USA west coast bike tour advice needed

[fatal]

This is a request for some advice from our american friends on the forum.

This coming september I shall be flying into San Francisco with three mates. We are each hiring a Harley and plan to ride south along the Pacific coast highway.

Our propoosed route is something along these lines.
We will have two night s including one full day in San Francisco before hiring the bikes.

1: San Fran to monterey 118mls
2: Monterey to Pismo Beach 152mls
3: Pismo beach to just north of LA 220mls (we have no wish to enter LA, but one of our party wishes to visit Palm springs.)
We need a suggestion for an overnight stop north and preferably eastwards of LA prior to visiting palm springs.
4: LA (ish) to Palm Springs approx 200mls.
5: palm springs to Laughlin 232mls
6/7: laughlin to Grand canyon 245mls. we plan to have two nights in the area so we can have a full day around the canyon.
8: Grand canyon to Monument valley 170mls
9: monument Valley to Bryce canyon 340mls
10: Bryce canyon to Las Vegas 250mls. Two night stay in Vegas
11: in Las vegas
12: Las vegas to Mammoth lake via Death Valley 315mls
13: Mammoth Lake to El Portal via Yosemite Park 150mls
14: El Portal to San Francisco 200mls

We then plan to spend two nights in San Fran so we have another full day in the city prior to flying home.

can anyone reccommend suitable routes, preferably not dual carriageway/very busy roads, any roads that should be particularly avoided. Also any special places of interest and good bars would be useful.


Thanks, Fatal.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Fatal.. try posting this to Wildguzzi I'll bet you get more information than you want. Sounds like a *wonderful* trip..

[GuzziMoto]

I don't really have info to match your request but I will say I highly recommend heading north out of San Fran for at least a day or two. North of San Fran there is some old growth Redwood forests and a road that runs through them called the Avenue of the Giants.
http://www.aveofthegiants.com/
It is roughly 4 hours north of San Fran up 101, but to do it round trip really needs two days to take it in.
I am sure there is some nice roads south of San Fran, but I have been to see the Avenue of the Giants and it was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen.

[GT-Rx]

Chuck, I'm going to whack you with a newspaper next I see you. Fatal, happy to help you in every aspect... I happen to know the areas you speak of quite well. I can post all of the info below if you want me, to, or feel free to ping me direct e-mail; Todd at GuzziTech.com

Awaiting your reply here or direct e-mail,
Todd

[fatal]

Thanks Todd, I will email you direct. Cheers, Alan (fatal)

[Roblatt]

I live in Australia and have no idea of American geography, so I have nothing to add for Fatal other than have a great trip.

Todd, can you video the newspaper whack and post it? The mental image I have just about knocked me off my chair!

Robert

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sorry about that, Todd.. but WG *does* get more traffic, and is more suited to that kind of thing. I always send WG people over here for tech and tuning, suspension upgrades, etc.
I'll be out to get my whacks in March..

[GT-Rx]

Sorry about that, Todd.. but WG *does* get more traffic, and is more suited to that kind of thing. I always send WG people over here for tech and tuning, suspension upgrades, etc.
I'll be out to get my whacks in March..

Good, I'll be waiting in March.
I appreciate the referrals Chuck, thanks for that.
Otherwise, there's a BIG handful here that know the area in question quite well... and we even have a regional specific are to post it. No need diverting people away (please).
I'll look for your e-mail Alan, and hopefully getting to meet you in person.

Todd, can you video the newspaper whack and post it? The mental image I have just about knocked me off my chair!

Happy to.

[DerekSolomon]

Hey,

Just a random suggestion: there's a website out there that had a lot of interesting information on California roads called pashnit.com. The guy even rides a Guzzi.

http://www.pashnit.com/

Unfortunately, it appears to have been locked down and become a subscription site. It might be worth the $20 to get a first hand account on some of the North/South roads that link San Fran to SoCal. Also, the yearly migration to Laguna Seca for the WSB or MotoGP means that there are tons of riders with opinions on the best roads to get back and forth on... My personal favorite is Highway 58, but you mentioned that you want to reach Pismo and then move on towards Palm Springs. Morro Bay (just north of Pismo) would be more optimal if you wanted to take Highway 58 more inland. You would then have to plan a route to bypass greater Los Angeles, which may put you out in the sticks for a long time...

Good luck, and I'd love to see route suggestions from those in the know. My opinion would be to include the following segment:

Highway 58 east from San Louis Obispo to the town of Taft.
Highway 33 south from Taft to the town of Ojai.
Highway 150 from Ojai to Santa Paula.
Highway 126 east from Santa Paula to Santa Clarita.

From there you can choose freeways (210) or a more interesting route through the San Gabriel mountains (Little Tujunga, Angeles Crest, etc.).

Good luck!

-Derek

[SgtCrump]

You don't say how you are getting from San Francisco to Monterrey. I would recommend a scenic route you may not have noticed.
Get on Hwy 1 in San Francisco, and go south to Half Moon Bay. Take the 92 Hwy east to Skyline Blvd, Hwy 35. It goes south from there. You will find Alice's Restaurant by all the bikes gathered there. When you get to Hwy 9, take it towards Santa Cruz. Shortly after getting on 9 you will see Hwy 236, to Big Basin State Park. Take that road, and stop at the park headquarters. You can spend as much time there as you like. You can even walk a short trail to see some unbelievable trees.
Continue south on 236, and it will take you back to Hwy 9. Follow that south to Santa Cruz, and it will cross Hwy 1, which you can then take to Monterrey.