- Tour Leaders: Bruce Daykin (778-440-1915; bdaykin@gmail.com ) and John Pringle (250-655-9289; knitsui@telus.net )
- Tour Dates: May 19th to June 10th, 2015.
- Tour Participant Numbers: Min. 16, Max. 24.
- Tour Rating: Intermediate/Advanced.
- Tour Fee: $2,000.00 for each of 16 registrants; $1,700.00 for 24.
- Tour Registration Opening Date: Saturday, January 17th, 2015 @ 5:00 PM PST. Register @ http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g at a cost of $2.00 CAD (non-refundable).
Description: The Pacific Coast Bicycle ride is an epic adventure along one of the world’s most scenic coastlines. The winding highway passes iconic beaches e.g. Cannon Beach and Seaside; lighthouses and crashing surf; climbs cliffs and is engulfed by beautiful forests e.g. the redwoods, rugged oaks and beautiful madronas of northern California, and then seaward to hundreds of hectares of sand dunes . The friendly west coast style villages and towns host coffee shops, bakeries, and art galleries. Innumerable state parks and other campgrounds are located at some of the best natural areas.
This tour will be 23 days of camping using the CCCTS camp kitchen equipment, and motels. Luggage, food, etc., will be carried by a support truck [no bags heavier than 18 kg (40 lbs.) please], driven by one member of each day’s cook team unless a volunteer driver is recruited. Assigned cook teams of four will rotate to purchase groceries and prepare breakfasts and dinners in camp. Volunteers will be requested to carry out each of the following duties; “wagon master”, ice/cooler-monitoring and the “keeper” of happy hour supplies. We will utilize campground group areas wherever possible; and most, if not all, campgrounds will have hot showers. Participants will use their own tents, bedding, and flat-ware. There will be four nights in motels with opportunity for laundry.
The tour will start in Vancouver, move by ferry to Victoria to join with Victoria participants, then by ferry to Port Angeles, Washington. It will follow Hwy 101 along the Hood Canal, southward along Washington State and then use regional roads and minor highways to reach the coast at Astoria, Oregon on the fifth day. The ride in Oregon continues on a mostly bicycle friendly Hwy 101, hugging the coast for about six days. Local roads can provide a nice alternative in some locations.
The northernmost California section continues with more highway-like conditions for the first few days, but offers spectacular redwood forests with some alternate routes. The route then descends back to the coast on Hwy 1, and with less traffic, winds along the remote Northern California coast for five days, arriving at San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge.
Riding conditions: The total distance will be about 1,700 km, all on paved roads (touring or road bikes will be just fine), and averaging ~85 km/day. Some of the route is hilly with a total Tour ascent of about 15,000 m, or an average of 700 m of climbing per day. The schedule for the ride, late May/early June, will hopefully find a nice weather window between spring rains and summer fog, and avoiding the peak traffic of summer. Near yearly maximum daylight hours will be well suited to camping. Two rest days are planned, breaking the 20 riding days into three segments (See Itinerary below).
A description of the 2008-sponsored CCCTS tour, which followed a similar route and pace from Vancouver to San Diego, can be found on the CCCTS website. The Spring and Kirkendall book, “Bicycling the Pacific Coast” (2005 – 4th edition) provides an excellent description of the route.
Tour fees include all accommodations, including hotels, campground fees and camping meals including coffee-break and happy hour snacks, which will be prepared/presented by rotating cook teams; daily maps and cue sheets; vehicle rental and ancillary expenses, ferry to Port Angeles and the transport of bikes and camping gear back to Victoria and then to the Vancouver-based CCCTS lockup.
Tour fees do not include alcoholic beverages,restaurant meals and participant’s transportation back to Vancouver, which can be done by air, rail, and bus. One volunteer will be required to assist aTour Leader in driving the truck, bikes and other equipment back to Vancouver, Canada, with a stop in Victoria.
Registration and participant selection: Registration will open Saturday, January 17th, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. PST. A $2.00 non-refundable registration fee is required at tour signup, which must be done online at http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g. Participants will be selected first, on the basis of date and time of registration; secondly, on fitness and experience in relation to longish “intermediate/advanced” tour; and thirdly, on the availability of suitable room-mates for single registrants (double-room occupancy assumed). Once participants have been determined and notified each will be required to make, on line, their respective first tour fee installment of $600.00 within 72 hours; the second payment of $1,400.00 (assuming the minimum number of registrants) will be due April 15th. A registrant canceling will incur costs made or committed on his/her behalf. Trip cancellation insurance is recommended, as is supplementary medical insurance, where required; participants will require appropriate passports.
Itinerary
Tour begins May 19th in Victoria/Vancouver and finishes June 10th (23 days) in San Francisco.
Section 1. BC/Washington/Oregon – Tuesday, May 19th – Tuesday, May 26th:
Seven cycling days; one day off.
- Ferries to Victoria and Port Angeles;
- Commercial campgrounds in Sequim (Rainbows End), the Barview at Rockaway Beach and the Bay Center KOA; State Parks at Dosewallips, Schafer and possibly Ft. Stevens (alternative is a KOA); and a hotel (rest day; 2 nights in hotel) in Lincoln City;
- Average daily distance to ride in this Section will be ~83 km (52 miles);
- Distance travelled from Vancouver ~583 km (362 miles); and,
- Daily elevation rises range from 208 m (682 ft.) to 846 m (2,775 ft.).
Section 2. Oregon/California – Wednesday, May 27th – Wednesday, June 3rd:
Seven cycling days; one day off.
- Highway 101 and local roads;
- Campgrounds at Rivers Edge RV and possibly Giant Redwoods in Meyers Flat (alternative for this rest day is Redwoods State Pk.); and a range of State/County Parks such as Harbour Vista, Sunset Bay, Humbug Mtn., Prairie Ck. Redwoods (rest day); and a hotel at Eureka;
- Distance travelled in this Section ~653 km (406 mi) ;
- Average daily distance to ride in this Section ~93 km (58 mi);
- Distance from Vancouver 1 236 km (768 mi); and,
- Daily elevation rises range from 576 m (1,889 ft.) to 982 m (3,221 ft.).
Section 3. California – Thursday, June 4th to Wednesday, June 10th:
Six cycling days to tour’s end.
- Highway 101 and local rural roads including Ave. of Giants (big ascent) and Leggett Hill (big descent) and finishing up with Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and Golden Gate Bridge;
- Lodging: Campgrounds are either a State Recreation Area (Standish-Hickey) or State Parks (Mackerricher Beach, Manchester Beach, Sonoma Coast and Tomales Bay); and, a hotel in San Francisco;
- Distance travelled in this Section ~475 km ( 295 mi);
- Average distance/day will be ~79 km (49 mi);
- Distant from Vancouver ~1 711 km (1,063 mi); and
- Daily elevation rises range from 541 m (1,774 ft.) to 1 244 m (4,081 ft.).
Summaries:
20 cycling days, 18 camping days, 2 rest days & 4 hotel/motel days.
- Total Tour cycling distance ~1 711 km (1,063 mi);
- Average daily distance cycled ~86 km (~53 mi); and
- Total height climbed ~14 827 m (~48,645 ft.);
- Average daily ascent climbed ~674 m (~2,211 ft.); and
- Number of days off – two.