Cycling Vancouver to San Francisco

[Lovetoclimb]

Fingers crossed I will be able to take a vacation after a business trip to Vancouver BC. The plan is to cycle south to see some friends in SF over the course of a week. Due to the distance and time constraint I will likely take a moderately fast road bike, and aim for 100+ miles per day. This means a small backpack, credit card touring style, traveling minimally type thing.

Does anyone have advice on routes, besides sending me to the Adventure Cycling Association? While I am prepared to buy their map, I would be interested in routes that also took me inland instead of hugging the coast the entire way. Recommendations on cities to hit and places to stay are also all welcome.

Thanks for the help.

[slowandsteady]

I did this route 31 years ago in High School as a Junior. Web went all the way south to LA. We took 6 weeks and camped 6 nights a week and popped into a Hostel about once a week or so...Awesome trip, have fun.

Wish I could do it again and hope to do this or something similar with my daughter when she gets a bit older.

[Lovetoclimb]

Just came across their Cycling the USA West Coast book. Worth $25? Any reviews from some guide book critics on the forum?

[Vancouverdave]

For a north to south route through Washington State, a good place to start might be the website of the Cascade Bicycle Club, cascade.org. They have pages dedicated to maps and routes. PM me if you want a copy of their Seattle to Portland ride map, I have several and can give you one.

[Ozz]

For a north to south route through Washington State, a good place to start might be the website of the Cascade Bicycle Club, cascade.org. They have pages dedicated to maps and routes. PM me if you want a copy of their Seattle to Portland ride map, I have several and can give you one.
The STP route is pretty flat and could easily be a 200 mile day for you...fairly scenic as it passes thru lots of small towns.

[Cinci Jim]

Seems like a lot for a weeks time. Vancouver has lots of amazing riding all around it. In North Van check out the rides up to Mt Seymour, Grouse Mt or Cypress - All good climbs. Another is the ride up to Whistler on the Sea to Sky.

http://sandbox.mapmyride.com/find-ride/canada/bc/north-vancouver

If you want to try something off the bike do the Grouse Grind (find Bob in PC at CAPTIN and tell him I sent you and you want to do the Grind - you will feel the burn!) and have a beer at the top, or hike up the Chief.

Also lots of great mountain biking.

They have amazing yoga in Vancouver too. Go to the original Lululemon store in Kitsilano - also a great place to check out & go to the beach.

Check up Wreck Beach for the more free spirited side of Vancouver.

[BengeBoy]

For a north to south route through Washington State, a good place to start might be the website of the Cascade Bicycle Club, cascade.org. They have pages dedicated to maps and routes. PM me if you want a copy of their Seattle to Portland ride map, I have several and can give you one.

I would not follow the Seattle-to-Portland route if you are headed to the coast (Astoria).

From Vancouver to Astoria, I would consider either:

(a) follow the route of the RSVP ride sponsored by Cascade (on their website) to Seattle, then go all the way into downtown Seattle, and then take the ferry to Bremerton, and ride from Bremerton across to Aberdeen, then down to Astoria. This is on the ACA maps.


(b) for a more scenic route that avoids the Seattle metro area, ride from Vancouver to Bellingham, ride south along the Chuckanut drive then ride to Keystone on Whidby Island and take the ferry over to Port Townsend. Then follow the ACA routes along the east side of the Olympic Peninsula until the maps route you over toward Astoria.

You can find all of these routes on a combination of ACA maps + bikely.com, I am pretty sure.

From Astoria to San Francisco I think you basically want to follow the ACA route. There are a couple of places where they will recommend alternate routes, but basically their route goes straight down the coast.

This book is good, too:

http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Pacific-Coast-Vicky-Spring/dp/0898869544/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308186484&sr=8-1

my 2 cents.

BTW, at Crazyguyonabike.com, you can find dozens and dozens of journals from cyclists who have down the Pacific Coast Route.

[Peter B]

I did Santa Rosa, CA to Seattle, WA inland on a fixed gear on '09. PM me your email address and I can hook you up with my daily route info.

[cjn1014]

are you planning on doing the mattole road/lost coast section?

[Lorenz]

100% agree with BengeBoy...

Did this trip long time ago – get THE BOOK mentioned in his post.

BTW and first of all – good choice on the direction – will give you plenty (!!!) of tailwind :-)

Cheers,

Lorenz

[Black Dog]

I would consider a bigger handle bar bag or a clamp on rear rack. A back pack for that many hours will start to become an issue in terms of comfort.

[Lovetoclimb]

Unable to make the trek north to south now, unfortunate but I was able to salvage some days in Vancouver to ride bikes and enjoy summer up there. Since the trip will be shorter I will likely not take my bike and instead rent one.

Does anyone have rental recommendations?

Also ride recommendations would be awesome. Heard a lot about the "Sea to Sky Highway" . . . Mountains just make me so happy!

Thanks for the help.

[cnighbor1]

Go to crazy guy on a bicycle web site and check out rides world wide and West coast USA
Charles

[canali]

trust me man...take the old 101 coastal highway ALL the way down...sure sure, it's longer, more hilly and such, but the vistas are jaw droppingly gorgeous....

back in'82 I bicycled from Toronto Ontario across my country of Canada to Victoria BC...then took a ferry across to Washington state (Port Townsend) and started my venture through that gorgeous state heading west to the Oregon 101 coastline (lots of great Oregon riding links too via a google search) and then down that mindboggingly amazing highway through the redwoods of N Cal to San Fran

...you FEEL like you're from the '70s, in pure westcoast bliss...all with an amazing tailwind too...woo hoo! . :beer:

to be frank: i'm thinking (now almost 50) to next yr take the same route but this time hit the border of mexico...so going even further this time.

that trip (esp the westcoast portion) is just the closest to cycling nirvana I've experienced thus far (yeah I haven't bicycled all that much, but later after my trip I'd read that that coastal highway is among THE most lovely in the world).

[canali]

sent you a pm:

i live in vancouver (former torontonian)
the sea to sky is also lovely!...hilly...but gorgeous...you won't regret it.
when you hit whistler you could hang around there for a few days soaking in that great mtn town vibe (tons of hiking, dining, walking) or head north to pemberton (lovely town too, great vistas)...(man we're so lucky in vancouver with so much around us!)

in vancouver you must do a purely scenic ride starting from coal harbour (near canada place) as it takes you around the sea wall of stanley park (10 km) and then through to false creek, loops around science world (olympic village made for athletes in 2010 winter games: lovely community) then continues around through kits (kitsilano) and into the lovely UBC campus (another great riding area)...all mostly flat but very scenic and a great showcase for wonderful city sightlines (with the north shore mtns always in view). :)

or check out the malahat highway on BC vancouver island (the galloping goose trail from sidney to victoria is flat and a lovely ride...while in lovely victoria you can check out the one of many quaint victorian b&bs or go a bit further sw to camp at sooke potholes (do a google search) as this sidney - victoria is only 50 km and all along lovely quiet country roads/neighbourhoods) ...or check out our sunshine coast: from gibsons up to sechelt etc (also very hilly/rolling but along the gorgeous inlet)

or the lovely okanagan valley (our wine country)...we're lucky in BC for sure. :)
for rentals:
different bikes....mighty riders....le bicycletta...obsession bikes....mec (mountain equipment coop = mec...basically our cdn versionof REI)....those shops are quality ones and will know others that do rent if they don't.


Unable to make the trek north to south now, unfortunate but I was able to salvage some days in Vancouver to ride bikes and enjoy summer up there. Since the trip will be shorter I will likely not take my bike and instead rent one.

Does anyone have rental recommendations?

Also ride recommendations would be awesome. Heard a lot about the "Sea to Sky Highway" . . . Mountains just make me so happy!

Thanks for the help.

[shorelocal]

Road bike rentals (decent ones at least) will be fairly limited, but La Bicicletta on West Broadway has a good fleet of top level bikes.

As for rides, canali has nailed a few of the good ones. The "Sea to Sky" isn't exactly filled with epic mountain passes, but the scenery's good and so's the road thanks to the Olympics. Other suggestions would be the low road (Marine Dr) from Vancouver thru West Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay (a favourite of the locals) ... not super long though. If you do the Whistler ride, you can ride Marine Drive thru W.Van to Horseshoe Bay then join the Sea to Sky.

Other areas that are a bit outside the city are Langley and out to the Valley. Mission has some good hills as well. These areas are much less crowded by cars and the scenery is decent also. If you want flat, ride from Vancouver out to UBC and then over to Richmond and Steveston.

pm me if you need specifics

[Lovetoclimb]

Weekend trip planned (bummer I could not get more, but embrace the positive right?!)

Friday - arrive and pick up my rental bike from Different Bikes in West Van
Anyone foresee a problem getting to Hi-Hostel just south of Whistler in 5 hours? Via the Sea to Sky.

Should be able to average 20mph unless headwind is fierce or the gradients steep

Saturday - Looking to plan a mountain climbing loop starting and ending in Whistler, google maps shows some pretty amazing looking roads that climb many meters! (any advice on roads to definitely hit or avoid?)

Sunday - Back to Vancouver along the Sea to Sky, maybe a loop around Stanley Park if time permits. Will maximize the riding time for sure.

[noflysonme]

Whistler's best xc trail is Comfortably Numb (http://www.whistlerbikeguide.com/trails/comfortably-numb) .
It is a big loop and I don't think you can get lost.
How ever the ride ends near lost lake and it can
be a bit confusing. But if you pick up a a free whistler trail
map you will be ok. Watch your water. There is a
long straight uphill stretch with a creek at the top.
It's the last water stop and it is less than halfway.
Riding around stanley park on the road is boring.
Riding on the seawall around stanley park is very scenic
however there will be masses of people and you have to
go slow. But it's worth it. Just think of it as 20k of recovery riding. Have fun!!!!!!

Terry

[RonW87]

Should be able to average 20mph unless headwind is fierce or the gradients steep

Never biked Sea to Ski but driven it a number of times.

I'd be surprised if you can average 20mph. You're climbing much of the way, especially out of Vancouver after the bridge and then after Squamish. (It's call the Sea to Sky for a reason.)

R.