Day 18 - Olema, CA to San Francisco, CA

 Miles 34, Total 778

Well we made it.  It was a great last day of riding as well. We weren’t planning on leaving all that early, but as we were getting things together, we could tell it was going to be a warmer day than we were used to, so we took off shortly after 8.  It was a good thing too.  As we were traveling through Sausalito, it was 95 degrees. For being a short riding day, we again took much of the day getting it done.

We had a good change of scenery today.  Right out of Olema, we had to climb over a hill to get back on our route.  It was a pretty decent climb. We were then on a bike trail for about 6 miles and then going through urban areas as we got closer to San Francisco and the bridge.

We ended up stopping at a doughnut place and grabbing us a few doughnuts as it got closer to lunch and never did get to the sandwiches we made this morning until we were in the RV heading to our camping spot tonight.

We then got to the bridge and just took our time going across.  I think it was back in 2016 that I rode across the bridge as I joined an adventure cycling group in going from San Francisco to the Mexico border by San Diego.  I now have ridden the Pacific Coast of the US from top to bottom.  Yay!! Tim asked me what it felt like and I said, “Not much different than it did yesterday”. 😊

It does feel good.  It has been another cycling goal of mine and I am happy that it could happen.  I will write later my thoughts on the Pacific Coast and what I can remember. 

We drove to Vallejo as there didn’t seem to be RV places close to San Francisco and as we drove inland, the temperature just kept going up.  On the road, the RV was saying it was 106 outside.  When we got to the park, the air conditioner in the RV just couldn’t keep up.  We didn’t have great eating places around us and we didn’t feel like taking everything down and driving so we walked down the street and had our celebratory dinner at Subway.  It actually tasted really good and hit the spot.  We then spent our evening watching the first Lord of the Rings as Tim and Nancy had never seen them.  It was long but fun.

Here are some pictures from today. I do have to say that many of my pictures are shared with me by Nancy.  She is a much better photographer than me, so if they are good, they are probably from her.

The golden hills of California.  Quite a difference from Washington and the Redwoods.

Our camp in Olema.

The bike trail we were on this morning.

San Francisco in the distance.

Going across the bridge.

I think the three of us are happy to be done.

That is a picture of the cable holding that bridge up.  That is a crazy big cable.

Day 17 - Bodega Bay, CA to Olema, CAr

Miles 38, Total 744

We have definitively left the lush green of the Redwoods and Washington. The mountains have the typical dry grass you see in California with brush and trees in the valleys and on hillsides.  Everywhere we have been going there are signs reminding people of the water shortage and to conserve.

We did ride inland a bit and saw some pretty dry areas.  There were dairy barns and cattle along the way and then we came back to Tomales Bay.  There seems to be a lot of oyster farming that goes on in the bay. There were shops selling raw oysters and restaurants to order from. I have been a little reluctant in my life to eat oysters and would like to try them again, but no one was interested in stopping for oysters for lunch.  That was probably wise.  

We did ride through some cool little towns and saw a lot of bicyclists out for a holiday ride (Juneteenth). There were some on a 200 km ride.  I don’t think that even sounds fun to me right now.

We are in a little town of Olema. There is nothing here except the campground. We picked up vegetables and stuff to make breakfast for dinner tonight.  The Wi-Fi is terrible once again and Brandon is trying to upload his work he did today.  It is going slow, but it is going is it just doesn’t bomb out along the way.

I thought this dairy bank was interesting.  Now a surf shop.

The Bay of Bodega

In the distance is the oyster farming beds.

A nice river running into Tomales Bay

The famous oyster company (I’ve never heard of it)

The Tomales Bay.  On the other side is a National Seashore.  Never know we had such a thing.

Some of those oysters and clams to be sold.

Day 16 - Manchester, CA to Bodega Bay, CA

 Miles 70, Total 706

The day was just as expected.  It really was a beautiful day to ride and the Pacific was just gorgeous all the way and the road climbed and defended many times.  According to my app, there was 5,800 feet of climbing.  It seemed like it.  We would get way above the ocean and the road would plummet to sea level and then you would climb again.

Not too much to report other than that.  I did try and listen to church as I rode.  Our ward is still broadcasting with Zoom, but the audio isn’t that great and much of it I couldn’t understand.

I ended up getting ahead of Tim and Nancy and pretty much rode alone all day.  Ended up eating my lunch in Fort Ross and took a pretty good break there.

We ended up in Bodega Bay and really didn’t have the groceries to cook dinner in the RV nor did we have the energy to cook.  There was a Mexican restaurant close by so we decided to go there.  It was really good.  I had a combination fajita meal which had shrimp, chicken and beef.  It was really good and everyone ate everything on their plate.  I guess we were famished.

Pretty typical view of the day.  This is a picture from one of the high points.

Then you would drop to a scene such as this.

Did see a lot of cattle grazing close to the ocean.

Day 15 - Fort Bragg, CA to Manchester, CA

 Miles 39, Total 636

Not too much to write about today.  We only had 39 miles or so to travel, so we’re looking at the day as a day off of sorts. We were thinking that it would be a short riding day, but it pretty much took us all day to do it. We got away kind of late at 9:45 and 8 miles down the road stopped in the artsy town of Mendocino and had a second breakfast. We just took our time all day and arrived into camp at about 2:30.

It was pretty much the same thing all day.  We would see some beautiful piece of the ocean where a river or stream enters the ocean and then we would ride across a bluff, down the hill to another river and climb back up to a beautiful view. It was up and down all day. We had about 4,300 ft of climbing today.  I think I would just like to get the climbing done, but that is what the Pacific coast is.  

We have had some great tailwinds the last few days. The wind in the afternoon is blowing about 15 mph and it really helps.  It’s supposed to continue, so that is good.

We are in a KOA tonight and there is a lot going on.  Lots of campers.  I could only get the spot for one night so we have to move on tomorrow.  There wasn’t anything available for 69 miles from here, so tomorrow is going to be a big day of ups and downs.

The view many times today. 😊

All of us at the top of a hill.

The sun going down tonight.

Brandon walking the Manchester Beach

The waves were just roaring on Manchester Beach.

Day 14 - Benbow, CA to Fort Bragg, CA

 Miles 70, Total 597

This was a tough day.  We knew we had some climbing to do today and we sure did.  As near as I can calculate, we climbed about 5,000 feet today. My adventure cycling app says 8,000' but I don’t think that is right.

It was some beautiful riding.  We rode through a few more State Redwood parks and then over a mountain pass to get back to the Pacific Ocean.  There was a little bit of everything today. We left Highway 101 and started traveling on Highway 1.  The traffic was very good and patient all the way to Fort Bragg, but as we got closer to the city, people were in a bit more of a hurry.

We climbed to an elevation of about 1,800 feet and coming down from that was the best downhill I have ever had on a bike. The turns were spaced just right that I didn’t have to brake too much and the turns were just the right size that I could just lean into them on the bike.  It really felt like I was on the motorcycle.  It was a lot of fun.  I wish I had the energy to climb again just to come down.

It was nice to see the ocean again.  With the clear skies here, the ocean looks so blue.  It’s totally different than in Oregon.

Went out for dinner tonight. Everyone was too tired to cook.  Went to a pizza place close by and had pizza and a salad.  It really hit the spot.

The ocean as we cam back to it today.

This was the tiniest post office I think I have ever seen.  Not manned by anyone.

Pretty rock.

This was the bike path that led us the last few miles into Fort Bragg.

See the road that we traveled.  This doesn’t show it too well, but the coast is just a constant up and down.  You are constantly shifting gears.

The order of my pictures is a little messed up.  This is inside that post office.

Day 13 – Rio Dell, CA to Benbow, CA

 Miles 52, Total 527

It was a beautiful ride today.  We only had to ride a few miles and we were in the “Avenue of the Giants”. We rode through the State Park with those beautiful Redwoods for 30 miles.  We stopped at some of the walks and at the Visitor’s Center and it ended up taking most of the day getting through.

I just love to be amongst those trees.  Many of the big ones are at least 1,500 years old and it is just humbling to think of the things those tress have sensed in the world during all those years. I always think of The Lord of the Rings and those trees in their deep voices talking about things that have gone on in their long lives.  Riding at 11 mph thorough that park was just a wonderful experience.

As always, we pack a lunch to eat somewhere along the way.  We looked at things in the visitors center and then had lunch outside on a picnic table.  These last few days haven’t really gotten all that warm.  It was probably 55 to 60 degrees all day today.  

We are in a KOA in Benbow, which is about 10 miles outside the park. The KOA has a hot tub and it was kind of nice to soak in that hot water at the end of the day. 

We had hamburger helper, and salad for dinner. It really was quite good, but maybe, I was just so hungry. 😊

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures.

Day 12 – Trinidad, CA to Rio Dell, CA

Miles 65, Total 475

We started riding in some pretty thick sea fog.  The moisture in the air was quite heavy.  We camped last night on the Adventure Cycling route but the road was in such terrible shape, we decided to go back to 101 and ride that to the town of Trinidad about 5 miles.  We did so and got on to the road again and it was still in terrible shape. We were committed at that point so hung with the road.  The views from the road were fantastic, with rocks out in the ocean, people out on the beach in search of clams (I think), and a few surfers trying to catch a wave.

We saw a little bit of everything today. As mentioned above, we rode along the beach, rode through some pretty large interesting towns (Trinidad, McKinleyville, Arcata, Eureka) rode some pretty decent hills and ended the day riding through quite a few dairy farms. We did have a second breakfast in Arcata at this quaint little restaurant.  It really was quite delicious.  I had a croissant with egg and bacon. 😋 

I should have taken some pictures of the free range cattle but didn’t.  They were out in some nice green grass eating and I’m sure they were cows that are being milked.  Anyway, something you don’t see in Idaho.

The day ended with some pretty steep inclines and descents.  I normally like to just let things go on the decent, but the roads would go around corners that I didn’t know what was around and the roads weren’t in the best shape so I didn’t dare get going to fast.  

Tim and Nancy bought some prepared lasagna in the store as we were returning today to have for dinner.  We ate it, with salad and some toasted garlic bread.  It was really good and hit the spot for replenishing what was needed.

This is the sea fog at the beginning of the day.

Nancy coming across a bike path bridge.

 The crazy cost of fuel in California.  I'm having to fill with diesel. 

Pretty much rode with fog in the sky all day.

I guess you could call it a flat. My tube failed.  The valve stem broke of from the tube.

Day 11 - Crescent City, CA to Trinidad, CA

 Miles 60, Total 410

A great day of riding.  There were some pretty nice hills to climb today, but the grade throughout the day was great.  We climbed a total of about 4,200 ft, so again, a pretty good climbing day.

The highlight of the day was riding through two different Redwoods State Parks.  Those trees are just magnificent and I never get enough of just admiring them. The parks have Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoia trees. The Sequoia’s are the big around ones and the other are tall.  They get to 350 feet tall.  Some signs also mentioned that the Coast Redwoods can live as long as 2,000 years and the Sequoia’s can live 3,000 years.  Crazy!

The roads were not as busy as I thought they would be and the traffic through the parks was very patient. After the parks, it was just a matter of putting in the miles to get to Trinidad.  Most of the traveling is along 101, so there is plenty of traffic along there and you are pretty much just paying attention to the road.  Fortunately, the park was off 101 and commercial vehicles where not allowed in there.

This Paul Bunyan and Babe is pretty iconic for cyclists to take a picture a they pass by.

Entering the parks. And just some good pictures of the day.

Days 8, 9 &10 - Drive through Oregon to Crescent, CA

 Miles 21, Total 350

The plan for the next three days was to drive from Washington to California down the Oregon coast.  I did want to take some time with it so Brandon could get to know the coast somewhat.  That’s pretty much what happened.  Saturday morning, we took a little time and went to the Mount St. Helen’s museum up the road a bit from our Castle Rock camp.  It was very interesting to be there and remember that event in our lives.

We then began the trip down the coast.  We did stop at a few beaches and a light house and drove 200 miles Saturday, 106 on Sunday and then 130 today on Monday.  It was a nice trip down and we enjoyed some of it and spent plenty of time just driving.  I hope when I read this in the future, I am reminded how terribly high fuel costs were on this trip and that they are no longer as high.  We pretty much spent $6 for diesel in Oregon and in California, that price is over $7.  That seems so crazy.

I think some highlights of the trip down was of course the beauty of the landscape, beaches and ocean.  We did have a dinner Saturday night in which I ordered a Rueben and when it came it was encrusted with Parmesan cheese.  That thing was really good. We also had plenty of rain that came our way.  It was nice not to ride in it, but made for some soggy campgrounds.

We began out California ride right at the California border.  Brandon dropped us there and we rode 21 miles into Crescent City. It was a pretty flat ride with strong winds at our back and a good warmup before tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of the last few days:

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Just so green.  It is beautiful

A ship coming into Coos Bay

Just the wondrous Oregon Coast.

Day 7 - Centralia, WA to Castle Rock, WA

 Miles 49, Total 329

Back in 2008 or so, I rode the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride with my son Chris.  I don’t know what prompted us to do it, but it was a 205 mile ride that we did in one day. It was a great opportunity to do something great with him  It’s mid point was Centralia.  So in Centralia, the route I was on took me through Centralia Community College and that connected the dots to where I have ridden from the Canadian border to just beyond the border of California.  

The rest of the ride today was nice.  Not much different in scenery, but the roads were good with a nice shoulder. One thing that was different was just the steepness of the roads I traveled today.  They seemed to head straight up and down the hills.  Right at the end of the ride, I started getting rain again.  It wasn’t even worth putting on the rain gear, but after arriving in camp, it did start coming down again.

Tim and Nancy took the train from Tacoma to Longview and we picked them up at 4:30.  They are going to join me for the California portion of the trip. We are going to just drive down the Oregon coast since we have all ridden that back in 2014. We will be taking the next 3 days to drive to the California border. Brandon has never been down the Oregon coast, so we wanted to take some time and see some things.  We will check back in once the vacation within the vacation is done. 😊

Things are just so green.

Getting ready to take off.

Even by biking standards, 16% is a lot of drop or climb. Look at the road disappear. 😬