Biking from Bay Area to Santa Barbara (400 miles)
Just a few weeks ago, I realized I had a week off from work but no plans. That quickly changed when my curiosity took me to Google Maps. Hm, 338mi / 5 days = ~67mi/day doesn’t sound so bad…
Trip planning
Here’s a quick rundown of what we brough with us and where we stayed.
Pack list:
- Tent/tarp/sleeping bag/sleeping pad
- Battery pack and chargers
- Food, snacks, mini stove
- Clothes
- Toiletries
- First aid
- Bike and bags
- Sunscreen
- Water + TANG
Destinations (campgrounds / hotels)
- Manresa State Beach (55 mi) Route
- Saddle Mountain Ranch (101 mi) Route 1/2 Route 2/2
- Big Sur Pfeiffer State Park (126 mi) Route
- Plaskett Creek State Park (166 mi) Route
- Cerro Alto Campground (last minute change to Quality Inn SLO) (234 -> 264 mi) Route
- Hilton Goleta (370mi) Route
Initial fitness
Colin and I were probably around 3-3.5 W/Kg for 60 minute power.
What I would do differently
- I would pack fewer clothes. Clothes take up too much space and I didn’t need to use all the clothes I brought.
- I would not bring a backpack in a future trip. It hurts your butt more to carry more weight on yourself. If I can fit everything onto my backrack, I will.
- I would get more expensive camping equipment. The equipment I purchased was very reliable, but I think spending more in the future could significantly lower the size / weight I carried around.
- I would not do 30 mile days. The first 30 mile day, we got to our next site too early and wasted an hour biking around. This also ensured we would be doing absurd mileage on other days.
- I would not do 60+ mile days. Imagine how hard this already is on a performance road bike. Now add the debuffs for lugging around an additional 30lbs+, riding around in unexplored territory, and increased likelihood of mechanical issues.
- I would not book campgrounds. We met another rider who told us the hike / bike sites were almost always had space and only cost $5 / night.
- I would bring fewer snacks. This stuff is heavy and you can always get more at a gas station / grocery store.
Day 1: South Bay -> Manresa
- Two crazy guys who don’t know what they got themselves into
- Learning that we should avoid gravel, hills, and gravel hills
- Meeting a father/son doing a weekend bike camp trip from East bay -> Half moon bay
- Los Gatos reservoir
- Climbing over a mountain to get to Soquel
- Our Manresa campsite
- The moon and moon shadows
Day 2: Manresa -> Saddle Mountain Ranch
- Two crazy guys who made it alive from a night of camping
- Lots of strawberry fields!
- Met a guy who: (1) Graduated high school with Steve Jobs (2) Told us about military/railroad history (3) Told us that COVID was engineered by the Chinese and to lookout for COVID-20. Many unanswered questions better left unanswered from this encounter.
- Lunch in Carmel. Balled out for a tri-tip sandwich
- Glampsite views
- Folktale winery + learning my body rejects alcohol
- Balancing out our bougieness with instant ramen
Day 3: Saddle Mountian Ranch -> Big Sur
- Two crazy guys who made it alive from two nights of camping
- Flat shaming
- Big Sur views!
- Close call. Pannier flies off into traffic. Luckily no one or thing was hurt (phew!)
- Roadwork. We only had to deal with cars in waves. Enjoyed 10 minute intervals of no cars!
- Crazy tailwind. We coasted down at 30mph with mountains on our left and the Pacific on our right.
- Big Sur campsite
- Colin hauling firewood
Day 4: Big Sur -> Plaskett Creek
- Two crazy guys who made it alive from three nights of camping
- Morning hike views
- Julia Pfeiffer waterfall
- Big Sur Deli sandwiches! Mmm
- Met another bike camper doing Los Gatos -> SLO
- Camp neighbors (fishermen) made us a salmon/halibut Caesar salad! Mmmm
Day 5: Plaskett Creek -> Cerro Alto SLO
- Two crazy (stinky) guys who made it alive from four nights of camping
- Ragged Point climbs weren’t too hard and the descents were fun and safe. We started early enough to only have a few cars pass us in the first few hours of riding.
- Elephant seals! Look at those cuties
- Stop at bike shop for some more supplies. We were told that taking 41 would be unpleasant which made us stop to think whether camping in Cerro Alto would be worth it. We ultimately decided SLO would be better for a few reasons: (1) Cut down last day mileage from 130 -> 100. (2) Can explore SLO (3) Less wilderness camping after being sketched out by Big Sur (4) Less climbing (5) Don’t need to take 41.
- Massive pizza in SLO
- No more camping! Time to shower and sleep in a bed.
- Toured Cal Poly, loved the campus
Day 6: SLO -> SB
- Two crazy (showered) guys who think they can do 100mi. No pics because “Make haste, not waste”
- Flat shaming. Tough nail :(
- Human gas station: Filling up at [Kung Fu] Panda Express in Lompoc after 70mi
- Dehydration malfunction 80mi in. Colin unsure whether he can make the final climb. Luckily, we solved the problem with Powerade and some weight redistribution. Top of climb before descending down at 50mph!
- Mission. Complete.
Day 7: SB
- Saw UCSB. Party school for sure
- Dehydration malfunction. My genius self decides that I only need 1 bottle of water and 1 Arizona iced tea after finishing 100mi of riding, a completely loaded Chipotle meal, and 3 McDonalds breakfast sandwiches. Felt very sick for 12 hours and worried that I had COVID. I even took the Google self assessment (which for those of you who’ve never taken it always tells you that you might have COVID). Jane saved the day here by identifying that I was probably dehydrated.
Day 8: SB -> San Jose
- Tacos from Lily’s Tacqueria
- Coastal Starlight. Farms (that we biked through), cafe cart, and California Men’s Colony West (we learned that Tim Leary escaped from this prison back in the 70s)
