Pre-Registration Process Required on Pacific Coast Route

Adventure Cycling’s Routes & Mapping Department was recently alerted to a change coming to the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route (PCBR) in Southern California on Section 5. Beginning March 1, 2016, Camp Pendleton will require cyclists to be pre-registered to ride across the base. “Our goal is to maintain a great relationship with area riders but also balance that with security and protection for our Marines, Sailors, civilian employees, and families. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” wrote Carl B. Redding Jr., Director of Public Affairs, Marine Corps Installations West, in an email.

A valid U.S. or state identification card is needed to register; non-U.S. citizens require a sponsor. The registration process for U.S residents may take up to 7 days to complete and is good for a one-year period. More information on base access and the registration process can be found on the Camp Pendleton website.

The PCBR is one of Adventure Cycling’s most popular routes, so the impact on traveling cyclists will be wide. With its gorgeous ocean views and landscapes, plentiful services, and a long season for travel opportunity, it appeals to cyclists from all over the world with varying levels of ability and vacation time. Three statistics back this up:

We sell close to 1000 copies annually of the PCBR’s Section 5, either alone or as part of an entire Pacific Coast Bicycle Route map set. When Caltrans District surveyed 535 touring cyclists over three Northern California counties in the summer of 2015, results showed 36% of cyclists were from outside the U.S. We suspect this is representative of the entire PCBR as our map sales also have high international interest. If this is the case, the new pre-registration requirement will affect a large group of people. There are 772 Crazy Guy on a Bike journals of PCBR trips since 2001.

Note: None of these sets of numbers takes into account the multitude of cyclists who ride this route without benefit of our maps.

In the near term, for cyclists who do not register in advance or who are not eligible to receive access to the base, Caltrans has stated it is legal to ride on the shoulder of I-5 between Las Pulgas Road and Oceanside, exits 62 to 54.

While this is the most expedient response to the situation, we understand that in the past, a separated bicycle path was planned, off the base, to avoid the problem of access. In the long term, we will encourage Caltrans to re-investigate this idea and do what we can to support it coming to fruition.

In order to reach the widest audience, this information can also be found on the addenda/map updates and corrections for the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route, Section 5 with every map sold, both hardcopy and online.

Photo provided by Department of Defense.

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