LA to San Fran

[slnarcissist]

So didn't know where to ask this so figured General worked.

I am thinking about riding to San Francisco area from the LA area sometime in the next few weeks for a weekend. I have a 07 250 that I got at the start of the summer it currently has about 16000+ miles on it. I was wondering if I could get any advice or tips as this would be my first trip of that length.

Thanks in advance!

[lostdaemon]

Take breaks. Lots of them.

Stay hydrated.

And tell us how the trip goes!

[coolcatjames]

Take the 101 instead of the 5. It's cooler, and the view is spectacular. You could try taking the 1 up to Oxnard, then 101 to San Luis, then back on the 1 all the way up to Pacifica.

And tell us how it goes!

[Alex]

In our main Riding Skills sticky thread, I've just linked 5 threads that have some good tips and hints on long-distance riding.

[Alex]

Here's the preferred route I take going between LA & SF.

http://goo.gl/maps/IO08

Beautiful roads, limited traffic (virtually none), and not much longer than just taking one of the mind-numbing highways.

[slnarcissist]

Awesome thanks! I'll check the sticky and appreciate the heads up about the better routes only been in Cali a few months would not have know that.

[ajcadoo]

Originally Posted by coolcatjames

Take the 101 instead of the 5. It's cooler, and the view is spectacular. You could try taking the 1 up to Oxnard, then 101 to San Luis, then back on the 1 all the way up to Pacifica.

And tell us how it goes!

Agree with this. If you take the 5, you will be bored out of your mind. The 5 is faster, but it is BORING!

The 5 is also going to have a 70 Speed limit, and the flow of traffic is usually at 75, unless you get stuck behind a Semi.

I would take the 5 if you were in a car, but the 101/1 is perfect for a motorcycle.

[toua70]

When in doubt, fill your freaking gas tank dude!! Not sure if you were there when I told my story during the Laguna Beach ride but I went up to fresno over memorial weekend and ran out of gas on the way back home and was stuck on the 5 for awhile before another motorcyclist came to my rescue lol. It was not a fun experience at all. My total time on the road was 4 hours one way so if you're heading up to San Fran, it'll be about 6-7 hours one way. I didn't have any problems with fatigue so I only stopped to fill up gas and was on my way. But then again, everyone is different so do whatever you're comfortable with. I didn't feel like I needed to pull over and rest but if you feel like you do, then i would suggest you do so and maybe grab a bite or something. Man, have fun dude. Its a nice ride there. One more thing, once you go through the mountain and are on your way down the other side, the road will be REALLY, REALLy rough. It's been like that forever with lots of grooves so I suggest when you see the warning sign for the road, go and ride on the right side of the lanes. That way, you can go at your own pace. I had to do that because it was quite scary. Other than that, ride safe and have fun and tell us all about it when you get back

[slnarcissist]

Thanks, definitely appreciate all these tips. I will probably make the trip around the first week of August. So any more tips I'll take before that and then I'll report back on how the trip went. Pretty excited for my first real long ride, and already made that mistake with gas once so lesson learnt when in doubt gas it up.

[toua70]

did you go on your trip yet? If so, how was it?

[slnarcissist]

Not yet, this weekend I am going. Will report back with details after.

Did take the shorter trip to San Diego this past Sunday which was a nice little test trip.
What is considered acceptable speed around here? I am from NY and on the way to SD most people were cruising along at around 85-90, in NY I would be worried about getting a ticket at these speeds but here it seems normal, true or just got lucky?

[toua70]

Originally Posted by slnarcissist

Not yet, this weekend I am going. Will report back with details after.

Did take the shorter trip to San Diego this past Sunday which was a nice little test trip.
What is considered acceptable speed around here? I am from NY and on the way to SD most people were cruising along at around 85-90, in NY I would be worried about getting a ticket at these speeds but here it seems normal, true or just got lucky?

I would say just lucky lol.. when I went to fresno couple months back, I think once I got out of the city, I was doing 90mph but then again, the speedo for the ninjettes or off so maybe going 85 mph or so. It was fast enough to go in between cars on the 5 when I needed to. I also went to SD not too long ago and was doing the same. But as soon as I see cops, I slow down as do everyone else no matter if they're in a car or bike. Good luck man, it'll be a nice ride.

[coolcatjames]

if you take the 101, you'll pass king city. be sure to slow down about 10 miles before and after. that place is speed trap central.

[slnarcissist]

Ok so this is long over due but you'll see why its been delayed soon. I took the trip up to San Fran 3 weeks ago. On the way up basically took the 1 all the way to Santa Cruz where I was staying. The trip was great, beautiful, amazing, and so zen and peaceful. I loved every minute of it. I didn't stop except for gas as I planned on doing my picture taking on the way back.

Once I was at Santa Cruz the next day(Sat) I drove to San Fran for the day and checked out the city. Again amazing, got to see some sites and stroll around the city. The hills however were kind of terrifying at first, and really made me nervous but I went slow and was careful and made it out and back to Santa Cruz.

Sunday I did my return trip from Santa Cruz to Huntington Beach making stops along the way for some pictures. Stopped at some beach with elephant seals, got some great beach shots and coastal pictures. However this is where the trip takes a bit of a turn for the worst.

On the 101 around Ventura when I got into an accident. It was me then another motorcycle and then a van (minivan idk). Everything was fine until the van hit the brakes suddenly causing the motorcycle in front to come to a skidding stop. And leaving me slamming the brakes but not having enough room. So I swerved around the motorcycle on the left side and then tried to get back right, between lanes so I had more room. However it was too tight and the mirror and left handle bar hit the van. Making my front wheel turn and causing the bike to lose traction. As I lost control I was able to lean back so I didn't high side, so low sided and crashed in the middle of the highway.

Got rushed to the hospital and injury report goes like this:
Broken t3,t4,c7 (back/spine)
Fracture scapula (shoulder)
Bruised lungs
Some road rash on left knee and right hand.

Had spinal surgery which resulted in the fusion of t3 and t4. And having 12 screws running from t1-t6 and 2 rods also. At first I could barely move my lower body. They went back in and put in 2 shorter screws and went back a third and final time to drain fluid that leaked and put pressure on my spine.
After these 3 weeks I have been able to go from barely moving to walking with a walker and able to walk up and down stairs. I have gained most movement back, my legs are just weak and feel tight. I had gained all sensation back after a week or so.

I just got cleared from the doctor to fly so i can go back to NYC. I will need to continue rehab and wear a back/neck brace for a while until they are sure the back is healed completely.

The bike is apparently not too bad and is just cosmetic damage but i will be having a friend sell it as I am not bringing it back to NYC.

Anyway that's my Trip Report, I am alive and doctor says I will make a full recovery.

Ride safe Friends!

[Alex]

Oh, crap! Glad you made it through, and I hope your recovery continues to progress just as well!

[rojoracing53]

Holly $hit that's not how you want end what sounded like a great weekend of riding. Best of luck with your recovery and have a safe flight back home.

[toua70]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

Holly $hit that's not how you want end what sounded like a great weekend of riding. Best of luck with your recovery and have a safe flight back home.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip man but am sorry about your accident. That sucks :/ also that you're leaving back to NYC. I've been meaning to catch up with you sooner to see if you wanted to mess around and write up some programs together so I can learn some stuff from ya since i'm only beginning to mess around with c# haha.. but on a serious note, i'm glad your surgery went well and that you will make a full recovery. I had the exact same feelings when I went on my trip up north. It was amazing, beautiful scenery, and peaceful (minus the running out of gas part) also, hope you don't give up riding

[coolcatjames]

WOW! Hope you get better man.

[kcaja1]

Get well soon!

[Rexbo]

oh ****! well... i guess the word "memorable" could be used for this one, sorry bout the crash but glad you are able to talk about it later!

[slnarcissist]

Thanks everyone for the support and ride safe !