San Francisco & Coast

[FJR2011]

My wife and i are planning a trip to SF next Sept.....i would like to rent a bike and ride down the coast....i was suggested to ride to Morro Bay and then return, however i would also like to see Yosemite (partially anyway !). Is this feasable in a 3-4 day rental ? any road suggestions ?

 

[Bugnatr]

Paging Ionbeam....Hey flew to SF last fall and rented a K1600 but I don't know where he rented from. I'm sure he would pass on the information if you PM him.

4 days is plenty of time to ride down the coast and over to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite Parks and get back to SF.

September can be really hot or smokey from fires in the Sierra's so staying on the coast isn't always a bad thing. The Redwoods north of SF are another great riding area.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Bugs is right, stay on the coast, two days North and two South.

September is often the best month of the year as far as fog and weather.

 

[Bugnatr]

Bugs is right, stay on the coast, two days North and two South. September is often the best month of the year as far as no fog and great weather.

Fixed it for you John. Don't get me wrong, those parks are awesome but not in forest fire smoke. Keep the north coast as a backup plan.

 

[James Burleigh]

Don't know what all the paranoia is about fires and smoke. That is the exception, and even then unlikely it would actually be a problem where you chose to be. Don't pass up the chance to see Yosemite!

 

[Bugnatr]

Don't know what all the paranoia is about fires and smoke. That is the exception, and even then unlikely it would actually be a problem where you chose to be. Don't pass up the chance to see Yosemite!

You haven't been living in the Sierra's Hans. Last year it was the King fire and the year before the massive Rim fire in Yosemite and the year before it was the American fire. It isn't smokey every year but with the drought the last 3 years have had some really bad days in the fall. Not trying to be Dougie downer just suggesting it's a good idea to have a back up plan.

Agree Yosemite is worth the effort but as I mentioned coming from Morro Bay I would try to include Sequoia and Kings canyon on the way up to Yosemite.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I "plussed" Hans' post. I'd ride through some smoke to see Yosemite if I had to, at least if I hadn't already been there about 40 times. But I'll go back again anyway, sooner or later. Or probably both. But the great thing about September is the tourists will have thinned out a lot by then, the park roads will be much less jammed with those big fugly bus things, and the temps will be getting a lot cooler. And you'd surely know before you started out from S.F. if it's going to be smoky anyway. There'll either be fires burning and heavy smoke, or there won't. It's not like a forest fire will start and fill up California with smoke between the time you leave and the time 3 or 4 hours later when you get to Yosemite. But Doug's right too. Nothing wrong with riding north out of S.F. and seeing the PCH and lots of redwoods, just in case it is a smoky year.

 

[ionbeam]

On our trip from San Fran to points south we rented a motorcycle from California Motorcycle Adventures in Jan Jose (technically Mountain View), ask for Ilene. I highly recommend this place, they are really accommodating and easy to work with, plus they keep their motorcycles in good running condition. I have rented from them twice now and it has gone well. We took advantage of their free pickup and drop off at the airport and used their luggage storage while we were out riding. We took longer than the time that the OP has available and it still wasn't enough to see it all. Without regard to time, this is an unedited travel log that I kept along the way, all the roads were superb with superb scenery and all are recommended.

Bike rental picks us up at the airport
2 hrs to load up and leave rental on RED 2010 BMW K1300GT
rental place didn't get the tank bag we reserved back from another rental so they had to Micky-mouse a tank bag install
got the 48L trunk instead of the desired 52L trunk
Micky-mouse GPS wiring for my own Zumo
bike brake and clutch controls -- you've got to be kidding me, YUCK, stall, stall, stall, over shoot stopping points, missed shifts, me no like the BMW setup
the rear brake peddle is where?
leave rental place for --

Rt 9 Big Basin Redwoods
fog, mist, rain, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back plus tar snakes and wet pine needles -- singing "Slip sliding away..."

Rt 236 Big Basin Redwoods
BIG trees, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back

Rt 9 to Rt 17, travel roads to --

Santa Cruz to Rt 1
traffic, traffic, traffic as the sun sets in the rain, easily the worst ride of the trip
fields of Brussels sprouts and artichokes

Marina; Hotel 6
arrive stressed, in the dark
least expensive room because it included nothing
artichoke mud bath in the dark as Garmina doggedly took us on only secondary roads
last time during the trip that a meal at Denny's seemed like a good idea

Monterey
aquarium extraordinary
arrived the second the aquarium opened

magic getting a parking spot near the aquarium; locker rented to stow riding gear while in the aquarium -- good idea!
seals on rocks
otters in kelp floats

17 Mile Rd closed to all motorcycles because of other bikes loud noises from years and years ago

Rt 1
hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
Carmel
sea otters
Big Sur
ocean bluffs, islands, vistas, islands with arches
bridges with beautiful designs
covered bridge under construction for rock slide protection
ranches
elephant seal rookery just before San Simeon, 100s of seals
Hurst Castle visible in the distance

San Simeon
room with best atmosphere because it was right on the beach

surf, beach fires, light houses , surfers

Rt 46 to Templeton for the wedding
vineyards, ranches
wedding
deer, lots and lots of deer

Paso Robles
BBQ with tables inside jail cells with bars & big $buck$ meals

Rt 99 to Bakersfield
ranches, fields, orchards, oil fields and bobbing ducks (oil pumping rigs)

Rt 178 to Sequoia, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
warning sign that 217 people have been killed on this road
Lake Isabella
road construction
Rt 155 Sequoia, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
road construction
ranches, orchards

Delano for the night
dump of a dinner for dinner and breakfast

Visalia to Rt 198
back to Sequoia, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
road construction
ranches and farms

Rt 180 to Fresno; Rt 41 to Coarsegold
fields, orchards, ranches
nice hotel, room behind the main office
dinner with the presidential debates on a TV at the bar
met FJR guy Dave at post office, recommended roads, his dog had to go to the vet for followup on leg surgery so he couldn't ride with us

Rt 41 to Yosemite Valley
hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
road construction
Half Dome
El Capatain
Bridal Falls

Rt 41 back to Wawona for the night
funky big buck hotel in the park
autistic waiter, artisan CA cheese dish with mango chutney, wine matched to the dishes
got a big room discount due uncontrolled heat in the room and a bus load of young kids raising heck outside our room all night
easily the worst room of the trip, easily 3 times more expensive than the other rooms

Back to Coarsegold on Rt 41 to pick up Rt 49

Rt 49 to Rt 140 back into Yosemite, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back

Rt 140 to Rt 120 to Mono Lake, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
road construction
rock avalanche really buried and closed the road, significant detour build on the other side of the river
exiting Mono lake overlook deer crossed the road in front of us

Rt 395 to Rt 108 Sonora Pass
road construction
ranches

Rt 108 to Sonora, hair pin switchbacks and ESes back to back
wicked setting sun in the eyes in the hair pin turns area
bear falls down an embankment onto the road in front of us
sun sets, hints of volcanic rocks, big trees and forests
deer in the road in the dark, BMW ABS works, BMW HID headlight work good
we arrive alive! latest arrival during the trip

we loved this road and swore we would come back and ride it again in full daylight

(October 2014 we went back on a BMW K1600 and road Rt 108 again in the daylight, awesome! I would do this road again...)

Sonora to San Jose
ranches
lost power to GPS, needed GPS to find Rental Place, some idiot forgot to plug in the power cord and ran out of battery, plugged in, fixed
major wind farms
sustained heavy traffic, lots of highways, least fun ride of the trip after Rt 1 on the first day

turn in bike
get ride to hotel from rental company
the most expensive meal of the trip in easily the worst restaurant

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We went back to San Fran last fall and did a northerly loop, travel notes here. Links to pixs here.