Hello, World

Over the course of 18 days I cycled non-stop from Vancouver to San Francisco, and ultimately back to my front door, in Palo Alto. Pedaling 1,350 miles, and climbing 78,000 feet in total. I travelled across 2 countries, 3 states, and 1 province, and on 3 trains, and 2 ferries. The route took me through the giant coastal redwoods of California, the long, rugged, coastline of Oregon, the island and canal systems of Washington, and the looming mountains as the background to British Columbia.

Compared to the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, which gradually changed landscape and climate as I progressed inland, the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route sticks to the coast as much as possible, with a similar climate throughout (cold, misty, and windy!), and a constant of the ocean; the peninsula of Vancouver, the islands of Puget Sound, the canals of the Olympic Peninsula, the Columbia River, and the sweeping bays, steep cliffs, long sandy beaches, and dune systems of Oregon and California.

There were a couple of not so fun parts; in particular cycling through Bremerton during Friday night commute traffic, and the lack of shoulders and space on Washington’s Highway 4 along the north shore of the Columbia River. These aside, the trip was thoroughly enjoyable. Some of the highlights were camping in the numerous state parks (with hot showers!), sited under the canopy of trees and sandy beaches of the ocean, the hard won views of mountain ranges and coastlines after grueling climbs, and the immersion in the environment, during the breaks in traffic, when the only sound is the wind rustling the trees, the waves crashing on the rocks, and my bike chain going round and round propelling me forwards (hrm, maybe it needs some more lube…).

In future, it’d be fun to do the southern section of the Pacific Coast, through Big Sur, when it’s finally reopened. I would also like to do the eastern section of the TransAm; I was looking forwards in particular to travelling through the midwest. But these are trips for another year.

This morning was the coolest I’ve had all tour; my fingers started to feel it in the morning riding. The route takes me away from the Pacific towards Sausalito on the bay side of Marin, where the skies start out clear. I climbed up and crossed over Golden Gate Bridge—a ride I’ve done many times before—and entered the cool San Francisco air on the Pacific once again.

I plotted a route to ride home, following the Pacific Coast down and then climbing over the Santa Cruz Mountains on one of my favorite climbs. By this point I had ridden all these streets before, at least once. The climb over into Pacifica was as hard as I remembered it. The afternoon took me down through Half Moon Bay and then up Tunitas Creek. It’s a pretty strenuous climb, particularly in the middle section, but the road has almost no cars and climbs up a valley shaded by redwoods and cooled by the perennial creek.

And so I’m done. I got back home in the afternoon, having cycled non-stop from Vancouver to San Francisco. Tonight I’ll enjoy sleeping in my own bed and all the comforts of my home. I won’t have the pleasure of being gently awoken by the pre-dawn song of the birds from high above in the redwood branches, and of watching the sky change color as the sun crests the horizon from the saddle of my bike. Instead, I’ll lie in, wrapped in my warm sheets, with no agenda for the day.

As soon as I went to bed last night, a family of raccoons started poking around my campsite. I’m used to camping in bear country so all my food and scented items were in the bear box; the raccoons had no joy, but they still startled me. I was startled again when I got up in the morning to tear down camp and a racoon was still loitering around my campsite for food. I had to shoo it off a few times as I drank my coffee. It seemed food conditioned. Raccoons aside, I think it was the first day I cycled with blue skies most of the day.

I spent the entire morning cycling down the Sonoma coast, and it was really great. I cycled through a couple of state parks before slowly climbing up a series of curves, up to over 700 feet I think, before descending an iconic section of road which sweeps back on itself over a few miles down to the beach. The Sonoma Coast State Park was also particularly pretty. I crossed into Marin and cycled through towns with names I’m familiar with; Bodega Bay, Tomales, Point Reyes, and eventually ended up on a rails-to-trail bike path directly into the park I’m camped at tonight.

I’m again camped under the redwoods, for what will likely be the last night of my tour. I’m less than 30 miles to San Francisco, and I think I’ll push on tomorrow with the thought of my own bed in my mind.

Today I cycled down the coast following highway 1. I started at sea level, ended at sea level, never went above 350 feet, yet still managed to do well over 5,000 feet of climbing. The coast road was rarely flat; instead, it went up and down undulations, and dropped and rose sharply around river and stream outlets. At least the wind, which picked up a lot by the afternoon, was blowing in my favor.

I passed through Fort Bragg in the morning, the largest town on the Mendocino coast, picked up some groceries, and then the rest of the day was cycling down the much more remote section of the highway. It was very tiring, but the coastal views were pretty amazing—a lot of cliffs and little bays.

This evening I am camped in the very tippity top of Sonoma County, which officially puts me in the Bay Area! Still, I’m a long way from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I’m camped under a thick stand of bay trees, which are rustling and creaking in the wind. The campsite is nestled in a small stand of redwoods too. Tomorrow I should get to Marin, and then I’ll definitely feel like I’m in the Bay Area.

Today was the first day in a while that I didn’t wake up to coastal fog. The day started out continuing on Avenue of the Giants, cycling between the towering redwoods, this time with few cars as it was early in the morning. The rest of the morning I continued south on the Redwood Highway, or US101. It felt weird to just be cycling on the freeway, but in many spots it is unavoidable; it’s the only road. The road was generally wide and quiet, though, so it wasn’t unpleasant. The road followed the Eel River upstream, snaking through the valley with intermittent stands of redwoods.

By midday I finally parted from my journey along 101, having ridden it since Astoria. Almost every chance to take a side road the route takes it, but many places the highway is the only road. I was glad to be off it though; in particular, I will not miss the truck traffic. I peeled off onto the start of Highway 1, which climbed back over the coastal range to get to the coast, where I’ll cycle all the way to the Bay Area. Highway 1 was great: very few cars, very well maintained, and well graded, so the climb up was substantially less challenging than the converted wagon road I rode up yesterday.

Tonight I’m camped back on the coast, this time in Mendocino, right at the top of Highway 1. Tomorrow I will ride south almost continuously on the highway and along the coast. I’m just under 200 miles from San Francisco now, so getting close. I haven’t coursed out a route to my house, but I imagine it’ll add another 50ish miles.

Today I cycled the length of Mattole Road, which starts in Ferndale, where I stayed last night, and immediately ascends—with a steep climb—over the coastal range. It is the only road access to the Lost Coast (further south you can backpack the Lost Coast in protected wilderness). It’s called the Lost Coast because it’s so rugged that there’s little population, and it was deemed too expensive to build the continuation of Highway 1 through it.

Mattole Road is known for being a remote scenic drive, as well as its large mountain climbs, and boy were they steep. I awoke in the morning to the usual coastal fog, and the climb up was cool temperatures and more dappled sunlight through the trees. The top of the coast range emerged above the clouds into the sun, but I shortly descended the other side, which was cold and damp in the fog. After climbing over a second ridge, the ocean came into view; it was actually below the marine layer so I could see the whole coastline. It was really pretty with its black sand and untrammeled beaches.

The second half of the day involved climbing even higher to get back over the coastal range. I was a little further inland, and by this time the fog had burned off; it was hot in the sun. Again it was relentlessly steep for most of the climb, only flattening slightly near to the top. I was glad to get to the top. During the long coast down the other side, I had to be careful not to overheat my brakes.

At the bottom of the descent I dropped into Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the largest contiguous grove of uncut giant redwoods. What a treat it was after such an arduous day in the saddle to again cycle through the redwoods! It really does make you feel miniature; they are huge. Tonight I’m camped again nestled in the redwoods. I’m looking forward to putting my head on the pillow tonight.

I got up early to pack my tent down, and there really was a herd of elk grazing right on the grass between the tents of sleeping campers. The mist had also descended and covered the tops of the redwoods that towered into the sky. The morning’s ride took me out of the redwoods and back to the coast.

I skirted in and out of coastal fog and along a series of scenic back roads. Eventually, onto an extensive bike path network that joined up and encircled the Humboldt Bay into and through Eureka, which is the largest coastal town in California north of San Francisco. The bike path is actually not quite finished; it’s due to open later this month, but there was only a short section I couldn’t ride.

From Eureka, I continued south to Ferndale, where I’m staying tonight. The temperatures are still cool, but the sun is warm. Ferndale has a cute little downtown with well-kept Victorian styled houses and shops, all set with the backdrop of mist shrouded, forested mountains. Since Crescent City, the road signs have posted distances to San Francisco so I’m able to count down as I go. I’m around 300 miles, give or take, on the route; The end feels in sight.

Yesterday the coastal fog only really left the coast and hour before sunset, there was no wind to blow it away and it didn’t heat up. In the morning it was back, enveloping the campsite and highway. It is a short ride to the state border and I’m back in California. The morning took me on back roads to Crescent City and a little coastal town in northern California. The rest of the day will be spent riding through Redwood State and National Park.

From Crescent City I immediately start climbing into the Redwoods, after a few hundred feet I emerge out of the coastal fog and into dappled sunlight over the fern covered forest floor. I can’t see anything from the road side vista points other than the top of the marine layer stretching out and hiding the sea below. As I get further into the redwood forest the old growth trees get larger and larger, some of them are truly huge, hard to comprehend.

Tonight I’m camped in the forest, beside a large fern meadow with signs warning not to approach the elk, maybe I’ll see some in the morning. Yesterday I startled a herd of elk on my of my descents along the coast, and they startled me too.

Today I decided to cycle down to the last Oregon State Park before the California border. The ride was entirely along the coast, and the last section was through a State Scenic Corridor, and it really was. The coastside doesn’t seem to slide as much as Big Sur in California, but there’s still a lot of signs of erosion, the road surface is cracked and repaired in many places.

I mostly rode above the coastline, it was cliffy with many many rocks jutting out of the sea, where they form habitats for birds, and camera fodder for the tourists. The cars today were mostly tourists, this section of 101 is fairly remote and today is Saturday. I also cycled over the tallest bridge in Oregon, over 300 feet above the river it crosses.

Tomorrow I’ll cross into California and I should start to see coastal redwoods. In California I’ll go in and out from the coast, the northern California coast is too rugged to build a continuous roadway (and they only barely manage to maintain the one in central California!).

The Oregon coast seems to have two types of weather: mist and cold wind, and sometimes the wind is strong enough that it blows over a mist. I woke up to heavy mist, and cycled through it for much of the morning. I crossed over Coos Bridge into North Bend and could only see 100 feet of the bridge Infront of me. I climbed up and over Seven Devils Road, through the partially timbered forests, and the mist finally broke on the other side.

I arrived into Bandon to a strong cold wind. Bandon is a port town with some really pretty beaches and rock formations in the sea, I thought it would be nice to sit with a view and eat lunch, instead I cowered behind a fence just to get out of the wind.

The afternoon was a long ride inland through mixed forest. Coos Bay is the last major town on the coast in Oregon so the traffic got a lot lighter on 101, and there was also construction that reduced the road to one lane, this had the effect of bunching all the cars up which was really nice. I arrived back at the coast at Port Orford, the first settled town on the Oregon coast, and my campsite is a few miles south. I am now only 57 miles from the California border. I’m not quite on the home stretch but I can almost smell my home state!