Cambria is a great place to stay. Look to visit
Nitt Witt Ridge and
Hearst Castle if you have time. Hotel suggestions:
Cambria Palms - budget and moto friendly. Eat at Linn's Restaurant just a short walk from motel.
Little Sur Inn - pricier but directly across the street from the ocean. Walk to Moonstone Grill for dinner and enjoy the sunset.
Victoria's Last Resort - top end but very nice, romantic. I believe they will make dinner for you. Wifey might like this one!
From Cambria, come up the PCH (stop off and see the elephant seals along the way) and stay in Carmel or Monterey (
Victoria Inn in Monterey just a couple of blocks from the main drag - also consider visiting the
Monterey Aquarium) for the evening. It's less that 100 miles from Cambria to Monterey but you will most likely want to take all day as the views a breathtaking, lots of photo stops, and look for the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer State Park, about 10 miles south of Big Sur. Lunch at the
Big Sur River Inn, sit out back in the big Adirondack chairs and dip your feet in the running stream out back. They also have a hotel there too - pricey but very nice. Monterey isn't too much farther from Big Sur so I'd recommend visiting Big Sur but end your day in Monterey.
Coming through the Bay Area, there are a tone of fun roads in the mountains - 9, 35, 84, Alice's Restaurant (a well known moto haven), Stage Rd., Pescadero Rd., and tons more! Hwy 1 north of Santa Cruz isn't nearly as scenic as the more southern part that you will have just traversed so if you went inland to hit some of those roads, you wouldn't be missing a whole lot of the coast.
You might ping Mark/WheatonFJR for suggestions on where to stay in SF as he was recently there with his family. Immediately north of SF, just as soon as you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, take 2nd exit which comes up very quickly, just past the vista point. Turn left and cross under the roadway, then go up the hill on Conzelman Road. Very shortly you will see a number of turnouts on your left which give you great photo ops. From there you can backtrack to Highway 101, or you can fart around the area called the Marin Headlands. Nice riding, a lighthouse, old battery, beaches, a marine mammal rescue place. From there, you can visit Muir Woods or consider riding to the top of Mt. Tamalpais - great road and awesome view (as long as it's not foggy!).
Next place of note is Point Reyes Station. There's a cafe, a bakery, a market, and if you time it right, motorcyclists to visit with. Also the option to visit Pt. Reyes National Seashore. Miles of secluded roads, forests, a gigantic empty beach, and a lighthouse. Fun place to visit, but it will impede your forward motion as the only way back out is through Pt. Reyes Station. (My personal 2cents is to forego the lighthouse. It's a crapshoot if you will even be able to see the lighthouse because of the fog and the road out is fraught with high winds, rough road, and cow pies all over the place... very treacherous.)
The Bodega Coast Inn is where we stayed for the Rolling Illinois Cluster Feck in May. Very nice place, ocean view rooms, etc. There is a link to restaurants on the site.
Next motorcycle spot of note is the store at Stewarts Point. There is a road coming in from the right called Skaggs Springs Road. This is a well known local motorcycle road - loads of fun... first part is fairly goaty but then smooths out for some of the best sweepers around (note: speed limit is ridiculously low and is generally well patrolled). It will take you all the way to Hwy 101, though, so don't take it unless that's where you want to go. You can just pay homage as you pass. Or you can take Stewarts Point/Skaggs Spring inland, and then hit 128 out of Cloverdale back out to the coast.
On a normal person pace, you're probably ready to sleep by the time you get to Mendocino. It's a cool hippie/yuppie/new age town, but mucho spendy. If you are on a budget you can head just a bit further north and sleep in Fort Bragg.
If you go further north, definitely ride along Avenue of the Giants! Once up in Fortuna, must do roads include 299, 36, 3, and 96. Eddie/FWFE lives in Eureka which is nearby and he's a wealth of info on places to see/stay and some really fun backroads in the area.
Okay... that's a few bits for you to digest... there is enough to keep you busy around these parts for weeks!! B)
