West coast and back - your "Must see" list. | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

West coast and back - your "Must see" list.

PrivatePilot said:
Better re-read my earlier reply. 1.5 days to Denver = zen time for me. I like that sort of riding.

Accordingly, if I did book all 5 weeks between May and September I could probably extend the timeline on this sort of trip to 2 weeks, so 12-15 days.
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Realistically, flying out and then back to and from Cali/Vegas plus renting a bike there could easily take two full days. Considering that it is possible to get to and from Denver / Sturgis in about 1-1.5 days, the math doesn't look so bad. The difference between flying there or riding all the way is only about a day, with the advantage of riding your own bike and saving a couple of grands.

So far I've been out there six times and all trips except one where on my own wheels. This works for me because I consider all riding west of Denver / Rapid City as part of the road trip as opposed to the part of "getting there". Of course, if the only goal would be to ride the PCH, would have to reconsider.

As for the available time, if California is the ultimate destination, scheduling a two week trip is definitely a better idea. There are just so many amazing roads and places in the south-west, with such a variety of landscapes. It would be a shame to miss some of those out due to lack of time.

And a final note about tent camping, in most of Utah, Arizona and Cali, is not really feasible in July/August as it is too hot. In those areas I prefer a cool motel room. We do take the camping gear with us for backup and for those places where it is too difficult to find a room (like Yellowstone). But if we have a choice, we either stay at motels or rent KOA cabins, which is our preferred option in cooler places.
 
It seems to me that everything west of(and including) Colorado is epic riding?
 
Realistically, flying out and then back to and from Cali/Vegas plus renting a bike there could easily take two full days.
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What !!?? You fly out at 9 am - get to the west coast at 10 am and go riding by 11 - your comment is speculation not based in experience.
 
MacDoc said:
What !!?? You fly out at 9 am - get to the west coast at 10 am and go riding by 11 - your comment is speculation not based in experience.
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Agree, I never experienced flying and renting a bike, just assumed that motorcycle rental in a different city is a different experience than renting a car from the terminal.

In my estimates, I was considering all the time it takes from leaving the door until hitting the road on the bike, with all luggage strapped down and the bike set up for touring. Plus the time spent from dropping off the bike at the end until back in the house.

There is travel involved from the airport terminal in Vegas/California to the bike rental business, the business hours there are likely less flexible and might have to sleep near the airport overnight, both the first and last day. Packing all the luggage on a new bike could take a bit longer the first time.

I would be curios to hear from somebody who actually went through such an experience how long it took to be in the saddle, and what was the overall cost.
 
I can only tell you both times we flew our bikes to the west coast we were riding by noon.

The mcycle rental places from what I can tell arrange to pick you up at the Airport and I would hope you are travelling appropriately light. We just wore our mcycle jackets on the plane and helmets in overhead plus a carry on soft bag.
YMMV on the bike rental places - do your research.
 
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tiborgh said:
I would be curios to hear from somebody who actually went through such an experience how long it took to be in the saddle, and what was the overall cost.
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I've done this many many times: Vancouver, Calgary, Tampa, Miami, Phoenix, Santa Monica, Las Vegas...

It's a great way to maximize your vacation time: leave work at 5PM straight to the airport, you can get to the west coast and be asleep in a hotel near the rental agency before nightfall. Catch a taxi to the rental place first thing in the morning and have all papers signed and be off within 1-1.5 hours.

At the end of the rental, return the bike, call a taxi straight to the airport to catch the redeye back to Toronto and upon touchdown, head directly to the office and you're sitting at your desk at 9AM like a glassy-eyed zombie, too tired to do any real work, but yet strangely, you still have enough energy to be able to plan your next motorcycle vacation...
 
MacDoc said:
What !!?? You fly out at 9 am - get to the west coast at 10 am and go riding by 11 - your comment is speculation not based in experience.
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Realistically? 9AM international flight = arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure. So 6am departure from the house (even that would be tight if it’s a weekday with traffic, so 5:30am to be safe) = awake at 4:30AM.
Flight = realistically 6 hours, gate to gate. And that’s a direct flight which is a heck of a lot more than a few hundred dollars right now each way.

So you arrive at the luggage claim at noon local time. If you get your luggage and get to the taxi stand by 12:30 you’re doing good.

30-60 minute taxi ride to rental place especially in CA traffic.

Paperwork for rental, get out and check out the bike and inspect, document, and photograph it to ensure there’s no question about damage etc etc etc...half hour or so realistically.

So it’s now realistically 2-3pm and you’re hungry and tired because you’ve been up for 15 hours already. Ride to your hotel, get some dinner, it’s now 5-6pm and you’re exhausted (brain thinks it’s 9pm and you’ve been up almost 17 hours. I wouldn’t likely be riding much before calling it a night.

On the flip side, I’d hit the road at that same 4:30am on the bike and be into Nebraska (and would have enjoyed every minute of the ride all day) in around the same time. Get a good nights sleep after a fun riding day and in Denver (and the scenery begins) before lunch the next day.

The other advantage of having your own bike is that you don’t need to make a loop of it, worry about mileage limits, have your own stuff (that I didn’t have to pay extra to fly to and from) and I know I’m comfortable on.

And again, I like the miles. ?
 
PrivatePilot said:
Cost isn't an issue. I'm frugal which is why I'll camp part of the trip (that, and I actually enjoy moto camping when the body allows), but ultimately, the cost of the gas is the least of my concerns. @6L/100km average (probably more, but to make the guesstimate) were only talking 720L for a 12,000KM return. At about $1/L right now....~$750 isn't even on the radar so far as cost.



Better re-read my earlier reply. 1.5 days to Denver = zen time for me. I like that sort of riding.

Anyhow, I appreciate everyones thoughts. It's still in the "throwing Jello at the wall" stage right now - many questions to be answered yet including if the border is even open...and how much of my vacation I want to use for this trip. I have 5 weeks this year - I usually take 4 of them in the summer months and save one for November/December for a cruise, but there's a lot of question on if cruises will even be running again out of the USA by then..and I don't want to put my name on a week in the winter to not be able to do anything with it. Accordingly, if I did book all 5 weeks between May and September I could probably extend the timeline on this sort of trip to 2 weeks, so 12-15 days.
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I get it, that's why many of my back and forths were on the road - not everyone can find thrill or zen in miles flat corn and wheat field scenery. I'd budget at least 2 x 15hr days to Denver or west Texas - it's 2400km if you bee-line interstates and see no traffic snarls. Add another 400km and if you hit a few interesting blue highways.

There are also 3 basic routes to the west coast - south thru west Texas, NM and AZ (with some tastes of Route 66), central across CO, Utah and NV, and north, through MT, ID, WA. You can pick 2. My faves are the south and central as they have fairer prices, some civilization, more service options -- all three are picturesque.

You should look at the routes, then zero in on the interesting excursions and sights. May is a bit early for the Norther route, I'd only take that late June and on.

California is it's own world. You could easily spend a week each in the south, central and northern part of the state. The best non-interstate network in the nation, and you are rarely far from scenery, attractions and or challenging roads.
 
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Flight = realistically 6 hours, gate to gate. And that’s a direct flight which is a heck of a lot more than a few hundred dollars right now each way.
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Yknow I gave you the round trip cost to San Fran which is current $425 US.
You want to manage your flight times. Leaving at 9 am toronto times ( you do NOT need to be there early ...there is nobody in the airport ) - gets you into San Fran at 10 am local. No need for a hotel
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Yknow I just did this route coming to Australia two weeks ago.
You come back on the red eye so no need for a hotel on that end
 
But I *want* to do the ride to and from. Getting in a good solid 10,000+KM trip this summer (again, assuming the border is open and travel is considered safe again) is what I *want* to do. Look at it from the perspective of the Pickle Lake ride we passed each other on last summer. I could have trailered the bike to Thunder Bay or rented something and just rode to and from there, but I *enjoyed* the trip to and from in it's entirety.

So.

Plan would be to go mostly west on the way out, probably shoot straight out to Denver in 1.5 days as I've mentioned a few times, and then go from there SW and wiggle around through wherever ends up being on the menu. Then out to CA, and head north up to either Oregon or Washington.

The trip back east, Beartooth pass is on the must-do list, so that takes us back east over to Wyoming, then SE a little through the Bighorns, back through the Black Hills...and then....express east again back home in 1.5 days as there's not much of interest past that point.
 
Not just aiming the conversation for your trip but others as well - we get it ur a madman for long rides. ?
It's only the time limit I'm questioning - no matter how much you ride 8-9 day with 3 days the big empty is not time effective.

With more time - your plan makes sense but you want to do the PCH and you are simply not going anywhere fast on it.
I'd not bother with the PCH in Washington or Oregon - Mount St Helens is enroute - you could drift up to Mt Ranier.
1 hour diversion for St Helens and interesting roads north from there then go east to Glacier if you want, then drop to Yellowstone ( not on a weekend ) and then exit via Beartooth and Chief Joseph Parkway.... blitz home.
The above of course assumes the border will be open...not certain of that at all.

For others looking at fly and rent .....
Just need accurate info

Flights are cheap and pretty much empty as are the Airports and I'd recommend anyone doing this get their Nexus card. Use soft carry on only you can fold away

Rental of Mcycle - YMMV but there are choices at the main destinations

Health insurance ...Manulife for short term coverage.

Fly out early in the morning - get to west coast 10 ish - leave from rental place at noon.....enjoy the day - especially in June. You do have to book this ahead and do your due diligence on the rental place.

fly back on the red eye.
 
Fly and ride is definitely an appealing way to maximize time. I have contemplated it for both Europe as well as getting out to the west coast and riding back. On the other hand I enjoy the journey from beginning to end, even the long boring flat interstates. Something about getting up early and being on the road as the sun comes up and just heading west. It is not exciting, not for days but there is a strange quiet enjoyment to it, at least for me. A few years back I rode out to Utah, did the whole Moab thing, Pikes Peak, etc. Was amazing once I got into the mountains but it was a long couple of days to get out there and yet I would not trade it for anything.
 
Southern California. I like to start in Los Angeles at 3000 Canyon Lake Drive. This is the epic location to take a a pic with you, your bike and the Hollywood sign in the background. Then make your way up to Highland and Sunset, follow the Sunset Strip west past the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, and continue west and you'll get a few curvy stretches before you hit the ocean and PCH. Head north on PCH and you pass another landmark, the Santa Monica pier with it's giant Ferris Wheel.

Continue north toward Malibu. Malibu has some of the best canyon carving roads anywhere. My favorites are are Decker and Latigo both technical roads. Take Decker or Latigo (there are plenty more, these two are my fave) in one direction, then the tamer but scenic Malibu Canyon road the other way - the loop is from PCH to 101 and back. (If you are a Kobe Bryant fan, head north on 23 toward Moorpark, the Ronald Regan library is beside the Koby Crash site). Once you are back to the PCH, head north to Leo Carillo beach look for migrating whales and if surf's up you can watch dolphins playing in the breakers. The ocean is warm there, jump in for a quick cool off then continue on the PCH north toward Ventura.
Ventura is a great stop. The downtown has some history, the beaches are nice and it's a mecca for old VW's Mustangs and Camaros. Continue North to 33, then head to Ojai, a tiny artisan village that will take you back to the 60s. Head back to PCH via 150 to Monteciito and Santa Barbara (if you want to see some celebs, walk the tiny strip in Montecito - I've lunched at at tables next to Julia Child, Oprah, Starr, Sellick, Cruz, Nicholson and dozens I can't remember). Take the Hope Ranch road thru Santa Barbara if you want to see the oceanside estates of the richest of rich in America. Keep going to Pismo beach, you can pitch a tent on the beach and camp like a vagabond.

Continue on PCH north, there isn't much to stop for other than a photo or two till you hit Carmel. Take the 17 mile drive thru Carmel. If you're a golfer, drop in for a bike pick at Pebble Beach.

Continue North to Santa Cruze. From here you make a decision - see Silion Valley or continue up the coast to San Francisco. Fun Fact: There are about 8 nude beaches starting with Fort Funston, the southernmost -- if that's your thing.


... more to follow
 
Big Sur is nice stop off for a break north of San Luis Obispo and Cannery Row north of Carmel.
Cut over to the coast just north of the Golden Gate - lot less traffic than S of San Fran. The fog is the trip killer for the PCH
Always lurking just offshore ....and very dangerous. There are always yahoos trying rush on the PCH.
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Isn't there a super cool and massive bridge somewhere along the PCH? I recall seeing a picture of it before - maybe it was close to Big Sur.
I've always thought it would be pretty awesome to stop on this bridge.

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Just a heads up, there was a major mudslide wiping out a large section of the PCH in Big Sur. It is such a major incident that it may be over a year before this is fixed. So plan for a significant detour. Too bad , great section to ride, also the bridge in question earlier is the Bixby bridge. Google it if interested, pretty cool.
 
MacDoc said:
I can only tell you both times we flew our bikes to the west coast we were riding by noon.

The mcycle rental places from what I can tell arrange to pick you up at the Airport and I would hope you are travelling appropriately light. We just wore our mcycle jackets on the plane and helmets in overhead plus a carry on soft bag.
YMMV on the bike rental places - do your research.
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LAX is pretty fast - exit the plane, jump an Airport car rental shuttle and you' re at Eagle Rider in 10 minutes. Another 15-20 minutes and you're on the road. Eagle Rider is walking distance from the Airport, right by the car rental lots on La Cienega.
 
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