Why this ride
A one-way ride of 207 km, Ventura to San Luis Obispo - roughly 2 h 44 in the saddle. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Highway 101: Ventura to San Luis Obispo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 207 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 44
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ventura
Mission San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 by Father Junípero Serra, was the last of the missions he established, and its church and garden are a quiet, peaceful corner in the middle of the town. Ventura Pier, built in 1872, is the longest wooden pier in California, a long wooden promenade that pokes out into the Pacific, and fishermen and walkers stroll along it.
Read the complete Ventura write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ventura is where the day begins. Next is Santa Barbara.
2. Santa Barbara
The Pacific Coast Highway has a way of ending in places that look like film sets, and Santa Barbara is the best of them. The city sits on a narrow shelf of land between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the ocean, facing south, which is unusual on the Californian coast, so the sun seems to hang over the water in the afternoon. The red tile roofs, white stucco walls and arched arcades are not an accident. After an earthquake in 1925 destroyed much of downtown, the city rebuilt in a unified Spanish Colonial Revival style, and the result is a place that feels more like Andalusia than Los Angeles.
Read the complete Santa Barbara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santa Barbara comes up about 54 km into the recorded legs. Next is San Luis Obispo.
3. San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo is a small city of about forty-seven thousand people, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and for riders on the coast it is a natural place to rest. It lies in a valley of the Santa Lucia foothills, a short way inland from the Pacific, with hills of oak and grass rising on all sides. Franciscan friar Junipero Serra founded Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa here in 1772, and the mission church still stands on the central plaza, next to a creek that runs through the downtown.
Read the complete San Luis Obispo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 207 km.
Leg by leg
Ventura to Santa Barbara
Ventura → Santa Barbara is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara → San Luis Obispo is 153 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.