San Francisco area by bike.

[Vulfy]

Hello everybody. I'm planning a trip to Cali this summer. At first I wanted a grand adventure but financially as well as the lack of experience in long journeys and living off the bike made me think that a smaller more compact trip would be a good step into this side of motorcycling.

I will be travelling with my wife. We plan to fly out of NYC and land in San Francisco. The whole trip would be 7 days. I plan to rent a motorcycle in San Francisco.

The first idea was to run from San Francisco down to San Diego. However its more expensive to rent a bike one way. Second, I don't want to ride through LA. Thrid, I'm sure there are plenty of stuff to see around San Francisco, for the first trip like this. Fourth, as this is a first trip like this for both me and my wife, I don't want to turn it into a mile grinding, just to get from point A to point B.

So I figured it might be better to stay in San Francisco this entire time, and just do excursions to the nearby areas, and one overnight trip somewhere a bit more distant.

Can anybody recommend a basic list of things to go to in those days? I don't know that area at all, so doing a research right now on what to do and see, especially on the bike.

Here is my basic plan.
Day 1: Arrival, hotel, bike rental, stay in the city.
Day 2: Trip A there and back
Day 3: Trip B there and back
Day 4: Stay in the city, visit attractions, enjoy area.
Day 5: Trip C there, overnight stay
Day 6: Trip C back to San Francisco.
Day 7: Bike return, Flight back.

So going by this, I would like to plan 2 short, one day round trips in the area and 1 trip with an overnight stay at the destination.

I'm planning to rent Triumph Bonneville over at http://www.dubbelju.com/
Any other good renting places in San Francisco that you can recommend?
We are planning to be there in the last week of June, first week of July. Whats the weather there like at that time of the year?
We are not adventure riders (not yet at least) so no iron butts. For the shorter trips it would be nice to have stops every couple of hours, so any good places or towns to visit?
For a longer trip I'm ok with riding a bit longer for a more "grandeur" destination.
Again, please treat me as a complete noob that I am, so any, even the most basic info is HIGHLY appreciated.
Thanks.

[Strokizator]

Try Pashnit.com they have lots of suggested rides in CenCal. Take your pick, you can't go wrong. Getting out of SF will be the hard part.

[Vulfy]

Is the traffic really bad around San Francisco? Does it make more sense to find a hotel on the outskirts, and ride INTO the city those days that we will stay there? Any good places within an hour from San Francisco that would be nice to stay in?

[Eyes Shut]

Originally Posted by Vulfy

We are planning to be there in the last week of June, first week of July. Whats the weather there like at that time of the year?

Just because your calendar says June and July are "summer," it's not necessarily so in the bay area. It can be foggy and chilly, or you might get a wonderfully sunny day. So bring warm enough clothing so that you'll be comfortable traveling up or down the coastal areas.

Inland, towards the Napa Valley, it will be warm, hot even. Layering is key so that you can add or remove clothing depending on where you are geographically.

And you are right -- there is plenty to see and do in the San Francisco area.

One obvious trip is to head north on Hiway 1 and just go up the coast as far as you want to for the day. The scenery is great, the road is twisty, and there are lots of little towns where you can stop for a break and meals.

[Calimari]

Originally Posted by Vulfy

Is the traffic really bad around San Francisco? Does it make more sense to find a hotel on the outskirts, and ride INTO the city those days that we will stay there? Any good places within an hour from San Francisco that would be nice to stay in?

Traffic is bad during the morning and evening commutes on weekdays and it can be bad on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The rest of the time you should be fine. No reason not to stay in the City if that's what you want to do; just time your movements to avoid the traffic peaks. The morning commute starts cranking about 7:30 and is done by 10:00, which gives you a lot of time early summer mornings before the commute gets going to get out of or into Dodge. The evening commute starts about 3:00 and is mostly done by 7:00, a little later on Fridays.

And heed the above warning about SF summer weather. 55 degrees and drippy fog can be the norm, but if you get a few miles inland, you will break out of the fog into more normal sunny summer weather.

[Vulfy]

Awesome, thanks for all the responses.

[Tucson Jim]

Might want to consider Muir woods. A hidden canyon with redwoods and a salmon stream flowing through it less than an hour from San Fran on a coastal road full of twisties. Plus you get to cross the Golden Gate bridge.

Eat here. http://www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com/index.php

Tell Eric his dad sent you.

[amos]

I have ridden out there three times from the midwest, my son lives in oakland. I enjoyed riding hiway 1 through stinson beach and up to Bodega bay and back down through Petaluma nice scenery, I also went south and stopeed at Alices restaraunt can not remember the road ,beautiful redwoods skyline blvd maybe on south coming out around saratoga and then back to the city,. Plenty of rides and lots to do Have fun Lots of great food in the bay area

[xago]

Since it sounds like you are planning mini trips A, B and C.

I would recommend the basic North, South, and East for each of yours trips. One of the the things I love about the Bay Area is there are lots of places to ride in every direction.

Not sure what kind of mileage per day you are looking for, but I would aim for Big Sur when you head South, ride down highway 1 or Santa Cruz mountains to get there.

When headed North, it is good all the way to Oregon, but I would stop at Bodega Bay if a day trip or Fort Bragg if overnight. You can head back to SF through Napa or possibly stay there.

When headed east, Tioga pass is great though can be crowded in the summer. Every mountain pass through the Sierras are awesome, but my favorite is 108.

I have ridden all of these many times and they are all fantastic.

[sethsquatch]

If you like oysters stop off at Hog Island Oyster Farm on Hwy 1 north of San Francisco http://www.hogislandoysters.com/ If the weather is good it's a nice picnic area. If you want to do an overnight head farther north to Avenue of the Giants on 101 http://avenueofthegiants.net/ I've made it up and back in one day but it's a long day of riding plus there are some nice B&B's along coast.

As others have said summer in San Francisco normally involves fog and 50-60 deg weather. Go north or east and it'll warm up quick.

In San Francisco there is lots to see. Chinatown, Alcatraz, Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, Coit Tower, and take a ride down Lombard St (the world's most crooked street).

[lvscrvs]

Great suggestions above....

Only thing I would add.... spend the weekend days in the city, head out of town during the week... lots to see and do in marin, sonoma, napa and mendocino counties, but the roads are much more open during the week.... if you are comfortable on the bike, find the smallest backroads you can on the maps and take those.... in addition to hwy 1 of course... if it is especially nice at the coast, you could do an overnighter up hwy 1 to mendocino pretty easily... mt tamalpais has nice views of the bay