This ride was exhilarating, deeply satisfying, stunning, and lots of hard work. I wouldn't call it fun. I can't call 11 days of pedalling 70 miles per day carrying 45 pounds of gear fun. However, I will certainly do it again!
There is a real difference between riding at home within a pre-set time frame and riding on the road with nothing else to do but travel to the next destination. The utter lack of concern for where I ended up or how long it took or how fast I was going provide a kind of existential freedom from everyday concerns. I didn't know what was happening in the world and I didn't care.
That said, some of the days were much more enjoyable than others. I've rated each day's ride with 2 numbers. The first rates the difficulty of the riding with 1 being easy and 10 being close to impossible. The second value is experience of the ride with 1 being urban horror and 10 being breathtaking. Keep in mind that the difficulty rating assumes a 70-mile day. The difficulty rating tries to ignore the distance and focus on the terrain, traffic, and wind.
Difficulty: 5 - There is a long uphill section outside of Half Moon Bay and the entire route contains rolling hills.
Experience: 8 - With the exception of the time spent in Half Moon Bay, the entire route is along the coast which is in view almost the entire way.
Difficulty: 5 - The route meanders along south of Santa Cruz on deserted roads and near Monterey on a bike path. There is a long uphill between Monterey and Carmel and after that, the route consists of some rolling hills and some larger climbs. The ride got harder toward the end of the day when the wind began to howl.
Experience: 3/9 - The route splits into two parts. I rate it a 3 up to Carmel. After Santa Cruz, the scenery is urban and then gives way to agricultural, with the smell of rotting vegetables and chemicals. It turns urban again until you get to Carmel. The 23 miles after Carmel are simply stunning and I rate that part of the trip a 9.
Difficulty: 9 - The first mile of this ride is a hard uphill slog. The route rolls up and down all day. At the end of the Big Sur coast, just north of Ragged Point, there is a killer hill shaped like an "M." By the time I crested the last hill, I was spent. I rode 20 miles too far and had trouble walking when I finally got off the bike.
Experience: 9 - Simply stunning scenery.
Day 4: San Simeon to Oceano Campground.
Difficulty: 3 - For the most part, this is a relatively flat segment. I was helped by a tail wind for a good part of the day.
Experience: 4 - The views are mostly of flat terrain. Highway 1 expands to 4 lanes and the traffic is much heavier. The ride through Morro Bay is uninspiringly urban. The best part of the ride is the farm land between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.
Day 5: Oceano Campground to El Capitan State Beach.
Difficulty: 4 - There is a short, steep hill within 3 miles of the route's start. After that, the route heads inland through flat and uninteresting agricultural lands. Several miles are spent on a divided 4-lane highway that has a slight uphill grade. The only hard part is Harris Grade Road, a mile or so of slogging thigh pain. The 15 mile grade outside of Lompoc is barely noticiable. The scariest part of the trip was the straight 2 mile descent to 101. The 15 miles on 101 suck.
Experience: 5 - The flat agricultural lands are not interesting and the only thing that breaks the monotony is the town of Guadalupe, which isn't much to get excited about. The 15 mile climb outside of Lompoc is very nice and is the highlight of this ride, which is why I rated it a 5.
Day 6: El Capitan State Beach to Santa Barbara.
Difficulty: 2 - This was a short day half spent on rolling hills along 101 and half spent on flat city streets.
Experience: 2 - Speeding cars and trucks on one side and railroad tracks on the other. The city streets don't add much either.
Day 8: Santa Barbara to Sycamore Canyon State Park.
Difficulty: 4 - The route consists of rolling hills and long urban roadways. The wind made this day much harder.
Experience: 2 - The route starts by paralleling 101 and then is on 101. By the time you get to Emma Wood State Beach, 17 miles into the ride, you feel like you've gone through some kind of traffic torture. Then, the route goes along a deserted industrial road and then it gets completely urban. Once past the last city, the route gets agricultural and finally reaches the coast, which is barren.
Day 9: Sycamore Canyon State Park to Long Beach.
Difficulty: 3 - The route consists of rolling hills with quarter- to half-mile climbs followed by similar descents. The ride through LA is on a long bike path that meanders so that you spend about half the time going into the wind, if there is any. The only difficult uphill is going up into Palos Verdes, but it is over fairly quickly. The urban/industrial section of Carson and Long Beach are depressing.
Experience: 5 - The first section of this ride was very enjoyable, which accounts for the high rating of this ride. The beach bike path was somewhat monotonous but it sure beat going on LA streets. The ride through Carson is more like a trip through a Ridley Scott movie set.
Day 11: Long Beach to Laguna Niguel.
Difficulty: 4 - This was a "short" day of mostly rolling hills. The Huntington Beach bike path is flat. This gives way to hills that roll a bit higher. The urban hills in Laguna Beach are made much more difficult due to high and fast traffic.
Experience: 2 - The only part of this ride of any interest are Huntington Beach and the section between Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach. While the urbanscape is attractive for what it is, there isn't saying much.
If riding from San Francisco to LA is not something you can see yourself ever doing, I can recommend two shorter rides that are very worthwhile.
The first one is from Carmel to Big Sur: I'd drive to Carmel and park the car in a place where overnight parking is OK. Then, I'd ride the 23 miles from Carmel to Big Sur State Park. I spend the night there, either in a cabin, the Lodge, or in a tent, and then ride back the next day. Keep in mind that the wind blows toward the south and gets stronger in the afternoon, so leave early.
The second one is the 45 miles from just south of Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz: I'd drive to just south of Half Moon Bay and leave my car there. Then, I'd ride the 45 miles to Santa Cruz, spend the night in a hotel, and ride back. Keep in mind that the wind blows toward the south and gets stronger in the afternoon, so leave early. Note that you can get a bike-carrying bus to Wilder Ranch, which is about 20 north of Santa Cruz is get a head start on the way back.