• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

help me convince to ride 166 along with 58

P

Provincial_sweater09

Active member
Joined
Apr 8, 2026
Moto(s)
SV650
Trying to plan a weekend loop from bay area down to Morro Bay via Paso Robles and return route via 58, coming up north via Bittersweet Rd, Indian Valley and then 25 to Bay area and home.
This translates to comfortable ~230-280 miles daily mileage.

Want to ride: Western parts of 58 (skipping Carrizo plane which seems flat farmland - keep me honest here), cut across via Bittersweet Rd, Indian valley road to 25 and back home.

I am struggling to add Tepusquet Rd and CA-166 to Maricopa (and connecting via 33) with following constraints.
  • Longer return leg (soft constraint) - CA-166 and Tepuquest Rd adds about 110-120 miles to the return leg making it ~410 miles - too long on a naked SV - given that the next day would be a working day
  • Choose to stay further down south(soft constraint) - Stay in San Louis Obispo or Santa Margarita. Balance both legs of journey. Return leg still about ~380 miles.
  • Minimize highway slabs (soft constraint) -especially 101 and boring pieces of 41.
  • The fuel capacity of 3.8 gallons (hard constraint) - About 130-140 miles before I have start looking for gas.
  • Ride on pavement only (hard constraint) - so no unpaved/dirt/forest roads
  • Ride parts of 166 to New Cuyama (at 33) and then use backroads to connect to 58 near 229 or further east at Shell creek to further connect to Bittersweet road- I am unclear if this is feasible.
Basic question - How is Tepusquet Rd and CA-166? Are they worth a detour? If so, how would you adjust the route? What other options would you consider?

edit: add constraint
 
Last edited:
Looking at Google Maps, I see a bit of twisties through the mountains and some flat stuff closer to Maricopa.

Just do it.

My goal when riding is to go on roads that I haven't been on before. I'm up for anything once. Found one a couple of weeks ago that was interesting, but on the "never again" list now.

You're overthinking this. Just ride the road, then report back whether or not it was worth the bother.
 
Tepusquet is one of the most fun roads in Central California. In fact, I'd have a hard time naming one that is more fun.

In my opinion, 166 is kinda meh, but it's what Tepusquet junctions with, so it's necessary. I'm not sure about your objection to the eastern portion of 58. A lot of it east of the Carrizo Plain is pretty fun. For that matter, it junctions with 33 north of where 166 junctions, and I'd rather ride 58 than 33.

Assuming that you're riding Tepusquet from south to north as part of your return leg, I'd turn west on 166, go to 101, then go north to Santa Margarita, then east on 58, then north on 229 (Rossi's Driveway). From there you can go east on 41 until you get to Cholame, then take Cholame Valley Road to Parkfield. From there you can head to San Miguel to pick up Indian Valley/Peachtree to get to 25. Or, you could go west on 41 until you get to 101, then get to San Miguel that way.
 
Perhaps carrying extra gas maybe an option for the SV regardless of your route….
The SV has limited fuel capacity…..
I only been on Airline Highway and Peach Tree and it’s in the middle of nowhere…..
There is section of Peach Tree that is a seasonal wash, but just not very long and probably only in extreme weather. Just a bit of a rough section. I road from North to South and it is a narrow Road with a little bit of gravel and some sections, but not a lot mostly at the beginning that’s where you think. Is this all like that…. I joined 101 in San Miguel. Great ride for me, but it was in the summertime going to Paso Robles, then up the coast to Moto America.
PaulR
 
Last edited:
Here's a ride report involving a lot of those roads:

Monterey Madness 2020

Well, because of reasons, my riding buddies and I had to move up our annual Monterey Madness ride by a month and a half. It's traditionally held on the first or second weekend of December but this year we did it October 23-25. Yes, that's another break from tradition. Historically it had been a...
www.bayarearidersforum.com www.bayarearidersforum.com
 
Provincial_sweater09 said:
[*]Ride parts of 166 to New Cuyama (at 33) and then use backroads to connect to 58 near 229 or further east at Shell creek to further connect to Bitterwater road- I am unclear if this is feasible.
Click to expand...

:thumbup

looking forward to hearing about your experience with this part … I can think of some backroads ways to get from Hwy 166 to Hwy 58, but those backroads are nowhere near New Cuyama/229 and they involve 20 or 40 miles of dirt. be fun to learn some new routes (admit I’m unfamiliar with the roads around Pozo) … :ride
 
Last edited:
Here are some clues...

CA166 is the high-speed truck route to CA101. The cars & motos go even faster. The CHP (cars & planes) watch this road east of the western canyons. I recommend a Valentine One if you want to play on the straight sections of 166.

To get to CA58 from 166, just ride up to Taft & then take this hidden gem, Midoil Rd:
(https://maps.app.goo.gl/7UH8jUbweCsFvufY7)
Looks boring, huh? This blind curvy roller coaster might scare you the first time thru. Doing the triple will make your day!

Yes, east CA58 looks boring on the map also, but the box canyon is so good you will be tempted to do the triple.

The BIG roller-coaster hills afterwards will tempt you to triple also, to understand just how fast they can be taken.

Notice a theme here? ;-)

Then the high-speed hilly sweepers next to 229 & north. These are the roads we rode to the Songdog Ranch for ~35 years. :cool:

Have FUN!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top