WEEKEND ESCAPE: BIG SUR : Bike-Seat Drivers : Taking the measure of California’s Highway 1 on two wheels is as exhilarating as it is exhausting

The diamond-shaped road sign near this stretch of rugged coastline told a twisted tale, its squiggly black arrow suggesting the curvaceous road that lay ahead.

Next 74 miles, it warned.

The message on that yellow placard along California Highway 1 south of Carmel was the reason I had hit the road that grayish early summer morning, the reason I decided to do a human-powered tour of one small stretch of the California coast.

By bicycle.

My friend Brad and I were tired of wasting the gorgeous scenery whizzing by our car windows. Touring on two wheels is slower, more detail-oriented than in a car. The bicycle trip would stimulate all five senses. We could feel the ocean air on our faces as we bombed down the curvy coastline through the pristine Los Padres National Forest, feel the vibrations from the road grit under our tires, listen to the crash of the waves often just below us. And get close-up views of skittering deer and even a few unfortunate creatures whose one last ill-advised dash put them under the wheels of some passing car.

With our trailers and 30 pounds of gear in tow, Brad and I were two self-contained bicycle units, saving money by sleeping at campsites along the way, and hauling such essentials as camping gear and a change of clothes.

Our 140-mile ride from Carmel to San Luis Obispo took three days of steady riding, averaging about five to six hours a day on the bikes. The ride is not for amateurs. While this was my first extended overnight bike tour, I am a regular city cyclist, logging between 80 and 140 miles a week, and to train for this trip I took several long rides hauling my gear.

Going south along Big Sur, several of the hills were long and steep, and we went for miles without services of any kind.

In previous bike trips along this route, Brad had found that the best time to go is in early June, before school lets out and before those wide-bodied campers hit the road. Or in September, when the coast is less likely to be lost in fog and there are fewer tourists.

We went in the middle of June, and we had the picture-postcard coast nearly all to ourselves.

We started our journey farther up the coast, but the real beauty came south of Carmel. Because there are no campgrounds in the village, we booked two rooms at Colonial Terrace Inn for $65 apiece, which included continental breakfast and a garage space to store our bikes and trailers. We had dinner at Little Napoli, an Italian eatery where a pizza and a bottle of red wine ran about $25.

On our first day on the road, we made a detour at the eerily beautiful Point Lobos State Reserve. This wind-swept headland is a Registered National Landmark; its groves of nearly extinct Monterey cypress can be seen along three miles of shaded roads. And here’s the best part: Cars pay a fee of $7, while cyclists can ride in for free.

After 30 miles of hilly riding, prolonged because we seemed to stop after every mile to photograph the undulating, unspoiled coastline, we spent our first night at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, 37 miles south of Carmel. It’s the route’s most popular meeting spot for bikers and other travelers with its towering redwoods, waterfalls, hiking trails, hot showers, grocery store and decent restaurant. We spurned the thrifty $4-a-night hiker-biker campsites and sprang for an $18 site, which was level, scenic and on a riverbank.

We ditched our gear, unhooked our trailers and pitched the tent. I took the single-man tent, while Brad preferred to unroll his sleeping bag under the night sky. Over the next two nights, I learned why a tent is essential on a trip like this. Several times in the darkness, I groggily heard Brad call out “Hey!” and “Go away!” like some bit player in “The Blair Witch Project.” They were his attempts, I would learn the next morning, to scare away raccoons and other curious nighttime marauders that had wandered through our campsite in search of tasty leftovers.

Campsite settled, we rode our bikes about a mile into Big Sur, which has two restaurants, a general store and a motel.

Until dusk chased us back to our campsite, we drank draft beer at the bar and yakked with other cyclists touring Highway 1.

Summertime along the California coast seems to bring out some real adventure seekers. We met two young women from Quebec who were riding from Vancouver to the Mexican border. They were tanned and independent, and only after I bought them a beer did they allow me to take a picture of their matching tongue studs.

Riding back to our campsite, we met some real road warriors: four Germans on a 2,500-mile circular route around California and Nevada. For the next two days, we ran into the highway-hardened Germans at various rest stops, and each time I marveled at the muscular calves of the lead rider, who spoke not a word of English.

Day 2’s breezy 30-mile leg was marked by several hills and rolling scenery. We stopped for lunch at the Restaurant at Rocky Point, a tourist trap with an incredible ocean view where a club sandwich costs $9 and they charge you for soda refills.

That afternoon, we had the most pleasant surprise of our trip: Rolling past the famous Esalen Institute, a New Age retreat that features seminars, massages and baths at natural cliff-side hot springs, we decided to pop in and see if we could book a rubdown. We got lucky and, for $85 apiece, spent two hours resting sore leg muscles in a hot tub before an hourlong massage. Esalen is usually booked solid, especially during the summer, so it’s best to call ahead at (831) 667-3000.

But our good luck didn’t last. Our planned dinner in Lucia was thwarted when the only restaurant around closed at 4:30 p.m., minutes before our sweaty arrival. So with no other food for miles, we grudgingly settled for $45 worth of gas station sandwiches and snacks, which we ate at the public Plaskett Creek Campground, where we paid $5 per person for a campsite. I climbed aboard the campground’s 12-foot-high sign to watch the sun set over the ocean. This interlude was the trip’s highlight. Far from the noise and stress of my L.A. life, I later walked a mile along Highway 1 and then hiked around the darkening campground, enjoying a sense of solitude that I have not felt in years.

On our last day, after a ham-and-eggs breakfast at the restaurant in tiny Gorda, we reluctantly left behind Big Sur and Los Padres National Forest during a 78-mile ride--my longest ever in one day--to San Luis Obispo. We passed Hearst Castle, stopping to photograph lazy sea lions that yawned and roared and fought for beach space under sunny skies.

We lunched at a gem of a restaurant in Cayucos that Brad had discovered when its cyclist-friendly owner once let him sleep in his van behind the establishment. At the Sea Shanty, a fish and chips lunch with salad cost about $13.

We ended our cycling sojourn about 5 p.m. in San Luis Obispo. But then came the tricky part: getting back to our car. An Amtrak train leaves San Luis Obispo each day at 3:13 p.m. The fare to Salinas, the nearest stop to Carmel, is $54. The train arrives in Salinas at 6:17 p.m. and is met by a bus to take you the last 25 miles to Carmel. It costs $5 more to take a bike, and Amtrak will sell you a carrying box for $7, but you’ll have to partially dismantle your bike, which means taking off the pedals and twisting the handlebars.

Because Brad didn’t want to wait for the next day’s train, we rented a car at the San Luis Obispo Airport. A one-way rental was a whopping $189, but it got us back to Brad’s home in San Jose that same night.

All along Highway 1, our bikes and trailers fueled the curiosity of countless travelers who wanted to know details of our trip. Indeed, we were full-fledged adventurers. And while the trip lasted only three days, it has fueled in us both a hunger to hit the road again soon.

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Budget for One

Colonial Terrace Inn, Carmel: $68.35

Dinner, Little Napoli: $25.00

Campsite fees: $23.00

Dinner, Big Sur: $27.50

Lunch, Rocky Point: $17.31

Massage, Esalen Institute, with tip: $95.00

Sandwiches, Lucia: $25.00

Breakfast, Gorda: $11.25

Lunch, Sea Shanty: $15.00

Dinner, San Luis Obispo farmers market: $22.00

Rental car: $189.00

Gas: $40.00

FINAL TAB:$558.41