Jim and I took an 8 day paved/dirt road tour in Central CA in March. 450 miles (25% dirt) and ~25000' gain. We had a terrific trip, very enjoyable.
Annotated photo show: http://amyl.smugmug.com/gallery/11921540_yPxS4/1/844058367_7vkgQ#844058367_7vkgQHighlights:
** wildflowers in late March and April (following a wet winter) are astonishing. We were out at the start of the wildflower season before things were fully blooming, and we still had a great show.
** Lovely Oak Savannah ranchlands
** only three towns in 450 miles, so even though it's on roads, it's pretty isolated.
** only ~15 miles of busy roads (mostly in the three towns) and another ~25-50 miles of moderate traffic. The vast majority of the route has <5 cars per hour.
** easy access from home (SF Bay Area), and loop made logistics easy.
** weather was perfect (no clouds, and 35 to 70 degrees every day). California weather is dang predictable.
** my favorite areas: Carrizo Plain National Monument, and the Indians Road in Los Padres National Forest
This isn't really a bikepacking trip report since 435 of the 450 miles were on roads open to vehicles. But I'm a backpacker at heart, taking up bike touring as a secondary hobby, and I have a strong preference for dirt road riding and rough camping. I identify more closely with bikepackers than to the paved road bike tour community, and I suspect there are paved road bike tourers lurking here in Bikepacking.net who are tempted to branch out into dirt road touring (or already have made the switch).
I've got a detailed route document with profiles, map details, info about stores and cafes, reference URLs, etc. If interested, send me a PM and I'll forward a copy to you.
Amy L, Palo Alto
