How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?

Thanks, two dutch cyclists

"Ed" <edmyrthe@keyaccess.nl> wrote in news:bjnp42$ijo$1@hermes.castel.nl:
> How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
> San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?

Winter is the rain season along the California coast. It doesn't rain every day and sometimes
you might get a whole week of sunny weather. Days are short though. Temperature along the coast
is generally cool (but generally above freezing at night), though San Francisco is also cool in
the summer.

If you're camping out, April or May might be a better choice.

In article <bjnp42$ijo$1@hermes.castel.nl>, Ed <edmyrthe@keyaccess.nl> wrote:

> How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
> San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?
>

Rainy season starts around the end of November and gets up in earnest in january. Depending on the
year and your timetable you could have three weeks of no rain or three weeks where it rains 18 days
of the 21. Once you're here, if you have some time flexiblilty you can use the strategy of the
sailors. Start watching the storm fronts before you leave. If one is due to hit SF around your
arrival date be ready to hit your bikes the first clear day after the rain. You may be able to stay
in the pocket between storm fronts all the way down. The wind that fills in behind the storm is
frequently from the north and will give you a good push.

Right on the coast when you leave SF you should be prepared for highs in the 50's (farenheit) and as
you get south below Santa Barbara it would be rare for a day not to get up into the sixties and
often higher.

Kurt

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 20:04:44 +0200, "Ed" <edmyrthe@keyaccess.nl> wrote:

>How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
>San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?

Be forewarned: heavy winter rains can cause flooding and mud slides and may close coast roads. Heavy
fog can also be a problem but can appear during any season. Generally speaking, although it is hard
to predict major wind patterns, during winner, strong winds will prevail from south to north.

Average Rainfail (inches) Dec Jan Jun Jul San Francisco 2.89 4.45 0.11 0.03 Santa Barbara 2.26 3.57
0.05 0.03 Santa Maria 1.84 2.64 0.05 0.03 San Diego 1.31 2.28 0.09 0.03

Normal Mean Daily Temperature (degrees F) Dec Jan Jun Jul San Francisco 49.5 49.4 61.4 62.8 Santa
Barbara 53.2 53.1 64.2 67.0 Santa Maria 51.6 51.6 60.9 63.5 San Diego 57.6 57.8 67.4 70.9

Ref: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 20:04:44 +0200, "Ed" <edmyrthe@keyaccess.nl> wrote:

>How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
>San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?

Yes.

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 20:04:44 +0200, "Ed" <edmyrthe@keyaccess.nl> wrote:

>How about cycling California's coast in the winter time (around christmas)? We are thinking about
>San Francisco - San Diego. Is it cold, misty or rainy?
>

Yes. It's not good riding.

If you're looking for another route that time of year, I rode the Natchez Trace through
Mississippi during the first part of December and found good weather. This may vary from
year to year, however.

Peter