# San Francisco to Los Angeles



## hogboy (May 23, 2006)

Greetings all,

I am planning a bicycle / camping trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Can anyone recommend a place where I can rent a bike(preferably fitted for touring with racks, panniers etc.)? Ideally, I would like to pick up the bike in SF and drop it off in LA.

Thanks


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## regan (Jun 17, 2004)

i'd be very surprised if this were possible...


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## KendleFox (Sep 5, 2005)

You may want to start looking for a good used touring bike.

Even if you found a rental place (highly unlikley), they would charge you a great deal of money for it.

Are you sure your even up for this? This takes a a good deal of fitness, and you may want to try a smaller trip first, to get the kinks out.

JMHO


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## Scot_Gore (Jan 25, 2002)

hogboy said:


> Greetings all,
> 
> I am planning a bicycle / camping trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Can anyone recommend a place where I can rent a bike(preferably fitted for touring with racks, panniers etc.)? Ideally, I would like to pick up the bike in SF and drop it off in LA.
> 
> Thanks


As others have said, a rental of that type is likely unavailable. 

I rented a bike in San Francisco once, but it was nothing I'd want to take on a tour. Also, for the price I paid for the day, you could have bought the bike in week or two. 

Describe your circumstances better. 
Are you coming to San Fran completely unequipped for the tour or are you partially equipped with things like Pannier bags, BOB, tools and spares, etc. Be more specific about what you have and what you need and people will be able to give you better advice.

Do you have a touring bike but don't want to ship it ? Because you're in Sydney or something like that, maybe. 

One out of the box solution that comes to mind is to buy a bike, rack, and bags from Bruce Gordon in Petaluma at the start of your ride and get a little help from a local in LA to Craigs List the whole deal at the end of the trip. I'd expect you could recover 60%-75% of your purchase price like that. Still likely a $500.00+ cost. If you were coming my way and you're my size I'd probably just volunteer to buy the bike from you right now. 

Good luck and reply back with more details and I'm sure others will have other ideas.

Scot


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*Get a seatpost rack...*

And use your own bike. That's what I do. You need very little gear for SF to LA - no rain gear or tent (it's entering the dry season) - not even a jacket. Don't bring a stove, just buy food at stores or eat at restaurants. Take a sleeping bag and pad, a couple changes of cycling clothes, a set of street clothes, fleece jacket, camera, toiletries, and you're set. Go light.

my setup: bike + seatpost rack + goretex bivy tent + thermarest + downbag =25 lbs.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Great pics. . .but I know my luck, and if toured with that minimal amount of equipment I would get hit by swarms of giant mosquitos, a typhoon, and probably have my tires distinegrate. . .but honestly, I'm just kidding around. Pretty awesome that you can do it with so little gear. Much easier.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

@#$%ing californians.  

I gotta tell you, having predictable "dry seasons" and scenery like that really makes me want to pack my bikes and head west. Here in wisconsin in the last month, we've had hail, snow, rain, 80+ degrees, freeze warnings, and now, they're telling us that the early rains will be bringing us a bumper crop of mosquitos and lyme-disease carrying deer ticks. They should be hatching in the next week or so.

So this isn't a total thread-jack, I really love your setup- keeping my camping gear that light is going to be my goal this year. I doubt I'll be able to keep it quite that minimal, but you've given me something to shoot for.


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## velodev (Jul 31, 2005)

Not to threadjack, but curious... are there trails that allow such a trek or are you sharing the road from San Fran to LA?


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

*Pacific Coast Bike Route*



velodev said:


> Not to threadjack, but curious... are there trails that allow such a trek or are you sharing the road from San Fran to LA?


Mostly Highway 1, but it ventures off wherever possible. Many many bike tourists ride it each year. Most of the State Parks have a hiker/biker campsite set aside for bike tourists - $3 a night and no reservations necessary. A good book for the ride is Bicycle the Pacific Coast by Kirkendal and Spring:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0...ef=sr_1_15/103-5680431-3928669?_encoding=UTF8 

or you can just follow the signs:
<img src="https://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/Photos/gallery/gallery0/014.jpg">


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## velodev (Jul 31, 2005)

So, in that picture, there is a bike lane... how much of Hwy 1 or its off-shoots have bike lanes?

This sounds like an excellent fly and bike trip to do in the future.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Route maps*

Have to get in the usual plug for the Adventure Cycling maps. This is the southern segment of their Pacific Coast route (sections 4 and 5). You can purchase maps from the web site (adventurecyling.org) and the maps list bike shops, campgrounds, motels, grocery stores and give you background on geography and history of the area, along with all the turns and mileage markers.


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## galanz (Oct 28, 2004)

robwh9 said:


> And use your own bike. That's what I do. You need very little gear for SF to LA - no rain gear or tent (it's entering the dry season) - not even a jacket. Don't bring a stove, just buy food at stores or eat at restaurants. Take a sleeping bag and pad, a couple changes of cycling clothes, a set of street clothes, fleece jacket, camera, toiletries, and you're set. Go light.
> 
> my setup: bike + seatpost rack + goretex bivy tent + thermarest + downbag =25 lbs.


Great post, you've got me convinced.  I've driven that route before, but it would be incredible on a bike. I just need a lighter sleeping bag and tent.


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## Pierre (Jan 29, 2004)

If you do LA to SF instead, and leave me sufficient guarantee that I'll see my bike again, you can borrow a bike of mine. Here's a ride LA to San Jose that I did over last thanksgiving. I preferred San Jose rather than San Francisco because the airport is easier to access by bike, I rented a car to come back. I went inland most of the time. The coast route is beautiful too, but I knew most of it already.

http://www.vision.caltech.edu/pmoreels/Images/LASJNov05/


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*SF to LA*

I have riden form SF to San Diego a few times and carry very little with me but I stay in hotels instead of camping. It only takes me 3 days to get to San Diego if I travel light so three night in hotels is not too expensive. There are also a few hostels that are cheap and nice.

Here is my set up that I think it less than Robwh9. The picture with the bag on back is how I ride to SD and the picture is somewhere along the Big Sur coast.

Willy in Pacifica


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

_@#$%ing californians. _

Better to have the mosquitos and deer ticks than the governor we've got. Count your blessings....


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## ehkim (May 4, 2008)

Pierre said:


> If you do LA to SF instead, and leave me sufficient guarantee that I'll see my bike again, you can borrow a bike of mine. Here's a ride LA to San Jose that I did over last thanksgiving. I preferred San Jose rather than San Francisco because the airport is easier to access by bike, I rented a car to come back. I went inland most of the time. The coast route is beautiful too, but I knew most of it already.
> 
> http://www.vision.caltech.edu/pmoreels/Images/LASJNov05/


I am sorry to dig up an old thread and add a post.
Not that I have done a cycling trip from SF to LA but I have been thinking of doing it.
Even though you did mention it in your posted link, I wanted to mention it here for people that want to ride along the California coast that it is NOT advisable to ride from LA to SF because of headwind. The recommendation is to ride from SF to LA!


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## GeoCyclist (Oct 31, 2002)

*Don't be fooled by the weather!*

Just a word of caution about the California central coast weather, it isn’t always sunny and warm on HWY 1 during the summer! I lived in the Central Coast area for 20 years, and the summer time morning (sometimes all day) fog can make for a very cold damp ride. Pack your leg & arm warmers, and bring a good water resistant windbreaker. I am a big fan of the pack light, staying in cheap hotels, and fly down the road. Attached photo was taken during a 5 day Shikoku, Japan credit card cycle tour.
As noted above, SF to LA is by far the preferred direction to ride due to the wind.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*agree*



GeoCyclist said:


> Just a word of caution about the California central coast weather, it isn’t always sunny and warm on HWY 1 during the summer! I lived in the Central Coast area for 20 years, and the summer time morning (sometimes all day) fog can make for a very cold damp ride. Pack your leg & arm warmers, and bring a good water resistant windbreaker.


Yes, by all means at least take a jacket, arm, and leg warmers. It could easily be low 50's and wet in the mornings, and while rain may be rare, you can't guarantee it won't. There are also some good sized hills here and there, and descending at 45 mph for a while with no jacket could get a little brisk.

Now, you should have a nice tail wind for most of the ride.

Aside from that, you're never really far from civilization on this route. You can always buy something you need.


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## Maximus_XXIV (Nov 10, 2008)

One option is to do something like the www.californiacoastclassic.org . They carry all your gear for you and you just need to ride with the normal gear for a 50-80 mile ride. You also get to meet some great people.


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

Alright, I'm breaking out the paddles to this thread.... Pierre, do you have the map of the route you took?



Pierre said:


> If you do LA to SF instead, and leave me sufficient guarantee that I'll see my bike again, you can borrow a bike of mine. Here's a ride LA to San Jose that I did over last thanksgiving. I preferred San Jose rather than San Francisco because the airport is easier to access by bike, I rented a car to come back. I went inland most of the time. The coast route is beautiful too, but I knew most of it already.
> 
> http://www.vision.caltech.edu/pmoreels/Images/LASJNov05/


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

wily in pacifica said:


> I have riden form SF to San Diego a few times and carry very little with me but I stay in hotels instead of camping. It only takes me 3 days to get to San Diego if I travel light so three night in hotels is not too expensive. There are also a few hostels that are cheap and nice.
> 
> Here is my set up that I think it less than Robwh9. The picture with the bag on back is how I ride to SD and the picture is somewhere along the Big Sur coast.
> 
> Willy in Pacifica


He's got the right idea. I have a friend who credit cards the SF to SD route every year with very little besides cotton shorts, a sweatshirt, flip flops and some tools. If you're not camping, is surprising how little you need.


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