# Cycling route...San Diego to Malibu



## andulong

HI,

I live in San Diego and am planning a ride to Malibu (Pepperdine) in a couple weeks. I am very familiar with the routes to the point of San Onofre but beyond that it is not familiar to me at all. Leaving on a Friday morning...2 day ride...stay overnight at the halfway or more point and finish up Saturday morning/afternoon. I know there are maps/guides available online from companies such as Adventure Cycling but trying to do this on a budget. Anybody have any good info or links to such a route...it would be greatly appreciated.


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## Kristatos

Sounds like fun. I think you want to take 1 at least as far as Costa Mesa (from San Onofre) and possibly up to Seal Beach. From that point I am at a loss to help you but there should be some folks here that can help. From Seal Beach to Santa Monica you may be better served by other roads than 1.


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## Wolfman

check the Lounge for a review of the LA to San Diego century that a few folks did early last year. I think there was a map in it.

Bottom line: choose the best route to the Palos Verdes Penninsula, then head up the beach trail.


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## JSR

From Santa Monica to Pepperdine the only viable route is straight up PCH. 

From the SM Pier take the beach bike path to Temescal Canyon, where you can cross the highway at the traffic signal. Get on PCH and keep your head down. Stay awake near the signals at Sunset and Topanga, the road is narrow. 


Traffic is very heavy along the route, but there is a substantial shoulder, albeit with many parked cars. The road gets a bit wider and traffic is somewhat mellower as you progress toward Pep.

JSR


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## Hollywood

you could also check the various mapping sites like MapMyRide, etc for existing routes by other cyclists.


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## j.o.e.l

For long rides through unfamiliar roads, in addition to MapMyRide, I lay out my planned route on Google maps using 'create my maps'. Then I check each stretch of road using Google Street View. This allows me to check which roads have bike lanes/wide shoulders/etc. You may be able to get "some" idea of the road condition (smooth, rough, unpaved) from street view. I spend more time checking out routes in congested cities, etc.

Google now has bike lanes/paths in its maps but I'm not sure how accurate/complete they are right now.


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## il sogno

You could do it via PCH the whole way.


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## Hippienflipflops

Check out the orange county bikeways map an the LA Metro bike map.


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## andulong

Thank you all for the helpful replies. I have probably spent more time researching this than the actual ride will take. Still looking forward to the weekend!


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## El Literato Loco

From San Clemente to Malibu, it's almost exclusively PCH. In Orange County, there are places in San Clemente and Newport Beach where you can ride on a bike path along the beach. Once north of Newport Beach, you're back on the PCH clear into Long Beach. I usually just stay on PCH all the way, but you can opt to head west to Palos Verdes for a really pretty ride.

Either way, once you're in Redondo, you can pick up a bike path along the shore that'll take you all the way to the Pacific Pallisades, at which point you'll have to jump onto the PCH again for the rest of the ride into Malibu.

If you decide to skip the Palos Verdes loop and stay on the PCH, be aware that the PCH turns into Sepulveda Blvd and heads north toward LAX, passing under the runways. You cannot ride a bike in the tunnels; you have to find a street either to the east or west. I've ridden Aviation Boulevard before and it's fine. But I'd recommend the coastal routes through Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan beach; they're more scenic.

But if you do pick up the bike path along the shore (north of Redondo beach) be aware that it can be heavily congested with pedestrians & roller-bladers, etc. It's also a curvy path and has plenty of sand, making higher speeds a bit precarious at times. 

Once you're north of the airport, you either pick up the PCH again and take that through Playa del Ray and north. If you're on the bike path, you'll follow it to a small bridge over a channel, and then you'll find yourself on a bike path around Marina del Ray. You follow that around and pick up the PCH again, or head for Washington Blvd, shoot out to the coast, and pick up the bike path again. 

You can also ride north along Pacific Avenue and into Venice, and Santa Monica. If you do that, once you're north of Venice, jog a block east and pick up Main Street through Santa Monica; it's a prettier ride and wider streets. You can then jog west back to Ocean Avenue (Pacific avenue becomes Neilson Way, which becomes Ocean Avenue) and take that through Santa Monica. In Santa Monica, the 3rd Street Promenade's a busy mall of shops, restaurants and such. Also, there's a Performance Bike Shop at 5th and Broadway.

In any event, north of the Santa Monica Pier, you want to be on the bike path along the shore for a while. You can get to it from Pico Boulevard or from the pier itself. There's a pedestrian/bike bridge over the PCH as well, or you might be able to go down the California Incline (on a bike path), cross the PCH there, and pick up the bike route on the shore. 

After that, stay on the bike path (it's a nice ride) till it stops in the Pacific Palisades. From there, it's PCH all the way to Malibu.

I did a route from Redondo to Palisades along the bike path, mostly to show the route around Marina del Ray if you choose that route. There's actually a bike path around Marina del Ray, but gmaps won't map it. Just look for signs and other cyclists. Again, you can just stay on the PCH north of LAX. But in Santa Monica, the PCH becomes Lincoln Blvd, which eventually turns into a residential street north of Wilshire Blvd. The proper PCH along the coast starts where the 10 freeway ends/begins.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3639660


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## mohair_chair

El Literato Loco said:


> But if you do pick up the bike path along the shore (north of Redondo beach) be aware that it can be heavily congested with pedestrians & roller-bladers, etc. It's also a curvy path and has plenty of sand, making higher speeds a bit precarious at times.


Riding the bike path in Redondo and Hermosa is an awful experience and dangerous. I always got off the trail and rode the street that paralleled the beach about a block or two inland. You can get back on in Manhattan, where it's not as crazy. Once you get near the airport, it calms down significantly.

You'll be back on surface streets through Marina Del Rey. It's not always obvious where to go. There are some true paths, some marked paths through parking lots, and bike lanes in the street, Basically, get around the marina however you can, and on the other side, pick up Washington and head for the beach. When you find the beach, you'll find the bike path. Also, there are a few stop signs where the path crosses the street. Stop. It's a favorite hangout for the local cops, who love to pop cyclists.

Through Venice, the bike path isn't bad. It's very curvy and sandy, which makes it slow, but unlike in Hermosa, its a separate path from where most of the foot traffic, tourists, and mental patients hang out. It's also a fairly short section, then it straightens out again and you are free from craziness for the rest of the way.


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## andulong

thank you for the very detailed descriptions!


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## the omegaman

*Here you go........*

Disregard the "cue sheets"


Laguna up to Marina del Rey: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/20150


MDR North to Ventura: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/19344

let me know if you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to advise

Brian


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## andulong

Thanks for the advice everyone...Had a great ride, heavy traffic in areas but definitely an interesting trip. So much that you don't get to see when in a car. Just my luck, I went thru Long Beach on the weekend of the Grand Prix...a bit of re routing and I was on my way.


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