Road Trip to Monterey

[LongRanger]

. . . the Arroyo Seco, that turns into G16 Carmel Valley Road (one of the best roads in CA)......and all the way into Carmel......

Been do'n this basic route for over 25 years......... You will thank me for this . . . . . .

. . . I would not recommend G16 as it is extremely rough/bumpy except for a couple short sections (which are very nice). It is scenic, but very slow due to the bumps . . .

'. . . scenic . . .' huh?

Kids!




. . . also twisty, off-cambered, blind-apexed, un-striped, un-curbed, w/tons o' trees --- usually crowding the roadsides . . . + only barely policed = awful-awful

If you drive it at night? --- bring extra underwear . . . and a hose. (If you do have an 'off' . . . they'll look for the birds to find ya . . . )


I melted an ABS unit, last time . . .

[deluxeco]

G14 is ok on its own with some wide, fast sections, but if you take it to Nacimiento Fergusson Road, that can make G16 (Carmel valley road) feel almost civilized. Both can be punishing but are must drive routes when in the area IMO. Targa CA has been back and forth over both over the years and they're a blast. When entering Fort Hunter Ligget on Nacimiento Furgesson, sometimes there are guarded entry checkpoints where the military requires your drivers license, registration and proof of insurance. Many times I've been though they've been unmanned, but it's best to be prepared because it's a long way to go back and around. Personally, when leaving Monterey early, like just pre-dawn, I've had two completely unimpeded drives down highway 1 where I didn't come up on another car until Cambria. So worth it. A totally different road with no traffic.... So many possibilities. Hard to go wrong.

[DavidRS]

'. . . scenic . . .' huh?

Kids!




. . . also twisty, off-cambered, blind-apexed, un-striped, un-curbed, w/tons o' trees --- usually crowding the roadsides . . . + only barely policed = awful-awful

If you drive it at night? --- bring extra underwear . . . and a hose. (If you do have an 'off' . . . they'll look for the birds to find ya . . . )


I melted an ABS unit, last time . . .

OK, help me out here. Do G16 or not?
Also, AZ guys, can anyone help with what "appears" to be a short cut from Wikieup off 93 to Yucca. Via Chicken Springs Rd and Alamo Rd. Both look to be unpaved, but Google Earth has a hint at least they are relatively wide. Thoughts on this little idea? Looks to cut a lot of miles from the run up to Kingman and then back down to Yucca

[Flieger]

Re: G16

All I can say is my memory of the road consists of dodging tree root bumps and potholes. After the A-arm smashed into the chassis for the third or fourth time I realized I wasn't going to be doing more than 5/10ths. I was cringing while going under trees where the light was dappled because it was hard to tell if I was going to do any damage to me or the car. I had an open road but never pushed too hard because of the suspension bottoming. That said, once you get to the last hill climb and descent it is smooth enough and it is all plenty twisty and with nice views. But I honestly thought some of my fiberglass was going to fall off. Luckily none did, though.

A friend of mine had warned me about it beforehand so I wasn't too surprised, but it was bumpier than I thought it would be.

Maybe it is the car you use. My friend has a car with similar stiffness and ride height to mine, but he's got raised spindles.
Maybe it's my So Cal road quality standards.

[deluxeco]

Carmel valley road is bumpy. At a brisk pace things go bump and maybe a graunching noise or two here or there. My car is an 89 - It doesn't have raised spindles - it has lowered value..

[DavidRS]

OK,gents, lets get serious here. If I don't take Chuck's suggestion and ignore the one time James Dean site and motor onto his G16, i am reading the posts here that say i will end up with a broken car. The alternatives frankly suck almost as bad for other reasons. Beat it up the 101 to 68 in Salinas and then south again into Monterey. There seems to be an alternative for 46 or 41 from 101 but both put you pretty far south. Figuring i will be a 5 to 7/10ths kind of guy with a modified 69 chassis, can i get a consensus?

Also, AZ guys, please give me guidance on this wacky idea of running the desert from Wikieup to Yucca over Chicken Springs and Alamo Roads.

No one interested in this little sojourn?

[Flieger]

Are you looking to make a grand journey of it, or do you just want to get there via the most direct scenic route possible?

It won't break a stock car. Even though I raised the car .75" before the drive I am still too low. But even then the worst that would have happened is the seam on the chassis will get bent/folded over by the A-arm (self-clearancing I prefer to think of it as). But I think the worst part of it was all the creaking and squeaks over the bumps from all the aftermarkey modifications done on my car.

I am glad I can say I did G16, as it is a pretty drive. If you are only doing 5-7/10ths you should be fine, as long as your car is at stock ride height (can't tell in the pictures). Steel body panels won't fall off- my glass is rather brittle from age and vibration.

That said, I think in the future I might take 1 back south and just accept being stuck behind sightseers. Carmel Valley Road had only light traffic and the people in front would immediately get out of my way! I couldn't grasp such a foreign concept. People in the Central Coast are a little more courteous than us So Cal natives.

FWIW, every time I went to Laguna Seca before and just needed to get their quickly to not miss the race or event, I just took 101 from SLO and got off at the Spreckles exit or Blanco Road or whatever that was onto 68. It's quick, at least on the weekends.

[DavidRS]

Thanks to all for the comments. I guess I will just play it out. Depends on how far I go Sunday I think,

If anyone needs a room for concurs week, I had placed a Craigslist ad and had not heard anything. I found a room at the Camel Lodge. Just got an email that someone has a studio apartment and a 2 bed house with a garage on Ocean in Carmel. Say both are close to the beach. PM me if you are interested and I will put you together with them.

AZ guys, still looking for the Chicken Springs Rd advice

[DavidRS]

Thought I would bump this up and ask one more time. I am rolling from Scottsdale on Sunday say 0430 or so via Wickenburg, Kingman, Barstow, probably staying somewhere at the 5, maybe Willow on Sunday night then making the run on Monday to Carmel. Anyone interested in coming along?

[Chuck Miller]

Dave,

I think you mean HYW 46 not 146, the James Dean monument is in front of the 'Jack Rabbit Cafe' just past where 46 and 41 come together.


That's cool and I guess something to see... once

But I would suggest another route:
5 to the 46, go West for only 10 miles then take 33 North to Coalinga (parallels 5 but no one around), go West on 198 (Great road over two passes with a high valley in between) to 101, go about 20 mile North on 101 (keep to the speed limit for the 20 miles - King City is CA.'s biggest speed trap) to Greenfield, off at first Greenfield exit North to first light, left on the the Arroyo Seco, that turns into G16 Carmel Valley Road (one of the best roads in CA)......and all the way into Carmel......

Been do'n this basic route for over 25 years......... You will thank me for this.....

Did the whole route again this year........ fun, fun, fun......

One casualty however... could have been MUCH worse then it was. At the very top cattle crossing at the top of G16 I heard a single metallic sound and nothing after... checked all the gauges, checked the brakes and handling on the move and all was OK.... so I kept on go'n.......... When I finally got to the village and down to an idle I heard a metallic noise with the engine RPM... pulled over and opened the engine cover and found the oil cap at the bottom of the crank pulley well....... Turned it off, prayed it out, and put it back on... No damage on it's way down, and no blow-by to clean up.... Just a slightly chewed up oil cap... Obviously I didn't click it to the stop when I checked the level before I left........... Yep... it could have been a hell'of'a'lot worse.

Like I've said, every time something goes wrong with that old blue car it's because of ME, not IT..........