im about 1hr north of san fransisco, nothin really to see there but buildings.
take high way 1 all the way to fort brag.nothin but beautiful landscape and redwoods.
napa's cool if you like to look at grape vines.
just my 2 cents. just did a ride to ft.brag last sunday and loved it

 

highly recommend hwy 140 to Yosemite ..you could not pick a better time of year to see Yosemite google pics

 

If you can,....

Rent your bike. If it's a weekend, ride up Mullholland Drive and stop at the Rock Store. You will see tons of bikes, maybe the Governator, Stallone, Leno or Fonda. Pass on breakfast unless you are really hungry. Then take the coast north and stop off at Neptunes Net. Can't miss it lots of bikes there. Order the boiled shrimp, clam chowder (as good as yours from Boston) and the ceviche!.

Continue up the coast to Cambria and spend the night. Next day tour the Hearst Castle, then continue north. A good place to eat if you can is Nepenthe restaurant. If you get a patio seat you may see the California Condors gliding along the escarpments. Further north is a restaurant (forget the name) that is literally located IN a river.

Those are the ones that come to my mind right now.

Couple of tips. Although it's August, bring full leathers and heated gear if you have it. The coast can be unexpectedly cold. The inland temps can be in the 90s and low 100s, but cross over to the coast and the temps can be in the low 50s with a cool mist in the air. A GPS is nice to have, but not essential. A good folding AAA map will do fine.

I say skip LA, but then again I live there. If you MUST see LA, I recommend the Getty Museum, but that's a half day activity at the least. For good local food I like Titos Tacos at Washington Blvd off the 405. Everything else, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, will all be crowded in August.

For T-Shirts and trinkets, (if that's your thing), or last minute items, Bartels, HD is fairly close to the airport and not too far from Titos. (Everyone knows where Titos is, just ask). Off the 101 is Ventura HD, and Santa Maria HD.

Cambria and Carmel have a lot of antique shops if you and your wife are interested in that. A very decadent thing would be a spa day. There are a few of them in Cambria and Carmel that provide massages, sauna, steam and other ways to make your trip more enjoyable.

Keep posting your plans as you get closer. We Californians have a way of "meeting up" with riders to make new friends and enjoyable rides.

If I think of any more things I'll post them.

Congrats.

 

hey guys, everybodys insight is very helpful. it seems consensus is that LA is not worth all that much. Kind of leads me to wonder if flying into LA is worth it? Is San Fran a better choice? I honestly dont know much about Cali (sorry for my ignorance), where would be a good relaxing place to kind of begin, and probably wrap up the trip. Where is best scenic ride along Highway 1?

 

IMHO Where I live is the happiest place on earth. Its small town like with beautiful roads and few people. Look up San Luis Obispo or Morro Bay or Cambria or Paso Robles or Pismo Beach. He got a HD dealer that does rentals also.

 

fly into oakland. oakland HD is 5 min away from the airport.
any town surrounding SF is worth checking out, cant go wrong but stay away
from richmond.
take hwy 101 north to hwy 1 (marin city) goes through stintson beach and your on the way.take hwy 1 as for as you like. it goes all the way to eureka i think.

 

I would start in LA just for the ride up the coast. The ride from LA to SF going up the 1 is a great ride.

 

I agree. Second to none.

 

You know me, if I am not working, I'm riding. Had a couple of longer (two week) rides just last year. Another one coming up in May and probably another couple in August/September and October. Lots of 300 milers in-between.

Coming out to the antique bike show again this year? In the next few weeks I will be doing a day-long coast ride. I'll touch bases with you to see if you are available to join up.

Ride safe!!

 

I live in San Diego and love it.... but..... if I were coming to CA to ride in August, I'd fly into San Francisco.

I lived in the LA area for two years, didn't like it. Other than riding through it to get somewhere else, I haven't been there since I moved 33 years ago...

San Francisco has it's own charm and would be a great place to start and finish.

From SF, you can do the Highway 1 ride, south from the bay area for a day, spend the night, and come back North (I think the Big Sur portion of Hwy 1 is the best).

Then I would do an Eastern ride either to Yosemite or Tahoe... both have some gorgeous scenery. I've done the Hwy 1 from LA to SF- 3x, SF to Yosemite - 2x, and SF to Tahoe once. The freeway portions of any of these rides will be a bore, but once outside the populated areas, they can be spectacular....!!!

Whatever you choose, good luck and enjoy...!