Review of Bicycling the Pacific Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Canada to Mexico

Bicycling the Pacific Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Canada to Mexico
Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 23
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The best!

On: 2009-08-04

I did this trip (Vancouver to Tijuana) with a couple of friends last year, and noticed that most people used this exact book. Most also have those cyclists maps that cost much more--we didnt, and turned out fine.
Anyway, we came to refer to it as "the Bible" throughout the trip, often checking it for absolutely any details we may need, and sometimes just to assure ourselves we were on the right track.
Its surprisingly small (good for the handlebar bag) given how much information it has for you. Details of everything a cyclist might need or want are provided along the set path, down to the TENTH of a mile. On our trip, we strayed quite a bit from the trail, but the Bible made it pretty easy to orient ourselves even when off of the recommended roads.
If youre planning to bike any section of the west coast, and especially if you want to do the whole shebang, you REALLY should buy this book.

Better than Adventure Cycling maps

On: 2009-01-28

I used this book in conjunction with Adventure Cycling maps on a Canada to Mexico ride in 2007 and found this book to be more complete in its description of routes and facilities. Its very easy to follow, takes you on less-traveled roads without going to ridiculous extremes to avoid well-traveled roads, and gives excellent descriptions of available facilities such as campground amenities, points of interest, libraries, etc. I would highly recommend this book if you are planning a bicycle tour along any or all of the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route.

"The" Book is my coast cycling Bible

On: 2008-07-03

I bought this because I wore out the old copy I had and it was a little out of date. This book is so valuable to cyclist up and down the coast that they simply refer to it as "The book". While I did notice some inaccurate information, specifically, the book mentions that there is no camping on Hornby Island while I stayed in a huge campground there, It is mostly accurate as I read it cover to cover upon receipt to relive my last ride from Powell River BC to Seattle. This book is indispensable for anyone considering cycling any part of the coast from Canada to Mexico. Dont leave home without it!

Inaccuracies Abound

On: 2008-04-05

Today, I finished cycling the Pacific Coast from the Oregon border to Los Angeles [900 miles] and can say without hesitation this is one of the most inaccurate guidebooks Ive ever used. Mileages often were wrong; elevations frequently were wrong [one climb described in the book as 800 turned out to be 300]; climbs were in the wrong place; towns which were on the bottom of climbs were placed by the book at the top; important places were missed entirely; the maps often did not conform to road maps. Worse, some alternate routes, such as the ride over San Marcos Pass into Santa Barbara, were described positively, but were found to be hellish experiences---5,000 total of climbing, bumper-to-bumper traffic driving at high speeds, minimal shoulders. The authors also missed some obvious alternate routes, such as Santa Rosa Road from Lompoc to Buellton, a gorgeous lightly-traveled country road through wine country in favor of highway 154, a boring 4-lane highway with fast-moving traffic.

A much more accurate, and easier to use, cycling guide is the Krebs map for the Northern California coast. Unfortunately, Krebs has published no map for the Southern California section. Lets hope Krebs produces a riding guide for the rest of California.

Despite the many inaccuracies of the Kirkendall book, this is a great bike ride and no one should be deterred by a crappy guidebook. Some sections are absolutely sublime. Riding from Half Moon Bay to Morro Bay in three days, our riders, some of them very experienced [one had ridden the Road Across America], said, "This is the most beautiful day of riding Ive ever had," only to say the next day, "Today was even better." Some of the riding encounters fast traffic and no or small shoulders, so take care in those sections. Also, avoid weekends in the more tourist-oriented sections.

Good basic guide, mainly for the maps

On: 2007-04-23

We just completed a coastal ride from San Francisco to Mexico. I bought this book prior to the trip hoping it would shed some light on what to expect, tips, training, etc. I was initially disappointed.

But..as we started our trip we found the maps were very valuable (the rest of the book..so/so). The altitude scales were okay, but good enough to set some level of expectations. They didnt always reflect the map in the right scale, but it worked well enough. We initially thought we could ride route 1 the whole way, but found we couldnt in many of the bigger cities, which is where the book came in handy. The maps showed which side streets to take. You can also follow bike signs or bike lanes along the way, but theyre not always around when needed. We usually ripped the page out of the book and only carried the small map vs a bunch of maps. You will be surprised how many different maps you would need to carry. Use the book and maps as a general guide, but dont be afraid to wing it. In a few areas like Santa Cruz, South LA, La Jolla and South San Diego (near the boarder) we couldnt find the streets on the map. We got lost, but usually found our way via other streets using general navigation.

Other tips the book doesnt give...wear bright colors, in SF and LA you will be on busy streets with cars zipping by. I hear going in April or Sept are best to avoid tourists and still have really good weather. We used Yahoo Yellow Pages to print out high level city maps with all the hotels listed with contact info and pre-plotted on the map. This was very handy when trying to find a motel in the evening. I also recommend buying the toughest tires you can find (i.e. Specialized Armadillos). Normal road tires are too soft and get too many holes. Between the two of us we had 6 flats and a tire slash in the first day leaving SF..very discouraging. We bought heavy duty tires at a bike shop in Santa Cruz and never got another one the whole trip! We avg. about 78 miles per day with an avg. speed of 15.5 miles per hour, allowing us to get from SF to Mexico in 8 days. Make sure you know how your bike fits you and your body reacts to long days, esp multiple days. I started to ice my knee and quads every night, which made me feel much better the next day. All in all...it was a lot of fun!

Excellent Trip Guide

On: 2007-02-15

I used this book for a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles and found it to be extremely useful for determining route, elevation changes, distances and overnight stops. Its up-to-date and informative, and you dont have to follow the described overnight stops for it to be useful. I brought regular maps for the trip, but ended up only using BTPC for reference throughout. The book is portable enough to bring along for the ride, or you can easily photocopy just the pages you need and stick them in your mapcase. Ill be taking another trip further up the coast this year and will be using this guidebook again.

Just OK

On: 2006-11-03

This book should really be titled, "Touring the Pacific Coast By Bicycle" because it really isnt about the cycling. Following the route in this book pretty much takes you on the most direct route down the coast and misses some great riding roads. Might be OK if you are pulling a trailer or carrying too much stuff but if you are travelling light and like riding, Id suggest the Adventure Cycling and Krebs Maps as better routes. It does suggest some nice parks to stay at but I found it not worth the weight and ended up leaving it at a friends halfway through my trip.

Good book, but I mailed it home in favor of maps

On: 2006-06-22

I biked the entire Pacific coast in September 2005, and used this book to help plan my trip. Were I to do it again knowing what I know now, I wouldnt buy the book.

Dont get me wrong, this is a good book - I read it ahead of time and it helped me figure out relative distances and times, which helped in planning. In general it seemed very thorough and well put-together, and I met people on my trip that used it.

Its main drawback is that its a BOOK. Its not convenient to refer to on the road, and the directions, while nicely detailed, are too verbose for real reference. In addition, because its fundamentally a linear narrative of how to get from here to there, its not very convenient if you need or want to get off of their path for any reason.

I mailed this book home after I discovered that my Adventure Cycling maps (adv-cycling dot org) fulfilled all of my needs - directions, detail in cities, where to shower, sleep & eat (including phone #s), elevation, and distances. Besides that, they are small, waterproof, and easy to refer to while riding or pull out at a stop-sign.

In general Im a more visual/map guy than a directions/narative guy, so your mileage may vary. If you want a book to tell you how to bike the Pacific coast, this is the one. If any of what I said sounds like you it applies to you, feel free to skip the book.

The best of its kind

On: 2005-10-05

This route guide is one of the best Ive seen out in the market place. It has all the details that a long distance biker on a budget would need including: road map, elevation map, descriptions of interesting sites, road conditions, traffic conditions, mileage, camping sites with levels of amenities (esp important shower), and where to get food and other supplies/services. I also liked the fact that it wasnt trying to be everything to everyone by not including detailed information on hotels, motels, restaurants, etc except for the fact that they exist or dont exist in a particular town or area.

So why did I not give them 5 stars?

1) Internal inconsistancy - there are a significant amount of these. Mostly it is where the mileage of the description doesnt match with the mileage of the elevation map. Heres an example. In the Oregon Border to Elk Prairie Campground the written route description indicates that the first summit of the Crescent City hills is at mile 34.6 but the elevation map shows that summit at 28 miles. Am I cutting hairs? You decide. But depending on your ride pace a 6-7 mile difference can be 1/2 hour, not so much of an issue in the middle of the day but it might be at the end of the day.

2) Updated content - I have a suspicion that the guide hasnt been updated even though the 4th edition came out just recently. For the most part, the guide was written in a timeless manner that prevents it from showing much age. For example, it doesnt recommend particular restaurants. But things do change. For example on the Elk Prarie Campground to Eureka KOA day the recommended route is on Hwy 101. Its very busy and a couple of nice smaller roads are recommended (Patricks Point and Little River St Beach). But the Hammond Trail, that takes you from Clam Beach County Park, just north of McKinleyville, South for 13 miles mostly on car free paved path, isnt mentioned. I suspect the trail didnt exist when this guide was written. The authors generally go to lengths to help you avoid nasty highway riding so I suspect that this wasnt a conscious oversight.

3) Out of scale road maps with little detail - It would have been nice if they sprang for some real maps. For example in the Nehalem Bay State Park to Cape Lookout day, the written mileage shows that Cape Meares State Park to Netarts is 4.5 miles and that Netars to Cape Lookout is 6 miles. Which seems about right after biking this portion. But on the road map the distance from Netarts to Cape Lookout appears to be 5 to 6 times further.

Overall, if you are biking down the coast, absolutely get this book but suppliment it with other resources such as AAA roadmaps, Adventure Cyclings bike maps, or the Oregon Dept of Transportation "Oregon Coast Bike Route" (found at the Oregon Tourist offices).

Ive ridden parts of the coast, Santa Cruz to the border and Aberdeen to Eureka and look forward to filling in the gaps. Some advice: 1) Go "off season", much of the ride is basically on heavily traveled highways. I didnt know so many RVs existed. 2) Go out of your way to meet your fellow bike tourists. I met people from all over Europe, Asia and even Americans. All with cool stories. 3) Get your bike in top notch shape, before your ride. Lets just say I toured most of the bike shops in Oregon over a four day period. Not fun. 4) Dont ride everyday and dont forget to relax.

Biking the Coast

On: 2005-09-30

It is great. It has up to date information along the coast on parks, motels, restaurants, and I especially like the elevation feature. It allows me to plan a pace.

reliable, clear, detailed cycling guide

On: 2005-06-04

Ive used this guide twice to ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles (different editions through the years) and found it to be accurate and helpful...definately written by people who understand cycling. The route takes you off the highway at busy cities where bikes must exit the main road, and provides good descriptions and a safe route to get through town and back to the main road at the other end. for example, you exit Pacific Coast Hwy through Santa Cruz and Monterey and Santa Barbara.
We usually go through and type out a "quick sheet" to carry on the bike, eliminating the descriptions and side trips that we dont need to reference while riding, but the descriptions can be great to help you avoid getting lost. I recommend highly.

Very Good and Useful Guide

On: 2003-09-19

I bought this book from Amazon in 2002 and used it during a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles in August 2003.

Its a very good guide. The directions for their main route were quite detailed and usually clear. I got lost a couple of times, but never badly and it may not have been the books fault. Milage totals were usually pretty close, although there were a couple of segments that were off somewhat. The guide is much more useful if you photocopy the pages with directions. Then you can use them as daily route slips. The book can be kept in a pannier during the trip to be brought out in the evening to get an overview of the next days route and stuff you might see along the way.

I also enjoy the overall feeling that it was written by dyed-in-the-wool cyclists for dyed-in-the-wool cyclists. This authenticity comes out sometimes in little asides, such as the authors comment that a northbound tunnel near Gaviota (CA) is like riding through a high-suction vacuum hose. If youve ridden a bicycle through that tunnel, youd know how dead-on that description is.

I didnt give the book 5 stars (although I would have given it 4.5 if there was an option) because it doesnt provide much for the bicycle tourist who prefers hotels and hostels to camping. An appendix with a listing of youth hostels and a selection of cyclist-friendly hotels on the route would make the guide more complete. It would be especially helpful if the authors did this for the more remote regions on the route. The authors also might want to add a little more commentary and detail to the alternate routes they sometimes suggest. For example, the authors suggest an inland route along US101 as an alternate to Highway 1 through Big Sur when the road is closed (which happens fairly often) or during the height of the tourist season. Well, if youre going to suggest a 100-mile detour, do more than just put a shaded line on a not-very-detailed map. (By the way, I dont completely agree with the authors assertion that Hwy 1 through Big Sur is too trafficy to comfortably ride during the tourist season. Maybe it is on weekends, but I went through on a Monday and traffic was only moderate and not particularly hard to deal with.)

Overall, though, this book is well worth the money.

The Bible It's Not

On: 2001-06-13

Perhaps people are so taken with the notion of a book written just for bicycling theyre willing to overlook certain things. Unquestionably this is a good resource, but it also has lots of errors. Most of these would be forgivable in a first addition, but certainly not in a third; Im speaking of outdates, mileage errors, incorrect assumptions, incomplete data, crazy routings, etc. Its clear that Kirkendall and Spring have lots of work to do if they want the next edition to be accurate.

Canada to Mexico without a hitch!

On: 2001-05-25

This book proved to be our bible during a 6 week ride from Vancouver to San Diego (we just crossed the Mexican border and back again). A lot of other cyclists we met also had the book on them. We didnt camp - we stayed in motels so a motel guide would have been useful (but they were easy enough to find). The elevation diagrams were REALLY useful and allowed us to plan better. Occasionally the book would suggest that places had tourist facilities (i.e. places to stay) when, in fact, they didnt (e.g. Stewarts Point CA) but overall it was a massive help.

A Must Have Guide

On: 1999-11-28

This guide is a must have for anyone wanting to ride the Pacific Coast. I just used it to for a solo ride from San Francisco to the Mexican border. The guide provides turn by turn instructions to navigate through unfamiliar territory and can even provide some surprises in areas that you may know pretty well. It was very helpful in daily planning for stops for food, water, etc. and for some unplanned needs like bike shops for repairs. The elevation guide was also very helpful in gauging when to take a break or when a big climb is over. The guide provides recommended daily rides which I altered as necessary to stop and visit friends. Obtaining a good tourist guide from AAA would provide a nice supplement to the book for other sight seeing opportunities if you have the time. This leg of my journey was 600 miles and I am looking forward to using the guide next summer on a 1200 mile ride from Vancouver, BC to San Francisco.

A must-have guide.

On: 1999-09-10

The guide pointed out some good points of interest and kept a pace for a moderate rider. It was written from the bikers point of view. Very insightful.

You won't find a better or more accurate book!

On: 1999-04-16

My friend and I used this book (previous edition) to cycle/camp from San Fransisco to Los Angeles. Although the milage/elevation was slightly off the book was indespensable. We meet a guy from Amsterdam who was riding from Seattle to Los Angeles (without a helmet?!?) who was very excited when he saw our book had campsites his maps didnt. 508 miles in 7 days without a hitch, a big thanks to the authors. I also used the book on a ride around the San Juan islands (north of Seattle) it was amazing, I believe these rides are not in the current edition hence the 4 out of 5 stars.

Indispensible

On: 1998-12-19

I used this book while riding my bicyle from Vancouver to SanFrancisco in 1996. It provides great background information and isperfect for the camping cyclist. The only reason I can give to NOT buy this book is that everyone you meet on the coast will already have one.

Excellent guide to cycling the left coast

On: 1998-07-11

I too gave away my copy of this book to a German man on a tour last summer! I found it such a useful book, Im ordering another copy.

The most complete Pacific Coast cycling book

On: 1998-06-27

From someone who had never toured on a bike before, this book was my "bible". Having now toured many times in many different places, this book is the most complete, most accurate and most detailed I have ever seen. While riding down the coast, I photocopied the second half of the book to give to a German man who was floundering with his cycling association maps. He loved the review of the days elevation climbs the most of all. On my second trip down the California coastline, I gave the book away to another couple. Its just that good, a must have book for the Pacific Coast.

Great book for the coast

On: 1998-05-31

My first tour was down the coast from Seattle to San Francisco, this book was completely amazing. Day-by-day we knew what to expect on the road, places to detour and check out, and most importantly, where all the hot-water-enabled campsites were :-)

Indespensible resource for biking the Pacific Coast

On: 1997-03-13

This is the best biking book Ive ever used. This summer I cycled from British Columbia to California using it, and was consistently pleased with the accuracy of the information that it provided. It includes daily elevation change graphs mile by mile, which are especially nice, and gives you many options for side trips if you are energetic. It is very much directed toward people who are staying in campgrounds and living self sufficient. Nearly every cyclist I met on my trip had this book, and I never heard any disparaging words about it.

This (and a bike) is all you need to tour the coast

On: 1997-03-06

The book is a tremendous resource. I toured California from North of SF to L.A. and found the routes in the book to be invaluable. There are places where you just wouldnt know what to do without the books guidance. Almost everyone we met along the way had read or was using this book. That said, by 1995, a few streets had changed. The mileage was consistently 5-10% off of what I experienced, but eventually we adjusted. Tom and Vicky are camper-bikers, so their book is targeted at people who want to ride from campsite to campsite, but the book is still invaluable, even if youll be staying in hotels or B&Bs. (Jim Kee