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Gilroy to Atascadero via Route 1

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Fellow Tesla Owners - former NOCAL (Sacramento) and SOCAL (Lancaster) transplant here living in Virginia. My daughter & I are driving cross country in late June. and I need some planning help from you guys and gals. I'd like to drive from Gilroy SC to Atascadero SC via Route 1. Google Maps shows this as 171 miles, which seems completely doable in a P85. Would appreciate advice and guidance from my West Coast Tesla buds! Thank you in advance for your help! Jim
 
Should be easy peasy. Highway 1 is not a speedy road along the coast, so your speeds will be 50-60 with some stretches slower. Small elevation gains are offset with descents. The leg from Morro Bay to Atascadero will have some elevation gain, but the segment is only about 20 miles. You will also likely encounter RVs and others going slower than necessary, so just enjoy the ride! (You might consider taking highway 58 east from US101 at Sta. Margarita to SR33 and then south to SR166 through Taft and Maricopa before hitting the Ft. Tejon Supercharger. Show your daughter that there is a lot more to California than the coastal areas! Some good, some not-so-good.) Oh, and be sure to check out Hearst Castle! Worth the tour!
 
Morro Bay city hall has a free (30A) J1772 you could use to add a little charge if you were feeling at all concerned.
You can also find some 70A J1772s in downtown San Luis Obispo, but not completely free.
 
Should be easy peasy. Highway 1 is not a speedy road along the coast, so your speeds will be 50-60 with some stretches slower. Small elevation gains are offset with descents. The leg from Morro Bay to Atascadero will have some elevation gain, but the segment is only about 20 miles. You will also likely encounter RVs and others going slower than necessary, so just enjoy the ride! (You might consider taking highway 58 east from US101 at Sta. Margarita to SR33 and then south to SR166 through Taft and Maricopa before hitting the Ft. Tejon Supercharger. Show your daughter that there is a lot more to California than the coastal areas! Some good, some not-so-good.) Oh, and be sure to check out Hearst Castle! Worth the tour!
Thank you!

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Morro Bay city hall has a free (30A) J1772 you could use to add a little charge if you were feeling at all concerned.
You can also find some 70A J1772s in downtown San Luis Obispo, but not completely free.
Thank you !!
 
Planning to do that in the immediate future; Atascadero - Gilroy loop, to use Hwy 101 in one direction, Hwy 1 in the other.
One travel guide suggests Hwy 1 northbound because you are inside the curves (?) and another guide suggests Hwy 1 southbound as you are nearer the ocean and it is easier to pull off to view and you are less likely to be hit by falling rocks. Wow.
Does anybody have recommendations as to which way to make this loop?
Thank you,
~Larry
 
This trip is pretty easy in a 60, so with an 85, you should have no worries. I did Gilroy to San Luis Obispo on 1, before there was an Atascadero supercharger. And then on a later trip, I did Atascadero to Gilroy on 101, and then again in the opposite direction. So either way, it should be no problem in an 85.
 
We did it northbound last July with 4 model Ss when we drove to TMC Connect. We had lunch in Atascadero and had a nice drive with no concern about range due to the low speed and reasonable distance.
 
We did it northbound last July with 4 model Ss when we drove to TMC Connect. We had lunch in Atascadero and had a nice drive with no concern about range due to the low speed and reasonable distance.

Thanks!

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This trip is pretty easy in a 60, so with an 85, you should have no worries. I did Gilroy to San Luis Obispo on 1, before there was an Atascadero supercharger. And then on a later trip, I did Atascadero to Gilroy on 101, and then again in the opposite direction. So either way, it should be no problem in an 85.

Thanks!

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I did this route last March in my P85. Because of the low speeds on the coast road, it's pretty easy with a 95%+ charge in an 85. Use EVTripPlanner and you will get more exact numbers.

See my thread at Colorado to California and Back Again Using Superchargers and Destination Charging and specifically, Colorado to California and Back Again Using Superchargers and Destination Charging - Page 2, for a reference to this leg; I did not make even a slight reference to range issues.

Have Fun!

Thanks for the advice and link to your experience!

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You might want to check to be sure Rt 1 isn't blocked, it often is by landslides. Also be sure to stop and look at the Elephant Seals at the beach a few miles North of Hearst Castle - really amazing.

Thanks for the advice!

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I prefer to do it southbound.

Cool - thanks!

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I also prefer it southbound. It is easier to pull out for views if you want.

Cool - thanks!
 
Planning to do that in the immediate future; Atascadero - Gilroy loop, to use Hwy 101 in one direction, Hwy 1 in the other.
One travel guide suggests Hwy 1 northbound because you are inside the curves (?) and another guide suggests Hwy 1 southbound as you are nearer the ocean and it is easier to pull off to view and you are less likely to be hit by falling rocks. Wow.
Does anybody have recommendations as to which way to make this loop?
Thank you,
~Larry
Depends on your temperament, where you're coming from, and the winds. I'm in the Bay Area, and did it once in March taking 1 south, 101 north (we actually drove to Morro Bay before cutting over to 101. Note this wasn't in a Tesla. We were at the leading edge of a storm going south, so had strong southwesterly headwinds and intermittent rain, and spent the night in a motel in San Simeon. Then the next day, after first heading back up Hwy 1 a few miles north to look at the elephant seals, I dropped my pax off at Hearst Castle so they could take a tour, and walked across the road to hike at the beach (I had no personal interest in ogling the lifestyles of the rich and fatuous, even if the place was designed by Julia Morgan. There are some nice trails in the trees at the beach - you can also rent kayaks during the season, there's a nice little visitor center, picnic tables, and a fishing pier). It had been nice up to about 3:30 IIRR, but then it started to rain again. After they'd finished the tour we drove to Morro Bay so my pax could see the rock, and then over to 101 and back north. By now the trailing edge of the storm had reached us, so we had strong NWesterly headwinds and strong rain all the way back.

I also did it once going north on 1 coming back from a trip to SoCal, when I was already tired. Big mistake, as I wanted to get home and wasn't in the mood to deal with people in motor homes doing 20 miles an hour and either not seeing/hearing or being unwilling to acknowledge and pull over for the 30-50 cars lined up behind them wanting to pass, despite horns and headlight flashing for at least 10 miles. :cursing: It's a good thing my car wasn't equipped with machine guns in the grill, because I certainly would have used them!

So, If you can be equally impatient/cranky when heading homeward, I recommend taking Hwy 1 in whichever direction you'll drive first and coming back on 101, although I acknowledge that it is a lot easier and safer to pull over for sightseeing/photos heading south (and we did so every few minutes on a couple of sections on the southbound 1 trip, as the views were terrific). OTOH, with any Model S you could pass in shorter stretches than I could, so maybe that would limit the aggravation factor. OTOH, if you pick the wrong place to pass - well, it's often a long way down to the ocean.:wink:
 
Fellow Tesla Owners - former NOCAL (Sacramento) and SOCAL (Lancaster) transplant here living in Virginia. My daughter & I are driving cross country in late June. and I need some planning help from you guys and gals. I'd like to drive from Gilroy SC to Atascadero SC via Route 1. Google Maps shows this as 171 miles, which seems completely doable in a P85. Would appreciate advice and guidance from my West Coast Tesla buds! Thank you in advance for your help! Jim

This trip is very easy on a P85. We did a very similar road trip from southern California in December 2013.

Left from Atascadero SC toward Hearst Castle up to through Hwy 1 and stayed in Carmel/Monterey. Then drove back southband a couple days later. As many have already commented, the slow traffic (25-40 mph through the very windy portions) on Highway 1 actually benefits your ability to increase your range compared to normal freeway speeds on the 101 or 5 (70+ mph)
 
This trip is very easy on a P85. We did a very similar road trip from southern California in December 2013.

Left from Atascadero SC toward Hearst Castle up to through Hwy 1 and stayed in Carmel/Monterey. Then drove back southband a couple days later. As many have already commented, the slow traffic (25-40 mph through the very windy portions) on Highway 1 actually benefits your ability to increase your range compared to normal freeway speeds on the 101 or 5 (70+ mph)

Thanks for the info!
 
As a head's up: California SR1 along the Central Coast sometimes has issues with landslides or other impediments. A few days ago the highway was closed from just south of Big Sur to ten miles north of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County line because of a landslide, and it is still closed as of 06:45 Monday 9 February. (Yes it will be cleared by the time you arrive in June!)

Landslides usually are a result of extreme precipitation, but have occurred during summer and fall months as well. Sometimes there are wildfires that force temporary road closures as well.

I would check California road conditions: Road Conditions periodically once you start your journey, and again just before embarking on your trip down the coast just to be safe.

I am not trying to be Chicken Little here, but a few minutes' investment to avoid hours of inconvenience or sudden disappointment is cheap insurance! Enjoy!
 
As a head's up: California SR1 along the Central Coast sometimes has issues with landslides or other impediments. A few days ago the highway was closed from just south of Big Sur to ten miles north of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County line because of a landslide, and it is still closed as of 06:45 Monday 9 February. (Yes it will be cleared by the time you arrive in June!)

Landslides usually are a result of extreme precipitation, but have occurred during summer and fall months as well. Sometimes there are wildfires that force temporary road closures as well.

I would check California road conditions: Road Conditions periodically once you start your journey, and again just before embarking on your trip down the coast just to be safe.

I am not trying to be Chicken Little here, but a few minutes' investment to avoid hours of inconvenience or sudden disappointment is cheap insurance! Enjoy!

Thanks for the great advice!!!
 
After picking up my car in Freemont, I did a Range charge in Gilroy and took the slow route, including the 17 mile scenic drive in Monterrey. I made it to Pismo with 20RM left. There is a hotel there with a HPWC, so we charged overnight. But you should be able to make it to Atascondero with no prob. Assuming you are doing the drive in the afternoon, I suggest Southbound, for the reasons others have mentioned PLUS the light works better. With the sun at your 4-6 O'Clock position, you'll not be blinded and you'll see the coastline in front of you beautifully lit up.