Gearing up for the West Coast Run

[ChicsterMG]

I am getting ready for my trip to Cali. I have looked through a few threads here and am pleased with the packing list that Gixxerdale posted in Things I learned, here. My friend and I will of course adjust to suit our needs, but there are a lot of great suggestions there.

I still have questions since this is my first long ride. We are planning on riding 3 days up the coast. The first and last day will be almost all riding up the coast and then back to the LA area. Looking at 400 to 500 miles in a day.

Both bikes have hard bags and trunks (at least I think the 1300 has a trunk), so we have plenty of storage.

Plan is to stay in Big Basin state park at a tent cabin both nights and use that as a base for the second day. Cost is not bad and it saves us having to pack tents as well as everything else.


Anyone have any suggestions on riding up the coast? Places to stop along the way that are nice for sightseeing without losing a lot of time? We will be taking PCH Hwy 1 all the way up, but may take a different route back. I understand there are lots of elevation changes on 1. What are temps like? Rain? Road conditions? I know there are a lot of switchbacks and hairpins, so going will be relatively slow.

Any West Coasters have any suggestion, that would be great.

Chic

[karlfitt]

Highway 1 will be slow.

It has been a LOOONG time since I have ridden from Morro Bay up to Monterey. It was closed because of slides sevral years ago, but I heard it was re opened. You might check the California DOT site to make sure.

Last time I was on part of the 1, I started in Reading, and headed out to the coast and PCH (1) and rode down to San Francisco, that was a full day. Don't remember the miles off hand, but you should look at that and see.

I say that because going can be kind of slow on Highway one, it is tight and twisty a lot.



P.S. Have fun, take pictures, Post.

[ChicsterMG]

Thanks. We are leaving from Simi Valley (near LA) and heading up to Big Basin. From there we plan on heading into San Fran and surrounds on the middle day and back to Big Basin.

I am going to try to log my trip. I plan on taking lots of pics and logging everything in a notebook. We'll see how that goes. I tend to forget about stuff like that. Wrapped up in the moment and all.

I figured 1 would be slow. We are figuring on an extra 2 or 3 hours of travel compared to if we would take a freeway. That's why we are probably going to take a different route back on the 3rd day.

[palanon]

It's been a few years for me too. I've never been on the L.A. end, mostly up North. I don't believe you'll be able to do 4 -5 hundred a day. I never clocked it but, my guess is your average will work out to be 30 - 35 mph. It's absolutely gorgeous. However, it's pretty twisty and slow. On a big cruiser, be very careful not to cross the center line !!! The weather is usually good. Just watch out for wind. It can get gusty at times.

Lot's of pics !! I'm bias ( I was born there ) but, I think it's one of the most beautiful places to cruise.

BTW - There are several nude beaches along the way.

[SoCalCruisin]

Chic, what days are your trip? I'm riding Hwy 1 up to Monterey next Wednesday (the 29th) from SoCal. I've done the route twice coming south, this is the first time taking Hwy 1 north all the way.

Except for a couple areas that are clearly marked, the road conditions are fine to good. I'm hearing there is actually chance of some rain early next week, but I won't believe it unless I see it. I would expect warm temps and clear days. The farther north you are, there could be mist and/or fog in the early morning and evenings. For riding gear, be prepared for high temps 80's and above, and lows could be damp 50's / 60's.

I am not aware of any particular areas that are speed traps if that matters to you. There are stretches you can really open it up. The tight curves are kind of obvious. I learned the first time I did the ride that some of the "15mph" curves actually mean 15 mph. Of course that was on my C50T and I would scrape my boards constantly. I'm assuming the "1300" you mention is a Honda ST? If so, that will be an excellent bike for those roads. By the way, they come stock with hard bags only. They have a rack on the back, but a trunk would be added. Lots of room in those bags though.

Places to stop and sight see is kind of to each his own. Morro Bay is worth a stop. There's Hearst Castle that looks interesting I guess. Solvang is a nice town to ride slowly through. There's a motorcycle museum in Solvang that looks cool, but seems to have strange hours. Although the coast all the way is great, taking 154 inland from Santa Barbara to Solvang is a nice short road. It's hard to explain exactly how to spot it, but off 154 is Stagecoach Road, a very short but fun alternate route that includes an old stagecoach stop that is now a restaurant and bar. You actually 154 to the 246 which goes through Solvang and back to Hwy 101. There are times it's divided highway 101 only, just stick to the actual Hwy 1 as much as possible. Farther north the route itself is sightseeing. There are numerous turnoffs, and I just tend to use them randomly.

If I think of anything more, I'll let you know. Who knows, maybe I'll see you on the road. After Monterey, we're heading over to Lake Tahoe on Thursday. I'm looking for a good route for that day myself.

I hope you enjoy your visit to the west coast. Hwy 1 on a motorcycle, can't see how you couldn't.

[SoCalCruisin]

As I was writing my short novel, I see there's been some added posts. I've done Seal Beach (north Orange County) to Monterey via freeway and Hwy 101 once, and then back home along Hwy 1 twice. The first route is easy, but too much freeway. All Hwy 1 is a long day with lots of stops, but certainly do-able. That would include going north of Monterey. Up near San Francisco you will be dealing with traffic issues obviously.

The majority of the twisties are north of San Simeon or so. There's about 75 miles of nonstop curves and hairpins, and that's where the speeds are lower. South of that is the more sweeping curves.

[SoCalCruisin]

Originally Posted by palanon

BTW - There are several nude beaches along the way.

Thanks for that tip Palanon. If they are there, I'd be cautious tho. Probably mostly folks who did the hippy thing in the 60's. Not that there's anything wrong with it, just might be a little on the droopy side of things nowadays.

[palanon]

Originally Posted by SoCalCruisin

Thanks for that tip Palanon. If they are there, I'd be cautious tho. Probably mostly folks who did the hippy thing in the 60's. Not that there's anything wrong with it, just might be a little on the droopy side of things nowadays.

LOL !!!

I've never seen them. Their about an hour south of SF and hidden by all the twist and turns. Considering how cold the water is, don't know if I could stand the site of it.

I've only been south on 1 maybe 4 -5 hours. You don't cover to many miles in that time. Would be awsome to run on a sport bike with no traffic !!

[ChicsterMG]

Thanks for the replies. It all sounds good.

Paul, I doubt we'll put much time into the nude beaches, but it is an option.
I'm not sure of the exact mileage yet. We are still working on the actual route. It is sure to be a long day, nevertheless.

SoCal, yep he has an ST1300 and a Honda Pacific Coast, so, the there shouldn't be too much scraping going on. Neither of us are speed freaks so the traps won't bother us either. We are just planning on taking it easy all the way.

I'm flying out on the 5th. It'll be my second trip out. Didn't do any riding last time, though. The 6th will be a packing/getting ready day. Friday the 7th is when we are moving out. Coming back on Sunday. I think we'll miss you.

We also aren't going all the way to San Fran on the 1st day. That would probably send us over the edge.

[Rickster]

If your hungry when you get to Monterrey, you might want to go out to the fisherman's pier, (at the north end of town) you can drive right out on to the dock, where there is a little restaurant. I stopped there last year, and I'm glad I did, it was the best meal of my whole trip. They have a item on the menu, called the catch of the hour. The day I stopped, it was pan seared Red Snapper over a bed of rice, absolutely delicious. Plus as an added bonus, if you sit outside, you get entertainment watching the Seals play around the dock.

[PhotoJoe]

When you leave Simi, you'll probably take the 23 south, 101 south the Kanan Rd. over to the Malibu area. It's not the most scenic spot in the world, but you can say you've seen Malibu then. As a photographer, I can recommend many beautiful beach spots around there, however, your entire trip is going to be filled with them, so don't bother stopping just for those.

The first tourist area is Santa Barbara. Again, not sure if I'd stop there for any reason than to cruise through it and check it off this list of places you've wanted to see. Good ice cream out on the pier, though.

I love Big Basin. We've camped there a couple of times and would go back in a heartbeat. I did learn there that raccoons know how to open ice chests and like teriyaki chicken!

Sounds like a great trip. Have fun, be safe and I agree....When you start your ride -

[SoCalCruisin]

Chic, since I'm going up there the week before you, I'll be sure to give you an update on the road and weather conditions when I return.

[ChicsterMG]

Originally Posted by SoCalCruisin

Chic, since I'm going up there the week before you, I'll be sure to give you an update on the road and weather conditions when I return.

I couldn't ask for much more than that! Thanks!

[wookie]

when will you arrive in SoCal ? I will be out of down the last week of September /first week of October

[ChicsterMG]

Originally Posted by wookie

when will you arrive in SoCal ? I will be out of down the last week of September /first week of October

I hit LAX on the 5th. I'll be there until the following Wed.

[ChicsterMG]

Well, I'm all packed up and heading for bed. 5 am wake up and to the airport for 6.

I'm goin' back to Cali! Thanks for the heads up Dave. Maybe I'll see you on the road.

[ChicsterMG]

You come to SoCal and find that while you have the fundamentals you lack the skills.
Man, I tell you what. I took the bike here for a ride and what a difference from the mountain roads in PA. That tagged with not being used to the bike, cruiser to touring, and it's a recipe for disaster.

Luckily I have had time to ride locally before we head up the coast tomorrow. I'm much more comfortable today than I was yesterday. Took some getting used to. Front is much more responsive when you are right over it and there is much more feeling, too. Still, I am looking forward to tomorrow and the next couple of days.

Yesterday and today gave me and my friend time to figure out what our pace is going to be. We have 2-way radios hooked up, so we can tell each of the of the conditions ahead and where each other is at. Took a test run yesterday and it worked out great.

[palanon]

Good for you, Chic. Glad you had some time to get use to the bike before the big ride. Have some good Mexican food for me. You wouldn't believe what they try to pass off as Mexican here in NH !!!

Oh, and a six pack of DosEquis

[ChicsterMG]

Thanks Paul. In fact, I had the best F'n Burrito for lunch today. The size of a small child! Boy was it awesome, loaded with fresh, real BBQ tri-tip. Yum!!

[jgreth]

Mmmm... I lived in San Antonio for 4 years while in the Military. I miss the Mexican food ( and Tex-Mex, but there are plenty of authentic Mexican places, just need to know where to look )