I have a week off work at the very end of October and some other plans fell through so I’m looking for an alternative to do a lot of miles in 8-9 days.
Curious if anyone else has done it or large segments of that ride. Any input on what the overall traffic is like at the end of October (that video was during COVID and in January, so probably less cars/tourists than typical). I’d probably be credit card touring, so ~150 miles a day and not booking anything in advance. Are there generally enough towns/accommodations/food where this is feasible? General weather/temps I can expect at the end of October? I’d probably start in Portland and go as far south as time allows, knowing there’s a lot of airport options to get home at the end from SoCal.
I’m open to other suggestions as well if anyone has ideas. ~1000 miles, road/gravel mix, not too cold, don’t want to lug a whole bike packing setup around.
I don’t have a lot to offer, but Tyler (VC Adventures on YouTube) did a west coast route last year WA to MX. His itinerary is pretty detailed day by day including hotel stops. He did some big mile days though. I’ve ridden some of the routes he chose and they are indeed incredible including the otter crest road in Oregon and the Avenue of the Giants through the redwoods.
Funny how I’ve been thinking about doing this too. I have not ridden this myself, but living in WA and have done a few rides between WA and OR, weather around end of October will be fall coastal weather meaning windy and showers, typically between low 50s to high 60s. Layers would be key.
I came across this lovely YT vlogger(Aspen’s Wanderings) who did it with her father, so you’ll get more info and insight on what she brought and where accommodations can be found. But take it with a grain of salt as the weather when she vlogged was more summer time and not fall weather.
Good info, thanks. Seems like I could go inland around that without too much trouble. Though obviously would miss what would’ve been a good part of the overall ride.
I’ve done the Amgen California Coast Classic (SF to LA fundraiser for the Arthritis Fondation) twice and Monterey to Big Sur to Cambria are the best two day by far. Hard, but no other part of the ride holds a candle to the scenery in that section.
Sure will be a shame when repairs to that section become unsustainable without tunneling, because who’s going to pay for that set of projects?
Having lived in CA most of my life, and having driven on Highway 1 many times, I can’t really say I ever had a desire to ride it more than for a short stretch as part of some other ride.
In many areas, you will be contending with vacationers, looky-loos, and frustrated drivers stuck behind you on a narrow road with minimal shoulder.
The weather could be nice, or you could hit torrential rain for the Portland to NorCal stretch. The SF to LA stretch should be okay weather wise, but the weather this year has been unseasonably cool / overcast with spots of rain already in San Francisco.
I can see the unseasonably overcast in my solar production, where I’m down ~500KWhr compared to last year
I biked from Vancouver Canada to San Francisco last September. Beautiful.
The Ride with GPS maps from Adventure Cycling make routing on quiet roads easy and also show many services: recommended.
I think you will want to look ahead a day or two to plan your hotel stops in Northern CA: long stretches with nothing. Not much cell service either.
Weather was fine in September last year. The days are short. Have fun!
A different recommendation is Natchez Trace south from Nashville. Lovely riding. Hotels also sparse so you’ll have to look ahead, and it’ll be chilly in the mornings (did it last October), but easy stress free riding.
