone who's done it at that time of year.

I think it would be doable, but the chance of cool or wet weather is fairly high.

[aggie]

It is doable but be prepared for cold and wet weather.  You should have tires that have good traction in wet weather.  If it is as rainy as predicted it is possible that parts of PCH along Big Sur may close due to mud slides.  Be prepared to take an alternate route.

[PeteJack]

I'm hopin Billie Conolly was right. "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes"

[tex232]

I'm hopin Billie Conolly was right. "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes"

The LA Times just had an article on how Jan should be storm after storm due to El Nino with way over normal rainfall.
http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln-el-nino-coming-20151113-story.html

[DaveB]

Doable?  Most certainly.  Pleasant and enjoyable? Not so much.

[Lingen]

We did San Fran to San Diego in early February because that is our time to travel.  Mostly rode in pants, long sleeve shirts and light jacket but we also found lodging each night.  It ranked as one of our top tours and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again at that time of year.

  http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/SFtoSD

I can't imagine that January would be a whole lot different. 

[PeteJack]

We did San Fran to San Diego in early February because that is our time to travel.  Mostly rode in pants, long sleeve shirts and light jacket but we also found lodging each night.  It ranked as one of our top tours and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again at that time of year.

  http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/SFtoSD

I can't imagine that January would be a whole lot different.

Thanks. I like the bit about finding accommodation, that's what we plan on doing.

[RussSeaton]

Try to find one of those websites that show the daily temperatures for highs and lows in various points along the route.  The bottom half of California has pretty pleasant temperatures in the winter, but it might still be a bit cool with the winds blowing off the ocean.  Also check the sunrise and sunset times for January.  My home is about even with San Francisco and in January sunrise is about 8AM and sunset is about 4PM.  Give or take a few minutes.  So you don't really have too much time to ride each day.  Or enjoy the scenery along the coast.  Assuming the temps are cool in the morning until about Noon, and you do not start riding until 10 or 11AM each morning, you end up with only 4-5 hours to ride each day.