Route advice from Santa Barbara to San Francisco

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BoomerE30

Well-known member
Howdy!

Ill be riding my bike from Santa Barbara to San Francisco.

I'm starting on Thursday afternoon and hoping to get into SF sometime on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Looking at the map, there definitely seem to be a number of twisty roads, however, I was wondering if there are any must do roads along the Route 1 going north. I've already done it by car several times so dont mind missing out some of Route 1 sight seeing.

OK for both pavement and off-road, as long as it doesn't put me too far out of the way.

Highly appreciate any advice!

 
auntiebling

auntiebling

megalomaniacal troglodyte
Staff member
there are so many good roads down there...

for starters, stay off 101 between SB and Santa Maria, at least take 154 over to the cachuma mudhole side of the mountains. take the roads through the farms to santa maria.

tell google maps to "avoid highways"

if i were in your shoes i'd go south to ojai, take 33 northish, 166 west ish to santa maria and someone else will be along to get you from santa maria north. 33 is amazing. 33/166 junction is a desert so can be painfully hot, or crazy cold... and it can snow over 33 during winter so pack accordingly

i'm not a big fan of 1 honestly. riding a bike i can't enjoy the scenery (don't want to drive off the cliff) and the likelihood of traffic is high. traffic sucks.
 
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B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
auntiebling said:
there are so many good roads down there...

for starters, stay off 101 between SB and Santa Maria, at least take 154 over to the cachuma mudhole side of the mountains. take the roads through the farms to santa maria.

tell google maps to "avoid highways"

if i were in your shoes i'd go south to ojai, take 33 northish, 166 west ish to santa maria and someone else will be along to get you from santa maria north. 33 is amazing. 33/166 junction is a desert so can be painfully hot, or crazy cold... and it can snow over 33 during winter so pack accordingly

i'm not a big fan of 1 honestly. riding a bike i can't enjoy the scenery (don't want to drive off the cliff) and the likelihood of traffic is high. traffic sucks.
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Hey auntiebling! Thanks so much for the advice. Definitely going to take the 154 as you suggested, but it seems to just merge into the 101. Should I stay west of it?

I couldnt find "cachuma mudhole" but found Lake Cachuma which seems to be on 154.

Id love to go south and explore more, but have to get home up north so thats not an option. I figured taking Route 1 would be better than slabbing it all the way to SF on the highway.

 
matty

matty

Well-known member
I second 33, but instead of 166, I'd take 58, there are some flat straight parts, but you'll soon be rewarded with lovely twisties and giant whoopdedoos. That will put you out at Atastcadero ish and that's right where the coast starts getting fun and pretty. Or continue on to Rossi's driveway, Parkfield grade, 168 w to 28 north. There's also Peachtree outside of San Miguel that'll hook you up with 28 too.
 
auntiebling

auntiebling

megalomaniacal troglodyte
Staff member
lake cachuma is a mudhole. taste the tap water in SB. it'll make sense.

right before you hit 101 on 154, take zaca station road. it turns into Foxen canyon road and gets you to santa maria.

given your time table you might be running out of daylight already in which case i'd slab it up 101. i don't personally like navigating new roads at night on a bike.

what you next depends how far you want to go the first day, etc etc.
 
B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
My other question is how in the world do I find decent campgrounds? I dont know how much distance I will cover so no set location for the evening.

I started to read about campsites along the route and the amount of info is overwhelming, yet I cant figure out how and where to just pop a tent and sleep for the night!
 
dravnx

dravnx

Well-known member
Forget camping and spring for a motel. Camping is fun but it's a time sucker. I'd rather spend my time riding. Less camping=more roads. Google Rossi's Driveway.
 
matty

matty

Well-known member
BoomerE30 said:
My other question is how in the world do I find decent campgrounds? I dont know how much distance I will cover so no set location for the evening.

I started to read about campsites along the route and the amount of info is overwhelming, yet I cant figure out how and where to just pop a tent and sleep for the night!
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Someone here suggested the ioverlander app. Camping can be tough because so much of that land is private and the coast campgrounds are almost certainly full. Assuming you make it to the central caost, you can poach on the west side of Nacimento Fergussen Rd, there are campsites on the east side of that road. You can camp on the ridge, that's all dirt. Past Fort Hunter Ligget is Memorial campground, that'll be empty, I can't remember if it's dirt to get there, if it is, it's easy dirt. There are some BLM sites near 28, just make a right on (edit): Coalinga Rd, to get there. I even camped at an OHV area off of 58, I got there late enough that I just pitched a tent off one of the green trails:laughing
Good luck.
 
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senpai71

senpai71

Professional troublemaker
A couple of options:

1. If you don't take the Hwy 33 route (which you should!), rather than take 154 (which is "fine"), google "West Camino Cielo, Goleta, CA" - you can follow that (and then S. Refugio Rd) from SB to Santa Ynez.

2. If you take Hwy 1 north, consider cutting inland at Nacimiento-Fergusson Road - then to King City, then Bitterwater and up Hwy 25. Much less traffic than Hwy 1...

Nice twisty backroads...
 
B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
dravnx said:
Forget camping and spring for a motel. Camping is fun but it's a time sucker. I'd rather spend my time riding. Less camping=more roads. Google Rossi's Driveway.
Click to expand...

Great point about camping! I did want to test out all that gear I've been collecting over the years, but if it will be an absolute PITA to find space each night, maybe its not worth it.

Is this the bit that makes up Rossi's highway?

Google map: http://bit.ly/30bomxX
 
B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
matty said:
Someone here suggested the ioverlander app. Camping can be tough because so much of that land is private and the coast campgrounds are almost certainly full. Assuming you make it to the central caost, you can poach on the west side of Nacimento Fergussen Rd, there are campsites on the east side of that road. You can camp on the ridge, that's all dirt. Past Fort Hunter Ligget is Memorial campground, that'll be empty, I can't remember if it's dirt to get there, if it is, it's easy dirt. There are some BLM sites near 28, just make a right on (edit): Coalinga Rd, to get there. I even camped at an OHV area off of 58, I got there late enough that I just pitched a tent off one of the green trails:laughing
Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'll definitely check it out. I suspect that I will be passing that area on my second day. I should get up to Morro Bay on the first since i'm leaving Santa Barbara around 4 PM
 
mototireguy

mototireguy

Moto Tire Veteran
I did a drive in the truck southbound SF-LA on Hwy1 back in August.

Lots of great scenery mixed with foggy spots. The traffic was not bad, actually quite mellow. Lots of breaks in the minimal traffic as cars stop/start to take photos.

Bike would be nice on Hwy1 but bike requires extra focus on the road and not the scenery. Truck allowed relaxed pace mixed with cool tunes.

If you're looking for more challenging/fun roads away from the tourists do the Rossi Driveway thing.
 
B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
senpai71 said:
A couple of options:

1. If you don't take the Hwy 33 route (which you should!), rather than take 154 (which is "fine"), google "West Camino Cielo, Goleta, CA" - you can follow that (and then S. Refugio Rd) from SB to Santa Ynez.

2. If you take Hwy 1 north, consider cutting inland at Nacimiento-Fergusson Road - then to King City, then Bitterwater and up Hwy 25. Much less traffic than Hwy 1...

Nice twisty backroads...
Click to expand...

Thank you!

So Im currently routed through 154 and looked up the West Camino Cielo road, its basincally a forst road parallel to 154 right?

Just I see that its pretty lengthy and isolated on dirt, would you recommend riding solo through it?

Also I couldnt find Highway 33! Would you please share a link or a specific location that goes through it?

Added Nacimiento-Gergusson Road to my map!

 
B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
First part of the route including Rossi's road: http://bit.ly/309pLFn





Second part of the route:
http://bit.ly/30fOcRh



upload_2019-9-20_16-15-50-png.1901403
 
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B

BoomerE30

Well-known member
davidji said:
Why pop a tent? It's not mosquito season and it probably won't rain. The stealthier you are, the more camping possibilities you have. Arrive late, sleep, leave early. Simpler and faster if you don't deploy shelter unless there's something to shelter from.

Light camping can be faster than motel stays, but you do need a little camping stuff (e.g. sleeping pad, sleeping bag, emergency shelter or tent).

If I were in SB and wanted to take the long way, I'd consider 33 to 58.
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Thanks for the advice! I cant quite find 33 to 58 on the map, care to point them out plz?
 
boney

boney

Miles > Posts
Ojai-> 33
Carrizo Plain aka Soda Lake Road
Bitterwater Road
Cholame Rd -> Parkfield

Then:
If you need gas, go to Coalinga and then ride Coalinga road to 25 to Hollister then north

Or if you dont, head over to 25 and head north to Hollister.

Epic riding. There is a small store on 33 in the long straight stretch that has gas. That may be able to extend your range considerably.

If you ride a BMW Adventure bike, you should be able to do Ojai ti Hollister, easy.
 
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