Cycling The Pacific Coast

After leaving Fort Bragg we have enjoyed many more miles of epic coast line. It is amazing to see such picturesque views in our own backyard! I've never known of all the sights that this state has to offer.  As amazing as the coast has been we have been grateful for a slight break.  Yesterday we rode inland to Guerneville, Ca where we are staying with Gillian's family friends. The scenic ride along the Russian River was nice for a change and ending the day at the Porter-Bass Vineyard, Gillian's friends, has been epic. We couldn't write out a better script for our time here, it has been great. Later on this afternoon we will continue our ride on through Occidental and Sebastapol where we will eventually find our way back to the coast with a destination of Bodega Dunes State Park. It is hard to believe that San Francisco is only two days away!  

California has been a series of drastic changes. It's been incredible. We are already saying goodbye to Fort Brag this morning, with plans to visit glass beach on our way out.  Since the big send off at the Oregon border Colin and I have climbed some big hills, hit some big mile stones and experienced many changes in weather  and climate. We left the lost coast behind and cruised into the breath taking redwood forests, an entirely different forest than the rainforest up North. I loved being in the redwoods, and it was amazing cycling  along the avenue of the giants.  For the first time we wore t-shirts instead of raincoats and swam in a river! We hit our halfway point of 900 miles at the start of the avenue of the giants. We also climbed to the highest point of this entire tour, at 2000 feet Leggett has been the dreaded and talked about climb. We devoured it. Yesterday we hit 1000 miles! - Gillian

After making it to the California border we met up with Gillian's patents for a well deserved break. Thanks Steve and Pam! We loaded up the bikes in the car and headed inland to Medford, Or where we stayed with family friends. We got to indulge in some of the local culture and check out some epic farmland at the same time. After spending some time there we got dropped off in Creacent City, Ca, a town just south of the Oregon-California border. After getting dropped off we re-racked our bikes and started in on the third leg of our journey. To kick California off we were greeted by two 1000 ft. climbs that also have us the challenge of rain. Yes, another downpour.... Even in California. Last night we stayed in Elk Prarie Campground near Patrick's Point State Park and tonight we are staying at another KOA just outside of Eureka, Ca. Tomorrow we will ride into town to restock on stove fuel and then begin another fifty mile trek to Burlington State Park where we will stay the nig...

It is hard to believe that our last blog was from Astoria, Oregon. So much has happened since then. Actually we have cycled through the entire state of Oregon since our last blog. So much has happened that it has flown by quicker than we can process it all. I will give a brief outline of yesterday and today to catch everyone up to the current trip status and for those interested, I will also provide a few of the hand written blogs that I have journaled during the last nine days. As of today we have officially crossed the California border and turned our backs on Oregon. We are leaving the Oregon coast with much experienced gained, many beautiful vistas, and much learned about each other. Yesterday we ran into some troubles when I forgot the guidebook in the campsite bathroom. This gave us a quick ten mile warmup before we even got the day under way. After arriving at humbug mountain state park we had nearly cycled 70 miles for the day. Today was much smoother as we awoke to a bea...

We first met Keith and Diana on our ascent into Nehalem Bay State Park up in Northern Oregon. As seems to be the common trend with most cyclists doing this tour, they both quit their jobs in New York City to come and do this bicycle trip. Ever since Nehalem Bay we have been traveling to the same destinations each night and catching up with the days events around the campfire. Each time that we arrive at the campsite for the night we both have numerous stories about how the day went and what lies ahead. Having another couple to share the experience with has been great for our motivation each day. Keith and Diana have been a real pleasure to be riding with. Hopefully we will be able to continue our travels together on down to San Diego.

After the gorgeous weather that we were treated to we got blasted by rain with the finale of the storm as it was passing through our campsite near Coos Bay, Or. While we were attempting to pack everything up during a break in the weather, the clouds decided to dump the rest of their water on us. You can imagine what we were thinking with a sixty mile ride awaiting for us. We decided to head into town (Charlston) to dry everything at the laundry mat and grab some breakfast in an attempt to wait out the storm. As luck would have it, right before we were about to head out I realized that I had left the guidebook back at the campground! Being forced to double back and search for the guidebook gave us a nice ten mile warmup for the day, and we hadn't even started in on our main ride yet! After having no luck in finding the guidebook at the campground I had a hunch that Keith and Diana had grabbed it earlier on their way out. They are another touring couple that we met back at the sta...

Two days ago was one of the toughest days so far. During our bike ride from Cape Lookout State Park it started pouring down rain on us in the middle of a traffic congested hill. It was difficult to keep your focus on the bike and completing the climb when there is so much commotion being added into the equation. Thankfully we made into the campground safe. It rained throughout the rest of the night making everything very wet, including the tent. Our motivation was not very high either because the forecast was calling for rain for the following five days. Luckily, after we packed everything and got on our way we were greeted with a beautiful sunny day that allowed us to see some of the most beautiful coast line that Oregon has to offer. This, followed by another day of unexpected sunshine did wonders for our motivation and our spirits. It is amazing what a little sunshine can do for you. We have just passed the halfway point for our journey through Oregon and will begin on the remain...