California Coastal Tour
Bucket List Check-off
Riding the California Coastline has been on my bucket list for decades and this tour did not disappoint.
The Plan
I considered several options for the ride out to California. My first thought was to ride out in one day so I would have more time for California. I live in Colorado so a one day ride, straightest path, would be about 19.5 hours and 1200 miles.
I’ve done the 1000 mile riding challenge before (a couple times), I know I could do this, but it wouldn’t be a relaxing trip, it would be a challenge.
So the next option was to take two day’s to get out there, taking the shortest route, would be about 600 mile day’s, but then I would be traveling US-50, The Loneliest Road in America all by myself, and I might get lonely.
My last option was to take a Northern route via I-80 and travel parts of the country I’ve been in before. This is the route I was going to take, until I found out that another buddy of mine was going out to California on the same dates.
The final decision was to take the shortest route and arrive in California on day three. The over-night stops were Salina, UT and Carson City, NV which put me into my California destination after a short ride on day three.
Remember, the routes, time in route, and distances vary a little with stops for gas, breaks, and sight seeing pictures.
The Ride
Day 1
Golden, CO to Salina, UT – Depart at 6:30AM – 7h 10m / 436mi
This is a short ride, relatively speaking, but we wanted to get an early start so we would miss traffice and make it an easy day. The worst part of the day was going over the Continental Divide so early in the morning, about 7-7:30AM, it was COLD, even in July! Fortunately I learn from past mistakes and I was prepared for cold ride and wore insulated pants, insulated chaps, cold weather socks, heated gloves, long sleeve shirt, hoodie, coat and 3/4 helmet! Our first stop for gas was in Glenwood Springs, CO and the temps are comfortable enough to shed some layers finally. We made a second stop at the Black Dragon Canyon scenic overlook, near Green River, then we went on to get fuel and lunch in Green River, UT.
After fuel and lunch we headed to Salina, UT to finish off the first day ride. We stayed at the Quality Inn & Suites Salina National Forest Area
Address: 1400 South State Street, Salina, UT 84654, United States of America. They were very accommodating and friendly. They didn’t have breakfast, hot tub or pool open due to the COVID-19 but the Denny’s next door was open for dinner. I got a breakfast to go so I could warm it in the microwave before we took off the next morning. Day 1 in the books! Great Day!
Day 2
Salina, UT to Carson City, NV – 6:30AM Departure – 8h 50m / 545mi
We fueled up the night before so we were ready to leave at 6:30AM headed for Carson City, NV.
WOW, what a beautiful morning for ride! The sun is beginning to crest the mountian tops, the sky is as clear as can be, and the temps are in the comfortable low 60’s!
We are riding US-50 today, The Loneliest Road in America, and if you haven’t done it yet, it’s worth the trip! This road take us all the way to Carson City, UT via several peaks and valleys. Mountain roads to summits as high as 7000ft with a bunch of fun twisties and valleys that were, well, kinda boring but the view of surrounding mountains was very scenic.
Well, we topped off our fuel before we left Salina, UT, so now we’ve stretched our fuel out enough and fortunately found fuel in Austin, NV. We left Austin in search of lunch, which during a pandemic is somewhat of a challenge. We finally got lunch in Silver Springs, NV then finished up the ride in Carson City, NV. I stayed at Super 8 by Wyndham Carson City
Address: 2829 South Carson Street , Carson City, NV 89701, United States of America. I had to pay a $200 deposit for a $85 / night room, which I didn’t understand and have never been asked for a deposit before. The only thing I don’t like about this is that it puts a hold on that amount until it clears the CC company which can take 3 to 7 business days. The motel did not have any breakfast, pool or hot tub and the bathtub in my room did not have a tub drain stopper so I couldn’t even soak my feet. I should have stayed at the Casino Hotel where my riding partners stayed, they had a restaraunt! Day 2 was a hot and tiring day on the lonely highway and in the desert, but still a great day on the road!
Day 3
Carson City, NV to Petaluma, CA – 8AM Departure – 3h 50m / 210mi
We had breakfast at The Black Bear Diner, in the Casino/Hotel where my riding buddies stayed, then we got on the road by 8AM headed for Placerville, CA.
We topped off fuel in Placerville, CA and we said our good-bye’s. This is where my riding buddies start their California adventure and where I continue on to Petaluma, CA where I will stay a few nights so I can visit family and tour the Northern California area.
I continued on US-50 W to I-80 W to CA-37 then on to HWY-116 into Petaluma, CA.
Now time for some R&R with cold beverages and family. I will start my tour of Northern CA in the morning with some great advise from my family.
Day 4
This is the first day of touring around Northern CA and I have some good pointers from my cousin to go on.
The original plan was to head up the coast first, then after some sound advice, I decided to head to Santa Rosa first. I’m glad I changed plans because the Coastal Highway was still very chilly, even in the afternoon. By the time I got down to Bodega Bay I had made several stops to add multiple layers so I wouldn’t freeze my butt off!
So, headed the opposite direction I went through Napa, cruised by the Petrified Forest and up to Calistoga, CA, where I began my ride through beautiful Robert Louis Stevenson State Park and enjoyed some great twisties and tall Redwoods!
I stayed on CA-29 N through Lower Lake, around Clear Lake and up to Upper Lake where picked up CA-20 W to Redwood Valley. At Redwood Valley I jumped onto US-101 N to Willits, CA where I picked up CA-20 W again. By this time the temps have reached the mid to upper 90’s! I topped off fuel in Willits and then headed to Fort Bragg, CA.
This was a great ride through tall Redwoods and some real nice curves! CA-20 N goes all the way to CA-1 and you take a right to go into the town of Fort Bragg, CA. I took a side road to the coast and took some pictures and video, so be sure to look at the Touring Videos page related to this tour.
This part of the ride today was about 135 miles from Fort Bragg to Petaluma and if I rode straight through with no stops, would take around 3.5 hours. When I arrived in Fort Bragg it was only 58 degrees! This was a very welcome change from the inland temps of upper 90’s. The only problem with this was that it just kept getting colder as I headed South down the coast! I have to stop 4 times to warm up and put on additional layers for warmth. I am really glad I took my cousins’ advise about bringing warm gear and riding the coast in the afternoon as apposed to riding the other direction on the route and doing the coast first thing in the morning!
I took CA-1 all the way back to Petaluma and I was able to get a ton of beautiful video that you can check out on the Touring Video’s Page.
This was a spectacular day 1 of touring California and I would recommend this to anybody thinking about visiting!
Day 5
This was a shorter days’ ride but I’m looking forward to it because Sonoma County Harley Davidson is on the itinerary! Once again, if I didn’t make any stops for pictures, lunch, or the HD dealership, the ride would be less than 4 hours and 140 miles, but since I did make stops it took me over 6 hours to complete this route. It was a great day!
I ran into road construction on my way to the Point Reyes Lighthouse so I had to settle for Drakes Beach, which was a beautiful ride and a nice stop.
There is only one way in and one way out of the Point Reyes National Seashore area, so as much as I don’t like backtracking on the same roads, I have not choice.
Once I got back to CA-1, I headed North to take in the views of Tomales Bay on my way up to Hwy-116. I made a right on Hwy-116 and followed the Russian River all the way to Guerneville. This has been a great ride through beautiful Redwood Forests with a bunch of great peaks as the Russian River along the way. I left Hwy-116 to stay on River Road and follow the Russian River.
River Road took me to US-101 S to the Sonoma County Harley Davidson where I was able to score a new challenge coin, a couple T’s and chips! I got really lucky, I got The only and The LAST coin they had!
Once again, check out the Touring Video’s page on this site to see the great video I took on the ride!
Day 6
Today we head South to Santa Barbara via CA-1 with a stop in Monteray Bay! I was really looking forward to this ride, going over the Golden gate Bridge and seeing Monterey Bay, but the whole trip, I was socked in fog! I was only able to see brief views of the Pacific the whole ride down to Monterey Bay!
Finally, in Monterey Bay I was able to see some ocean view but there was still a lot of fog in the area. Municipal Beach was the first part of the beach I could actually see something.
And here are some pictures from the road to Santa Barbara, CA
Take away the fog I had for half the day, it was a beautiful ride!
I checked into the Oasis Inn and Suites in Santa Barbara, CA.
It was very clean and comfortable and across the street from a shopping center with restaurants and a grocery store.
Day 7
Saturday, depart Santa Barbara, CA for Las Vegas, NV. I wanted to collect some poker chips and hopefully challenge coins from Los Angeles, CA Harley dealerships, but it was already getting very hot, so I only went to 4 places. I only got poker chips, nobody in LA is carrying challenge coins anymore is what they are telling me.
I left LA and headed to Vegas via I-15 N for VERY HOT ride reaching 118 degrees by the time I stopped in Vegas!
I stayed at the Travelodge by Wyndham Las Vegas Center Strip, for the night. I was NOT happy with this place and I would NOT recommend to anybody. I managed to get some sleep but I left early in the morning for Delta, Colorado.
Day 8
I left Las Vegas, NV for Delta, Colorado via I-15 E to I-70 E. It was a very pleasant day of travel. I got out of Nevada before the heat of the day and it was very comfortable when I arrived at the hotel in Delta, CO.
I stayed at the Value Lodge Inn, Delta, CO and I was very happy with this room. It was very clean, the staff was very nice, and the bed was very comfortable.
Day 9
This is the final day of the tour and I will be taking a route through Gunnison, over Monarch Pass, to Poncha Springs, Fairplay, and over Kenosha Pass to get home.
I stopped in Gunnison, CO for fuel then raced the thunderstorms and rain back to the Denver Area without a stop! I caught a little rain as I approached Buena Vista, CO but that was it! I got lucky for sure! That was a 3.5 hour / 190 mile stretch without a break!
Tour Recap
This Bucket List Tour totaled over 3400 miles, 9 days, and I rode through some AMAZING country! My bike is now ready for it’s 55,000 mile service and desperate for a wash! I was lucky to have the best weather, no mechanical issues, and met some great people along the way!
I’m also grateful for my riding buddies, Terry and Bobette for letting me ride with them out to California, thanks to them, the Loneliest Highway in America wasn’t so lonely! And I’m blessed to have wonderful family (Stacy and Dan) in California that allowed me to stay with them for 3 days which saved me a lot of money and gave me some great advice for riding and seeing the sights in CA.
Bucket List Tour – California Coast…CHECK!
It was a great trip and now I’m happy to be back in Colorado!
Questions, Comments, and Feedback are more than welcome, they are requested!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed taking the journey with me!
As Always,
Be Safe, Have Fun and Ride On!
Short Shot
Northwest Colorado-Tarantula Highway Videos
Northwest Colorado-Tarantula Highway
An Over-Night Getaway – Craig, CO
Sometimes I just need to go for a ride and to get away to check out something new for a couple days so I headed Northwest to see the Dinosaur National Monument.
Day 1
According to the map, it looks like this first day is about 460 miles and will take about 7.5 hrs in the saddle, and it does not include gas stops, bio breaks (restroom stops), or lunch stops. It’s gonna be a good days’ ride and I wanted to get an early start so I hit the road at 8AM. Well, even though it’s been fairly hot day’s lately, the mornings can be pretty brisk, but then if you are crossing over the Continental Divide, it will get downright COLD, even in July! So, I was prepared for a cold ride, what I didn’t see in the forecast was rain and SNOW past Georgetown, CO! Well, I didn’t have winter gloves on, long johns, or even my winter coat with me when the rain started in Georgetown, but then as I got past Georgetown, the rain turned to snow and it was like that all the way to Silverthorn, CO, then the rain finally stopped after Vail Pass! Fortunately it was not a heavy precipitation and there was no accumulation, just wet and cold!
I stopped in Rifle, CO to get fuel, warm up and have a snack break. I also put my GoPro Max on to capture some of the ride where I never been before. I could have stayed on the beaten path of HWY 64 which would have taken me right into Dinosaur, CO, but I decided to venture into new territory on County Road 7 / 57 instead. So, anyway, from Rifle I headed up CO-13 N (Government Road) where I ran into road construction (surprise) and they had the road completely torn down to DIRT for at least 10-15 miles (felt like 50 miles) and one lane closed for a portion of that! This put me behind schedule as clouds were building and looked like there was going to me more rain…thank you road construction.
I finally got through the road construction and took CO-13 N to CO-64 W, then after a short distance picked up the road I’d never been on, Co Rd 7. Fortunately it was paved the whole way because there are still a lot of County Roads that are still dirt in Colorado. It was very quiet, very little traffic, and very scenic! I do have to mention, I experienced something I’d never seen before and it was a little freaky! I was riding along and enjoying the peaceful and beautiful ride on the quiet county road, cruising at 60 mph, when all of a sudden I saw these dark objects all over the road ahead. I tried to avoid them as I didn’t know if they were rocks, frogs, turtles or something else smooshed on the road, but I couldn’t get a good look. As I got closer, I notice they were moving! Wow, what the hell was that! Well, further down the road the objects were in the road again but this time, a lot more! I was not able to get around them so I just rolled right over them! I tried to get a better look…they weren’t frogs (not hopping), they weren’t turtles (not crunching), so, what could they be? Well, that cleared up and then further down the road…EVEN MORE! They were so thick on the road it looked black, but it was moving, I THINK THEY ARE TARANTULAS! I never saw them this far North and I’d never seen this many, but I wasn’t gonna stop and get a better look because if they are Tarantulas, I want nothing to do with them! I didn’t want them on my bike, I didn’t want them on me, and I didn’t want any hitching a ride to my over-night stop (or home) with me, so I kept on keep’n on! After a couple more patches of these creatures on the road, the clouds are increasing and I’m getting some rain here and there, behind schedule because of road construction, and the road coming to life, I decided to forego the Dinosaur National Park and go straight to the hotel in Craig, CO. Well, I no sooner got checked in and the floodgates opened! It rained on and off the rest of the day!
I checked into the Quality Inn in Craig, CO for the night. They were very accommodating and friendly and I found out they were locals, so I asked about the road creatures, but they had never seen or heard of it before. Well, as we were talking a couple came in to check in and heard what we were talking about. The man confirmed, they were Tarantulas!!! He went on to say that they are usually more South, where it’s warmer, but up here where it’s much cooler, they will come out onto the warm road to get themselves warmed up from the cold! So, I’m like “What?!”…and he’s like “Yah!” and the wife is like “GROSS!”, and the girls behind the counter are like “EEEWWWW!!!” and I’m like “I’m glad I didn’t stop to get a better look!!”. That was an experience! I’ve got video and pictures (of the road creatures, not this conversation) that I will upload soon!
If anybody can dispute or confirm what these creatures were, if they weren’t Tarantula’s, please comment or e-mail me details. I’ve never seen them this far North, but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t be possible…right?
The hotel was very clean and comfortable, no complaints! The hot tub and pool were open so I went for a dip to relax the ole muscles and tired bones…very nice! There was a Walmart nearby so I went and picked up some food for the evening and retired to my room for some R and R!
Day 2
It is a BEAUTIFUL morning! Sun is shining and not a cloud in the sky! I went down for breakfast and they had individually wrapped danishes, bagels, coffee, hard boiled egg’s, yogurt, etc., so I enjoyed breakfast as watched the news. After breakfast I packed up, checked out and hit the road!
The plan today is to take CO-40 E through Steamboat Springs, Kremmling, Grand Lake and Winter Park, CO (North Central Region). On this route I’ll go over Rabbit Ears Pass from Steamboat and over Berthoud Pass from Winter Park then pick up I-70 E for Denver.
Tour Recap
Have you ever heard the term “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”? Well, that’s not to say that the destination isn’t part of the journey, but it means that it’s about the entire experience. The route you take, the things and places you see, the people you meet, and the feelings that it creates. I know, a biker talking about “feelings”, what’s next? Wind therapy on my motorcycle is about freedom, relaxation, the great outdoors, the mountains and what it does for my soul! Whether it’s a 1 day, 2 day, a week a month trip, it’s always about experience and enjoying what I have and enjoying my surrounding!
This was a great over-nighter! It didn’t go as planned, it wasn’t great weather, and it was longer that expected on day 1, but the journey and the experience of “road creatures”, talking to locals, and traveling this beautiful state made this trip one to remember and created memories for a lifetime.
This trip was created from using all the resources available on this site, from planning the ride, booking the hotel and checking weather!
So Plan a trip, take a tour, or just get out on a short ride for some “wind therapy”, but make this site the place to go for a “one stop shop” on your journey to becoming a Motorcycle Touring Enthusiast!
As usual,
Be Safe, Have Fun and Ride On!
Short Shot
