The prologue.
NEED MORE VICTORY BEER! - at least 1!
65 miles to camp - showered
The plan for the bike tour is to go from Seattle to San Francisco and
back.
Starting in March, 2011 I purchased a Surly Long
Haul Trucker frame.
I then spent the next few months acquiring and
building the rig from scratch. These are the earliest pictures I have of
the fella mostly assembled (missing fenders and some accessories).
This is my first tour ever. I have an idea
of how to pack compact from backpacking, but this is the best I did at
downsizing. I will have 4 paniers fully loaded with bungees to strap the
tent, sleeping bag and backpack on top..
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| Only a few items were sent home. |
Day 1: 55.7 miles/4:40:07/12.3mph avg/Top 33.0mph
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| Leaving home in Ballard: 8am coffee with Phil & Julie. |
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| Taking off. Respecting the R. |
14.7 miles to Edmonds Ferry - mostly along Interurban trail. Very nice.
9:40AM ferry to Kingston - I arrived at 9AM.
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| Beautiful day to start a journey. |
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| Left and then down. |
~8 or 9 miles to Hood Canal Bridge - up and down, mostly small rollers
Popped a flat about ⅔ way across bridge from a St. Pauli Girl bottle.
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| There's a broken bottle waiting to slash my tire about 100 yards up. |
Replaced a 1.75” (width) to a 1.5” spare
-misaligned when put wheel back on, so it was crooked and the brakes rubbed. Tried adjusting brakes, then realized it was sitting wrong. Fixed, quick.
Took about an hour for the fix. Puts me at 25 miles in.
Cruised good for a bit. Received some hazing by a few hills. Long, sustained hills about 1-5 miles long. Rocked it at 7mph for a while - a lot.
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| Starting to get out of town. |
Got low on water. Drank 2x20 oz bottles & ¾ Nalgene (750mL)
At about mile 40 there was a long hill, about 10 miles
My right hip flexor got sore - responded well to backing off & stretching
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| Found a coffee shop. Good before pic. |
Got to Sequim Bay State Park about 3:45PM - $12 for bike park camping
Shower was $0.50 for 3min - $1 shower felt amazing
Pretty salty today - hot. Didn’t have NUUN. Pick some up tomorrow
Mac w/ chili $ meat - Mountain House = AMAZING!
Lots of texts/facebook today, others are excited. Nice to have the support
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| First night's campsite. Content. |
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| View from dock at Sequim Bay State Park. |
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| View of the bay at Sequim Bay State Park. |
TOMORROW: Check out Olympic Discovery Trail. Bike shop in Sequim - 3 miles away
Look into trail w/ touring bikes. Tube. Lube. Grocery store = lunch + fuel + Tapatio!
Day 2: 58 miles - BIG DAY
Definitely more miles than I expected. Thought 40...psh!
26 miles from Sequim Bay to Port Angeles - 3 miles to Sequim Bike Store - QFT
OLYMPIC DISCOVERY TRAIL - Pretty cool. Lots of farms/chicken coops.
-apparently tomorrow they’re having a marathon along it. Pretty perfect distance.
Had lunch at The Landing - Pineapple chicken burger w/ salad & Pepsi - Oh God!
Got confused getting from Port Angeles to 101 - went through a lot of neighborhoods
Wasted a lot of time & effort - Hill Rd. - fuck that!
Made it 101 at ~30 miles out. Got hot - 75?
Did a great job staying hydrated/salted - enabled me to keep going
It was really slow in the morning. Right leg was stiff
-didn’t push it for ~20 miles. Worked through it well.
-Afternoon loosened up a lot - pushed stronger at times
Followed Lake Crescent for ~11 miles on narrow road - was pretty tired
Camped on the west end of the lake (F.... Campgrounds)
Scavenged some firewood. Don’t have paper - had trouble w/ fire. Neighbor saved me w/ charcoal & lighter fluid
-Neighbors Casey & Roanen from Renton & Issaquah
A guy named Rz asked to share a campsite - he’s Israeli - timid, nice.
-been in US via Miami for 4 months - has 2 months then 3 years Military - yikes
-Casey & Roanen smoked me out w/ weed & hash (3 pieces) & fed me beer & rum
-that dude got really drunk - almost fell in the fire
My body feels better today - hope it responds tomorrow.
Day 3: 68 miles 36.2 top speed
Crescent Lake to Forks = 30 miles - stopped at Subway - devoured it.
Forks = Twilight crazy town
Picked up a map at Ace True Value & 2 bagel sandwiches at Thriftway
Morning ride started off with a 2 mile uphill. Was a little rough start
Miles 10-20 were slower, but by 30 I was loose.
Forks to Hoh Rainforest was 12 miles. I was going to stop but there was a 18 mile side road to get to the campgrounds.
It was 21 miles to Kalalock - the beach
I was impressed with how well my legs kept after 45 miles
Took it easy - listened to my body a lot - didn’t want sore tendons
Got to camp at 6pm (left Lake Crescent at 10am, left Forks by 2:30)
Ran into 3 other tourers (Mallory, Tyler, Dale) coming from Neah Bay.
$3.50 camping. Nice people.
Day 4: Best Monday ever. 34 miles - slow & steady.
Woke up around 8:30am - took my time - was a little slow
Plan was to take it wasy b/c my body was tired
I left the campsite ~ 11:45 - 6 miles to Queets - ate my sandwich
I took it easy, but couldn’t really find my stride today
The 1st 10 miles weren’t too bad, slow, warm up
10-15 my hands were numbing up b/c I tried adjusting my handlebars down so the bottom drop would be better, but the tops suck
-ideal fit would be shorter stem w/ higher angle & raise hoods a little
Mile 15 there was a hill ~ 1000ft
-I looked at Tyler’s guide book last night & it said so
-wasn’t too bad, but I was just tired.
After mile 20 it was about the same - undulating hills
Mile 30 hit Lake Quanalt - staying in South end
-shared campsite again. Dale showed up first
-nice lake - reminds me of Orcas w/ view of opposite bank
Quiet.
I’d like to take a day off soon - may check out southern bit of lake
Day 5: 47.8 miles 10.9 AVG 28.2 max 4:21:54
Having only done 34 miles yesterday & getting in by 3 or 4pm allowed me to rest up well. I got up this morning after sleeping tough. It rained last night for a good while. I did good by packing everything up in my tent & covering my saddle in anticipation.
Left camp at 11:45am. 2 miles up a big hill back to the highway.
Went 7.6 miles to Moclips highway.
20 miles of uninterrupted highway. About 12 cars total did I see.
So at ~ 30 miles I hit Moclips & got a double cheeseburger.
Holy god it was delicious. Stocked up on luxury foods.
-Milk Duds, cheese crackers, string cheese, beans, soda,
20oz High Gravity Dog Bite 10% alc
Moclips is tiny, talked to an odd local. Bulshitted really.
Strolled through Pacific Beach, small surf town. Dead on a rainy Tuesday.
Made ~18 miles to Ocean City ~ 2 miles N. of Ocean Shores
$25 State Park campground. Worth it. Quiet. Beautiful beach sunset
Scrambled up a campfire. Showered (first). Had spaghettio’s - delish
Body feels good. Finally hitting my stride.
Ulitlized (better adjective than “tested”) my rain gear today
My booties are awesome. Keep my toes dry & warm & low profile.
Rain pants are great - thin rain coat is great. WIll be dry & warm.
The rain was a nice reprieve since it came in the middle of my ride & I finished w/o it on. Nice night. Clear.
Quiet night. Will get good rest & head past Aberdeen tomorrow.
Day 6: 57 miles Ocean City - South Bend
Hardest day yet. I started by going to Ocean Shores about 25 miles down the road & got Subway. Started at ~ 10:30. I ate half a footlong there & went ~ 20 miles to Hoquiam.
The bridge to Aberdeen sucked - had to pick bike up over pedestrian wall.
I wanted to stay in Aberdeen & watch a movie, but Aberdeen sucks. Shady motels, nothing I recognized, so I stopped at a transit center to eat.
101 bridge out of Aberdeen was steep & narrow w/ traffic - did my best.
Aberdeen to Raymond - 25 miles - first big set of hills ~ 2500ft
I was already tired when I hit these, but was good on fuel & had time.
They were sizeable hills. Enough so that my right knee is inflamed. The tendon over the kneecap is very tight. Getting better now that I’m resting.
I hit Raymond & I couldn’t find any place to stay - kept going ~ 3 miles to South Bend.
South Bend was pretty much the end of the road for me, so I needed to stop.
H+H Motel/Chen’s Chinese Restaurant & Pub was my destination - $74
I had a great shower & went in for dinner in the bar section.
A cute bartender, blond & nice, served me 3 beers & a huge meal
The company was nice & it was great to flirt with a cute girl after a week of not a lot of conversation.
It felt great to sleep in a warm bed & watch TV = News, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, 2 hours of Mythbusters & South Park, Daily Show, Colbert Report.
Day 7: Breakfast at Chen’s. Relaxed until 11am
Left at noon for Bruceport County Park - 6.5 miles down the road.
$10 biker campsite - 0.5 mile hike down to soggy, Oyster beach - nothing much to see.
Rest Day - I need it & already my body is feeling better.
Having a lot of calories last night + this morning is feeling good to recuperate.
FORTUNE COOKIE: You will receive unexpected support over the next week. Accept it graciously.
Day 8: 60 miles to RV Park + 5 miles back & forth to town - Seaside
Taking yesterday off was a good decision - legs needed it & responded well.
My right kneecap tendon warmed up okay & didn’t hinder my performance.
I started getting out of the saddle today b/c of hills & my knee - helped a ton.
I found my “Turbo legs” b/c of getting out of the saddle - carried a lot of hills.
Averaged ~ 13mph - way faster b/c I wasn’t grinding up hills @ 6 or 7mph.
I was about 20 miles on 101 to 4 & 5 miles to 401 - lunch at library.
Another 15 miles to Astoria Bridge - 4.1 miles ~ 500ft in one shot.
Killed it up the bridge - felt really good to kick ass.
Had enough energy to make it Seaside ~ 15 miles more.
Found an RV Park - Circle Creek ~ 2.5 miles south of Seaside.
Showered - set up camp, then headed back to town for dinner
BBQ ribs w/ coleslaw & beans - mmmmmm....delicious
Went & saw Super 8 movie - nice to get some entertainment
Loaded up at Safeway for bfast & snacks - needed provisions.
Body’s good. Knee’s a little sore, but feels okay - will warm up fine.
To Tillamook tomorrow ~ 48 miles to camp ~ 2 miles N. of town
Want to watch a soccer game @ 7:30pm tomorrow night in town.
Feeling a little lonely tonight - it’s been a week - feels longer. NBD.
(Backfilling over last few days)
Day 9: 48 miles - Seaside to Tillamook
There were 2 huge hills between Seaside & Cannon Beach - actually S. of Cannon Beach
-Great view, but hurt a little - seemed a lot in first 15 miles of day
Stopped at Nehalem Bay somewhere ~ 25 miles out for lunch - banana & PB
There’s a side road, Foley Creek Rd ~ 12 miles - awesome
-one of the best stretches I’ve had, undulating, like SW end of Mercer Island
It met back up w/ 101 ~ 5 miles N. of Tillamook - $15
Made way into Tillamook for dinner @ pizza stop & beers at Timeout Tavern
-watched Timbers/Colorado game - Timbers lost in stoppage time - booo!
Day 10: 60 miles Tillamook to Lincoln City
Hardest Day Yet! Started off riding up 3 Capes - tough - 3K+ ft.
There was about 15 miles until a 1Kft 2 mile hill to Cape Maeres - light house.
Had about a 10 mile reprieve before next cape, about 750ft hill.
Rained a ton on that hill - cold descent - took a bit out of me.
Meandered to Pacific City at 38 miles in - had Shepard’s Pie & 1 Pt. - goooood
Left Pelican Bay - had ~ 8 miles before I ran into a broken down cycler. There wasn’t anything I could do - broken 700c spoke & chain - told them about a cop I saw.
Bike was really grimey b/c of all the rain & grit from the day - felt bad.
Hit a 750ft hill N. of Lincoln City - really tough climb at 50 miles in.
Really hurt me. Made it - had about 8 miles after summit to beach house.
Got a little delirious after hill - so spent. I get like that on centuries when I’m spent.
-really weird. I started laughing a lot - so tired I don’t care anymore it’s ridiculous.
Finally Made it - forgot about the hot tube! Fuck yeah - hot tub! Life saver.
Day 11: Rest Day #1
I didn’t do shit. It was great. Hot tub. TV. Shower. Nap.
I ordered a $30 pizza from Figaro’s. Lasted me 3 days.
I did walk 1 mile to Blockbuster & got : 1) Book of Eli, 2) True Grit, 3) I am #4
Also went to McMinnimin’s for a couple & Safeway for beer 12x High Life
Day 12: Rest Day #2
This felt more like a lazy day than a rest day.
Did a stupid thing & rode my bike to Safeway, but forgot my lock key, so I had to walk back & forth (2 miles) to house to get key, then ride bike back - took ~ 1 hour.
Cleaned my bike - good lord it was filthy
Noticed a gouge in the frame where my stand was mounted - removed it
-need to sandpaper, prime & paint, then use 2-3” washers if I remount it.
Rented I Am Still Here - Joaquin Phoenix’s train wreck movie - weird - okay.
Day 13: Clean - Lincoln City to Newport
Took a few hours to clean up the house & do laundry - out by noon.
Rode to Newport ~ 28 miles - easy ride - sunny - only 1 300-400ft hill.
Took only about 2 hours - fast day - nice in comparison to previous few.
Stopped at Rogue Alehouse - had 4 beers & Mahi Mahi Tacos
-it was nice spending some time there - not caring about time.
Staying at South Beach State Park - $6 hiker/biker campsite!
This place is huge - they have like 20 yurts people can rent out - so cool. I love yurts.
I feel better now that I’m moving again - was real lonely in the beach house by myself.
I feel more productive now that I’m moving. I don’t have much of a plan. For now, South.
Day 14: Newport to Florence - 52 miles
Not so bad until I hit yachats to Florence - big hills.
I hit a road construction & had to book it b/c one lane was open, saw some sea lions just before a big tourest trap - sea lion cave
Passed some scouts ~ 12 apparently on a big tour - looked tired
-one poor fat kid was pushing his bike up the hill - others were waiting.
Met up with Aussie couple - Jim & Brigette - nice
Stayed in Dune City Campgrounds - nice
About 8 of us - most from the night before I saw but didn’t meet
We had a good time talking.
Day 15: Dune City to Charleston - Big Day - 52 miles
Stopped in Reedsport for an Elk Burger - alright.
Sunny day - good spirits.
I’m noticing after a hefty lunch that it takes about 10 miles of feeling shitty until I digest enough to feel energetic. If I eas lighter lunches more frequently it’d help
-split Subway 1ft would be good.
Stopped at Walmart in Coos Bay for Hamm’s & fuel
-thought I was all out of fuel - still had half! Lots of fuel now.
Met up with Aussie couple again - really like them - good people.
-another Aussie couple - science teachers were there - quirky.
Early night - tired.
Day 16: June 18th - 52 miles (again!) to Cape Blanco
Tough, tough day. Morning was great - lost steam after.
Morning was Devils Hill Rd - very challenging, but fun
I kicked ass all the way to Bandon
had an awesome lunch - Salmon pita sandwich w/ salad!
Afternoon I dogged it - felt sapped of energy - tough
Seemed all uphill today - kinda was - slow
Great sausages at Langlois - notes from Laura’s map!
Headed towards Port Orford - turned of ~ 4 miles N. to Cape Blanco
-5 miles off route - huge hill at end of day.
Limped into camp - annoying shower w/8 12 year olds
Only one at campgrounds tonight (hiker/biker) - is okay - quiet.
Bought a $5 bundle of firewood - dried all my clothes
-it rained all afternoon - nice to warm up - been cold.
Light dinner - didn’t stop & get food: Apple. Nuts. 2 beers.
Fire is nice for the body - still have whiskey!
-I’m trying to time it right to meet up with Phil & Audra. He wants to do Crescent City(ish) to San Rafael with me starting next Saturday - I’m only 3 days out at this pace.
-My cousin Ryan & Aunt Char apparently live in Humbolt County. I may be able to time it right so that I take a couple days off to visit - depending on where they live. We’ll see.
Day 17: Cape Blanco to Gold Beach ~ 40 miles
Cape Blanco was beautiful in the morning. It was sunny & there’s a lighthouse just past the camping turnoff. Really windy.
Apparently Cape Blanco is the westernmost point of Oregon - go figure.
The 5 miles back to 101 sucked, huge ½ mile hill on the way.
~5 miles more I hit Port Orford - small town - stopped for bfast
-had a huge “Paradise Omelet.” Ate everything!
It was nice and sunny & had a hell of a tailwind! 20mph+!!!
I knew I was only going the 28 miles from Port Orford to Gold Beach, so I took my time starting, what was great b/c it allowed for digestion. Which I needed b/c it was good sized. Great fuel. I felt so energized on the ride. Finally able to go all out - SUPERNOVA.
I hit 46mph on a downhill. Tailwind + an RV passed me at the fastest point.
-just before Prehistoric Forest - dinosaurs - I found an awesome pair of sunglasses.
Rocketed into town. Gold Beach is small & doesn’t have any camping.
Stayed at Motel 101. Funny. I ran into Jim & Brigette!
They had the room next to me of all things. Fed me Coronas! Mmmm..
Motel was only $50. Washed clothes in the bathtub. Didn’t dry well.
Was nice to have a soft bed - boy do I sleep hard in them now.
I talked to Phil. Going to try & meet in Arcada ~ 150 miles south.
I have a lot of time until then - going to check out Crescent City & the Redwoods for a bit. Maybe Smith River.
Day 18: Gold Beach to Brookings ~ 30 miles
Checked out at ~11am w/ light bfast.
There was road construction 1 mile S. of town just before a big 800ft hill. Another biker rolled up just as we were allowed to go. Motored up the hill - rough warm up - no warm up.
He stuck with me to the top, then I motored along & lost him.
Felt good today. Like yesterday: 20 mph tailwind & sunny.
Had great energy - hills were aplenty & destroyed them all.
Finally feeling like my body’s in great shape - also feel lighter/leaner.
Made it to campground (Harrah’s) just after 1pm. Set up camp - 1st.
Went into town - found a Tavern - had 3 beers.
Watched the end of the Tour de Suisse - Levi Leipheimer (American) won - good for him.
I’m starting to feel real solid with the bike fit - better in the drops.
Day 19: - SOLSTICE - Brookings to JEDEDIAH SMITH STATE PARK - REDWOODS 40 miles
Slept in until ~9, felt like taking more time today - left camp ~ 11am.
Hit California ~ 8 miles - Smith River 14 miles - light lunch
Nice Day - sunny - light wind - felt like summer!
Made it into Crescent City - stopped at Ranger Station - helpful
-got a ton of maps. These ranger stations are awesome.
-guided me to Jedediah Redwoods Campgrounds
Stopped at Safeway to load up on food.
Went to Taco Bell - yum!
Made my way to Howard hill Rd. ~ 10 miles through park.
Going west to east was a KILLER HILL. Had to get off & push 50 yards b/c it was too steep & gravelly & I was beat.
Once over hill it was BEAUTIFUL! Best stretch yet.
Compact dirt/gravel only about 1 car wide right in the middle of a Redwood forest.
-Huge trees. I’ll go back out this way.
Made it to the campgrounds - Hiker/biker spot is right next to Smith River.
Hung out a bit on the river, enjoyed some sunshine.
There’s only 1 couple besides me - backpackers - foreign? Quiet night - they gave me bug spray.
Bugs are bad here, retired to tent early - with I had a new book.
Plannin on hiking tomorrow! ~11 miles - change of pace will be nice.
Probably will stay here again tomorrow, then head to other Redwood Park.
Day 20: HIKING around Jedediah Smith ~ 15 miles
Went from camping to “summer foot bridge” - Not existent.
Had to “ford the river” ~ 4ft deep, holding pack overhead - funny.
2.7 miles on Mill Creek Trail to Howland Hill ~ 12 minutes to Boy Scout Trail.
2.8 miles on Boy Scout Trail to “falls” - pretty wimpy.
There were prisoners working on the Boy Scout Trail - false advertisement.
out and back, didn’t for the river, but kept going on the Hiochoi Trail.
-½ mile detour turned into ~3 miles to get to Bridge & back to camp site.
-Feet were tired. Shoes worked great!
All in all ~ 5 hours of hiking. Good to do something different.
There’s a function about Old Growth at the visitor’s center tonight. Going to check it out - see if I can find a wall outlet to charge my phones.
Need to do some research on how long it’ll take Phil & I to get to San Rafael.
RESEARCH:
Arcata is 5 miles from Eureka: Prairie Creek to Arcata ~ 55miles - FRIDAY
Arcata to Fernbridge - 25 miles, Ferndale 30 (cap) - Saturday
-Lost Coast: (2 days)
1) 7.5 to Ferndale. To camp = 37ish to Petrolia & ~3Kft (combined) -45 miles SUNDAY
2) Arthur W Way Campgrounds to Weott: 33ish & the HUGE 2500ft hill - MONDAY
alt: Ferndale to Weott: (main route) ~ 42 miles (not on Lost Coast)
Weott to Benbow ~ 40 miles, Stay at Piercy ~ 10 miles? (b/c huge hill the next day)
Piercy to Wesport: 35 miles w/ 1800ft Leggitt Hill + 500ft Rockport Hill
Then little hills - motor:
Westport to Albion: 35 miles
-Westport to Manchester Beach ~ 55-60mi
Manchester to Stewarts Point: 33
SP to Jenner - 28
Jenner to Marshall - 32
Marshall to Forest Knolls: 30 miles
-to San Rafael: 23 miles
Starting Tuesday June 28th:
Tuesday, June 28th: Weott to Piercy - 40
Wednesday, June 29th: Leggit Hill - 35
Thursday, July 30th: Manchester State Park - 55
Friday July 1st: Jenner - 58
Saturday, July 2nd: Forest Knolls - 60
Sunday: ?
Monday, JULY 4th
- THERE’S BEEN A FEW DAYS GAP BETWEEN ENTRIES -
DAY 21: Jedediah Smith to Patrick’s Point State Park - 65 miles
65 miles to camp - showered
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