Comments

• Going further north to Costanoa

  Saskia,
  I agree - the ride from SC to Davenport is sweet, especially the part on the bike path to Wilder Ranch. We rode to Costanoa KOA just north of Ano Nuevo and had GREAT lunches in their dining hall. That makes the trip from the west side of SC around 48 miles round trip - a nice day's outing.

  Posted by Janet Fogel June 25, 2010 17:37:54

• Devil's Slide

  Devil's Slide southbound is OK for cyclists. There are a couple of narrow-shoulder sections on the uphill, but as long as you take the lane on the downhill (mandatory!) it's acceptable.
  
  Northbound, however, is a different story. You end up climbing a long section of road that has concrete barriers immediately to each side of the single climbing lane. Bikes are going 5mph, if that; cars are traveling much faster, slowing as little as possible before making unsafe passes around the bicyclists. (It would be hard to make a safe pass here, as there is nowhere to go; car drivers are forced to move past bicyclists with very little clearance because of the concrete barriers.)
  
  The bypass (Old San Pedro Mtn Rd, "Planet of the Apes" trail) is a neat way to avoid Devil's Slide entirely, at the cost of climbing most of Montara Mountain on a combination of pavement, broken-up pavement, dirt, and rock trails. Fun stuff if your bike can take it.
  
  After the new Devil's Slide tunnel is complete in 2012 or so, cars will be using that. The current roadway is planned to be turned into a multi-use trail, no cars allowed! More information on the project is here:
  http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/dslide/

  Posted by Grego May 24, 2010 17:01:15

• Cycling from SF to SC

  Hi,
  
  I understand that this article is geared more towards beginner cyclists but I'm disappointed that it doesn't address those of us who want to cycle the entire way from SF to Santa Cruz.
  
  From my experience, Route 1 is extremely dangerous in the Devil's Slide area south of SF and should be avoided by cyclists. Many cyclists get around this section by taking the "Planet of the Apes" trail. This trail follows the old Route 1. It's full of rough pavement and some amazing views (I did it on my touring bike and a friend did it on his road bike and we had no issues though did walk a small 50-foot section). The trail puts you back onto Route 1 at Pacifica and from there down south to Santa Cruz the road has a large, safe shoulder for cycing.
  
  

  Posted by Sara May 06, 2010 06:26:06