Big Sur is not a town but a stretch of coast, about ninety miles of steep mountains dropping into the Pacific between Carmel and San Simeon, with a few clusters of buildings in between. The Santa Lucia Mountains rise straight from the sea to more than a thousand metres, so the land has almost no flat ground, and the only road is Highway 1, built in the 1930s by convicts and workers who cut a ledge in the cliff. Before that, the coast was reachable only by track or boat, and it still feels remote.
The riding is some of the best-known in America, and the reasons are plain. The road clings to the slope, twisting around headlands and across high bridges, and the Pacific lies below you most of the way, with fog banks, sea otters, whales in season and cliffs that fall away from the edge. Bixby Bridge, a concrete arch built in 1932, spans a deep canyon and is one of the most photographed bridges in the country. The corners are open and the surface is mostly good, though landslides and winter storms often close sections for weeks or months, so check the state of the road before you go.
Everything here is slow. Traffic can build in summer, with tourists, campervans and cyclists, and there are few places to overtake. Fog and low cloud often roll in from the sea, especially in summer mornings, and the temperature drops sharply. Autumn is often the clearest and warmest season, with calm weather and fewer crowds, and spring brings wildflowers on the hills and green slopes.
The coast has a bohemian history. The writer Henry Miller lived here for years, and the Esalen Institute, an alternative learning centre on the cliffs, has drawn seekers since the 1960s. Redwoods grow in the sheltered canyons, and California condors, reintroduced after near extinction, can sometimes be seen soaring above the ridges.
Services are scarce. A few stations and small shops operate in the Big Sur valley, but prices are high and supply limited, and the next large supply points are Monterey to the north and Cambria to the south. Fill the tank at either end, and do not rely on mobile signal. Camping and lodging fill early in summer.