Day 1 – SJ to Monterey (160 miles)

You’ll spend the morning riding some of the best roads in the country in the lush Santa Cruz mountains. We’ll have breakfast at Alice’s Restaurant nestled among the redwoods up in the mountains. Alice’s is a popular local motorcycle hangout that also happens to have great food! Then come down from the mountains to enjoy the coastal vistas as you ride Highway 1 down to Monterey. This is Steinbeck country, so explore Cannery Row, the spectacular Monterey Bay Aquarium, or Carmel By The Sea!

Day 2 – Monterey to Paso Robles (130 miles)

Now that you’re comfortable with your bike, we’ll head down one of the most breathtaking stretches of road on earth: Highway 1 to Big Sur. The images of today’s ride will last you a lifetime, including some elephant seals just outside of San Simeon! We’ll continue down Highway 1 to San Simeon where we’ll take a break and tour the extravagant Hearst Castle, built by William Randolph Hearst from 1919 – 1947. If you’re not too tired yet, you might like to finish the day with a real California experience: a nice bottle of wine and a sunset on the beach!

We’ll head back inland today for our return to the San Francisco Bay area. As far as the roads go, we’ll enjoy some real local favorites. We’ll make a stop in Hollister, home of the Independence Day Rally that once inspired the 1953 biker film, “The Wild One” with Marlon Brando. We’ll then take more scenic country backroads on our return to San Jose where we’ll say farewell.