San Francisco to Los Angeles Sample Itinerary
Day One - SFO to Half Moon Bay - 28
miles
Your guides will meet the group at the airport in San Francisco
when the group's flight arrives. After putting together our
bicycles, we'll ride straight from the airport through some urban
areas over to Highway One. Greeting the ocean at Pacifica, the fog
capital of California, the city soon melts away as climb over scenic
Devil's Slide to Half Moon Bay.
Accommodations Ideas: Half Moon Bay Holiday Inn Express
Day Two - Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz - 50 miles
Even though the bustling metropolis of the San Francisco Bay area
is just over the hills, our route down the coast today feels like it'
s a million miles away from the city. Numerous state parks and
beaches pepper the route as we head south to Santa Cruz, where the
laid back California lifestyle was practically invented.
Accommodations Ideas: Santa Cruz Travelodge
Day Three - Santa Cruz to Big Sur - 84
miles
The longest day of the trip! From Santa Cruz to the Monterey
Peninsula the coastal route weaves through farmland with long
stretches on bike paths. In Monterey we can take a side trip out to
scenic 17 Mile Drive and experience the storied golf courses of
Pebble Beach. South of Monterey/Carmel, we enter the fabled Big Sur
coastline and ride some big hills with the Pacific Ocean crashing
well below us (watch for sea otters!) before finishing our day among
the redwoods in Big Sur State Park with a stay at the famous Big Sur
Lodge.
Accommodations Ideas: Big Sur Lodge
Day Four - Big Sur to San Simeon - 63
miles
The hills of the Big Sur coast get even bigger for the first 40
miles of today's ride. You are either climbing or descending
virtually the entire way and Highway One is often carved right out
of cliffs that rise sometimes over 1000' above the ocean. This is
some of the most dramatic riding of the trip. South of Ragged Point
the hills level out as we ride through idyllic ranchland past an
elephant seal colony and Hearst Castle before getting a well earned
night's rest in San Simeon.
Accommodations Ideas: San Simeon Beach Resort
Day Five - San Simeon to Pismo Beach - 57
miles
In the morning our route sticks close to the coast and winds through
the picturesque small towns of Cambria and Cayucos and skirts the
Morro Bay National Estuary. As we get closer to San Luis Obispo the
route heads inland for a while and runs through ranch and farmland as
well as some larger towns. We end the day in the beach town of Pismo
Beach.
Accommodations Ideas: Oxford Suites, Pismo Beach
Day Six - Pismo Beach to Solvang - 60
miles
South of Pismo Beach the coastal route crosses through fertile
farmland before heading inland (and getting hillier) around
Vandenberg Air Force Base. In the town of Lompoc, we'll detour from
the coastal route and head even farther inland through the scenic
vineyards of the Santa Ynez River Valley to the Danish town of
Solvang.
Accommodations Ideas: Holiday Inn Express, Solvang
Day Seven - Solvang to Ventura - 57 miles
A mountain range looms between Solvang and Santa Barbara. Up and
over we go for the biggest single climb of the trip - San Marcos
Pass (elevation 2225'). A steep descent brings us to Santa Barbara
and miles of beaches. Hugging the coastline, we actually ride on US
101 for a short stretch before reaching our destination of
Ventura.
Accommodations Ideas: Ventura Country Inn and Suites
Day Eight - Ventura to Santa Monica - 62
miles
Southern California ambience dominates the route today as we mostly
stick close to the water and ride down the Malibu coast and
beaches. The hills are few and far between as we wind up our trip in
the classic Southern California beach town of Santa Monica.
Accommodations Ideas: Best Western Gateway, Santa Monica
