Pac Coast Hwy

[Stormchase]

Been a bucket list since I was about 12. I remember watching Car & Driver shows on sunday mornings with my dad and watching all of these nice cars on PCH and I have been set on it ever since. Been really itching for the last year to get out there. Now that I have the big girl what a better time?! Just tossed on some new Avon tires. I have to take them back in and get the stem replaced tomorrow. They didnt do it when they changed the tires.. bah thats an other story tho. This will be my first big (well for me) ride. The most I have really done is about 600 miles and many at 300-400. Ill be 1 up riding solo.

Tips on packing?

Im heading out of Phoenix and looking at about 1300 miles. I will be packing light with 2 small saddle bags and a duffel bag strapped to the back seat. My camera gear is top priority at this point aside of my wallet. That is going to be 1 side bag full. got my clothes for 3 days, 1st aid kit (survival kit), and a flash light. I almost picked up a small plug kit tonight but didnt. It was all loose and I wouldn't mind having on that has a case. Any default items that you guys carry for longer trips?

Anyone ride PCH? Stuff to see, places to go? As of now I was riding up and sight seeing on the way south. The elephant seals and the castle were about the only places at this time i have planned.

Its Friday now, Leaving Sunday morning Early! Excited! Cant wait!

[DirtyDan]

ive ridden all of it

its realy pretty

RAIN GEAR RAIN GEAR RAIN GEAR

going north on it will keep the sun out of your eyes

hearst castle



check

seals



check

dan

[icandoitfaster]

Just rode from Vancouver, BC to San Diego, CA this summer on the PCH.  It's an amazing ride! Avenue of the Giants and Eureka (Carson Mansion) are two must sees. I'd post photos of both but can't figure it out yet.
paul

[sheets]

How far north are you going? How many days?

[Stormchase]

looking at 4 days. I was only going to go to San Fransisco. Phx to morro bay for day one and I already have a room there. Take my time up to carmel and san fran back to Carmel for night 2. Ride down south bound and stop at everything, Probably every pullout haha, and Back to morro bay or Santa Barbra for night 3. Hang out for a little and ride back to phx day 4. I plan on taking time for some photo ops while I'm out there.

I see one day for rain. I have a so-so rain jacket and pants. It worked OK when I used it last but not total protection by a long shot. Ill grab those now, thanks
edit: I just packed the jacket and pants. They are more like jogging stuff, infact its Rebock brand but it does say waterproof lol. I used to use it for kayaking to keep me dry from splashes and light rain. Hmm. It will not fit over my mesh leather jacket so we will see. Packed either way. Its little room.

Thanks Dan .. now I have seen it. I dont need to go haha

[Oss]

I like my frogg toggs   Have the bibb pants and the jacket

You will stay dry with them no doubt and you WILL have a great time

Like said keep eye on road, esp in fog you may THINK you know where road turns but not always  Cliff may be on both sides and splat if cross line into vehicle or clip a bike

A small bag on the back seat is all you need for weeks on the Valk so you are fine. There is also room on the back seat for tent and sleeping bag  Recommend just use a net bungee and carry spare bungees.  

I do long day rides but on PCH south of Sausalito (dont miss Muir Woods take a few hours) would be stopping often for pics and to see attractions so as to miles I would be way surprised 300 miles in one day.  You get there when you get there is a good motto

[..]

4 days sounds like little sightseeing.

Try to think of how much time you will be stopped taking in the scenery and add it up. Maybe a minimum of one day - daylight hours of course.

That leaves you 3 days actual ride time. PCH is not a road to zoom on.

Go buy some real rain gear NOW. Why waste time looking for it on the road plus why get wet?

[The emperor has no clothes]

You'll have a great time   4 days wont seem like enough though. The mileage on Hiway 1 is not huge but it's slow going. I've had extra parts and compressor and plug kits. Never used any of it , you'll be fine. DO GET METAL VALVE STEMS AND GOOD RAIN GEAR. It gets cold over there sometimes, have some warm gear. If your reebok stuff doesn't keep you dry the trip will be miserable and that's all you'll remember. You are not going far enough north for Avenue of the Giants, but you will be close to Alice's Restaurant . It's a cool road and you'll meet LOTS of fellow bikers. Wish I was going with you, I never get tired of that area. HAVE FUN  

[firea100]

Just got home (Sunday 10-25-15) from my maiden voyage with my new (to me) Interstate / Cali-Sidecar trike! Went 2067 miles solo from Boise Idaho to our home in East China Mi. (North of Detroit) Saw it all... Rain, sleet and snow! Had a trailer behind me with everything from a snowmobile suit to cutoff jeans, tools and spare parts from the PO. Was a great trip, a little cold and wet at times, but overall the trike performed wonderfully! Here's hoping you have a nice trip on the PCH!!

Larry in East China MI.

[Pete]

South and North of Big Sur you will see signs about falling rocks in the road.
TAKE THEM SERIOUS.
Sometimes they may still be moving!!

Great ride, enjoy it at a sedate pace.

[Robert]

Been all the way up and down its beautiful, Im jealous and want to see it again. But I would be surprised if rain would be an issue. Can anyone say drought? There is also a town you can get mud baths if I remember and treat yourself and look on line at a good bed and breakfast to stay in one night. There is just sol much to see. Enjoy.

[sheets]

If you were traveling the northern stretch of CA 001, from San Francisco onward, I could offer up some info. You won't make it to my neck of the woods, so can't offer up much.  Enjoy.      

[Slvrvalk1]

Stormchase -

I live in San Luis Obispo, just south of Morro Bay.  I have not ridden PCH from Monterey to SF, but I have ridden the stretch between Monterey (Carmel) and Morro Bay.  There is a biker hangout not too far from the PCH south of SF (www.alicesrestaurant.com) that you may want to stop at.  Your second day from Morro Bay to SF and back to Carmel may be a bit long.

You may want to stop at Big Sur to check out some of the park.  Gas prices on PCH north of Morro Bay at Ragged Point will be over $5 per gallon so wait until Carmel to get gas.  Carmel is about 120 miles from Morro Bay.

Enjoy the ride.  It will be slow going on the stretch North of Hearst Castle as you get into the twisty, hilly sections of the ride.  A weekday may still have some slow traffic, but it will be better than a weekend day.

I have ridden the PCH from SF to Fort Bragg, and just my opinion is that the scenery there is not as nice as the section that you will be riding.

Dave

[Slvrvalk1]

Stormchase -

I forgot to mention that there are over 250 wineries in San Luis Obispo County.  There are a number of them in Monterey County which is the next county up from SLO County.  If you like wine, you will need to stop at one of the tasting rooms.

Dave

[DirtyDan]

I will second alice's restaurant as a cool stop

dan

[davit]

I recently spent twelve days on the road, and will say that regarding packing less is more, especially clothes.  One pair of jeans, two pair non-cotton underwear, long underwear, two pair socks, shirt, fleece and riding jacket.  Walmart sells Frog Toggs which are worthy of saddlebag space.

Also keep in mind that days are now short and mornings cold, so milage can be difficult to açcomplish.

Good on you for making camera gear a priority!  I'm looking forward to a ride report.   

[DirtyDan]

South and North of Big Sur you will see signs about falling rocks in the road.
TAKE THEM SERIOUS.
Sometimes they may still be moving!!


someone said rocks still in motion.........



CHECK

dan

PS RAIN GEAR

[Wizzard]

 Rt 66 Ca to Seattle, have done it but you need at least a week. Too much to see.

[The emperor has no clothes]

 

Rt 66 Ca to Seattle, have done it but you need at least a week. Too much to see.

  ??? I thought 66 went from Chicago to San Bernadino ?

[Wizzard]

lol,, meathead,, I rode 66 from chgo to CA then up the PCH. You meathead
Trip took 3 weeks

[Stormchase]

Yup hey guys,
Thanks for all of the info and I took it all. Well all except the rain gear lol. I used what I had and layered up.

It was a good ride from Phoenix to morro bay. I made very good time with traffic flowing at 90mph. I was getting 22mph on my old tires. Got bumped to 28mpg at 75-90. Very happy about that.

I got metal stems. I splurged and went the extra 16 dollars. Haha. The Avon tires really riding well. Rain included.

I stopped and toured around LA a bit on the way. A few places I wanted to stop as a past rock musician. It was great. Stayed at the beach bungalow in morrow bay. Very good experience and breakfast was top knotch.

I woke in the morning to a drizzle. Waited it out for about an hour and it turned into a downpour. Haha I knew it was comming. The weather channel had it to stop around 4pm. It was 9am and they could only have me in the room until 11am. I told my self ... let's do it!. Packed up and put on my "rain gear". Confident and ready I hit the road. I looked at the rain drops hitting my arm and they just soaked right in. I laughed and thought damn haha.

After a while of hard rain I pulled over at the seals. Just to get a break. Stopped raining! I walked around with my zoom lens for an hour or so taking shots. Got on the bike and take off. Downpour haha. Did it a couple more time and it stopped raining when I stopped and rained on the road. It was a little chilly but fully enjoyable. Most of the time I was so taken in the the view, I was numb to everything else. Didn't even think about it. I saw 7.29 a gallon at big sur. 1.99 back in phoenix lol.

Rain is over today sitting up in Carmel-by-the-sea.   Getting ready to eat and pack up. Its been awesome so far. I cant wait to get going.Going to take my time down to morro again. Check out big sur and all the sights.

Oh yeah. Rocks rocks rocks. First sign I saw I slowed it down. Thanks for the info. Might have saved my life. Should be a lot today as well since they haven't had rain in many years from what I was told.
Here is a little riding I did. Taking it slow with rocks and wet roads. Shot on my cell phone and did what I could.

https://youtu.be/ysjk5ncuTIA

[Gryphon Rider]

Video tagged as PRIVATE!

Must've been fixed; I can see it.  It makes me want to pack up and head to Californ-I-A!

[..]

Video tagged as PRIVATE!

Must've been fixed; I can see it.  It makes me want to pack up and head to Californ-I-A!

Now me too can see.   

[Willow]

...
I got metal stems. I splurged and went the extra 16 dollars. Haha. The Avon tires really riding well. Rain included.
...

Ouch!  I picked the wrong profession.  They cost about two bucks each.   

Glad you're having a good ride.  It is nice scenery.

[The emperor has no clothes]

...
I got metal stems. I splurged and went the extra 16 dollars. Haha. The Avon tires really riding well. Rain included.
...

Ouch!  I picked the wrong profession.  They cost about two bucks each.   

Glad you're having a good ride.  It is nice scenery.

I think that was the second thing I learned on this site after the rear spline service procedure.  That reminds me I need to get some more.

[gordonv]

A little late post.

It was recommended to me to ride the road going south, so you could make right turns off and onto the road at the points of interests.

I always thought to drive it north, so the sun would be behind me.

How did you find it pulling off/on the road?

[Stormchase]

No problem at all getting on and off the road. I went north one day and south the next. South had less debris but you can't gaze off shore as much. They were about equal for me. Plenty of views going north.

●●● I fixed the video. It went to privet by default for some reason.

[Willow]

...
It was recommended to me to ride the road going south, so you could make right turns off and onto the road at the points of interests.
...

I would also recommend North to South, but for a different reason, so that your view of the sea is unrestricted.  The view of the mountains doesn't matter if a cage or two are between you.