Our RideFree experience was an adventure of epic proportions. With the guidance of Wil and strategic planning, we managed to do a self-guided tour from LA to Yosemite National park,... read more through San Francisco and back down to LA in 5 days. It was a trip of a lifetime and I can't wait to hit the road again soon."
Read my full blog and story here on my website, NavigatorNick
Nick S 4/24/2020
Nathan Peach ( Overseal, Derbyshire, United Kingdom ) Just recently completed a Ride Free organised tour of Northern California, me and my buddy hatched an idea to go... read more and have an adventure in America whilst still fit and able enough to not be plagued with...More
nathanp265 11/11/2019
Wil and Erin at Ride Free organised our whole trip along route 66 then the coast road to San Francisco. A self guided driving tour we did with our friends.... read more And taking in some of the natural wonders as well like the Grand Canyon &...More
Hello Wil and Erin. Just a short note to thank you for the ‘BEST VACATION EVER’. Both Brian and Andy were exceptionally professional and it is fair to say that that trip would not have been as good without the professional and friendly banter between the group and the guides. They were well able to cater for the differences in the group and this aided the holiday. The locations, lodgings and roads traveled matched and, sometimes, exceeded our expectations. On at least two occasions the accommodations were part of our dreams. ( Log cabin on a lake ) Read More
California and Northern CA Self Drive Car TOUR INFORMATION
California and Northern CA Self Drive Car Tour
California Coast and Mountains Self Drive Car Tour - 2 Weeks.
Drive on the ultimate California Coast and California Mountain Motorcycle Tour through central and Northern California. Start in Los Angeles then drive your car along the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Northern California Mountains on our self drive car tour, Northern California Coast, Giant Redwood Trees, San Francisco, Big Sur Pacific Coast Highway California Coast, and back to Los Angeles. A 2 week amazing California and Northern California tour that is one of the best car tours in the USA. Click the Picture Links Below and Gallery – These will show what Ride Free is truly all about.
LA California Sierra Nevada Mountains Yosemite National Park Lake Tahoe Northern California Mountains Northern California Coast Giant Redwood Trees San Francisco Pacific Coast Highway Big Sur Monterey Cambria Ventura LA
Vegas Start = Add $300 return fee IF not a round trip Runs: April – May – June – July – Aug – Sept – Oct
On some dates we have added some layover and short days to make it a 16 or 17 day trip.
June 15-29, 2018 – California and Northern California Motorcycle Tour – 15 Day ( depending on winter snow pack )
July 13-26, 2018 – California and Northern California Motorcycle Tour – 15 Day
August 1-15, 2018- California and Northern California Motorcycle Tour – 15 Day
Sept 1-15, 2018 – California and Northern California Motorcycle Tour – 15 Day
Route 66 Self Drive Car Tour. Drive Historic Route 66 from Chicago to LA down the Mother Road of America. Explore old Rt 66, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and more with the Oldest Motorcycle Tour Company in the USA. Fully Insured.
See the Route 66 Self Drive Motorcycle Tour from Chicago to Los Angeles with Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Or for a shorter Route 66 trip, you can join on a motorcycle the portion from Albuquerque to LA on Route 66. This is a 10 Day Tour.
Pre Rt 66 Trip to Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee – or – Milwaukee Start Option – add to any tours
This extra day pre trip is available as an option on all our Route 66 tours. Adds 1 or 2 days to trip.
Or Start the tour in Milwaukee, visit the Harley Museum, pick up the bikes, ride with the group to Chicago.
Harley-Davidson 115th Anniversary Celebration Museum Rally Route 66 Motorcycle Tour from Milwaukee
Part 1: We meet up for a few days of celebration at the Harley Museum in Milwaukee. Then we get our bikes and ride to Chicago.
Part 2: From Chicago we do the Route 66 Chicago to Los Angeles Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tour
Option 1 – 15 Day 14 Night – Traditional Classic Route 66 Motorcycle Tour
– can add Milwaukee Harley Museum Option
This is the Traditional Route 66 Chicago to LA Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tour. Ride Free includes almost a full day at The Grand Canyon on this motorbike trip across America, or explore the area on your bike that day. And, we arrive early to Las Vegas so you have a full afternoon and night in Las Vegas, or we can ride the Red Rock Canyon by Vegas or The Valley of fire. Optional helicopter ride at Grand Canyon. This is what most motorcycle tour companies run, but we highly suggest the 16 day or 17 day tour. They turn the trip from a mission feel where you just don’t have the time you wish you had every day, into the motorcycle tour experience you were hoping for. It is not that our 16 day Rt 66 route is longer in mileage, we just give you more time to see the things you came to see, and not be exhausted like the other tours we see on the road.
Option 2 – 16 Day 15 Night – Ultra Route 66 Motorcycle Tour – or 17 day Ultimate Explorer
– can add Milwaukee Harley Museum Option
This is the traditional Route 66 Chicago to Los Angeles Motorcycle Tour, BUT with a couple of extras.
We explore Rt 66 where most tours ride right by, and we add days so we have time to explore more without days being too long on our motorcycles. # Wil highly recommends this over any 15 day Rt 66 Route.
We add a day in the middle of the trip = shortens the riding days. Our 15 day is the industry standard, but there are some very long riding day, if you add a riding, it will make the 3 long days into 4 nice days. Well worth it. Or add 2 extra riding days for a 17 day Route 66 Motorcycle Tour, and is even more relaxing. This is how Wil would choose to do it every time. You are only doing this once, believe me now or later…
## Note: don’t let the mileage fool you, much of our trip exploring is slow moving and takes a long time. And, you don’t want to miss all the history and attractions.
Option 3 – 13 Day 12 Night – Chicago to Las Vegas Rt 66 Motorcycle Tour
– can add Milwaukee Harley Museum Option
This motorcycle trip across America is the same as the Traditional Chicago to LA Route 66 Harley-Davidson
motorcycle tour, but we ride our motorbikes Chicago to Las Vegas on Route 66.
Option 4 – 10 Day 9 Night – Chicago to Albuquerque Rt 66 Motorcycle Tour
– can add Milwaukee Harley Museum Option
This motorcycle trip across America is the same as the Ultra Chicago to LA Route 66 Harley-Davidson
motorcycle tour, but we ride our motorbikes Chicago to Santa Fe / Albuquerque on Route 66.
Option 5 – 9 Day 8 Night – Albuquerque to Los Angeles Rt 66 Motorcycle Tour
This motorcycle trip across America is the same as the Ultra Chicago to LA Route 66 Harley-Davidson
motorcycle tour, but we ride our motorbikes Albuquerque / Santa Fe to Los Angeles on Route 66.
Option 5B – 10 day 9 Night – We go to Santa Fe also on this trip.
Option 6 – 19 Day 18 Night – Chicago to Los Angeles Ultimate Rt 66 Motorcycle Tour
Add Harley Museum and Las Vegas Layover – starts in Chicago or Milwaukee start option
This Rt 66 motorcycle trip across America is the same as the relaxed 17 day Ultimate Chicago to LA Route 66 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tour, except we add in a stop at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee and a layover day in Las Vegas.
If you want to go no holds barred on your motorbike experience of a lifetime, this is the trip for you. It still also has the layover day in Santa Fe. You will have time to see so much on your trip, and with the layover days, you will be much less fatigued and tired than the 15 day trip.
Day 1 – Los Angeles, California or Las Vegas Start Option
Meet your fellow riders from around the globe and the Ride Free Car Tour Team early in the afternoon in the California hotel lobby for introductions and briefing. The Ride Free Tour Team will pick you up at the hotel and head right down the road to pick up your car at the rental shop. We will then have a shake down cruise to our first group dinner at our favorite local spot at the beach or The Strip in Vegas. After dinner, the Ride Free Tour Team will give a brief orientation and answer any questions about the exciting California & Northern California ride, Redwoods, and California Mountain ride to come. This is the ultimate California Car Adventure!
Day 2 – Los Angeles or Las Vegas / Death Valley to Lone Pine, California (in Spring this route varies depending on snow conditions on the passes )
We have our cars broken in from yesterday’s drive and we are ready to go. After a full safety briefing, the group will saddle up and rumble through the streets of Los Angeles as we stretch towards the warm California desert. This great city will quickly fade from our side mirrors as we motor past the throngs of drivers stuck within the city. They all wish they were one of us as they wonder to themselves where we are headed on our journey. One thing is for certain, they have no idea of the satisfaction you feel as the sun rises higher into the sky and a life changing adventure calls you from the distance. This is the day you have been waiting for. Smile and let it all soak in. On the Vegas Start: We pick up the cars early and climb the mountains behind Las Vegas, leaving the still sleeping Vegas Strip behind. Get up and shake off the glitter of Las Vegas because we are about to take a journey to one of the most unforgiving and magnificent places on the planet, Death Valley. It is going to be hot, ( depending on the time of the year ) but it will also be amazing as we enter the confines of Death Valley, one of the few habitable places on Earth that actually drops below sea level. Your Ride Free Car Tour Team will make plenty of stops to re hydrate and soak in the unbelievable sights. Our final destination today is Lone Pine, California; a tiny town nestled into the base of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the state of California. Los Angeles is a memory as you take in the perfect night air of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and the warm welcome of this unique town
Day 3 – Lone Pine, California to Yosemite National Park ( this route varies depending on snow conditions on the passes )
Yosemite National Park is, without a doubt, one of the most visually stunning natural wonders in North America. We will enter the California Park from the west entrance in our cars and cross Tioga Pass at an elevation of almost 9,000 feet as we cruise along crystal clear mountain lakes and peaks that are hanging on to their last remnants of snow. The sun is warm and the air is fresh as Yosemite Valley and El Capitan still lie ahead. The sun climbs into the sky as we open to the endless green meadows of the valley floor. Lunch today is on a picnic bench under the shade of a giant Redwood. No cell phones, no rush hour, no worries. Today is about you and about this place.
Day 4 – Yosemite, California to Lake Tahoe
We leave on our California Car tour from Yosemite and drive amazing mountain roads on the way to Tahoe. The Monitor pass is 8,314 ft (2,534 m) tall and a breath holding ride along it’s cliffs and shear drop offs.
Day 5 – Lake Tahoe to Chester, California
Once again this California car tour through the California Mountains is amazing. We wind though small mountain roads very far away from civilization in a little town on a mountain lake.
Day 6 – Chester to Weaverville, California via Mount Shasta
We do another unbelievable day of California mountain driving. You are wondering if the graceful mountain curves will ever end. We explore smaller mountain roads on the way to and from the 14,180 foot Mount Shasta, an old volcano. By the end of the day, you will have had your years fill the past couple days of perfect mountain driving. We arrive at the giant redwood trees and coast for the evening.
Day 7 – Weaverville to Eureka, California via Redwood National Park
Today we turn our cars towards the coast and giant redwoods. We explore the Giant Redwoods Park and then a short ride down the coast to our seaport destination.
DAY 8 – Eureka to Fort Bragg, California
Today in a Northern California Pacific Coast Highway car tour drive day. Breathtaking views and rides. But before some great coast riding, we get to see some more giant redwoods and ride through Avenue of the Giants and actually ride through the “Drive Thru Tree” in Leggett, Ca. Our California car tour actually rides through an opening at the bottom of a giant redwood tree!
Day 9 – Fort Bragg to Napa, California
Wine tasting tonight after a car ride down the California coast. More unbelievable pictures and views. We stop at the Point Arena Lighthouse and Museum among other great stops on the coast before heading inland to Napa Valley, CA. California’s famous wine region. Let’s try some wine tonight as we talk around town.
Day 10 – Napa to San Francisco, California
We leave the quaint countryside winery area for the big city San Francisco, California. We’ll drive our cars through the Northern California countryside for a nice stretch before we drop down towards Sausalito on the Pacific Coast Highway along the California coast. Soon we’ll be perched on a high peak to gaze over The Golden Gate Bridge before driving across and into the heart of the San Francisco Bay and Ghirardelli Square. From here everything that San Francisco and the surrounding area have to offer is at your fingertips. We will arrive early so you have plenty of time in San Francisco for fun. The Ride Free Tour Team has a few favorite spots we like to hit for dinner and some great blues and jazz music. We can’t wait to share this exciting city with you. We take a ride on the cable car, and do some exploration of Fisherman’s Wharf where we stay for the night.
Day 11 – San Francisco to Monterey, California
We start the day off lazy with some coffee and some more time walking around San Francisco. This is a relaxed morning. A nice walk over to the famous cable car, and we hop on for an incredible ride downtown where we do some exploring and shopping. Then we regroup and ride the cable car one more time back to Fishermans Wharf. Late in the morning we turn our journey south and start the first of four days of driving our cars on California’s Pacific Coast Highway 1, a long stretch of winding ocean side highway. PCH 1 is a car rider’s dream; pure and simple. This day also offers one of the best lunch spots of the trip, Hollister, California. The Hollister motorcycle riot and subsequent movie, “The Wild Ones”, starring a young Marlon Brando, is considered by motorcycle historians to have catapulted the “outlaw biker” lifestyle into the public eye. We’ll step back in history as we settle in for lunch at Johnny’s Bar, a small pub in the center of Hollister that was the backdrop for one of the most famous motorcycle scenes in the history of Hollywood. From Hollister, it is just a short hop down the hill past Carmel (the coastal city where Clint Eastwood was Mayor) and down the California coast driving the PCH to Monterey Bay. Monterey’s Cannery Row and world famous aquarium have been favorite spots of the Ride Free family for years.
Day 12 – Monterey to Cambria, California per PCH Highway – BIG SUR!
The Ride Free Guided Tour Team gets to sleep a little late this morning as we do not leave Monterey until 12:00pm. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy Cannery Row for some great food or tour the famous Monterey Aquarium. There is actually plenty of time for both if you like. Now, get ready for an amazing day on this PCH car tour. Within the first few miles we will hug hair pin corners as we cruise the sea side cliffs that open to the Pacific Ocean. We will stop often to take in the scenery and many opportunities for breathtaking photos and video. Riding the Big Sur California Coast is something that has to be experienced to fully appreciate the views. Today is not a view here and a view there. Today’s drive is a visual sensation from start to finish. Cruise right on the coast. Sometimes so close to the ocean spray might hit us, then we are high on cliffs! Lots of marine life to see. The group will make one last stop before settling in for the night in the small sea side town of Cambria. We’ll have the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with giant Elephant Seals in their natural habitat. The term “couch potato” takes on a whole new meaning when you see thirty of these giants lounging poolside on the beach.
Day 13 – Cambria to Santa Barbara, California
We will get an early start this morning because we start the day walking down to the beach to take in the sites. After a ride along the California coast we will turn inland for a stunning ride through the foothills of Santa Barbara before dropping back down and into one of the most beautiful cities in Southern California. But first lunch today at one of our hidden away spots. Then we head to the famous Santa Barbara Pier! We will be sure to leave plenty of time for souvenir shopping after our walking around the pier. Most of the group usually leaves Santa Barbara Pier with a couple of bags of fresh hand pulled taffy and t-shirts for their kids and family back home. Tonight we have fun and relax in Santa Barbara.
Day 14 – Santa Barbara to Los Angeles
We still have a full day ahead of us. We spend the day hanging out at the famous local surfing spots on the PCH highway and 2 of the most visited bike hangouts. Keep an eye out for Jay Leno. Live as a local today. We’ll get an early jump on the day and continue our journey along the Pacific Ocean on the 101 and Pacific Coast Highway as we point our cars south towards Malibu Beach as we rumble past the long row of celebrity homes that line this world famous stretch of sand. We pass the Santa Monica Pier, and cruise along the coast right past Venice Beach. A late Lunch today is at the Ride Free Tour Team’s favorite L.A. eatery. We will have plenty of time to reflect on the experience we shared together and, most likely, will start planting the seeds for our next adventure together. After a late lunch we head back along the beach for one last walk in the sand and a little more exploring. Then at the end of the day we turn in our cars and party tonight as we talk about all our great adventures we had. You came into this trip as one of a group of riders from all over the world. You are leaving today as part of a family, the Ride Free family.
Day 15 – Departure Day
Head to the Airport today, or let us know if you need any extra nights. We end this ultimate California Car Tour Adventure. You will have taken the time to explore and see California on your car like most people never get a chance to do. This is not a quick drive in the mountains or coast. This is living life on the road as a California Motorcycle adventurer. A trip you will never forget.
Our RideFree experience was an adventure of epic proportions. With the guidance of Wil and strategic planning, we managed to do a self-guided tour from LA to Yosemite National park,... read more 
