6 day adventure! Chance of a lifetime!

[psmb1963]

OK - Queen Mary may now be out - I would rather rise out a tent to the morning sun overlooking a canyon, river, forest hell desert cactus!!!!

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by psmb1963

OK - Queen Mary may now be out - I would rather rise out a tent to the morning sun overlooking a canyon, river, forest hell desert cactus!!!!

Are you planning on a combo of lodging/camping? Because that may make a difference in the suggestions you get.

[psmb1963]

I am open for both! The goal is to make the most out of the time out there!

[JCZ]

Originally Posted by Moedad

OR, as previously mentioned, do the QM before the conference, then ride this loop in reverse:

24th: LA to Death Valley (very hot that time of year be prepared for HEAT), stay in Lee Vining.
25th: Lee Vining over Tioga Pass (way fewer people coming into the park from the east), tour the valley, hit Glacier Point on the way out, stay in Mariposa.
26th: Ride to Monterey, and down the coast to San Luis Obispo.
27th: Back to LA

An even better plan. That way, when you come down the coast, the ocean will be on your right.....so you can pull out and stop where ever you like without getting run over from the tourists behind.

Yes, Death Valley can be very hot that time of year..... http://www.weather.com/outlook/recre...graph/USCA0286

[JCZ]

Mariposa is harder to get lodging than Oakhurst, unless you reserve way in advance for the summer months. But both have a decent Best Western.

If you can make it down to Merced, in the valley (just another 45 min. from Mariposa......rates are about half of what they'll be in Mariposa or Oakhurst. They go pretty high in the summer months.....you have people from all over the world staying there and they're both small towns.

[JCZ]

Originally Posted by Moedad

Are you planning on a combo of lodging/camping? Because that may make a difference in the suggestions you get.

I was thinking of lodging only. Doing a push like this I don't think time for camping is going to fit into the time frame.

Just thinking how I feel when I do my cross country rides.....I want to squeeze in all that I can. At the end of each day I am tired, want to eat and get into a comfortable bed. Get up early and get moving.

You can lay the route out in google maps to get your daily mileage and time. Just keep in mind that is actual travel time.....you have to factor in your gas stops, meals, looky-loo and kodak moment times on top of that. Fortunately, in May, you have much more daylight hours.

[psmb1963]

Localy - we have done 15 hour day rides which of course included stops for gas , lunch , sites/museum/ point of intrest and Harley Dealership or two. Late fall these rides also included - a cup of coffee to warm the toes back again!

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by JCZ

I was thinking of lodging only. Doing a push like this I don't think time for camping is going to fit into the time frame.

Just thinking how I feel when I do my cross country rides.....I want to squeeze in all that I can. At the end of each day I am tired, want to eat and get into a comfortable bed. Get up early and get moving.

You can lay the route out in google maps to get your daily mileage and time. Just keep in mind that is actual travel time.....you have to factor in your gas stops, meals, looky-loo and kodak moment times on top of that. Fortunately, in May, you have much more daylight hours.

It'd be next to impossible to get a campsite at any place good on Memorial weekend, so I agree, lodging only. Even then you'll have to be flexible due to the holiday travelers. At least with gas prices like they are, travel might be lighter.

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by JCZ

Mariposa is harder to get lodging than Oakhurst, unless you reserve way in advance for the summer months. But both have a decent Best Western.

If you can make it down to Merced, in the valley (just another 45 min. from Mariposa......rates are about half of what they'll be in Mariposa or Oakhurst. They go pretty high in the summer months.....you have people from all over the world staying there and they're both small towns.

Merced would be a good choice too, and a much better chance of getting a room than some place close to Yosemite Valley on a holiday weekend. I was only thinking Mariposa because it's more on the way across to Monterey than Oakhurst/Hwy 41.

[psmb1963]

1,304 mi – about 23 hours 49 mins