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Tijdens het surfen op het internet kwam ik in de fietsers niewsgroep de volgende vraag tegen:

Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.rides
Subject: bike paths ­ LA to San Diego
From: Ashley Wright
Date: 10 Mar 1996 09:42:14 GMT

Hi, i'm going to be do a little touring in California and beyond in a couple of months and I was wondering if anyone knew how extensive the bike paths from going from Venice, LA down to San Diego are. Some guide books say that there are paths almost all the way down whereas others say they stop at Newport beach. If they stop, i guess i will be on the Pacific coast highway ­ is this very busy? What about Interstate 5 ­ is biking on this suicidal? unlawful? any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Ashley Wright, New Zealand

Als antwoord stuurde ik het volgende berichtje naar down under:

Hi Ashley,
Nice to have a chat with a cyclist from down under! I've read your question on rec.bicycle.rides. Last year I spent some months in LA and brought my bike with me. I made a bike tour in Southern California. Coming from Lake Elsinore, I headed via San Juan Capistrano to Dana Point, 20 miles south of Newport Beach. Although my cousin told me there were many bikepaths, I was a bit disappointed to find out that there was no bikepath along the coast to Newport at all. (She's living all her life in LA, but as most American she isn't used to bike and had actually no idea of all the biking opportunities in her own neigborhood!). Anyway, I had to take the PCH (Pacific Coast highway). The PCH is very busy indeed, but has very wide lanes (compared to Europe) with good shoulders to cycle on safely. In Laguna beach I met some traffic jams, which meant I was faster on my bike then the cars. ;­)

I've cycled also the route between Venice and Newport Beach: There is a nice bikepath along the beach until the peninsula of Palos Verdes. From here you can follow the hilly & scenic Palos Verdes Drive, very nice. It partly has bikelanes. Unfortunately between the Peninsula and Long Beach there are no bikelanes or bikepaths. This area is LA's main harbour, lots of industry and heavy traffic. :-(

I don't know if you already know about the guide "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Tom Kirkendall & Vicky Spring? This is the bible for anyone who's following part of the Pacific coast bikeroute between Canada to Mexico.It gives you an alternative route to get safely to Long Beach. From Long Beach to Newport is easy, just follow the bikepaths along the beach. Travelling from north to south there's a great chance you have a comfortable tailwind.

> Some guide books say that there are paths almost all the way down whereas others say they stop at newport beach. If they stop, i guess i will be on the Pacific coast highway ­ is this very busy?
What about Interstate 5 ­ is biking on this suicidal? unlawful?

I think it's not necessary to take the I­5 further south, (besides, it's only allowed to bike on freeways if there are no alternatives, like in the desert areas). I didn't go as south as Dana Point, though, but I saw some bikepaths heading south from there. Just get this guide as soon you're in LA (avalaible at any local bikeshop). And if you'relooking for some maps: I can recommend the AAA (LA and San Diego) County maps. Great for touring. All paved roads are shown, campsites, etc. You can get them at the AAA (Automobile Club), for free in case you're a member. They've also good streetmaps of LA and San Diego. Anyway, if you've more questions about biking in Southern California, just ask. Have a nice stay!

Minko, the Netherlands

PS: I've never cycled in NZ. I've heard it's bikers paradise. IS THIS TRUE??

­ what's the best season to travel on bike?
­ Which part of the country is the most scenic: Northern or Southern Island?
­ Are there any nice climbs like the Alps in Europe?
­ How are the roads conditions (paved/non paved, bikepaths, heavy traffic)
­ Can you recommend some nice trips?

Uit de reaktie die daarop volgde vernam ik dat Ashley van plan was een grote fietstocht te maken:

From: Ashley
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996
To: Minko
Subject: Re: bikepaths from LA to San Diego

Thanks a lot for your information! My plan is to start in LA on April 24th or 25th, go through the desert (I love deserts) and wind up in Yosemite. Then I'm going to bus to 'Vegas , and hopefully cycle through the desert southwest all the way to Denver! I'm hopeing it won't be too hot for biking when I'm there. After that I plan to cycle in Alaska and along the icefields parkway in Canada. I'll do my best to answer your questions:

>I've never cycled in NZ. I've heard it's bikers paradise. IS THIS TRUE??

It is!!! Just be prepared ...steep hills, so bring a low geared bike, and expect it to rain at least once during your trip. But the rewards are great ­we really do have some jaw­dropping scenery.

>­ what's the best season to travel on bike?

Summer, which is October/November until March. It will be much warmer during this season. In the south it gets very cold in fall, winter and early­mid spring.

>­ Which part of the country is the most scenic: Northern or Southern Island?

South, by a long shot. The south has ten times as much scenery as the north. The north has two places I'd recommend, Rotorua (if you like geothermal areas) and the volcanoes south of Lake Taupo.

>­ Are there any nice climbs like the Alps in Europe?

Yes! I'd recommend the climb over the southern alps from Christchurch to Greymouth.

>­ How are the roads conditions (paved/non paved, bikepaths, heavy traffic)

Light traffic compared to overseas, roads are paved except for isolated areas, but the shoulders are *very* narrow, so be prepared to have cars whizz by you. But don't let that put you off, I have cycled NZ's busiest highway in the hight of summer and survived. There is much more traffic in the north island than the south island.

>­ Can you recommend some nice trips?

I'd recomment the following itinery. Start in Christchurch in the south island, head over the alps to the west coast via Aurthers pass, then head down the west coast to the Haast pass (along NZ's second most beautiful road, passing two glaciers on the way!). Over the Haast pass, then follow the roads to Queestown. From Queenstown head down to Te Anau, then go throught the Homer Tunnel (awsome!!) to Milford, along the most beautiful road in NZ! Then catch a bus of fly back to Christchurch, or spend a couple of weeks hiking in the wilderness! Hope that helps! Thanks again for your comments. Kind regards, Ashley

Aangestoken door Ashley's verhalen over zijn komende fietstocht vat ik het plan op om deze zomer ook in de Canadese Rockies te gaan fietsen. Ik spreek met Ashley af hem ergens in de Rocky Mountains te ontmoeten, als er tenminste niets (werk) tussen beide komt. We spreken voorlopig af in Yellowstone, halverwege juni. Vlak voor zijn vertrek naar LA eind april stuurt hij me zijn uitgebreide routebeschrijving per post. Eind mei lijkt het er op dat ik mijn fietstocht definitief vorm kan geven, maar Yellowstone lijkt me echter niet zo aantrekkelijk als startpunt. Van het internet heb ik intussen een aantal aardige routebeschrijvingen door het Noordwesten van de Verenigde Staten gelezen, zodat ik uiteindelijk besluit te vliegen naar Vancouver en van daaruit naar het oosten te fietsen om ergens in Montana (Glacier National Park) Ashley's route op te pikken. Van Ashley intussen niets vernomen, ook zijn ouders' emailadres zwijgt in alle talen. Via een Eurobiker in Nieuw Zeeland e-mail ik een briefje naar Nelson met mijn definitieve planning en verneem enkele dagen later van zijn moeder per telefoon dat Ashley nog steeds op schema fietst en me in Glacier hoopt te ontmoeten.


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