You are reading a single comment by @MuswellGreg and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@MuswellGreg
Hiya mate, sorry for the slow reply. Replied to your questions below:
-I'd really appreciate a list of spots/towns on the trip that shouldn't be missed.
To be honest I loved the whole trip, but you have to see Big Sur, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz is beautiful - and there is a great hostel there, I also loved Moro Bay, Portland Oregon, Eureka, Fort Bragg in Northern California was lovely, Santa Monica is class, make sure you take in some of the Oregon coast as well, it's very beautiful if a bit colder. The redwoods in northern california were spectacular. Mate I could talk all day, the whole trip was amazing. I think the one thing I'm most pleased about was crossing the Golden Gate bridge on the bike. Don't miss that.
-I'd prefer travelling light and fast so would rather stay in motels ... how much did you pay for a night on average?
That is exactly what I did and it cost me about $60ish a night. Taxes aren't included in the price quoted on websites so it always works out a bit more. You can get motel 6's for a bit less than $60 but they are proper basic and there is no breakfast offering at all so you end up spending more than you save on going out for breakfast. I found the Super 8's quite good. They usually had breakfast included and they weren't too expensive. In tourist hot spots you pay a fair wack, I paid well over 100 in Big Sur, there is camping there which might have worked out better.
-Did you see how full the campgrounds were? ... in case I decide to use them
didn't use campgrounds to be honest. Most of the other touring cyclists did and found them very cost effective. some were $5 a night. showers there as well. I just didn't want to carry a tent but if you have a bit more time it might be a great way to save money.
-How far did you travel each day?
I did about 80 miles a day. Some days I flew along like an express train, other days I crawled. Washington and Oregon are fucking hilly. The early part of the trip was very hard, lots of steep climbs, swollen ankles, sore knees. Plan your route carefully. I had booked a load of motels in advance so just had to ibuprofen my way through it but I had one or two days where I wanted to lash my bike off the side of a mountain!
-How was the weather at that time of the year?
Really good, I arrived early Sep and got back early Oct, no rain, mostly clear, hot off the coast, then a little chilly on the coast until I got South of San Francisco. Most go slightly earlier in the year. I was happy with the way I did it.
-Did you prepare in advance with smaller tours?
I had gone across France earlier in the summer with a couple of mates, but I'd say if you're cycling regularly, even commuting that would get you 80% ready. Maybe do a couple of longer trips on a weekend to prepare. I met a couple doing coast to coast - all they had done was one training ride over 80 miles.
-Any general advices?
-yeah, don't book too many motels in advance in case you want a rest day or run into trouble
-travel as light as possible. My total baggage was under 8kg - just one non cycling outfit, travel docs, then my cycling clothes. even lugging that up some of those brutal hills was hard. don't take a laptop, just a smartphone, if there is anywhere you can save weight, do it.
-check out the adventure cyclists of america - I bumped into a big group on a trip with an RV as a support vehicle, they were doing the whole west coast and camping along the way. luggage in the RV - about 15 of them. every now and again notices go up on their boards for people doing mad stuff like that. Worth keeping an eye on.
Have fun :-)