Last weekend I took a long weekend trip to Cambria, CA along the central coast. Needless to say it was a fantastic weekend of riding and having fun with my fellow women riders. I also got to ride the infamous Rossi's Driveway.
My 2 girlfriends and I rode down Highway 1 at a leisurely pace on Thursday and then we took some sweet roads Friday and Saturday.
Friday - Rossi's Driveway
From Cambria, we took the following route: http://goo.gl/maps/m6sz9
It was a hair under 130 miles all together and took us about 6 hours to complete the whole loop. We had a couple of pitstops and took our time on the Driveway, riding it back and forth a couple times because it's a short Highway.
If you look at the map, point F to H is Highway 229 aka Rossi's Driveway. Why do they call it this you ask? Well, I think this pic pretty much sums it up:
Imagine a road, so perfectly paved (just like a track) with barely any traffic. Short, tight twisties and no dirt, potholes, rocks, or gravel ahead of you. No hairpins/switchbacks, just beautiful twisties.
I must admit, however, the 2-way traffic was a little worrysome at times so I didn't get to fully enjoy this road the way I wanted to. But it was beautifully paved and allowed for some really nice lines when I could see the next 2-3 twisties ahead.
But it was smooth and my tires responded well to the warm pavement. (best tires ever, btw)
Sadly it was almost 100 degrees while we were out there, but I was extremely comfortable under my leathers, thanks to 2 important accessories:
1. Icebreaker merino baselayers - written review coming. You can also listen to my review on Episode 20 of Moterrific.com
2. Revit Challenger cooling vest insert
I never would've made it without these two. I feel like I have the perfect riding outfit for summer and look forward to a couple more rides before Fall!
Saturday - Nacimiento-Fergusson Road
I tried to find other pics of this road, but I think this one really shows the main reason why you want to ride up it and over the mountain.
This was a much shorter, simpler route. We went north on Highway 1 from Cambria and turned right at Nacimiento Fergusson Road in Big Sur. It's right before the Kirk Creek Campground.
The road takes you from sea level all the way up to the top of the mountain, towards Fort Liggett. It's not a long ride, but great for some sight seeing or just a quick detour to extend the ride home up or down Hwy 1.
http://goo.gl/BBNfvj
Once you ride through the clearing, there's a large paved space on the right before heading further east to Jolon Road which eventually takes you Highway 101.
After we took some group pics we went right back the way we came, west to Highway 1 and then south back to Cambria. It was a beautiful, HOT afternoon but somehow we had a really great time.
