Trip Advice...Southern Cali to Canada, via coast hgwys

[devildawg2007]

Hey what's going on?!

Hi my name is Mark. I am a 22 yr old Marine with EOD out of Camp Pendleton, CA. My unit is currently out here in Iraq right now, due back in the early fall and a road trippin' friend and I are planning a ride from southern cali to canada. Something like an 18 day trip, 6 days traveling cali roads, 4 in oregon and washington each, and then spend 4 days exploring canada, more time obviously if we fall in love with the riding up there...Nothing solid planned, just an idea of what we're looking at.

So, I contacted a motorcycle touring agency in british columbia, and due to the rapidly approaching ride season, they were unable to provide and suggestions of must sees and cool spots to check out when touring south western canada on a bike.

So I found this site online and it looks like an invaluable tool!!!

So have any of you done a trip/rode any good section/have some advice for a motorcycle ride from socal to canada riding the coast? We all ride sport bikes and maybe a few cruiser guys will come with...there wil be no more than 5 riders on this adventure.

Thank you so much and I look forward to your replies!!!

-Mark

[mept]

Thanks for serving over there. I'm a Cpt in the Army reserves and really do appreciate the work you all are doing over there. You found a great site here. My suggestion if you are starting in southern Cali would be to head inland to start and hit one of the passes around Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, then scoot back accross just north of San Fran, which is where I think some of the best part of the coast begins. But I only can compare LA to Santa Barbara with SF to Stewarts point. Up there the coast was incredible to me. Stewart's Point, you can find it on pashnit, is a road not to miss.
Have a great trip when you get back!

[wbunning]

You have a 'golden' opportunity to ride a BUNCH of California's great roads.
Here's what I'd do:
Come up the coast to Ojai, Ca. Take Hwy 33 over to the Cuyama Valley at Hwy 166. Ride to Taft and pick up 33 again to Hwy 58 and take it back to Santa Margarita. From there, Hwy 101 a short disatance up to Paso Robles and ride out to Fort Hunter-Ligget and take Nacimiento-Fergusson road over to Hwy 1. Take 1 up to Carmel/Monterey. Then, go across the Central Valley and through Yosemite via Hwy 120 to 395. Pick up Monitor Pass north of Walker and come back across the Sierra via either Hwy 4 or 108. Then, from Redding, take Hwy 36 back to the coast and ride 1 the rest of the way up to Oregon.

[fjrpierre]

I just spotted bubba zanetti's post on STNet and it seems to cover BC riding a bit Remember they tend to exagerate the riding in BC so take all that with a grain of salt (NOT)

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/...ic,7191.0.html

[bosozoku]

Oregon ideas-

http://www.oregonmotorcyclist.com/

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/or.html

September is the perfect time of year for this one- http://www.oregon.com/byways/mckenzie.cfm

It's also the time when the moss dries out on the best backroads in the Coast Range...

[Eifelrider]

Hi Mark,
If you wanna ride in Canada, I can highly recommend Highway 99 from Vancouver to Cache Creek (Twisties!!!), then south on Highway 1 to Hope and then you could follow Highway 3 via Princeton to the Okanagan Area. If you´ve got some time left, ride over Kelowna, Vernon, Revelstoke to the Banff/Jasper N.P. It doesn´t get any better than this. Probably one of the most beautiful places on this Planet......

[Ally House]

Mark,
As your trip firms up, keep posting. For Oregon roads, there are some cool coast to the valley and back roads. The road Steve mentioned is a must do, but would take you a day inland. Combine it with an over on 138 and a back on 34 and you'd have a good ride.

Thank you for your service. Keep your head down and powder dry!
Semper Fi

Ally

[devildawg2007]

Thanks Canadian Cruiser...It truly looks like a gorgeous trip...

Oh and I just ordered one of the destination highways guides to BC...I own a Benchmark map for planning rides in Cali, this looks like an invaluable tool when we get to the stage of planning Canadian roads!!! ---thought that one might work lol!!

[Ally House]

Mark,
Benchmark makes an Oregon map too. I've planned many a trip with it.
Ally

[devildawg2007]

Thanks Ally!! Gotta love them benchmark's..yew!!!

And that quote from Ben Franklin...I read a month or so ago and that defines the stark difference between free Americans and the people of Iraq.

These Iraqi's are concerned solely with the safety of their family's (rightly so)but have no vision or drive for a united nation. Iraqi police we speak to thru interpretors tell us that they do their job solely because they are paid 700 dollars a month (quite a large salary for an iraqi)...And moreover say to our faces that we are here soley for the same reason, because we are paid more than in garrison.

But that they would rather gladly live under the oppression and sadistic rule of saddam hussein...versus the US and her allies in the midst fighting for Iraq, because they could draw a line and derive safety for their family's. I am not saying this as a representative in any case of the military, this is of my personal experiences and views.

The phrase "Not the time or the place" comes to mind about writing this here...Oh well, somewhere mixed in this truth lies the key to the success of our efforts over here...

Thanks once again for the heads up on the benchmark!!