As Kiley said you can ride down, some sections are really beautiful, or you could ship with someone like TFX. It’s probably not going to cost any more than renting a bike.
If you are renting I would try to get an adventure/tourer. It’s easy to get a Multistrada which is more on the tourer side and there are some places that rent 1200/800GS BMW’s that will let you explorer a little further off road. They come with bags and insurance. Your Ontario license is fine.
Some of my favourite rides are in Northern California….
The 35/9 combination is great. Start at Crystal Springs Reservoir on the 280 and keep going on 35/Skyline. Stop off for a burger at Alice’s Restaurant. – You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant – The restaurant and roads around it were where Twist of the Wrist was shot. Get onto 9 at Saratoga Gap and that will take you right down into Santa Cruz. Make sure you go to the Pier and Boardwalk
1 north of the Golden Gate is also spectacular. Head north over the bridge on the 101 and take the turn off for Marin City. Stay on 1 and that will take you down to Muir beach (checkout Muir woods if you have time) – Stinson Beach, Point Reyes Station (stop at the Bovine Bakery they have the best muffins ever) and Bogeda Bay where they filmed The Birds. Just watch out for the Eucalyptus berries in spots, it’s like riding on marbles. Also make sure you have a head for heights in some places it’s a 300 foot drop directly into the Pacific with no guard rails. I went up there with a friend and he had to turn around, unfortunately for him going south is much worse as you are in the lane closest to the edge.
If it’s a day trip I would go to Jenner, gas up and turn around. If you want to camp, keep going up to Eureka and then take 36 across to Red Bluff and Chester, and take 70 and 86 down to Tahoe. There are some nice roads around the lake. If you the head south on 395 it will take you into the Sierras. Take the 120 that takes you past Mt Dana and through Yosemite. You can branch off on the 41 that will take you through Sierra Nevada.
South of the peninsula from Santa Cruz you can take 1 to Gilroy then the 156 to Hollister. There a lot of really cool little backroads that you can head south on until you pick up Carmel Valley Road. Head west on Carmel Valley Road and you will see a road called Laurles Grade. Take it as it’s insane and that brings you out at Laguna Seca. From there you can head west into Monterey or Carmel By The Sea for some great food. That’s where Clint Eastwood lives and he has a couple of restaurants. He sometimes stops in to play the piano at night.
As Kiley mentioned you can head down 1 from Monterey through Big Sur. Stop in San Simeon and get a tour of William Randolph Hearst’s house. When you get to Morro Bay, take 58 to 33 and take 33 down to Ventura. 33 is one of my favourite roads. Like something out of the Swiss Alps.
There are a few good roads around LA. North is Angels Crest, and if you take the 1 from Santa Monica north through Malibu there are a couple of amazing canyons, Topanga and Malibu, that head north towards the 101 and bring you onto Mulholland.
If you go further south below LA into the beach cities it gets pretty boring as its all interstate and urban sprawl but south east of LA you can head out to Palm Springs and spend some times on the 243 and 74. Stop off in Palm Springs and go see Sinatra’s and Liberace’s house
You can do a circuit of the Joshua Tree national park from Palm Springs
You can also head north from LA (or south east from San Francisco) to Sequoia National Park and Death Valley. If you can get a BMW, there is nothing like driving across the lake bed at 100 mph. It’s dead flat.
There are no shortage of places to ride in California and its great just exploring little fire roads or minor roads in the Sierra’s and Sequoia National Park, but if you want to go out of state the Humboldt National Forrest in Nevada is beautiful, and you could easily make it to the grand Canyon.
I think it’s a good time of year to do it. It should be in the 80’s and you will probably get away with a pair of pants and jacket. It’s also good to bring a heated vest as once you get up into the Sierra’s there will still be snow and it looks beautiful but the temperature quickly drops. At night in the high desert temperature can also drop to below freezing.
In terms of accommodation, you can probably get an OK hotel like a Courtyard for just over $120 as long as you stay away from the tourist traps, and camping is cheap. It’s very safe as well. You can pull off the side of the road in the mountains or desert.
As far as attractions go I’d recommend walking over the Golden gate and visiting Alcatraz, although you have to book your tour Alcatraz 3 months in advance. In SF stay away from the tourist traps like Fisherman’s Warf and North Beach. Haight-Ashbury, Twin Peaks, The Castro and The Tenderloin are less commercialized. I would definitely try to go to Santa Cruz, Carmel, Marin Headlands, and Napa or Sonoma, although Napa is more build up than you would think and the roads are pretty boring.
You will have fun
