# Santa Monica to Malibu via PCH?



## JTK (Jul 30, 2004)

Does anyone know if this is a safe route? I haven't been this way on PCH in a while and can't remember how bike-friendly the road is.
Thanks!!


----------



## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

*I might be out-of-date...*

...but the last time I drove that stretch (2 months ago?), I passed at least 3 areas (at the north end of the SM Palisades, somewhere near Chataqua or Sunset, and just south of Big Rock) where there was road work, or work stabilizing the bluffs adjacent to the northbound lanes. This usually involved K-rails positioned at the edge of the right-hand lane, so cyclists and cars could get very cozy...


----------



## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

*Just did it yesterday in fact ...*

Going north between West Channel/Chautauqua and Pepperdine, there are always a few spots where there's basically no shoulder. The spots are short, but they still suck. Factor in as Walrus mentioned some kind of road work, which there always seems to be, and you add a few more short spots where there's no shoulder. Otherwise it's pretty safe, if not a little nerveracking. Once you get past "downtown" Malibu and up the hill toward Pepperdine, it's fine. Ample shoulder room, etc.

Going south is mostly okay, except there's a lot of parallel parking traffic along the side of PCH and it can get pretty tight and pretty tense. At times there's little space between the parked cars and the traffic whizzing by at 60 mph.

But overall, the ride itself outweighs the negatives. That being said, it's all relative when you're talking about riding along a highway with traffic going between 45 and 65 mph.


----------



## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

DrRoebuck said:


> Going north between West Channel/Chautauqua and Pepperdine, there are always a few spots where there's basically no shoulder. The spots are short, but they still suck. Factor in as Walrus mentioned some kind of road work, which there always seems to be, and you add a few more short spots where there's no shoulder. Otherwise it's pretty safe, if not a little nerveracking. Once you get past "downtown" Malibu and up the hill toward Pepperdine, it's fine. Ample shoulder room, etc.
> 
> Going south is mostly okay, except there's a lot of parallel parking traffic along the side of PCH and it can get pretty tight and pretty tense. At times there's little space between the parked cars and the traffic whizzing by at 60 mph.
> 
> But overall, the ride itself outweighs the negatives. That being said, it's all relative when you're talking about riding along a highway with traffic going between 45 and 65 mph.


I knew somebody who died while riding PCH north from Santa Monica. Even before then, I always dreaded that stretch of road. Trucks, cars, SUVs, construction, inattentive tourists driving cars unfamiliar to them, a constant headwind... Yuck.


----------

