A Highway 1 Road Trip Needs to Be on Your Biking Bucket List

The Harley’s TFT screen temperature reads 42 degrees Celsius, confirmed by a shimmering heat haze rising from the asphalt. Up ahead, a Chinook helicopter is dumping water onto a roadside blaze and the resulting ash is falling like snow.

A weather emergency has been declared in California and I’m stationary on the latest Harley-Davidson Street Glide with no gaps to filter. It’s proper sweltering. If ever there was a moment to consider a Rollie Free-style ride in my underpants to the nearest air-conditioned bar, this is it.

Of course, there was a time when just the heat from a Street Glide’s iconic V-twin would burn more leg hair than a tube of Immac. Not anymore. The updated Milwaukee-Eight 117 features a new cooling system that ‘optimises thermal comfort’, or put more crudely, doesn’t singe your nuts off.

Ducting from the radiator now funnels air away from the rider, a welcome source of heat for UK bikers in the winter months but not here in the Golden State. Even with the wheels turning, the temperature today is debilitating – just imagine standing behind a jet engine at full throttle.

If that sounds like a first-world problem then there’s a bigger one ahead. I’m here to ride one of the world’s most famous road routes but Mother Nature has decided to toss a whopping spanner in the works. The illuminated ‘Rock slide ahead’ sign beside Highway 1 is an understatement. Earlier this year, a winter storm in Monterey County severed the bucket list route from riders when 300,000 cubic yards of rock cascaded across the road on the Big Sur and into the Pacific.

Regent’s Slide, 40 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, is the latest in a series of storms to damage sections of the popular route. The repair work was due to be completed by November but fears of continued movement means it could be the New Year before the road is finally reopened to traffic.

Cut into steep hillsides, this iconic section of Highway 1 opened in the 1930s and is a ‘must ride’ for bikers who revel in the sweeping bends and dramatic vistas. The ongoing closure has seriously damaged visitor numbers, so is now the moment to beat the traffic and take a Californian road trip?

Work on the Pacific Coast Highway began in 1919, detonating more than 70,000 pounds of dynamite to cut a routeway that is now as famous as Route 66. The roaring 20s and 30s also marked the beginning of a golden age of hospitality in California, with hotels quickly springing up along its path.

My starting point is The Georgian in Santa Monica, a beachfront masterpiece that became the go-to destination for Hollywood’s finest, from Clark Gable to Fatty Arbuckle. The art deco hotel dates back to 1933 and fits perfectly with both the Highway 1 zeitgeist and Harley-Davidson’s old-school appeal.

Photographer Ben is straddling a sibling Road Glide, mechanically identical but 13kg heavier than the Street Glide and equipped with ape handlebars. The ‘new’ look Street sports more traditional styling and a Batwing fairing but now it’s a sleeker shape and carries an LED headlight and daytime running strips.

The latest 1,917cc version of Harley’s liquid/air-cooled engine is heavily chromed up on the Street Glide, while Ben’s steed offers a more contemporary look. Both pack twin panniers but annoyingly, the shape doesn’t lend itself to conventional baggage.

One of LA’s oldest hotels, the Georgian’s Ocean Avenue address is catnip for Instagrammers. If you can’t bag a table in the basement-level Georgian Room steakhouse, a veranda seat in Sirena restaurant is a great place to watch people watching you admiring your bike.

I set out to the next morning to explore the coastline north of Santa Monica, famous for A-list celebrities and surfers alike. Everybody from Larry Ellison to Cher has a beachfront condo here. Turn inland for the Santa Monica Mountains and Rock Store cafe – a mecca for hungry bikers enjoying the twisties.

Before pulling on a helmet to head north on Highway 1, I stop at Primo Passo Coffee Roasters in Montana Avenue to check my bike is ready for the trip. The Street Glide is equipped with a (pointless) 200w sound system and satellite navigation – although it’s painfully slow to load up on the 12.3-inch screen.

Not that there’s much navigating to be done on Highway 1. Turn right at the beach and keep riding should direct me all the way to a first stop in Santa Barbara. The Harley’s a big old beast at 367kg and although a low 28-inch seat height helps, I’d rather be riding it on a six-lane freeway than manoeuvring around LA.

It’s late summer but the Pacific breeze and some classic Californian tunes in my helmet help take my mind off the searing heatwave. The real estate grows more impressive by the mile as I skirt by Malibu. Further on is Neptune’s Net, another favourite eatery for bikers.

Highway 1 then joins Route 101 for a fast stretch into Santa Barbara. A rail track still runs through the heart of the town’s vibrant Funk Zone and if you’re not riding afterwards, pop in to nearby Validation Ale, a brewery-cum-restaurant where drinkers vote for their favourite ales of the week displayed live on a screen above the bar. Puppy Paws hazy IPA and Kevin du Blonde are my top tipples.

From Santa Barbara, Highway 1 meanders north, past the eerily quiet Vandenberg Space Force Base, the pristine white beaches of Pismo and on to the perfectly named dairy town of Harmony, a former pit-stop for guests travelling to William Randolph Hearst’s nearby castle.  Often bypassed by road trippers, the town is best described as quirky – it once displayed a toilet memorial planted with roses and a sign proclaiming that Rudolph Valentino had used the facility in 1926.

After a cooling ice cream at the Harmony Creamery truck, there’s a decision to be made. Continue 55 miles north up the coast on Highway 1 to the Regent Slide blockage on the Big Sur – effectively a ride to nowhere and the longest cul-de-sac in the state – or turn inland on Highway 46 and pick up the 101 to Monterey.

It’s a frustrating two-and-a-half hours detour in motorway conditions but also a no-brainer. The no-nonsense 101 can’t compete with the majestic beauty of the epic coastal route but I plan to ride the 45 miles back south from Monterey to the Regent Slide block the following day, through some of the Big Sur’s finest scenery.

The newly refurbished Monterey Beach Hotel has just reopened. The only hotel on the beach offers incredible sunsets across Monterey Bay, with outdoor decking to relax, stretch aching backs and legs and listen to the sound of waves crashing on the sand.

The next morning I’m up early for breakfast at LouLou’s Griddle in the Middle, on the town’s commercial pier. The pancake stack should keep me topped up until supper but before that I ride south on the final leg of my journey, past Monterey’s famous Cannery Row, the setting for John Steinbeck’s novel.

Nearby, 17-Mile Drive from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach carries a $11.25 entry charge but should be included on every road trip itinerary. Then head due south again on Highway 1, through swanky Carmel (of Clint Eastwood fame), keeping the ocean to the right and admiring the rocky outcrops and tumbling waves at every turn.

The Street Glide’s lengthened rear travel shocks – upped to three inches – enhance the comfort, while four selectable rider modes make for a more engaging ride.  That said, this is one route where it’s almost impossible to keep your eyes off the astonishing scenery.

Bixby Bridge is the Big Sur’s version of the Golden Gate but arrive early to beat crowds of selfie-takers. However, few travellers venture much further south as the Regent Slide site at Lucia blocks their path. As the traffic thins and eventually disappears, we finally have one of the world’s greatest roads all to ourselves.

The Harley is purring through the Redwood forests as my nostrils scent a salty spray from the beaches below. Stretches of the rugged coastline are often topped with an atmospheric wisp of mist, while an occasional seal pops its head up above the waterline.

All that’s missing from my two-wheeled adventure is a movie actress perched behind on the pillion seat.

Unfortunately, there’s a growing sense of inevitability as the ‘road closed’ signs become more frequent. The highway ends abruptly with an innocuous line of traffic cones. I stop and join a handful of other curious travellers who stand and crane their necks in the hope of seeing the dramatic landslip just around the corner.

The classic, all-American road trip is especially dramatic along this section of the west coast of California. With epic views, fantastic biking and beautiful seaside hotels, even with a temporary landslide blocking the way, this is one of the best scenic rides on the planet. And whatever your riding style, there’s still only one make of machine to keep you company.

• For further information visit www.santamonica.com; www.santabarbaraca.com; www.seemonterey.com and www.visitcalifornia.com

Photography by Ben Akin-Smith