Day 20: Sam Taylor to Golden Gate Bridge- 27 miles

We made it!!! Today we had a nice, smooth ride into San Francisco from the Sausalito area and it was gorgeous. Lots of cool air, pretty hills, and a layer of fog covering most of the Golden Gate Bridge. We rode across it and then ate at the Wharf with Dan before heading to the BART, parting ways, and boarding the Amtrak train. Now we are resting and ready to be home in our own bed tonight! We will have total mileage up tomorrow!

Day 19: Salt Point to Sam Taylor State Park- 65 miles

What an early start to the day! Our high school summer camp friends woke up at 5 am and were not necessarily the quietest morning group. Jennifer had to go ask them to keep it down after a while, which they soon did. Our morning was chilly, but beautiful with scenes of wild deer, cows, wonderful architecture, and breathtaking cliffs below to gorgeous blue seas.The road had lots of traffic, but everything was smooth sailing for us. We got into camp and shared stories with some friends before quickly tucking in for the night after a few long days on the road.

Below are our friends from the last few days who we have kept up with, shared campsites with, and reminisced about stories of the road's journey after each grueling day of tour. From left to right: Dan the Man (from South Lake Tahoe), Jen, Justin, Brian (from Boston/father of Ian/USA Olympic Triathlon Competitor), Ian (teacher in Vermont/son of Brian).

Day 18: Russian Gulch to Salt Point Stae Park- 70 miles

Our biggest day of mileage!!! We clocked over 10 hours in the saddle today, but we made it! We experienced the steepest grade on the pacific coast today near Elk, CA and also had a nice tailwind that seemed to push us along at times. Our campsite tonight has a summer camp group of 20 high schoolers camping near us, so it is a little "talkative" to say the least. But I think we will be able to sleep through anything at this point in the day!

We also experienced our first flat tire...ever on a tour. It was bound to happen sometime. It has been over 3,500 miles and was inevitable. But we got it fixed quickly and hit the road again.

Day 17: Standish Hickey to Russian Gulch State Park- 52 miles

Lots of climbing today and tons of wind along the coast, but temperatures were WAY better than yesterday! We had to climb out of the valley we were in, reaching the highest point on the Pacific Coastline at 2000 feet elevation. We were able to stop and do laundry, eat, and have enough time to catch the sunset at th beautiful cove by our campground. Tired, and ready for bed!

Below is a picture of our friend Dan the Man. We met him back in Oregon and have been about the same place as him each day for the past week. We've enjoyed seeing him day after day, even if he does sleep in, leave hours after us, and beats us to the destination by a long shot. He's a cool guy and we hope the best for him in his travels!

Day 16: Myers Flat to Standish Hickey Park- 40 miles

It was a hot one today! We finished the Avenue of the Giants for the first part of the day and then were out on highway 101 with no shade for the majority of the afternoon. As we went inland, temperatures soared and so did our anger at the sun!!! But we made it and will be back at the coast tomorrow. Can't wait!!!!

Day 15: Eureka to Myers Flat, CA- 58 miles

Another big day of miles and a beautiful one! We spent 39 miles on the busy 101 freeway and eventually got to the Avenue of the Giants where we spent the remainder of the day. The Redwoods were glorious, the road quiet, and the shade pleasant. We were able to see the Immortal Tree which has withstood fire, axe, and flood. We also walked through the eternal tree house, a hollowed out massive Redwood below ground that we could walk in (about the size of a small bedroom). Temperatures began to rise and will tomorrow as we parallel the Eel River away from the coast. But we will hit Highway 1 soon and be  back at the ocean with all its breeze and cool temperatures we enjoy.

Day 14: Klamath to Eureka, CA- 60 miles

Not many pictures from today, but the weather was GORGEOUS!!! Finally, not a rain cloud in sight! We had a really nice tail wind that seemed to really push us along at times. We were able to get into town, have a good burger, and now are relaxing. 

Day 13: Rest Day- 0 miles

After 9 straight ride days, we have our one and only rest day. Staying at a hotel means drying out the tent and wet gear, doing laundry, sleeping in, and watching lots of TV! Back at it again tomorrow for a big day that hopefully our bodies are ready for. Crossing our fingers for no more rain!


Here is a late picture of the Oregon border. Since we did not see one when we passed into the state from Washington, Jen had to cross the street at the California border to take a picture and make it official!

Day 12: Harris Beach to Klamath, CA- 50 miles

We have finally arrived in California! Today we had lots of climbing over the Crescent City "hills" as they are called here. We hit rain pretty much all morning which turned to overcast and cloudy the rest of the day. We are now in the Redwoods section of the coast with tall trees and lots of shade. It is beautiful here as we stay near the beach and Klamath River. Now for a hotel and rest day of doing nothing!!! Can't wait!

Now finally for som downhill action!!!

Only about 325 more miles now until we reach San Fran!

Day 11: Port Orford to Harris Beach- 55 miles

Last day in Oregon!!! :( We woke up early to fog, but it burned off pretty quickly. Eating an early breakfast gave us a good start to the day. Along the way, Jennifer made a new friend with a life size T-Rex. We had some great cliff views, endless coast and beaches, and quite a bit of climbing. It is now sprinkling outside and light rain is in the forecast all night and into the morning hours. It's looking like it will be another rainy day start tomorrow but should end in the afternoon with sunny days ahead! We a flooding forward to one more day of riding not tomorrow until we take our only rest day of the trip. After that, we will only have a total of 7 more ride days left. Wow, the days and miles really fly by. We now total 380 miles and have 416 left...bring it on!!!

A beautiful bridge we crossed today in Gold Coast, Jen and her Dino friend, and below is a backdrop near our campsite for the night.

Day 10: Sunset Bay to Port Orford, OR- 53 miles

It rained ALL night, so we got an EARLY start at 6:30 am which helped us tremendously! It rained practically all day and was pretty foggy at times. We decided to dry off by getting a motel room which gave us a chance to do laundry. Pictures were few and far between, but we did get a chance to squeeze in a pretty glimpse of Elkhorn River. Hopefully when we wake up tomorrow morning we will be able to see the bay, which is right outside our window, currently being hidden by all t he fog, clouds, and rain.

Day 9: Honeyman to Sunset Bay State Park- 55 miles

Today we got a later start than hoped for. And for the first time we got RAIN- lots of rain! We met up with quite a few cyclists as we were waiting for a bridge to turn sideways (road crews were just doing some tests). Meanwhile, we also met Santa Clause on a motorcycle who almost got into a fight with an old lady in a car right before laying his motorcycle down. What a wild afternoon of events! We got rain all night long and were confined to our tent. But we got a lot of rest!

Day 8: Newport to Honeyman State Park- 52 miles

Today was a great day! We got up early and hit the road by 7:30 am which gave us a nice strong start. We quickly met Kim and Michelle, a couple from South Korea who quit their jobs, sold their house, and are now traveling the world by bicycle. They are an adventurous and daring couple, and we were thankful to have spent a few moments with them. We hope the very best for their next 2 years as they still have 5 more continents to discover. Our campsite tonight has massive sand dunes where kids are found playing, rolling around, and surfing down hills with special sand boards. Looks like fun! We also met a new friend named Bill who seems to be a massive slug of some sort. Kinda freaked us out at first. There are 10 total cyclists camped here tonight and all are getting ready to turn in for the night. Cheers!

Day 7: Lincoln City to Newport, OR- 27 miles

Today was a shorter day of riding to give ourselves somewhat of a rest day. The hotel gave us a chance to slee in and get a real breakfast!!! Our day met us with a couple from France who are riding from Vancouver, BC to San Diego. It was nice to talk with them and share some stories. We then had some spectacular views of the beach and eventually crossed the bridge pictured below in Newport. Afterwards we got to go to the Rogue brewery which was a very cool place. Now, to do a bit of yoga and off to bed. Thank you for following and reading if you are doing so. Feel free to leave comments as we would love to hear from you!

 

Day 6: Cape Lookout to Lincoln City- 40 miles

Today had some good food and beautiful views! We have been paralleling 3 capes along the coast with some spectacular sights. But with capes come lots of climbing over them on land. There were 2 big climbs today and the last big one will be tomorrow morning. We started off the morning early, as we had some of our food stolen by a squirrel last night. I forgot to put the food in our tent and the smart little guy got into my bike bag and went to town. He literally took away 4 cliff bars and an entire bag of trail mix! Thus we had an early stop for food on a beautiful beach in Kiwanda. We passed some cool sand dunes with lots of ATVs. Our campsite was a little sketchy so we decided to get a hotel and have a nice relaxing real bed and shower. Tomorrow will be a shorter day so we can have a little break and then we will be back at it again ready to put more miles in.

The coastline all day today.

Tasty quinoa cakes, bacon burgers, and brews!

 Kiwanda Cape with massive sand dunes and a beautiful rock formation.

Day 5: Nehalem Bay to Cape Lookout- 41 miles

Today we had some great tail winds and relatively flat roads which made the miles go by pretty quick. Jennifer had some great one-on-one time with Fred the deer, we stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory for a quick tour of production, and we met some really nice people along the way with great stories. Getting to camp early allowed for us to spend some time on the beach marveling at the beautiful capes, hills, and waves. I got to do my yoga routine and Jen played in the sand. We both put our feet in the water for about 0.43 seconds and quickly ran away!!!! Brrrrrrrrr...

PB & J is our new best friend!

 

Gorgeous Nehalem Bay

Yoga!!!

Fred let us get about 3 feet away from him without even flinching. Talk about brave! This is the 4th deer we have seen!

Day 4: Washington/Oregon border to Nehalem Bay- 53 miles

Today was a long first day! We got up at 6 am, had an hour train ride to Hillsboro where I met up with my friend Peter Wilson who so graciously gave us a ride to Astoria, OR for us to officially start riding. We were in the car for a 1.5 hour ride, then packed up our bikes and hit the road. It took a while to get some decent miles in. We had lots to stop and see, admiring the little things along the way. Many people are asking us where we are going and we get a lot of nice people wishing us a good travels. We got to stop for a quick latte and a game of Jenga, which I (Justin) won, as always. We got into town about 8 pm and were 10 minutes too late from getting a nice room for the evening. It was taken by 2 gentlemen from London who are on mile 7,000 of a massive vacation in the states seeing all the popular sites. No hard feeling bros, have a good time! This campsite we are at Isley nice and we are very glad we are here. Until tomorrow!

We crossed this bridge in Astoria to see Washington. This was a beautiful 4 mile bridge with great views. Well worth it!

We also had some great coastal views along the way.

Day 2 & 3: More of Portland

Today was full of exploring Portland shops, food, and farmers markets, and breweries.

Great food trucking in downtown Portland with some cool people!

 Murals and art paved the streets for Last Thursday art fair.

 Steel Bridge behind us as we walk across the beautiful Willamette River.

Powell's bookstore is a 5-story building filled with great reads. You could spend a lot of time in there!