Today was the flattest day so far, the morning ride was cool as I headed towards Corvallis. The group I met at the campsite were from Corvallis and they recommended if I had time I do a quick loop of Oregon State University, so I stopped at the supermarket, picked up some lunch, and cycled the few blocks to campus to eat.
Oregon State University was very pretty, the whole town of Corvallis was very pretty, I can see why they liked living there.
Both the morning and afternoon’s riding was through farmland, large fields of wheat and other crops. Near to the town of Corvallis there were research farms that had little plots, but as I got further the fields got larger. Today was also on much quieter roads than yesterday, on rural roads that paralleled the main highways.
Spot the shade
The afternoon’s ride was long and flat and hot, and I was relieved to get to the end. I was glad to have 3 water bottles today.
The end of the ride I am only about 4 miles from downtown Eugene, so I spent the late afternoon doing a quick bike tour of downtown. It’s an interesting place, they have pretty great bike infrastructure, and just like California towns there are quite a few homeless people, but in general it didn’t feel there was a real focal point, there are a couple of very old houses, but they are unassuming, small, and privately owned. I guess the main focal point is the Willamette River, which I had camped next to last night and followed all the way down todays ride. I was thinking as I was cycling past it that in California a river would never discharge this much water, it would be dammed upstream and only a trickle would flow downstream.
Tomorrow I head into the Willamette National Forest and follow the McKenzie River, which joined up to the Willamette just before it flows into Eugene. I will have to take the alternate route and not the McKenzie Pass main route unfortunately, the McKenzie Pass road is meant to be the best cycle route in central Oregon, and cyclists unofficially ride it before cars each spring, when the Oregon Department of Transportation ploughs a single lane down the center of the roadway to promote snow melt. The Oregon DOT never actually opens to cyclists but they seem to tolerate them, which as a Californian seems strange to me, Yosemite would definitely write you a ticket if you rode the closure. But anyway, this year they are repaving McKenzie Pass so they’ve made it extra clear that this year no bicycles really means no bicycles.
I’ve now finished Section 1 (of 12), so I’m 235 miles ito the 4,200 mile route. The next section is 336 miles to Baker City, still in Oregon, but at the far east of the state, from Baker City it’s not far to Idaho.
I woke up to dew on the tent, the clouds were hanging low on the Oregon coast again. I got an early start and continued on down the coastal trail.
The early morning ride took me past a couple more beaches, but the fog was so thick I couldn’t see many of them. The air was cool and the riding was pleasant. The coastal trail rejoined 101, and then finally left 101 for the last time, taking the Old Scenic Highway 101. This was a really pleasant ride through the forest on a road with basically no cars. I’ve finally left the coast for the last time.
The end of Old Scenic Highway 101 dropped me out to the Salmon River Highway, and the mist rapidly burned off revealing the sun.
The rest of the day was riding on fairly busy roads, with the temperature increasing, and the forest giving way to farmland and rural Oregon.
Rural Oregon
There were no particularly steep climbs today, just some rolling hills and a couple of longer inclines. The longest climb was through the forest along Old Highway 101, which was really pleasant.
The afternoon sun got pretty intense, but the downhills gave me a chance to cool off the sweat I’d built up on the uphills. This evening I rolled into a city biker campground in Riverside Park, which as you might guess, is beside the river.
Bike path
The first two nights I’ve shared the hiker/biker campgrounds with 1 other person each night, both times they were hikers doing the Oregon Coast Trail. Tonight I finally met some other bikers at the campsite, a group of locals doing an overnight shakedown, they are also backpackers looking to get into touring. I have yet to meet anyone else doing the Trans America, although the hiker the first night told me that there was a person the previous night, so maybe I’ll catch up to them, or someone else!
Depending how today’s riding goes I may have time to go into Eugene this afternoon, and after Eugene I’ll be heading into the Cascades mountain range, which I’m looking to.
I wake up early and gather my things for an early start. The sun rises so early in Oregon, although the campsite is nestled in the trees and there are clouds in the sky so no view of the sunrise.
As I leave the campsite there is mist hanging in the air, low over the mountains. The morning air is still, although it doesn’t take long for the stiff coastal wind to pick up.
The first half of the day I follow 101 around two large lagoons to the town of Tillamook, where I leave 101 to hug the coast. In the early morning there are fewer cars and the riding is easy with pretty views of rivers, and beaches, and lagoons. The road follows a railway line, and as undulated I look jealously at the flat grade of the tracks.
I was making good time to arrive at Tillamook around 10 am when the Tillamook Cheese Factory opens. Those from America will Tillamook Cheese, I’m not sure if it’s a west coast thing, but it’s very popular in California. I can see why this is a great place for a diary, the climate is seems very similar to Marin, very green, good for pasturing cows.
About 5 miles before I got to Tillamook I heard a loud thud thud thud, and I thought something must have poked into my spokes. I stopped and looked for what it could be but couldn’t see anything, so I carried on, and sure enough my rear tire was deflating. My first flat tire and it’s only day 2! This isn’t a good omen. There was a fairly large and very sharp screw embedded into my tire, I think it would have caused a flat on a car tire too, my Schwables didn’t have a chance.
The cheese factory was heaving with people, but it was neat to see through to the factory floor and the complete cheese making process. I picked up a block for dinner.
The afternoon ride followed a scenic road all the way around to Netarts (which in my head sounds like some web company’s name) and finally down to Whalen Island County Park where I got a campsite for tonight. While the road was scenic it had two steep climbs, the first had a warning on the road signs of 12% grade, and the second right at the end of the day was nearly as steep. I was pretty beat by the time I got into camp.
View from the campsite
I’m over 100 miles from Astoria now, down the Oregon coast. Tomorrow starts going a little further down the coast before turning east, and I’ll leave the Pacific Ocean behind.
I woke up early after a semi restless night, a combination of the thin ceiling and loud neighbour at the motel, and an overactive mind running through the next day. In the morning there were low clouds on the banks of the Columbia and the air was crisp.
I had a quick breakfast, cooking some oatmeal on my stove and coffee from the motel, packed up my bike, took a deep breath, and rolled out of the motel.
I planned a shorter day for the first day, around 50 miles. The route starts at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which is semi arbitrary, but the original route was created to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States so starts and ends at military sites. I chose to start another mile up the street at the welcome to Astoria sign.
Wheel dip in the Pacific Ocean, the back wheel goes I the Pacific and the front to the Atlantic!
I drove into Astoria on 101, but the first section of the route avoids the busy road and takes a different bridge out of town, and then goes through the Lewis and Clark National Monument. This road goes all the way to the town of Seaside, which no surprises is a seaside town.
From Seaside the rest of the day follows route 101 going south down the road I drove north on the previous day. There’s a tunnel with no shoulder that you press a button for and it lights up signs that let drivers know to slow down because there’s bikes in the tunnel.
All in it was a good day, although the wind remained as strong as ever on the Oregon beaches. The state park campsite I’m camped at has hot showers, so after walking along the beach this afternoon I had a shower and now I’m ready for day 2.
Day 0 was really a 2 day road trip through northern California and the entire length of the Oregon coast. The first day I took the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco and drove up through Humboldt County, just past Eureka to Sue-meg State Park to camp for the night.
The second day was a longer but I was able to get an earlier start as I didn’t have to deal with picking up the car and packing up my apartment. The road out of California took me through Redwood National Park. As I crossed into Oregon I realized that this would be the longest I’ll have spent outside of California since I moved to America.
The Oregon coast is as pretty as the California coast, although 101 isn’t quite as pretty as highway 1, for longer sections it just runs straight through the forest instead of hugging the coast. I stopped for lunch on the beach and weathered the strong wind which deposited fine sand onto me as I ate.
Lunch spot, not.pictured is the strong wind
And after a long day’s driving I arrived into Astoria, the first thing that strikes is how enormous the mouth of the Columbia is, and the bridge that spans it between Oregon an Washington. Astoria itself is a cute little town, and the views from the Astoria column are pretty amazing. I had considered riding up and starting from the top, but quickly vetoed that idea as I drove up the steep inclines.
Tonight I sleep in a motel, tomorrow I start pedalling!
Friday was my last day of work, the start of a 3 month break, easily the longest continuous period I’ve taken off work since I started working. I spent the weekend getting my apartment and bike ready for a multi-month absence, clearing out all the perishables, and getting everything in order.
Everything I’m taking; tools and lights are in the handlebar bag
I won’t know if I’ve packed the wrong things or the right things until I get going. I’ve been backpacking for many years and feel like I’ve gotten my gear dialed in, so I know exactly what I’ll need, and never carry too much, or too little. I’ve done 5 camping trips on my bicycle since buying it last October; 3 days over thanksgiving, 6 days down the California coast in February, and 3 other overnight trips, most recently in Owens Valley. Each time I’ve wanted to make gear and setup tweaks when I got home. This time I’ll have to make any changes on the road.
All packed up on the bike
My gear has been laid out in little piles on the floor for the past week or so to make sure I have everything I need. Today I packed it all up onto the bike, ready for tomorrow, when I pick up a rental car for a 2 day road trip up the California and Oregon coast, to the starting point in Astoria, the northernmost point of the Oregon coast, which sits on the south shore of the Columbia River which separate Oregon from Washington. Tomorrow night I’ll be camping on the California side of the border, on the coast, and on Tuesday I’ll drive the full length of Oregon, drop off the rental car, and spend the night in Astoria, before setting off on my bike on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail.
Just like Glacier Point Road a couple of weeks ago Tioga Pass opened to bicycles before opening to cars. However unlike Glacier Point Road, which opened for 4 days before cars, Tioga Pass was announced on Friday afternoon that it would be open for cycling one day only, on Sunday, before opening for cars on Monday. The only way to get into the park again was to arrive before 5 am when reservations would be required (or to book accommodation within the park).
I drove over again on Saturday night and slept outside the park, set my alarm for 4:30 am to get up and drive in. I was not the only one awake at this hour, I drove in a train of cars into the park and snagged one of the last designated parking spots at Tuolumne Grove, which is at the start the of the closure at bottom of Highway 120. The parking lot was a hive of activity already, at 5 am the first light of dawn was brightening the sky. I elected to climb back into my sleeping bag and sleep another hour and half for a 6:30 am start.
When I got up the cars had filled all the curbside and started filling the side of the highway. I made some breakfast and coffee and got myself sorted to start the ride. I wasn’t sure how far I would make it, the full length of the closure is around 46 miles, all the way to Tioga Pass, the highest point is the park entrance on the east side at 9,945 feet elevation. The natural turn around points are probably Olmsted Point, or really Tenaya Lake which is only a little further from Olmsted, Tuolumne Meadows, or Tioga Pass. I set a rough turnaround time in my head and set off, the sun still low in the sky.
Half Dome from Olmsted Point
Highway 120 starts with a moderate climb and undulates a little, with a large descent into Yosemite Creek, which then climbs back up to Olmsted Point. In the morning my legs were fresh and my bicycle gearing allowed me to spin up the hills. There was a fairly steady stream of cyclists going up, and at Olmsted Point a large number of lycra clad cyclists were taking photos and taking in the views.
Looking down to Tenaya Lake from Olmsted Point
I have driven this road many times, recently mostly at night as I shortcut to the east side trailheads, it was a totally different experience riding a bicycle. I’ve actually never stopped at Olmsted Point before, due to the crowds, and ironically I didn’t manage to avoid crowding today either, but it’s hard not to stop at least for a few minutes after climbing so many feet under your own power.
Tenaya Lake
From Olmsted Point it is a short descent down to Tenaya Lake, and I was making great time, it was only 10:30 am. The road hugs the shore of the lake and begins climbing up to Tuolumne Meadows. From the bottom, the start of the ride is through forest with some views to the north west, the road crosses over the ridge to contour around with views to the south, there’s two places with long smooth granite, notably at Olmstead Point which avalanches well into the spring. From Tenaya Lake the road climbs between exposed granite domes, and arrives into the vast expanse of Tuolumne Meadow.
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadow sits at 8,600 feet elevation, slightly more than 1,300 feet below the pass, the final 7 miles to the pass is a fairly gentle, but constant, incline. It was around 11 am and I was already feeling the 39 miles I’d already completed. I decided to carry on and get to the top, have lunch at the pass, and turn around. After all, the cycle back is all down hill, right?
Meadows just before Tioga Pass
The final climb was starting to test me, I was counting down the miles and every foot of elevation gain. The road follows a creek through the woods and then opens up again to a meadow, and snow capped mountains at the pass. I made it! I was thoroughly exhausted and sat down to enjoy a well earned lunch.
There was a large number of cyclists, I’m not sure how many started at Tioga Pass, which has the advantage of not requiring a reservation to enter for cycling, as it is at the park boundary, but the disadvantage of starting at the top and ending a with climb; and also the east side is generally more remote. There were however a not insignificant number of electric bikes that started from this entrance, and as I struggled up the incline the riders casually breezed past me with the whizz of their electric motors, most of them decked out in casual clothes and not breaking a sweat.
Lunch spot
The ride back to the bottom tested me. Of course it wasn’t all down hill, there were undulations, and a couple of short climbs, and one longer climb from Yosemite Creek. This last climb was the first time I was forced to dismount my bike and take a few minutes. While most of the way up the only people passing me were cyclists going impossibly quickly who frankly looked much fitter than me, on the way back it felt like everyone was going faster than me. By the end I was really counting down the miles, the last 3 miles satisfyingly didn’t require any pedalling at all, and the sight of the closure and the parking lot was a relief indeed.
In all I cycled 92 miles with 8,700 feet of climbing, easily the longest bike ride I’ve ever done, and if that wasn’t enough it was all at fairly high elevation. It was a really fantastic ride though, in hindsight I should have just left at dawn when I got to the parking lot, I got back to my car at 5 pm. It was incredibly popular with cyclists, much more so than Glacier Point. I don’t know how much of that was because it was one day only, but the distance is much further I think it is popular with a different crowd. I felt Glacier Point was fun but relatively short, Tioga Pass was long and very satisfying to finish.
After slogging it out through the sand the previous day I decided to take the easy way back to Independence and just cycled up 395. There’s a wide shoulder and when I left at 6am there were very few vehicles on the road. The other advantage of leaving so early is the temperatures were cool and the sun hadn’t crested the mountains yet.
What took me over the entire day the previous day I knocked out in an hour and a half cycling on asphalt. I loaded up my car, made breakfast and coffee, which I enjoyed in the morning sun, and took off for the long drive back to the bay area. This time I crossed Sonora Pass in the daylight. 395 is such fun to drive, partly because the setting is stunning, a deep desert valley walled in by snow peaked mountains, and partly because driving it usually means the start or end of an adventure in those mountains.
Overall the end of May is pushing towards the heat of the desert, and to fully enjoy the Owens Valley trails I’d probably need different tires—slightly wider with lower pressures—and not picking a holiday weekend would give more camping options. I’d like to come back and properly explore Alabama Hills some more, I’m sure I’ll be back in the area in the future, I did Sawmill Pass last year and have my eye on some of the other trailheads in the area.
It’s memorial weekend and I wanted to do one more overnight trip on my bike before my leave starts and I head off on tour. I actually didn’t want to do memorial weekend, but last weekend I came down with something, and even this weekend is touch and go with the remnants of a sore throat.
Sonora Pass opened last weekend which is always fun to drive over. I packed everything up to split the driving in two, Friday night head over the mountains and camp on the east side, Saturday morning get up bright and early and drive the rest of the way. The night drive was pretty stunning, the sunset illuminating the clouds, and as I got into the mountains a pretty full moon lit up the snowy peaks. Unfortunately the moon then proceeded to light up my car while I was trying to sleep, but the temperature dropped down below freezing so I buried my head in my sleeping bag anyway.
Saturday morning was a shorter drive down 395 to Independence. I had breakfast after turning the pedals a few times. I still felt hit or miss about just bailing, it’s hard to tell if my throat was scratching due to the arid desert air or I was still recovering. I’m pretty sure it was a bit of both, but probably more the later.
The first section of the route rides uphill, the road turns from asphalt to unpaved, sand, turning south and descending to Manzanar, which was the site of one of the Japanese concentration camps in the US during World War 2. From Manzanar the route continues south through the Alabama Hills, some interesting geological hills which have featured in many movies.
I really enjoyed doing the auto tour of Manzanar on my bicycle, I’ve wanted to visit this site and it was fascinating to see. Mostly all that remains is a grid system with some concrete foundation slabs, almost none of the original buildings survived. There’s a monument to those that died at the camp placed at the original site of the burials, which is perfectly framed by the mountains.
At the start I thought maybe I would be able to handle the sand, for the most part the road was solid enough I didn’t have any issues, but as the day wore on the sand, combined with the lack of shade, and probably not drinking enough, really started to sap the fun out of the day. Sections were getting increasingly soft which meant I had to push my bike through them. By the time I got to Alabama Hills I really had little left in the tank to take them in. It really didn’t help the huge number of memorial day holiday makers out and about, spewing dust as they drove past and illegally camping all over because there were a lot more visitors than campsites.
I drove through and past Alabama Hills, I’ll have to come back and poke around when there are fewer people and I have more time. I coasted down Whitney Portal Road, which has been closed due to a massive washout last year. The road surface was completely destroyed for a long section, which was totally impassable to cars, but easy to push a bicycle past. I found a place to bed in for the night, and watched as the setting sun turned the white mountains orange.
Glacier Point Road is not ploughed in the winter, it closes for the season due to snow. Come spring the snow ploughs clear the road, and open it back up again. Many years, after the road has been ploughed, but the facilities staff are still readying the facilities, Yosemite opens up the road for cyclists a few days ahead of the general opening to other vehicles. This year the road was opened for cyclists on Friday, May 10th, and will open for cars on Tuesday, May 14th.
The road opening was only announced the day before, which didn’t leave much time for planning. Doubly so, because during May weekend entry to the park requires a permit during peak hours, which run from 5am to 4pm. The permits are released the week before and go quickly, so there were no permits available for the weekend. The only way to get into the park is to find accomodation within the park, go outside of the “peak” hours, or go on Monday when permits are not required.
I opted to get into the park early on Saturday morning, off peak, so after work on Friday I packed up my car; threw the bike in the back, a stove to cook some oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, and took along a sleeping bag. Friday night I set off and drove to the park entrance, arriving around 1am, and slept in my car for 3 and half hours just outside the park. I set my alarm for 4:30am, and got up to drive the last 50 minutes to the parking lot at the bottom of Glacier Point Road, and then climbed back into my sleeping bag for another few hours of sleep.
As couple of other people started to arrive around me, I got up and made the oatmeal and coffee while I got my bike out and assembled, and got sorted ready to go. Around 8:30 I was ready to go.
Clark Range from Glacier Point Road
The weather was perfect, the air was cool and made for pleasant climbing. The Glacier Point Road grade is fairly gentle, first ascending through a burn area, the trees then turn green after a mile or two. The spring snowmelt was in full swing and creeks and meadows were full of crystal clear water, the sound of running water accompanied most of the ride as small streams trickled down the side of the road, occasionally crossing over and spraying off my tires.
The top arrived sooner than I expected, Glacier Point is actually a short descent down some tight hairpins. As I rolled into the empty parking lot, and through to the visitor overlooks which on a normal day are teaming with people, today I shared it with one other cyclist and a pair of hikers who had hiked up from the valley floor.
Half Dome and Vernal and Nevada falls
The views were breathtaking as ever, with Yosemite’s vast waterfalls discharging at full flow, the lower falls of Yosemite Falls was diffracting the sunlight with all the colors of the rainbow sparkling in the spray. Nevada and Vernal falls were also flowing with all their might, the snow covered mountains draining their snowmelt into Yosemite valley below.
I brought along my stove to make another cup of coffee to enjoy with an early lunch, soaking in the mountains that I will spend less time in this year. Other cyclists started to arrive and take in the views. I had a long drive ahead of me to get back to the bay, after hanging around for about an hour I gathered my things to get ready for the descent.
Yosemite Falls, the Royal Arches, and Merced River snaking through Yosemite valley
Of course the descent starts with a climb back up the hairpin turns to the high point. On the way up I was one of the first, seeing only 4 cyclists coming down, but by the time I was descending I passed many groups making the trip up. The descent was glorious, the air had warmed up and sun was warming. In all it was only about 3 hours of cycling, but it was worth the trip to ride the road car free, and to remind myself how stunning Yosemite valley is in springtime.
