Epic Tour Pacific Coast: California

Meet our tour guides for dinner and an orientation at 6:00pm. You’ll meet the women who have cycled from Washington tomorrow at breakfast.

This epic bike tour for women only is fully supported. A hot shower, home-cooked meal and a warm bed will await you every night. No camping for us!

We ran this tour five years ago and are bringing it back due to popular demand. We took the feedback from the last time and tweaked our schedule, shortening some of the daily routes and adding more layover days. The terrain is hilly and beautiful, so we’ve lessened the average daily mileage to give you time to enjoy your ride.

In general, the wind blows from the north in good weather and from the south in bad weather, so we’ll hope for good weather the entire way. With any luck, we’ll see such wildlife as sea otters, sea lions, brown pelicans, herons, egrets, elk, and deer. All in all, it will be an adventure you will never forget.

We will give you descriptive “can’t get lost” maps by Adventure Cycling, our own detailed cue sheets and elevation profiles, as well as GPS files to show you the way. Everyone rides at her own pace.

Our traveling chef prepares healthy, home-cooked meals throughout the tour. She understands the “performance food” needed to undertake such a challenge.

The Pacific Coast route combines beautiful scenery through national parks, national recreation areas, historic monuments, state parks, museums, forts, lighthouses, small towns and bustling cities.

There will be three rest days over the course of this trip. We’ve scheduled these at scenic stops where there is an opportunity to explore the area. We strongly believe in giving everyone time to see the natural wonders of our country and to take the time to recuperate to stay healthy and strong.

We'll enjoy one layover day just outside of San Francisco with easy access to the ferry to the Embarcadero. From there, you can walk through Chinatown or take the trolley to explore  Fisherman's Wharf. The ferry ride itself is scenic while being a respite from the bustle of the San Francisco. We'll cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge on the next day!

We'll end the tour on a beautiful bike path into Ventura, CA. After a closing banquet, we'll shuttle to the Los Angeles airport for your departure the next morning.

We offer a reasonable price. You'll find we have the cheapest per day rate of any hotel cross-country bike touring company. We try to limit the group size to 25 women. You're neither alone nor anonymous. We guarantee you'll make some lifelong friends along the way.

TO JOIN: Sign up on-line or call us at 800-247-1444 to make your nonrefundable, nontransferable registration deposit of $300. The first payment of $1,000 is due April 1, 2017 and $500 of that payment is nonrefundable and nontransferable. The balance of the trip fee is due by July 31, 2017.

DISCOUNTS: Sign up for any shorter, domestic WomanTours trip in 2017 at the same time you register for the Pacific Coast: California tour and receive a discount of 10% off the shorter tour. Make your payments by check and receive a discount of 2%.

CANCELLATION & REFUNDS: The $300 registration fee is nonrefundable and nontransferable, but holds your space. Our cross-country and epic tours usually fill to capacity. One half of your first payment of $1000 is refundable should you cancel prior to July 31, 2017. The remaining $500 is nonrefundable and nontransferable. There are no refunds or cancellations after July 31, 2017.

TRIP INSURANCE: We will provide you with a source for trip cancellation/interruption insurance. We strongly recommend insurance, especially for a trip of this magnitude.

SAG VOLUNTEERS: We use 4 volunteers to drive a support SUV during this tour. Each driver works once every fourth day supporting the riders until the last rider finishes cycling for the day. She provides food, drinks, flat tire assistance and moral support, and becomes an integral part in the success of the tour. In return, each volunteer receives a discount of 40% off the full tour price. If you’re interested in a position, please contact us.

TOUR DETAILS: We will send you materials about training, transportation, packing, and other pre-trip details upon receipt of your registration fee. We will also mail you periodic Prep Talk newsletters to help you prepare for the trip.