San Francisco to Arcata touring recommendations

[jamin orrall]

Howdy! I am doing a short little bike tour from San Francisco (Amtrak station) to Arcata California in a week or so on my Homer Hilsen.  Anyone have any tips or recommendations? Wondering if I should just stick to the PCH or try some other roads.  FYI I have ridden from Bodega Bay to LA so I have some experience on the coastal route but not that far north.  I will be camping with a very light road.

[Steven Sweedler]

The Lost Coast from Ferndale will make it more adventurous, but you will miss Avenue of the Giants. Fabulous ride either way. Steve

On Sat, Apr 8, 2023 at 12:06 PM jamin orrall <hello...@gmail.com> wrote:

Howdy! I am doing a short little bike tour from San Francisco (Amtrak station) to Arcata California in a week or so on my Homer Hilsen.  Anyone have any tips or recommendations? Wondering if I should just stick to the PCH or try some other roads.  FYI I have ridden from Bodega Bay to LA so I have some experience on the coastal route but not that far north.  I will be camping with a very light road.

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Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

[Piaw Na]

The biggest recommendation is to do it in reverse! In good weather you get a tailwind North to South. Grinding against the headwind South to North is no fun. You won't win the fight against mother nature and it won't be nearly as fun!

[Franklyn Wu]

The prevailing wind is north-to-south, so if you will be on the coast much, then going from Arcata to SF is less challenging. There aren't many ways to get to Arcata, though, perhaps greyhound bus with your bike packed up?

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

Btw, the bible for the Pacific Coast Tour is Spring & Kirkendall: https://amzn.to/3Gueao2

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[jamin orrall]

Thanks for all the tips so far! I'm afraid I don't have the option of north to south this time, I am not only doing this for pleasure but also as transportation, I need to be in Arcata by the 19th.

[Eric Norris]

Here’s a route that I followed from Arcata to SF in 2019. Gorgeous scenery that included the Avenue of the Giants.

As noted by others, the best direction to ride the coast is usually north-south, which is what I did. You can do the ride in reverse, of course, but you’re likely to have headwinds.

I did this ride as a 600Km qualifier for Paris-Brest-Paris, finishing just within the 40-hour time limit (including a brief sleep in Fort Bragg). To get a full 600Km, the route heads north a bit before turning south; you’ll see that in the cue sheet.

Hope you have a great ride! 

--Eric Norris
campyo...@me.com
Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy
YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy 

On Apr 8, 2023, at 9:06 AM, jamin orrall <hello...@gmail.com> wrote:

Howdy! I am doing a short little bike tour from San Francisco (Amtrak station) to Arcata California in a week or so on my Homer Hilsen.  Anyone have any tips or recommendations? Wondering if I should just stick to the PCH or try some other roads.  FYI I have ridden from Bodega Bay to LA so I have some experience on the coastal route but not that far north.  I will be camping with a very light road.

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[Franklyn Wu]

Not sure if you are open to doing multimodal transportation. You can ride to San Rafael and get on the SMART train. Then you can ride this tentative route from Sonoma County Airport all the way to Eureka. I mainly plotted on paved surfaces (not sure what kind of set up do you have). This takes you onto the coast from Ukiah to Fort Bragg, then follow HWY 1 to Laytonville. From there you can ride your way up to Eureka mostly shielded from the coastal wind. This route minimizes the coast so you don't have to fight the head winds very much. But others should chime in for the best route between Laytonville and Eureka.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42469821

[jamin orrall]

thanks everyone for the information, I am rethinking now and may take the coast starlight to Redding or Shasta and ride to Arcata from there, if anyone has any tips on roads or campgrounds it would be greatly appreciated!

[Michael Moore, Jr.]

I have been wanting to that route, but in reverse. If you need any information about the Arcata area reach out as I've lived here for many years.

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