What is a good formula to translate a Google Maps cycle time estimate into a reasonable trip time for very long distances? I want to get to San Francisco from Los Angeles. I've looked at a number of options, including cycling. I have never biked such a great distance before, so I consulted Google.

It says that the trip will take one day and nineteen hours. If I suppose I travel eight hours a day, that's like five or six days. Is that the least bit accurate in the real world?
That is a reasonable estimate, however there is more to it than that. First of all, you are not going to be cycling the way you would drive, i.e. on the Interstate. For your particular plan you are most likely to be wanting to follow Highway 1 up the coast. This road is bicycle friendly whereas the Interstate is not. This comes at a price - more miles and more hills.



If you look at Highway 1 you will notice that it passes through some areas where nobody lives. The Big Sur coast down to San Simeon is rather remote, and, if you are looking for somewhere to stay over in that stretch then there are not a lot of options. Obviously San Luis Obispo and Monterey have motels, youth hostels and camp grounds to choose from so you need to do that stretch in a day.

Pushing on from Monterey into San Francisco is doable in a day if you are fit, however, you might kick yourself later for not going round the aquarium in Monterey or not having a snoot around Santa Cruz. Therefore you may want to stay over in Half Moon Bay where there is a Youth Hostel in a lighthouse. Staying there obviously means you have a manageable trip into San Francisco and you will not have to arrive there in the dead of night, as you would if you had cycled 'robot style' all the way from Monterey.

I would recommend that you budget seven days and base your individual daily rides on where to stay. You also need to bear in mind that lots of cyclists ride the entire Pacific coast route so, if you stay over in a cyclist-friendly place en-route, you may find yourself meeting up with others that are taking your exact same route. They may have started off in San Diego and have already found their cycling legs, they may also appreciate having you for company, particularly if you can set pace up hills or do turns at the front to give them a slipstream. You then might prefer riding with them and decide to do the route with them all the way, throwing your existing plans out of the window.

I advise that you buy the map of the route from the Adventure Cycling Association. This will provide you with the information you need to make the most out of your ride, that is if you are doing Highway 1. That includes bike paths, where there are good places to stay and where the nearest bike shops are.

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/pacificcoast.cfm