Pacific Coast advice!!

[bern]

Any advice for two neophyte tourists going from Crescent City, Ca down towards SF CA?? First hand Weather info...What to avoid...what definately to see...ect. May 11 - May 22 is the trip.   Thanks For any info.

Bernadette

This message was edited by bern on 4-25-07 @ 5:11 PM

[RussellSeaton]

Driven in northern California a few times, never toured there unfortunately.  See the Redwoods of course.  Obvious.  Lady Bird Johnson park is north of Eureka a few miles or so.  Tunnel of the Redwoods or something like that is a few miles south of Eureka.  

I've driven Hwy 101 and Hwy 1 the whole way from Crescent City to San Francisco.  While its scenic, I never thought biking on Hwy 101 would be too pleasant.  Its the Interstate in that part of the state.  I know portions of the route are not on Hwy 101, like the Tunnel of Redwoods section, but many sections are.  Not much you can do about it since Hwy 101 is the only road, but be aware of it.

[litespeed]

The rainy season should be over by the time you leave so you should have nice weather and good tailwinds. A front might come through and break it up but that can happen any time.

This is a very bicycle friendly stretch. You will be on side roads or Route 1 most of the way. When you do you ride 101 it is no problem.

Allow some time to take in the redwoods along the way. There is nothing in the world like it.

You'll need low gears for the tough little climbs right there near Crescent City and here and there along Route 1 after the right turn at Leggett. The scenery is well worth it, though. Bring your camera and plenty of capacity.
 
Don't forget your copy of "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Tom Kirkendall and Vicky Spring. It's a necessity.

The scenery is the main draw but, aside from the redwoods, you might stop and tour Fort Ross.

Bring a good pair of walking shoes and give yourself a few days to walk all over San Francisco and Sausalito. And do a boat tour of the Bay.

This message was edited by litespeed on 4-25-07 @ 2:00 PM

[bern]

Hi Russell.  I was a bit nervous about the hwy 101 traffic, but I guess I need to get over that! Thanks for your reply; any input it greatly appreciated!
Bern

[bern]

litespeed....
 
You pinpointed a lot of my concerns and have helped me greatly.  I've heard so much about Kirkendall's book, and really need to pick it up before I leave. Thank you for the reminder. Oh, and another great reminder was the extra CF card for the camera! Any recommendations for campgrounds that have impressed you?  Thank you again!

Bernadette

[litespeed]

There are KOA's at Eureka, Manchester and Petaluma and plenty of state parks on your route. At the state parks there is most always a cheap hiker/biker section with plenty of fellow touring cyclists to socialize with and exchange stories and information.

I can't think of anywhere in the country with more places to camp than the west coast.

[bern]

Successful Adventure!  Ferndale, CA to Jenning, CA about 250 miles of hard work, scary logging trucks, good people, bad people, and a whole lot of trees! a few items to be corrected on the ACA map, and i will let those be known shortly. Anyone curious sooner, let me know. Bern

Thanks to you guys for all your advice!

This message was edited by bern on 6-5-07 @ 12:15 PM

[freerider]

Hey,
I am doing the pacific coast from Vancouver (Canuckistan) to San Fran in August. I would love to know what those map changes are, and any other info you care to share. More beta is better.
Thanks,
Dani

[DR]

One thing that I noticed while on the Adventure Cycling trip down the coast last September was that the elevation profile on the Northern California map seemed to be slightly out of synch with reality in at least one critical area. I don't have the map in front of me, but I recall that the locations of  Leggett and Rockport were incorrectly marked on the elevation profile. This led us to believe that we were just about "over the hill" when we reached Standish-Hickey State Park, when in fact we hadn't even reached Leggett Hill yet, the highest hill on the trip. This can be verified in the "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" book that others have mentioned. If you read the description of that part of the route in the book, it all makes sense. One of my few regrets about my trip was that I didn't bring that book with me.

[bern]

Sorry Freerider... I haven't checked ACA blogs i a while : (  Hope your ride went well...any blogs or web pages with your trip info?