9 Day 8 Night California Dreaming Moto GP Tour / or Layover Day Tour – CA Coast / Big Sur / Yosemite / San Francisco
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July 24th – August 1, 2012
July 29th is Moto GP day! This tour is a 1 week plus 1 extra day so we can see the Moto GP.
Or non Moto GP Dates = April – May – June – July – Aug – Sept – Oct
ITINERARY BELOW
LAYOVER DAY in Monterey during the Moto GP Race OR if you don’t want to go to the races, you can go on a whale watching boat ride, shopping in Monterey or Pacific Grove, go to Pebble Beach, a ride in the countryside of Carmel Valley, Cannary Row, Monterey Aquarium, or just be lazy and relax by walking around Old Historic Monterey and the pier, it is up to you!
On Non Moto GP Race Tours we can do a layover day in San Francisco and ride North up the coast, or just do the 8 day CA Dreaming Tour option.
COST: This trip is one day longer than the 8 day CA Dreaming Tour
Rider: $4560 fully inclusive / $3999 no meals no insurance waiver included
Passenger: $2274 fully inclusive / $1874 no meals
Day 1 – Los Angeles, California or Las Vegas Start Option
Meet your fellow riders from around the globe and the Ride Free Tour Team late afternoon in the hotel lobby for introductions and a drinks before 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 PCH Motorcycle ride to come. Get a good night’s sleep, as we have a big week ahead.
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 )
The Ride Free Tour Team will pick you up at the hotel early this morning and head right down the road to pick up your bike at the rental shop. 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 confines of their cars and SUV’s. 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 bikes 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 Tour Team will make plenty of stops to rehydrate 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 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 Park from the west entrance 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 to San Francisco, California
Today will take you and the Ride Free Family from the serenity of Yosemite to the cool and vibrant streets of San Francisco. We’ll ride or motorcycles 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 riding 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. 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 5 – 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 riding on California’s Pacific Coast Highway 1, a long stretch of winding ocean side highway. PCH 1 is a motorcycle 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 on motorcycle riding the PCH to Monterey Bay. Monterey’s Cannery Row and world famous aquarium have been favorite spots of the Ride Free family for years. You will love this quintessential California coastal town.
Day 6 – Monterey to Monterey, California – LAYOVER/EXPLORER DAY OR MOTO GP LAGUNA SECA DAY
day option1: 29th We head over to the races and spend the day. Then we stay back in Monterey at our hotel after some beautiful afternoon riding. Then back for some seafood.
day option 2: LAYOVER DAY in Monterey during the Moto GP if you don’t want to go to the races, you can go on whale watching boat ride, shopping in Monterey or Pacific Grove, go to Pebble Beach, ride to Carmel Valley, Monterey Aquarium, a cruise in the countryside, deep sea fishing, etc… Explore Big Sur for an extra day! Lots of fun things to do.
Day 7 – 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.Or, if we have had enough of this area, we can spend extra time exploring the amazing hidden mountain roads in Big Sur and around the coastline. There are some absolutely amazing mountain twisty climbs up thousands of feet, that lead to unbelievable views of the Pacific.Now, get ready for an amazing day on this PCH motorcycle 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 ride 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 motorbike 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. You’ll have to see it to believe it.
Day 8 – Cambria to Ventura, California
We will get an early start this morning because we have a special treat planned for lunch today. After a short 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.
Lunch today is long and lazy. Oh, and it is on the famous Santa Barbara Pier! Heads will turn as the Ride Free group rumbles down the wooded planks of the pier to park our bikes 1/8 mile over the Pacific Ocean. We will be sure to leave plenty of time for souvenir shopping after our group lunch on a waterfront terrace. 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.After lunch we will shake the pier one last time as we leave Santa Barbara behind us for the laid back beachfront town of Ventura, California.
Day 9 – Ventura 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 motorcycle journey along the Pacific Ocean on the 101 and Pacific Coast Highway as we point our bikes 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. Then at the end of the day we turn in our bikes.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.
Check out the Pictures and Videos
2012 Itinerary
Moto GP Tour ( 1 extra day in Monterey for Moto GP or sight seeing = whale watch boat ride, Monterey Aquarium, Wine tasting )
24th of July – you arrive and we meet for orientation and dinner at 3:45pm.
25th – we pick up bikes in am and we stay behind the Sierra Nevadas.
26th – Stay in Yosemite.
27th – Stay in San Francisco.
28th – We spend a half day enjoying San Francisco, then we end up in Monterey.
29th – We head over to the races and spend the day. Then we stay back in Monterey at our hotel after some beautiful afternoon riding. Then back for some
seafood. You an just take a layover day here to visit the Aquarium, a whale watching trip, etc Cannary Row if you don’t want to do the Moto GP that day.
30st – Cambria
31st of August Ventura
1st We arrive back in LA
