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Workstand - I agree, I've thought about getting a helmet cam to film mad descents on long rides. I've spent plenty of time watching people get up and down famous hills on Youtube, before having a go at the myself. I probably wouldn't use it to film myself telling someone off for running a red light though, or if a car cut me up. I'd just take my normal approach of making an OTT gesticulation, being a bit annoyed for a minute then forgetting about it and carrying on with my day.

If you read the Daily Mail you're bound to be really angry about something - that or you really give a shit about the royal family.

I am not sure if I should continue to watch this. It'll either fuck me off or just make me depressed. Bad things either way....

Edit: 'Why did you RLJ?'

'It was green for pedestrians.'

HA!

Edit x2 I am sure it's been said but the clip in which the HGV cuts off the Glaswegian lad....I am literally gob smacked. Terrified.

Yeah that HGV roundabout clip was horrible. It made me shudder. So did the clip where Trafficdroid was overtaken and undertaken simultaneously by a van and another van with a trailer.

I just watched it, thought it was reasonable enough. Yeah the Ally Cats stuff is unfair, but I've never seen anyone get out of a car and punch a cyclist in real life either.

My balls nearly went through the floor when I saw that HGV pulling out on the guy on the roundabout.

Had a very similar incident with a moped on the bottom of Camden road just after mornington crescent. I was in the bus lane and he turned left and swiped across me leaving me absolutely nowhere to go. Luckily I wasn't clipped in and managed to slow down enough so I just touched him at low speed, we both wobbled a bit but neither came off.

Pizza delivery boy. He said to me didn't you see me indicate? he'd indicated as he started turning and clearly hadn't looked around. I lost it, made no difference at all, he was convinced he was right. The thing I took from that was that you need to concentrate and anticipate 100% of the time on the bike - there are some proper stupid arseholes out there on every form of transport, even foot. They won't change, so you have to be really aware.

Haha! I would go back tomorrow. Really enjoyed Bandon. Beautiful place.

Old commute:
Best - getting a clear run north on Tottenham Court Road taking you all the way to Camden - if you get the lights you can absolutely fly, especially coming up to Mornington Crescent. Love stopping at the lights by Camden Tube with your heart bursting out your chest :-)
Worst - Kentish Town High Street. Busy, dangerous, woeful surface, puncture central, often a huge pallet of veg in the road by the station in the mornings as well. Plenty of crazy cyclists doing strange things in the traffic as well. Also hate Shaftsbury Avenue, so busy!
New commute:
Best - belting up the bus lane on Archway Road from the roundabout to Highgate tube. Sometimes end up with someone cheeky hanging off my back wheel... Never too sure about that!
Worst - Holloway road is never a massive attraction, lots of traffic, never feels safe, and you have to wait at the lights for ages in places.

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 :-)

Finish with a pic... Trinidad, California. A local guy told me about a minor road I should take back "the most beautiful bike ride in the world" he said. I was skeptical, until I did it. F*cking awesome! Clifftop minor road through a forest with that view. Would have totally missed it if not for that guy. Just amazing. But then again, so was the whole trip :-)

For anyone else considering it - feel free to message me.

Advice, plan your route through military bases carefully. Some let you through if you show ID, others don't. I had to cycle down the shoulder of IS-5 to get through Fort Lewis, they don't let non- military personnel through the base, Google maps/Garmin doesn't tell you that - just sends you straight through. They allow cyclists to go down the shoulder of the motorway because it's the only way south through the base. I nearly did a log in my lycras on that motorway, most frightening thing I've ever done. Ever.

The roads are fine generally, roads are a lot wider over there, and there is usually a big shoulder to cycle on, no curb, just tarmac and a painted line - so like having your own lane. Be careful on bridges though, they tend to be narrow. Most of my close encounters were on bridges.

Plan routes carefully in big cities, especially LA - if I were to do it again I'd just hug the peninsula and take a bit longer to get around LA, there are always cycle lanes and quiet roads by the coast. The traffic there is brutal.

Thanks a lot for the tips, I did it, went out on the 9th Sep and got back last weekend. It was amazing, and surprisingly bike friendly.

Jammy - I bumped into some guys on an ACA tour in the Redwoods on the Or/Cal border, doing the same thing as me over a longer time. They had an RV to carry gear and were camping and cooking. I ended up eating out and staying in motels and hostels where available because I didn't want to carry a tent and only had a short time - which worked for me, but it could be done a lot cheaper and healthier. Keeping tabs on the noticeboards there loads of US tour stuff comes up. I'll be doing so in future.

SiFriday - I stayed a night in Crescent City funnily enough. Did you hug the coast on the way down? I went inland through washington and got on the coast at Bandon, half way through Oregon. Couldn't get over how hilly Oregon and northern California was!

xyz - Yeah! The coast was just mind blowing at times. I enjoyed California immensely. My highlights being the area around Big Sur, the Cambria Scarecrow festival, and cycling over the Golden Gate bridge - which has a fenced off cycle lane on one side believe it or not!

I'm changing jobs at the moment and am thinking about leaving a couple of weeks gap before starting at my next job to do a tour. Was thinking about doing the west coast of the US, it's about 13-1400 miles from Seattle to San Diego/Tijuana. Has anyone done it, or part of it? I've never been to the West Coast - and my route planning has gone as far as sticking it into google maps!

I'd be flying solo as it's short notice - I'd try and stay in Motels but was also wondering about taking a tent - if that would be more practical...

Any tips or advice would be gratefully received...

Lights gone on East Hill. Have fun!

They have put some temporary lights on Highgate Hill East, right at the top. Took my by surprise last week, big queue at the top of the hill. I'll check it out tomorrow as I go to work, see if they've gone.

I'd love to join this ride but I've got the Hackney Weekender that day and I'm on gears. Sounds class though and I'll definitely be doing the route.

Did it today. For anyone thinking of doing it, synopsis as follows:
Went from North London, picked up the A4 at Slough, stayed on it to Bath, then took the cycle path from Bath to Bristol.
Up to Newbury the A4 is frustrating. Loads of traffic, busy motorway type roundabouts and constant stopping and starting at lights. After Newbury it's actually pretty pleasant. By the time I got to Hungerford and beyond it was great - scenic and quiet. Mostly single carriageway. The cycle path from Bath to Bristol was brilliant though, well better than the roads. If anyone is thinking about doing London/Bristol I'd say take the cycle path as much as possible.
There weren't any hills really, the whole route was pretty flat - I was expecting one or two killer hills coming into Bath but if you take the A4 you manage to avoid anything significant. Given the force 10 gale and monsoon rain today I was a bit relieved, but if I did it again I'd find one or two hills to climb just to spice it up a bit. You wouldn't need to look very hard around Bath either.

Thanks a lot for that, I'll probably do a section of the cycle path and then road. I'll let you know how I get on next week....

Just stumbled across this thread, I'm planning on doing London/Bristol next week and stopping at a mates there overnight, if I'm feeling up to it I'll cycle back the next day... (probably won't!). Route wise - I'm trying to figure out whether to go road or cycle path, does anyone know what the A4/A420 is like for cyclists? I'm thinking keep it simple because my misadventures with country back roads usually end in the middle of nowhere in darkness!!