SF to LA bike tour, October 1998

Two cyclists holding their with panniers, one dressed in black, one in yellow.

After more than a year of planning, postponing, cancelling, rescheduling, and replanning, my buddy John Flores and I finally got around to getting on our bikes for a trip down the California coast from San Francisco to LA.

This is certainly among the most popular bike tours in the country, and with good reason; even though I’ve spent the last 10 years in various areas in California, and though I’ve driven Highway 1 all the way up the coast, I was not prepared for the breathtaking beauty I would encounter on this trip. Unfortunately, my camera wasn’t really prepared for it either, so the shots in this trip report don’t really capture the experience. If you want to see it, contact Bikecentennial (I don’t care what they’re calling themselves nowadays), get the maps and start cranking.

As a certified geek, I can’t begin the trip report without cataloging our equipment:

	Tom	John
Bike	Schwinn Passage	Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo
Components	Frankenstein, more Ultegra than anything	Shimano STX-RC/LX 24 speed drivetrain, GripShift 400SRT shifters, Spinacci aero bars
Gearing	53-39-30, 12-25	48-40-24, 12-28
Wheels	700c, 32 spoke (butted front and rear), laced 2 cross, front rim Mavic MA-2, rear Campy Omega	32 spoke Bontrager Maverick rims, Gary Fisher front hub, Shimano STX/RC rear
Tires	Conti SuperSuport Ultra 700×23	Conti Grand Prix 26″x 3/4″, 120psi.
Rack	Blackburn Mountain	Performance TransPort
Panniers	Madden, frameless, 3000 cubic inches	Blackburn, internal frame, 2400 cubic inches, Cyclepro trunk
Front bag	Adventure Cycling, 600 cubic inches	Trek 500 cubic inches
Computer	Avocet 50	Cateye Enduro 2
Camera	Nikon point-and-shoot	Sony Digital Mavica FD-7, Olympus XA-2 35mm point-and-shoot
Film	Seattle Filmworks 200/400 speed	Floppies courtesy of AOL and AT+T, film was “whatever was in the fridge when I packed”
Wicking	No	Yes

A harvested field in the foreground gives way to an ocean under a cloudy sky. In the distance, a lighthouse can be seen on the end of a point.

Day 1: SF to Santa Cruz

We were planning to get started before 10:00 AM, but general apathy and the few requisite last-minute problems delayed us until after 11:00. We had about 120 km to go to Santa Cruz. Because of our late start, we had to keep the pedals turning; we had only about 7 hours of daylight to work with. That, combined with the weather, kept us from taking many pictures...

A curved shoreline forms a bay on a sandy beach. Many people stroll the beach, some with dogs. Sunset is nearing; fluffy clouds lit up by the sun float above a ridge of forested hills.

Day 2: Santa Cruz to Carmel

On the advice of the motel front desk we headed out towards the beach immediately. We passed by the famed Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and then went out onto the wharf and got a large breakfast before a long day to a lovely sunset on the beach in Carmel...

The gnarled roots of Monterey cypress trees cling to the edge of a sandy cliff bluff, under a cloudy sky.

Day 3: Carmel to Big Sur

South of Carmel, the coast is largely undeveloped, so stopping places are few and far between. Consulting our altitude chart, it looked like the stretch coming up was going to be one of the more difficult ones on the coast; there are big climbs on both sides of Big Sur. Taking that into account, there appeared to be just two possible targets for the day; Big Sur, about 40 km south, and Lucia, 80 km down the road. We still had to fix my spoke, plus we still felt kinda weak, and there was at least one other side trip we wanted to take, so we decided to make this an easy day...

An outcropping splits a cove in two, with curved beaches on both sides of the outcropping. The water is turquoise blue.

Day 4: Big Sur to San Simeon

After another big breakfast, we got the bikes pointed south and started riding. It was still foggy and chilly, but we had a climb coming out of Big Sur that got us warmed up quick enough. On that climb we saw our first sign with mileage to LA (310 miles)...

A large sea stack looms over a tidal lagoon. In the foreground are wet mud flats with flotsam.

Day 5: San Simeon to Grover Beach

We got the bikes pointed southward and took it fairly easy. The weather was decent; there was still some fog and low clouds, but it wasn't as dreary as it had been coming south from Carmel, and the clouds burned off soon enough. South from San Simeon, Highway 1 gets straighter and flatter, so we were able to make decent time without killing ourselves. The ride is pleasant but not as scenic as the ride into San Simeon...

A bicyclist sits on the road at the top of a pass. A sign ahead of him warns of a 7% downgrade.

Day 6: Grover Beach to Goleta

The seediness of our surroundings made it easy to get out of the room early on Day 6. The day ahead of us promised to be the most challenging since Santa Cruz, so an early start was warranted...

A wide, sandy beach sits under a blue sky with fluffy clouds. A vegetated hill rises from behind the beach.

Day 7: Goleta to Port Hueneme

We headed south along those ridiculous Southern California beaches. I wound up sucking John's wheel most of the day. I think part of it was the route; it had turned flat, and alternated between commercial or frontage roads, and the shoulder of Highway 101, none of which makes for exciting riding...

A blue ocean with waves breaking on a sandy beach. A large house is in the foreground, with tall palm trees off to the left.

Day 8: Port Hueneme to Santa Monica

The route through Port Hueneme borders the navy base, on wide streets with moderate to heavy traffic. It's not particularly pleasant, but it's not very long before you get back on Highway 1 and it rejoins the coast. The traffic is fairly heavy at this point, but the road is wide and the scenery was the best we'd had since Morro Bay, so the ride was enjoyable...

A man sitting in a motel room holds out a bike computer towards the camera. It reads "763.7".

Day 9: Santa Monica to LAX

We wound up travelling some 780 kilometers, with only 1700 meters of climbing or so—that's less climb than a hard day ride around the Bay Area. It's a trip that should be feasible for any reasonably fit cyclist. There are only a few sections with significant traffic, and nearly all of those have wide shoulders. Plus, southbound, there's virtually no cross-traffic to deal with...