Monterey (--) Salinas



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Paul A . Steckl

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I may need to commute between Salinas and Monterey, CA. If you use MapQuest, it shows a route that
skirts around the decommissioned Fort Ord. I'm not sure if that route is even bikeable.

Some Web site I visited seemed to suggest that there were trails through Fort Ord that were
off-limits to cars. Can one traverse Fort Ord by bike? Are there time-of-day or other restrictions
on biking those trails?

-- Paul
 
"Paul A. Steckler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I may need to commute between Salinas and Monterey, CA. If you use MapQuest, it shows a route that
> skirts around the decommissioned Fort Ord. I'm not sure if that route is even bikeable.
>
> Some Web site I visited seemed to suggest that there were trails through Fort Ord that were
> off-limits to cars. Can one traverse Fort Ord by bike? Are there time-of-day or other restrictions
> on biking those trails?
>
> -- Paul
>

We cut through Ft. Ord on a tour last year. It can be done. See:
http://home.att.net/~dlstorm/Missiontour.htm Day 8. I couldn't give street/road details...had no
good maps of Ft. Ord. It was not so good on loaded bikes but may be easier on lighter road bike. It
would be a long commute.
 
David Storm <[email protected]> wrote:
: We cut through Ft. Ord on a tour last year. It can be done. See:
: http://home.att.net/~dlstorm/Missiontour.htm Day 8. I couldn't give street/road details...had no
: good maps of Ft. Ord. It was not so good on loaded bikes but may be easier on lighter road bike.
: It would be a long commute.

Thanks. I may be taking work in Monterey, except I don't want to have to pay Monterey real estate
prices! Things are a bit cheaper in Salinas.

It looks to be an 18-mile commute each way, which is a bit more than I'd like. An option is to throw
my bike on a bus bike rack, and ride in one direction only.

-- Paul
 
"Paul Steckler" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> David Storm <[email protected]> wrote:
> : We cut through Ft. Ord on a tour last year. It can be done. See:
> : http://home.att.net/~dlstorm/Missiontour.htm Day 8. I couldn't give street/road details...had no
> : good maps of Ft. Ord. It was not so good on loaded bikes but may be easier on lighter road bike.
> : It would be a long commute.
>
> Thanks. I may be taking work in Monterey, except I don't want to have to pay Monterey real estate
> prices! Things are a bit cheaper in Salinas.
>
> It looks to be an 18-mile commute each way, which is a bit more than I'd like. An option is to
> throw my bike on a bus bike rack, and ride in one direction only.
>
> -- Paul

18 miles isn't too bad. I thought it was farther, but it was slow going through Ft. Ord. It might be
faster swinging up by Marina, but you can try both routes and see what works. Good luck.
 
> "Paul A. Steckler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I may need to commute between Salinas and Monterey, CA. If you use MapQuest, it shows a route
> > that skirts around the decommissioned Fort Ord. I'm not sure if that route is even bikeable.
> >
> > Some Web site I visited seemed to suggest that there were trails through Fort Ord that were
> > off-limits to cars. Can one traverse Fort Ord by bike? Are there time-of-day or other
> > restrictions on biking those trails?

http://www.ihns.net/fortordpl/

Fort Ord Public Lands trail information. Has a trail map, mountain biking oriented, but shows the
roads. AFAIK Fort Ord is officially closed after sunset.

Get a Krebs map of the area, available at LBSes and some bookstores. It suggests CA route 68. On the
Salinas-Marina-Monterey route, Rt. 1 is a freeway but I believe there is a bike path alongside much
of it. Also consider asking on ba.bicycles.
 
"Benjamin Weiner" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > "Paul A. Steckler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > I may need to commute between Salinas and Monterey, CA. If you use MapQuest, it shows a route
> > > that skirts around the decommissioned Fort Ord. I'm not sure if that route is even bikeable.
> > >
> > > Some Web site I visited seemed to suggest that there were trails through Fort Ord that were
> > > off-limits to cars. Can one traverse Fort Ord by bike? Are there time-of-day or other
> > > restrictions on biking those trails?
>
> http://www.ihns.net/fortordpl/
>
> Fort Ord Public Lands trail information. Has a trail map, mountain biking oriented, but shows the
> roads. AFAIK Fort Ord is officially closed after sunset.
>
> Get a Krebs map of the area, available at LBSes and some bookstores. It suggests CA route 68. On
> the Salinas-Marina-Monterey route, Rt. 1 is a freeway but I believe there is a bike path alongside
> much of it. Also consider asking on ba.bicycles.
>
On our tour last Sept. we were riding from Salinas to Monterey. We intended to take 68, but were
required to leave that highway at River Road, G17, (i.e. the dreaded "Bicycles Must Exit Freeway"
sign). Unless things have changed cyclists must either detour northwest through Marina or cut
through Ft. Ord. We ended up picking our way slowly through Ft. Ord.Ft. Ft. Ord is a labyrinth of
roads and valleys (a lot of ups and downs), and even with our Krebs maps and GPSs it was hard to
keep bearings and very slow going. Probably a great MTB place but not ideal for routine commuting.
Its probably faster to simply go around it via Marina and stay on main roads.
 
David Storm <[email protected]> wrote:

> On our tour last Sept. we were riding from Salinas to Monterey. We intended to take 68, but were
> required to leave that highway at River Road, G17, (i.e. the dreaded "Bicycles Must Exit Freeway"
> sign). Unless things have changed cyclists must either detour northwest through Marina or cut
> through Ft. Ord.

Yeah, sorry, the Krebs map indicates that about a two mile section of CA 68 south of G-17 is off
limits to bicycles. However, it shows a local road, Portola, directly parallel to that stretch of CA
68 as an alternative. Beyond that two mile stretch, CA 68 is no longer a freeway and is bicycle
legal, although it probably has a fair amount of traffic at rush hour.

Going east on G-17 (Reservation Road) you could go through the East gate onto Intergarrison Road
which is a straight shot to Marina, however I'm not sure that gate is always open. I agree other
parts of Fort Ord can be pretty up and down and confusing.

We ended
> up picking our way slowly through Ft. Ord.Ft. Ft. Ord is a labyrinth of roads and valleys (a lot
> of ups and downs), and even with our Krebs maps and GPSs it was hard to keep bearings and very
> slow going. Probably a great MTB place but not ideal for routine commuting. Its probably faster to
> simply go around it via Marina and stay on main roads.
 
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