tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24493798365895321222024-03-27T11:41:38.479-07:00Trail EffectThe Trail Effect blog is dedicated to the trail running and outdoor adventures of Chris and Jenna! You'll find race reports, gear reviews, epic adventures and running tips to inspire you and help you be your best!Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-51944159247865347842019-06-30T07:32:00.003-07:002019-06-30T07:32:57.905-07:00Day 29 - Lagunitas to San Francisco<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 1250 miles! WE DID IT!!!<br />
(Today was 29 miles to SF, then another 10 touring around)<br />
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This morning we woke up and packed our tent just like we've done each day this month. We loaded our bikes, and snuck in a few more laughs with our friends before departing.<br />
As we climb on to our bikes for the start of the final day we have mixed feelings. We want to stay in the forest forever, but we are so close to our final destination!<br />
As we exit the campground we are treated yet again to a winding road through a redwood forest with a river running through it. Then we head up the first of several climbs today. California isn't finished with us yet!<br />
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As we get closer to the city, we see more and more cyclists. Dropping down into Fairfax, the cyclists come in droves. Most of the towns we've been through this month have had a population of 100-400 people - Fairfax has 8000!<br />
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We find a cafe along the bike route in San Anselmo and are assured by the many cyclists out front that it's the place to be! We are slightly overwhelmed by the number of people around, though we are only 20 miles away from the city! We go to grab a table, and a man butts in with his order number in hand, puts it down on the table, says 'have you ordered yet?' and proceeds to sit down. How rude! Thankfully, we then meet a handful of other cyclists and locals who are very kind, and we share a table and some stories with them.<br />
It's nice and sunny outside, and the cyclists who started in the city say the fog hasn't cleared yet and to stay in the sunshine a little more. We take their advice and go for a tour of the nearby Donut Alley in Larkspur! The smell of the donut shop is amazing, and the donuts are pretty good too.<br />
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We head out of Larkspur along Cape Madiera. We should know by now that cape is a four letter word for hill! These towns lulled us into thinking we would have a nice flat ride to the city! We happily enjoy a little more wilderness and the break from all the people. Best to be eased back into reality.<br />
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From there we take an awesome shared path along the water into Sausalito, where we get our first view of the Bay Bridge! We are almost there! Of course we are riding right on the water.. so we aren't about to get to the Golden Gate without at least one more hill.<br />
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We reach the Golden Gate bridge and join the throngs of tourists taking photos. It is unreal. For the last month we have been telling people we are going to San Fransisco, but it doesn't really mean anything up until this point. We just biked 1200 miles to get here, and it's the coolest thing I have ever done. Get out of your car and on your bike! Now!<br />
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After a few touristy mistakes we find our way to the staircase we didn't know we were looking for. We have to carry our fully loaded bikes down a staircase, under the bridge, and up another one to get to the proper side of the bridge for riding!<br />
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Once we are on the proper side, we roll onto the bridge. There is a hilarious mix of road cyclists, tourists on rented bikes, touring cyclists and construction as we go. We are very used to the crosswinds on bridges now, but the tourists are not! At least there aren't pedestrians in the mix too!<br />
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Once across the bridge we escape the tourist insanity as fast as possible - there are WAYY too many people around for our liking. San Francisco has a population of over 800,000, and it feels like they all at this end of the bridge!<br />
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We head out along the coast and ride out to Land's End, Seal Rock, and past the Cliff House. We tour down the beach and through Golden Gate Park. The park is wonderful, there are loads of people out enjoying their Saturday having a picnic, playing games, and sailing toy boats across the ponds!<br />
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We exit the park and take the wiggle, a bike route that wiggles through several blocks of the city. We're never without other cyclists here and it's a really fun ride! We stop for a quick bite along the wiggle, and then head straight down Market Street through downtown to meet our friends and take the ferry over to Oakland. Riding Market Street through downtown is awesome. It's pride weekend and the street is alive with people! There's music playing everywhere, trolleys that run through the middle of the road, and a full lane for bikes where we happily cruise with many other cyclists. We arrive at the ferry terminal and meet up with our friends David and Tyler. <br />
We made it!!!<br />
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We head for dinner at the brewery that's dangerously close to their place. The pizza is delicious, even the one with alligator tail (it tastes kind of like chicken?)!<br />
We proceed to cover their apartment in our laundry (don't worry, it's clean now), and tell them we may never leave. Friends are amazing, thanks guys!!<br />
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Tomorrow we will take in the city and the pride parade, and Monday we will reluctantly get on a plane as our adventure comes to an end.<br />
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<br />Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-35114274108606246592019-06-29T07:49:00.003-07:002019-06-29T07:49:49.842-07:00Day 28 - Bodega Bay - Lagunitas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 41 miles<br />
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"Nothing compares to brisket for breakfast" is the mantra we take with us as we leave camp this morning. The grocery stores around are tiny and expensive, and the other breakfast joints within 20 miles just didn't have brisket (or anything else) as good as we had last night! So we stop a short two miles down the road and are greeted by the same lovely gentlemen who served us the night before! Today - breakfast brisket burritos. Tomorrow - the world!! Err... San Francisco!<br />
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The start of today's ride is rolling hills through farmland, and provides ample opportunity to play Who's cow is it anyway? It has the added bonus of cows on hills near and far, so we really can't keep track of which cows we've already seen.<br />
For some reason the hills today feel relentless. They're rolling and remind us a lot of our days in the Oregon dunes. It doesn't look like we are biking uphill but it sure feels like it!! There are also little spiders and their webs floating through the air that keep landing on us. I've pulled at least seven spiders off me by the time we're ten miles in. I can see the spider webs hanging off of Chris in front of me, and I can see the tiny tickly strands stuck to my oily sunscreeny skin. Doesn't this sound fun? I *guess* every day can't be amazing...<br />
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We pop out of the valley and cycle out along Tomales Bay. It's stunning and beautiful and a glorious blue! After conquering two climbs this morning, the ride along the Bay is California 'flat'! It's well known for its oysters, but we are stuffed with brisket, and are on a mission to get to the fresh fruit promised at the 30 mile mark!<br />
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The bay goes on forever, and we're trying really hard to appreciate the stunning blue waters... But we're both tired. Every hill gets harder and harder. It's hot outside, and there's now loads of tiny flies and spiders stuck to our sunscreen laden arms and legs.<br />
We finally arrive in Point Reyes. It's a cute little tourist town with lots of shops and creameries selling local cheese and other goodies from the cows in the hills. We are GRUMPY. We've had some rare times on this trip where we haven't been entirely happy - *cough*insanely windy Crescent City *cough* - but today is a tired, hungry, buggy, hot, hilly, day, and it takes our trip grumpy meter up a notch. We've seen so many cows we are becoming them! Mooooooooo.<br />
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We get into town and neither of us want to grocery shop. Chris wants pizza but the shop across the street only sells it for 6$ a slice... But we're so hungry we could eat a whole cow (don't tell the cows that, we're surrounded!) No way are we paying 48$ for a whole pizza! So Chris goes into the grocery store in search of something better, but comes out empty handed. I like to think you could make a play out of the scene called "Two angry bikers on a bench". We bicker like a proper married couple, and eventually find a cafe with pizza. Whole ones, for $15! We roll grumpily down the main street of this quaint little town.<br />
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We arrive at Cafe Reyes and have the patio to ourselves, and some exceptionally delicious pizza from a wood-fired oven. Once fed, we laugh our morning off and head out to get proper groceries for the evening.<br />
We wander the town a bit and check out the local creamery - but find ourselves slightly disappointed that we can't find locally made ice cream! We are about to leave town when we see a nice lady with what looks like soft serve, so we ask where she got it. She launches into a speech about how amazing it is and how if you go to Point Reyes you can't leave without it. It's not ice cream, its locally made Buffalo Milk Gelato. It was absolutely delicious! We debate going back in for more, but in our grumpy stupor we've already been in the grocery store 6 times between the two of us.<br />
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We are about to head out of town, really this time, when we're stopped by a couple of locals who tell us we're going the wrong direction. Now, we aren't really going the wrong way, there's just multiple ways you can go. We can go 10 miles with 150ft of climbing, or 7 miles with 300ft. The locals tell us to go the 7 mile route. We decide to do it, because we haven't been tortured enough by hills today! (and we're now fed and happy)<br />
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The last couple of miles into camp are on a well maintained paved trail through the trees. It's afternoons like this that make us want to keep riding forever! We set up camp and decide to take our unloaded bikes for a spin down the trail. WHAT IS AN UNLOADED BIKE?! They're so wobbly and weird we can't control them, and the trail is no longer paved so we're navigating gravel and our handlebars are flopping all over the place. We're trying to control our bikes, and ourselves because we're keeling over with laughter. We decide to turn back and bike through the campsite, but this adventure is short lived because HILLS.<br />
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We arrive back at camp and greet our friends from the night before, Paul and Dave. We are soon joined by Matt (who we thought was long gone but stopped to play music at a local restaurant and thus is behind schedule) and a couple from Idaho (Malcolm and Hunter). This is now the busiest hiker biker site we've been to since the start. Everyone is super nice and fun, and surprisingly most people we meet out here have at least one degree under their belt.<br />
Paul soon discovers there's a secret free shower, so we all rush to use the hot water before it disappears - which is ridiculous because its only 50 cents for a 5 min shower. We saved 50 cents!!<br />
We laugh about our loud msr dragonfly stoves (THEYRE SO LOUD), share bike stories, and pass around the torture stick so people can roll out their muscles (and laugh and cry).<br />
As we eat dinner, and teach Malcolm and Hunter to play Race for the Galaxy, another 3 bikers arrive.<br />
It's a perfect final evening in the wilderness, surrounded by amazing people all traveling the same route each in slightly different ways with different destinations.<br />
The bike community out here is incredible. Can we please stay out here forever?<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-55548277097366832332019-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:002019-06-28T08:00:08.065-07:00Day 27 - Stillwater Cove to Bodega Bay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 26 miles ...almost not a rest day?<br />
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We can sum up the riding in California with three simple words - cars, climbs, and corners!<br />
Today there's a couple of bigger climbs, and then the rest of the day should be flat. We aren't sure what 'flat' means here, but we're pretty sure it includes rolling hills.<br />
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We wake up, pack up, eat breakfast with Matt and say goodbye as we head out. We're expecting a similar ride to the previous days, but California always seems to have a surprise for us.<br />
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As we pass through Fort Ross the clouds roll in and we're riding in a cool foggy wonderland with ocean cliffs next to us.<br />
We head up the first climb and the views are unbelievable. We are above the clouds and it looks like we're in an airplane! We make it to the top, and as we descend we wind down around switchbacks, some of which have guardrails! It feels like we could fly off the edge of the world! I can't decide if the emotion I was feeling was pure joy or terror... It was so wild!<br />
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We climb and descend again into the small town of Jenner. We're already over halfway into today's ride, so we stop for a cup of tea next to the misty river. There are people swimming in it! Brrr.<br />
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We head up one last climb, not nearly as insane as the first ones! Then its five miles of California 'flat' - we were right it was definitely rolling! The highway here is so close to the cliffs that if you look down to appreciate the coastal view you could ride right off! There's also several places where the road has washed out and they've either fixed it or are working on it.<br />
We stop to take in the view at a small pullout, and are surprised to find a sand bar completely lined with seals! There must have been over a hundred of them!<br />
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We arrive in Bodega Bay, set up camp, and wander the half mile into town for a late lunch. We find an amazing bbq joint (Ginochio's Kitchen) and get a large platter with pulled pork, brisket, sausage, ribs, and sourdough bread. It might just be the best meal we've had out here!<br />
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We wander back to the campsite for some flat happy time (reading and naps). It is a rest day, after all!<br />
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After having a small dinner, playing some games and chatting with the other cyclists in camp, we head to bed early in preparation for our last day before San Fran.<br />
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<br />Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-65118987237968957342019-06-27T14:28:00.001-07:002019-06-27T14:28:19.767-07:00Day 26 - Manchester to Stillwater Cove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 20 miles? 36 miles? 40 miles?<br />
Distance to San Fran - less than one Fatdog!!!<br />
Quote of the day - "I never thought I would bike 20 miles, eat a whole chicken, and bike again"</div>
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Today we had no idea where we were going. Okay, I guess we sort of had some idea. We woke up to mist, which quickly subsided - but made for a surprisingly warm and humid day.<br />
Thinking we would have a short rest day, we hiked a mile out to the ocean to take in the view. The views were stunning, and we had the beach to ourselves - but the water was freezing!</div>
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We head back and have nice warm showers before packing up and saying bye to our new friends. Nobody is really in a hurry to leave the hot tub, warm showers, and communal fire.</div>
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We plan to ride 20 miles into Gualala today. The scenery is similar to the days before with ocean and farmlands. The roads, on the other hand, continue to get worse. How can you get worse than "rolling" hills with no shoulder and massive trucks? You add 6 inches of shoulder, but pave the road with a material so shitty that it rubs off and leaves behind a very bumpy road and a useless shoulder full of gravel. Wahooo! We can't complain too much - At least 90% of the traffic is courteous, and the ocean just keeps getting more turquoise and wonderful!</div>
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We make it to Gualala in no time and take a picnic lunch down to the campsite. We are hungry bears today and picked up a fan favourite - a whole roast chicken (we are monsters). The campsite is cold and shady and not what we were hoping for. Lucky for us there's many campsites to choose from, so we decide to go another 20 miles down the road - we are quite well fed after all. <br />
We make a quick pit stop on our way out of the campsite and I must have propped my bike up poorly because it squashed my helmet and broke the cord into my intercom. I didn't realize how much I loved my intercom until I thought it was broken. I freaked out just a little. Without it how will I know who sees the cows first?! Tears may have been shed. <br />
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We manage to plug the cord back in and get at least one of the ear pieces to put out sound! I'm thankful it didn't happen earlier although maybe I wouldn't be so dependant on it if it had!<br />
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The next 20 miles are actually very pleasant. The road is paved nicely, and the hills are the nice floaty rolling kind! We also have a tailwind to push us along, and clouds reflecting beautifully on the ocean.<br />
One of our friends from the night before (Matt from the Netherlands) catches up to us, and we end up riding an extra 3 miles to another campsite just past where we had planned. At least it will make tomorrow shorter!</div>
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We set up camp, laugh at the fact we're all eating a bikers classic dinner of pesto and pasta, and wander down to the cover to see the still water - it is Stillwater Cove Regional Park after all. It wasn't all that still, and it was still very cold! We had Matt test it out for us this time.<br />
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As we played we may have accidentally polished off the cookies we bought for tomorrow. Don't buy baked goods early when you're biking... For some reason they never make it to the next day!<br />
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We taught Matt to play Race for the Galaxy - so basically just confused him for a couple hours - but he was a great sport!<br />
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<br />Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-29927804471396616262019-06-26T07:23:00.002-07:002019-06-27T14:22:47.761-07:00Day 25 - Fort Bragg to Manchester KOA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 32 miles</div>
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Today we had a nice lazy morning, we slept in! Until 8 am. I know it doesn't sound like sleeping in, but we've been up and out of camp by this time most days.<br />
We tackle the steep hill out of camp. I'd like to say our legs are getting used to these, but I think they cry a little each morning.<br />
A short 2 miles in we stop at a bakery cafe in the small town of Mendocino. We start with a strawberry cheesecake danish, and finish with quiche and a breakfast burrito!</div>
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Today is a lot like yesterday, with beautiful ocean vistas. There is perhaps a little more shoulder on the road today, occasionally...<br />
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We stop in Elk for a picnic lunch at the park. Sadly there are no elk to be seen. But there are really cool rock arches surrounded by turquoise water.</div>
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Then we are back to more hills! We are very glad we split this section over a couple of days! There is one hill in particular that stood out from the rest. The downhill wound around the corner and just kept dropping. Similarly, the uphill was winding and steep. So steep that before we rounded the first bend we were concerned we weren't going to make it - and there were two more!! Oh, and traffic. On the final ascent there's a really cool bird (falcon?) hovering in the wind. It was so still at first I thought it was a kite! It was a welcome distraction from the burning pain in our quads!</div>
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Again I want to call the hills we tackle rolling, but we can never seem to make it up the other side. Then there's the river valleys. Why did nobody tell us about the river valleys? We go from beautiful stunning views biking on cliffs above the water, then all of a sudden we're flying downhill and around a corner. By corner I mean winding hairpin turns. Then as you cross the river the wind picks up and you have no idea what direction it's about to push you. On the really lucky ones you get a wicked headwind on the uphill. It's hard work, but once we have tackled a few it's actually quite fun!<br />
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We have two choices in the same area for camping tonight. One is a state park like we're used to, the other is a KOA, which we have heard are on the expensive side. We start with the state park. The hiker biker sites are $10 per person and it only has outhouses. The site is just an overgrown field. We head back up the road and discover the KOA is also $10, but has the following:<br />
-a pool<br />
-a hot tub<br />
-wifi<br />
-warm showers (not coin operated!)<br />
-a cooking shelter with sinks, stoves, and a microwave<br />
-an ice cream social<br />
-a movie night<br />
-a community fire pit surrounded by chairs with a maintained fire<br />
Naturally, <u>we</u> went back down the road and stayed in the overgrown field. Can't be too spoiled.<br />
JUST KIDDING!<br />
After having just sat in the hot tub for too long, we are currently making dinner in the cook shelter next to a roaring fire. Tonight's dinner is chicken prosciutto and butternut squash ravioli with a spinach pesto sauce. <br />
We are so, so spoiled!</div>
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-27382922229359945292019-06-25T17:19:00.002-07:002019-06-25T17:19:27.444-07:00Day 24 - Leggett to Fort Bragg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 52 miles</div>
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It's time to say goodbye to our good friend hwy 101 and merge on to hwy 1 for some more coastal excitement! Oh yeah, and the big hill!</div>
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We're up early at The Peg House (it's the only place around) treating ourselves to large breakfast burritos before the climb. We snag a couple fresh baked brownies - we were there so early they hadn't even been cut or iced yet! We throw in a cookie too, who knows how long this climb is?!</div>
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After a few rolling hills out of the campsite we are headed up the hill! It's not a steep grade, it's actually quite pleasant. The trees surrounding us are beautiful and the birds are singing.</div>
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The logging trucks occasionally whiz past and nearly knock us off the road. I'd like to tell you we were on the shoulder, but it's a narrow winding uphill and there isn't one! It's so narrow you can't even ride on the white line. At least there isn't too much traffic!</div>
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We get to the top of the climb rather easily, and wonder what the fuss is all about. The downhill is even fun! It's not too steep. Why did everyone say to check my brakes for this?<br />
We get down into the first small town, and three small dogs come out of nowhere barking and chasing after Chris. He managed to escape the ankle biters - but I'm going head on into them! The small one comes for my ankles, the big one sets up a block in front, and the third one has disappeared into the bushes for the surprise attack. I narrowly escape. Who knew the scariest part of the Leggett hill would be the dogs?!</div>
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Oh but wait, we're not finished with the downhill yet. The second part of it is a little more scary, but not the worst we've done. It's actually just really cold. We don't want to stop because we keep thinking we're almost down. We eventually cave and put on our arm warmers.</div>
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Shortly after we come across a man walking in the middle of the road, who says "You got a great day for this, nice weather and almost no traffic." We smiled and agreed - but why was this man in the middle of nowhere walking in the middle of the road?</div>
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The trees are becoming more sparse and we think the end of the downhill is near - and we are right! Unfortunately this sends us into or second climb of the day - arm warmers not necessary. This one feels harder than the first. Not sure if it's because it's steeper or because we've already done one! The downhill is equally as steep with some hairpins thrown in for good measure - now I know why they said check your brakes! At least we're warm this time. After this we pop back out onto he coast. We love the coast. The views are always stunning, and it smells so good!</div>
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We arrive in the closest town with services, Westport, 30 miles from the start of our day. By services we mean one store that sells limited groceries, has a deli, is the post office, and has a single gas pump out front. We have some of the tasty deli sandwiches and buy all the fresh fruit that looks okay - which is a small apple, a nectarine, and a plum.</div>
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From here we continue along the coast via several rolling hills. This coastline has the added bonus of no shoulder and active construction, which adds some nice haul and cement trucks in amongst the hairpin turns. Please save me! We pull off where we can to let the traffic go by, but it isn't always an option and sometimes we just have to brace ourselves.</div>
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We aren't having enough fun, so let's throw something else in the mix. How about a man walking a wheelchair with a dog in the lane coming at us? You just can't make this shit up!</div>
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We've seen the coast, we've <u>seen</u> farmland - now we've got coastal farmland! There are cows, but neither of us have the energy to moo at them or count them.<br />
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Will the rolling hills ever end? These aren't nice rollers where you can fly down and up the other side with ease - they take work!</div>
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Now might be a good time to tell you that today we had a choice. Stop and set up camp 3 miles from Fort Bragg and bike a 6 mile round trip for groceries, or bike 11 miles through town to the camp on the other side. We are high maintenance and want real fruit and vegetables - so we add 11 miles. Also because we love biking. And hills. Mostly rolling hills. Monotonous ones that continue for hours are preferable. <br />
We get into town and find ourselves some nice fresh fruit and vegetables and we are happy campers again.<br />
The ride to camp is short and uneventful. Camp, of course, is down another big hill.</div>
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We set up camp and head out to explore the campsite. It's in a gulch and has a stream running through it out to the ocean. <br />
We hike back up the hill (why hills, why?) <u>to</u> the day use area to see the sinkhole - which is a sea cave where the roof has opened up. The views from the headlands here are stunning!</div>
Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-65274252867151306002019-06-24T07:57:00.001-07:002019-06-24T07:57:54.397-07:00Day 23 - Burlington - Leggett<div dir="ltr">
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Distance - 47 miles</div>
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Hills - too many to count</div>
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Heat - off the charts (only 28 degrees, so if you divide by 348/897 and muliply by 2.54674 you should get Fahrenheit, right?). Don't even get me started on miles and feet.</div>
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Today we wake up among Giants.</div>
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We peacefully set out among the trees. They are stunning and beautiful and we never want to leave. The temperature is perfect as we wind around the trees on a smooth paved road next to the Eel River. Its a perfect morning in the Avenue of the Giants! We roll along singing our own (horrible) indie folk song about staying and biking in the redwoods forever. It's hard to describe how big these trees really are. Not only are the trunks big enough to drive your car through, the are up to 370 feet in height! Looking up is dizzying!</div>
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Our first stop is Miranda, where we sit on the curb at the local grocery and stuff our faces with cereal, Greek yogurt, and watermelon! We've had limited grocery options the last few days and the break from greasy diner food is quite welcome. We get the watermelon thinking we'll either eat it all or leave behind what we can't. After all, today we start the ascent up the most famous hills on route. I, of course, forgot who I was biking with. Why would we leave half a watermelon behind when we have room to carry it? My husband is insane, and it's kind of awesome.</div>
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Not only does today have the most elevation we will do in a day, it's also hot and exposed once we leave the shelter of our giant friends. </div>
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We cruise on and off the highway to ride through the small towns of Redway and Garberville. The side roads are quieter, and still have stunning river views. There are loads of people enjoying the river on this glorious sunny day. At times we wish we were off the bike and playing in the water too! </div>
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We pick up lunch in Garberville so we can have a nice picnic in Richardson Grove State Park. Then its off the highway for another quiet side road. This one drops down near the river, and then turns into a slightly terrifying gravel (but maybe once paved?) hill. We survive the short hill, and are very thankful its pavement after!</div>
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We make it to our lunch stop and find a picnic table surrounded by redwoods right next to the river. We get our wish because there's a beach full of people playing in the river - and we get to join for a refreshing swim!! Okay, now we definitely aren't coming home. Where is home? Home is where the tent is!</div>
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We only have 15 miles of heat and hills left, so I guess we have to get back on our bikes.<br />
Hill, heat, hill, heat, repeat! This is the start of the climb up the famous Leggett hill which we will finish tomorrow. We hit a road closed sign and have to take a minor detour - we're pretty sure it adds more hills. Yay hills! </div>
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The hills we're riding through look a lot like home. The Eel river beside us is still a beautiful blue. We wish we were the kayakers paddling away down there.</div>
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We arrive at the campsite only to find out that it's cash only. Of course we've had cash every other time... But they've always taken card and we've perhaps gotten a little complacent. The store across the road won't give us cash back and theey tell us there's an atm 7 miles back up the road, so we bum $4 off a nice gentleman.</div>
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We set up camp and seek the river for another quick swim before dinner. The path to the swimming hole is steep switchbacks and stairs. LEG DAY. EVERY DAY. The swimming hole is wonderful, we may have stayed there indefinitely - but we need dinner!</div>
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We head across the road from the camp to the Peg House - whose slogan is an appropriate 'Never don't stop.' They have delicious burgers and live music! We feel quite spoiled sitting under an umbrella drinking our rootbeet floats. It turns out the nice gentlemen who lent us the money is the lead singer in the band! The Eclectic Coyote Band! We plan to donate to the cause in return for the favour :)</div>
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Tomorrow we start the day with a 5 mile uphill climb - wish us luck!</div>
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-64371398670445112242019-06-23T10:45:00.000-07:002019-06-23T10:45:37.281-07:00Day 22 - Arcata to Burlington<div dir="ltr">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzpJxs_uWNUOIJJWKSfxQjKQXOUawk_hnVmW7mtfglqQ3-Xx4VLwk1jvwAr-JZ34otN9D0E0FyxrplrkOawK5hyphenhyphenufPhsbb4hNC_muMRaF1KVaH2vHHz2TtksUjrt9nAogtdcyhbvD3r0/s1600/IMG_20190622_074322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzpJxs_uWNUOIJJWKSfxQjKQXOUawk_hnVmW7mtfglqQ3-Xx4VLwk1jvwAr-JZ34otN9D0E0FyxrplrkOawK5hyphenhyphenufPhsbb4hNC_muMRaF1KVaH2vHHz2TtksUjrt9nAogtdcyhbvD3r0/s320/IMG_20190622_074322.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Distance - 62 miles</div>
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Today we were up and out of bed early to tackle a big day, reluctantly departing the land of hot tubs to view more big trees.</div>
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EUREKA! Is the first town we roll through. It's old town streets are lined with red brick. One of the streets is filled with colourful graffiti, most of which is quite artistic and well done. </div>
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After one small misdirection in town we find our way to highway 101 again.</div>
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Off the highway again we take a side road that looks a little like we're in mini Switzerland with lush green rolling hills. From here we're into flat farm lands with loads and loads of cows. We seem to have a lot of time on our hands when we aren't singing horrible 00's songs or kids camp tunes. As a result the road trip game cows on my side has gotten significantly more complicated. Additional rules are as follows:<br />
- instead of cows on my side, must call cows on right or left<br />
- if you're the lead cyclist you don't get points if you call it because you would have an unfair advantage. However, you must call the cows to 'block' the rear cyclist from getting points<br />
- extra points can be obtained if you moo at a field of cows and manage to get the cows attention. 1 point is awarded for every 3 cows<br />
- similarly, you can baa at sheep and be awarded 1 cow point every 3 sheep<br />
- if you correctly count the number of cows in the field you get 1 point per cow. You cannot change your original number if you miscount, and the number must be verified by the other cyclist</div>
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We pass through the cute town of Ferndale and have a cup of tea. The fire dept siren goes off quite loudly for a full minute. We sat there dumbstruck as it went off wondering if it might be the tsunami warning, but nobody around looked alarmed. We ask the shopkeeper who says its just the fire signal, and remarks it's likely just an old person who called 911 - it sounds like it happens quite frequently! They also said that it is the same siren for the tsunami warning, and that during the last earthquake/tsunami everyone was a bit confused. Perhaps not the best system!</div>
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From there we're back into cows - and the game continues, but we have no idea who's winning. We decide it should be called "Whose Cow Is It Anyway?" because the rules are made up and the points don't matter.<br />
From cows we launch into three nasty HOT hills before we arrive in Del Rio for lunch. We get invited to the BBQ and cornhole tournament in the park - but the BBQ hasn't started and we are 40 miles in and hungry!</div>
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After lunch we have another twenty miles to the campground and we enter in to the Avenue of the Giants!<br />
The avenue is amazing. There are loads of massive trees that line the road, and the temperature in the shade is perfect after roasting in the midday sun. We weave alongside the Eel river, which is a lovely vibrant blue.<br />
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With 10 miles to go we're getting pretty tired, and it seems to take forever to get to the campground. Two miles out and it feels like we've been out here for DAYS. In the desert. With no food or water. <u>Okay</u> that's a little dramatic. But we left camp at 7 am and it's 4:15 so we need food and sleep to explore more Giants in the morning!<br />
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At camp we find ourselves nestled among the redwoods. We set up camp, eat dinner, and are snuggled into bed nice and early - around 8:45. </div>
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Shortly after that the bed rocks... no no not like that! The ground is literally shaking beneath us! At first we think it's an animal, or a big tree falling - but the shaking continues for a several seconds. The whole campsite is hootin' and hollerin' and the crows are equally as excited.</div>
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Turns out, at 8:53 there was a magnitude 5.5 earthquake about 25 miles west of us near Petrolia, California. I've never felt anything quite like it - the earth is alive!!!</div>
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The gentlemen in the hiker/biker site with us (who is hiking his way from Mexico to Port Hardy) said he hasn't felt anything like it, and that he felt like he was accelerating out of his tent!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-70558480086800588562019-06-22T14:31:00.001-07:002019-06-22T14:31:53.011-07:00Day 21 Elk Prairie to Arcata<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 46 miles</div>
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This morning is COLD!<br />
We are glad the sun in shining.<br />
We leave camp and bike about a half mile - we aren't even out of the campsite yet - then stop to <u>put</u> on ALL THE LAYERS!<br />
Once suited up for winter, we say goodbye to our elk buddies and head back into the redwoods.</div>
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In a few short miles we depart the redwoods back to the coast where we tour through several lagoons. Today has lots of rolling hills, and we stop several times to admire the view and peel off our layers of clothing.<br />
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We stop in Trinidad for lunch at the Beachcomber Cafe (tasty, but a little overpriced), then head back out onto the scenic route. <u>We</u> are treated to the best coastal views we've had so far in Cali! To add to the adventure, the road is rough and bumpy, occasionally goes to gravel, and is intermittently one lane! </div>
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Twenty miles in we depart the highway for a more scenic coastal ride. We love the coastal views, but the wind is still so wild! The hills continue to roll and I am getting progressively angrier at my inability to shift properly... Are we in Arcata yet?<br />
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We're back on the highway briefly before we're treated to a rather unexpected paved trail - the Hammond <u>T</u>rail! Here we have an awesome tailwind and feel like we're flying!<br />
We can see the highway beside us curve and go uphill. We hope that our trail continues along the coast and skirts the hill - but that would be too easy! Instead not only do we get the uphill, the trail goes to gravel AND has drianage ditches as an added bonus. California is clearly here to make us stronger. The trail then peacefully takes us the rest of the way into town.<br />
We pass by Humboldt State University on the way, the campus looks quite nice and the bike lanes in the area are great!</div>
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Once in town we easily find the bike shop - hooray! We make a short trip to the grocery store while they work, and we're back on the road in no time! My chain and cassette are new, and my derailer is in the proper place (apparently it was bent which added to my shifting fun!). In my defense, I've only let my bike fall over twice in 3 weeks - and one was definitely not my fault *cough* Chris ;)<br />
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I have a new front tire that no longer wobbles, I guess I hit enough bumps to destroy the casing - but the wheel itself is fine.<br />
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Then we're back on the road and OH MY GOD THE ROAD IS FLAT. As in there are no hills, but also my front tire doesn't thunk with every rotation. I am a new me! Also rather disappointed because the campsite is only 3 miles away. However, tomorrow is a 60+ mile day and although it feels like a shiny new pony I'm sure I will eat my words tomorrow!</div>
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We roll up to the Redwoods Coast Cabins and RV Park - it's the only place to stay in the area - and the guide book says the biker camp is just the grass behind the check in building. What it doesn't say is there's a HOT TUB! And showers and laundry and a pool! It may be twice the price but today it feels worth it. </div>
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We cook dinner to the sweet sweet sounds of the lumber yard next door.<br />
We caved and paid the extra 3$ to do laundry. Our tent was starting to smell like we've been out here for years - and now it smells like fresh laundry! Now <u>there's</u> a camping smell I never thought I would love so much.</div>
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Now if you'll excuse us we've got a hot tub to attend to...</div>
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-66201285259020629172019-06-21T15:18:00.001-07:002019-06-21T15:18:43.424-07:00Day 20 - Mill Creek to Elk Prairie<div dir="ltr">
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Distance - 29 miles</div>
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Dear California, we may have got off on the wrong foot yesterday. Please accept our apologies - you are beautiful! </div>
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We roll out of camp and up the first hill with relative ease this morning. Yes, the hill we already climbed yesterday - well half of it anyways! We fly downhill and in a few short miles we're at the Trees of Mystery! It's a tourist trap / trail walk through the redwoods. Back in Oregon we saw the sign that said 119 miles to the mystery trees, then 112, and then we took lots of detours off hwy 101 because we couldn't handle the countdown - and now we're here! We stop to take photos with Paul Bunyan and his ox Babe.<br />
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We don't stay long, there's a guy on a loud speaker who greets people as they walk in and hassles people as they take photos. I think it's supposed to be Paul Bunyan talking, but it's a little creepy!</div>
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From there we head through Klamath where we find a cute little diner next to some emus. If you're in the area, stop by the Lot Cabin Diner and get the sausage breakfast burrito, it's fantastic!<br />
The highway riding in this area feels a lot like home.<br />
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From here it's out to a scenic parkway through the redwoods. The start of the <u>n</u>ational park is quite an uphill grind, but there's little traffic and it's very beautiful. The trees just keep getting bigger! Part way up we pass a rather cruel message painted on the road that says 'It doesn't get easier', but then another sign appears that says 'You just get better.' Thanks for the motivation, whoever you are!<br />
As we get closer to camp we begin to slowly wind downhill. It's a perfect grade to coast and stare at the fascinating trees! There's only a few surprising bumps that catch us as we stare up. We don't know how to define big - the trees are all HUGE! And this isn't even the Avenue of the Giants. </div>
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We arrive at Elk Prairie Campground and are immediately greeted by Roosevelt Elk grazing peacefully in the fields. It's amazing how peaceful they are surrounded by tourists. We set up the tent and nap in the sunshine, wander the campsite, take lots of photos of Elk butts (they were not in a cooperative mood), and play some card games. We are back in happy camper mode!<br />
The days here are warm but when the sun goes down we can see our breath! Brr!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-35005582889721544272019-06-20T11:45:00.002-07:002019-06-20T11:45:45.449-07:00Day 19 - Brookings to Mill Creek<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 42 miles</div>
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Yesterday I promised you a story.</div>
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Today we ventured into the unknown. All we know of the California portion of the ride is<br />
A) we will have to pay for showers again (which means it's back to wet wipes and towels like real campers)<br />
B) it has amazing redwoods<br />
C) there are lots of hills, including the biggest climbs on route</div>
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We woke up to glorious sunshine and a perfectly low tide for exploring the many tide pools just a short walk from our tent door. We saw loads of sea anemonies and sea stars and little fishies. We had our final free showers and charged everything we could. For some reason, the phone won't turn on. It just keeps trying to cycle on and going blank. We figure we'll leave it for a bit and it will eventually sort itself out.</div>
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In Brookings we find Mattie's Pancake House (luckily, since now we're without our best friend Google Maps). Here we are treated to some massive delicious breakfast platters before reluctantly departing Oregon.</div>
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In California we find happy cows. Lots and lots of happy cows. Today is one of the 60 mile days we split into two shorter days. We think we're in for a short flat riding day, but we may have read the guidebook a little wrong. After 27 miles of uneventful flat farm riding we enter Crescent City. We need to find a bike shop because my gears are slipping, my shifter is loose, and my front tire has quite a wobble. Chris wants to ride straight through town but I force him to take the scenic ocean route. <br />
If we thought we knew wind before today, Crescent City proved us wrong. The first gust of wind took me across a full lane of traffic before I could correct it. Thankfully we had a tailwind for the most part.<br />
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On the way there I see a sign for the airport and wonder if I can just get a flight home from here.<br />
The small bike shop is busy, but says if we can wait an hour he'll take a look. We kill time at a nearby diner, and drown our sorrows in icecream floats and banana splits (but they ran out of bananas, so sad).<br />
Back in the bike shop we find that my tire (not rim) could use a replacement, but he doesn't have the right size tire. My chain is so stretched that it doesn't even fit his tool - he has a cassette that would work but he sold his last ten speed chain yesterday.<br />
Nothing so bad I can't ride, so he recommends just limping along the next 70 miles to Arcata and getting everything replaced there.</div>
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We blindly set sight for town and find a Safeway with some WiFi. We try the phone again without luck - so opt for the tablet instead. We find the bike shop, which we conveniently would have passed the first time if I had just listened to Chris. It's also 1.3 miles directly into the wind. <br />
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Then we're off to Walmart to get groceries and another cell phone. We like Google Maps a lot. And knowing where we are is helpful. Also, without these blog posts we will return with very little memory of this whirlwind tour. We can't even remember where we were this morning!<br />
I sat outside of Walmart for an hour... Waiting. Reading. Reapplying sunscreen. Rereading our guidebook. It was hard to tell how much of a climb we would do before hitting camp for the night. The nice guy at the bike store indicated we would do the entire climb, and that the campsite we we're aiming for then basically dropped straight back down. But the guidebook says it's a flat 2.2 miles... Only one way to find out! </div>
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Chris eventually comes out with a new cheap phone - hooray!! But no groceries :(</div>
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I rewrite yesterday's blog while he gets groceries (we needed more than usual as the next couple of days are pretty bare). At 5:15 pm we leave Walmart after at least four hours of windy <u>c</u>ity torture.</div>
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With that all behind us, we actually have a pleasant, cool, and reasonably traffic free ride to camp which - you guessed it! - was another 1000' down after the full 2000' climb. We accidentally set up in the campsite beside the hiker biker camp (because today is just one of those days!). On the bright side we realized it on our own and didn't get kicked out!</div>
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We're in surprisingly good spirits once fed and in the right camp, after both admitting we were quite ready to call it quits today.</div>
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Now we're in the famous redwood forest, and this is only the beginning! There's also road signs for San Fran!! It's incredible how far we've come!</div>
Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-32921152951745990532019-06-19T17:23:00.001-07:002019-06-19T17:23:15.349-07:00Day 18 - Humbug Mountain to Brookings<p dir="ltr">Distance 51miles</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our good friend and travel buddy Natasha (wish you were here!) once said it wasn't a trip with Chris and Jenna without a moment where you thought you might die. Today was that day.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It was a beautiful day starting out, we woke up to hummingbirds and Chipmunks in the campsite. It was the first day where it was warm enough to start our ride in shorts and a tshirt.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The day begins on the scenic coast we left off on yesterday, and winds through some pretty neat rock cuts. Six miles in we take obliagtory photographs with a giant Trex, but skip the forest walk to see the rest. <br>
I guess we must look dead because there are vultures circling overhead already.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We then appreciate the nerdy surveyor who has marked mile 314.15 along the coast.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ten miles in we're on highway 101 with an awesome tailwind and beautiful ocean views. Here's where we make our first mistake. We miss our first turn off which was supposed to take us winding up a few valleys. After a short stop to check the maps we decide we're okay to continue on the highway, where the only downside is the RVs and logging trucks. Thankfully the shoulder is wide. We see a sign for a scenic bike route down the old highway  and take that instead. That helps add a few more hills into our day.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We arrive in Gold Beach and have some cheese and crackers on the lawn of the local highschool (don't worry they're out for the summer) to fuel up before our first big climb up Cape Sebastian.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The climb isn't as bad as we thought. We get to the top and turn towards the scenic viewpoint, where our guidebook says you can see south all the way to Crescent City, California. What it doesn't say is that the bike after the turnoff it's straight up hill. I turn the corner and can't gear down fast enough, and hop off my bike to walk it up. Chris continues to the top and checks out the north view point while I walk. When I get to the fork we debtae going to the south one as its down and back up another scary set of hills!<br>
We ride down (Chris rides down, I ride my brakes) and I walk my bike up yet another hill. We are treated to a beautiful, but rather windy view.<br>
We turn around and I decide to be brave and ride up the hills. By some miracle I make it, but I have to talk myself up it and at the top my heart is racing like never before! I barely have time to catch my breathe before we're headed back downhill.<br>
On the downhill the wind is blowing so hard we feel like human parachutes. I try not to hit my brakes and keep telling myself if a car can do it, I can do it.<br>
We get near the bottom and Chris says he's turning into the viewpoint (thank goodness for intercoms, they're amazing). I go to shift and lose control of my bike to the scariest wobble. I thought I was going down hard, but somehow manage to correct and save myself. I coast into the viewpoint very thankful to be in own piece.<br>
After a couple of windy minutes watching wind surfers we continue on to the Samual Boardman scenic corridor. We were excited for this section, but didn't quite realise a scenic corridor meant the following:<br>
1- lots more hills, and no cool ocean breeze<br>
2- lots of viewpoints, which are either overgrown or require a hike into<br>
3 - so many more opportunities for steep hills (no thanks)</p>
<p dir="ltr">We do one hike out to see an arch, but decide the rest of the hikes and hills will be for another day!</p>
<p dir="ltr">We arrive to Harris Beach Campground and walk a mike or so into brookings for dinner.<br>
The campground is amazing and right on the water, but Oregon is still determined to hide it's fmsous susnets from us!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Tomorrow - California!<br>
Thanks for the amazing ocean views and hot showers Oregon, we will be back.</p>
<p dir="ltr">SORRY FOR THE LACK OF PHOTOS! The reason, dear friends, is a story for another day ;)</p>
Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-35514711045482938012019-06-18T18:25:00.001-07:002019-06-18T18:25:40.581-07:00Day 17 - Bullards Beach to Humbug Mountain<div dir="ltr">
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Distance - 40 miles<br />
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Fun fact for you curious followers (hi Mom!) - we have eaten 1.5 lbs of beef jerky since our stop in Tillamook. A little less than 1 lb remains. We are still loving it.</div>
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Today is a cold, cloudy day! Just kidding. Well, it was for about an hour. Then the clouds just magically disappeared and we were left with glorious sun! The amount of sunscreen we use is unreal.<br />
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We cross over a little bridge into Brandon and are treated to a cute coastal town with beautiful ocean vistas and lots of rocks sticking out of the water (called haystacks, we think). We see lots of people wandering the beach, several with packs who look like they're hiking the Oregon Coast Trail.<br />
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We continue on through rolling hills and farmland. It still seems odd to us that the farmland is so close to the coast.<br />
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This morning we made a grave mistake. We had a small breakfast to prepare ourselves for the world famous Langlois Market Deli sandwiches. Yesterday we biked 18 miles to brunch and it seemed reasonable. Today it was not. Every hill separated us from the delicious sandwiches that awaited. The highway was also quite obnoxious with asphalt trucks and RVs which didn't help.<br />
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We finally, and I mean FINALLY, get to Langlois!<br />
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We are greeted at the deli counter by a cheerful young man who explains that all the pictures hung behind the counter represent the sandwiches, and that they've been there since before he was born! They also have a delicious homemade mustard that he urges us to try, and says the burgers are fresh from his cousin's farm next door. We order a burger and a pulled pork, and they do not disappoint! We debate ordering another one, but today we have some self control...<br />
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Ten miles later we roll in to Port Orford, the only open water port on the Oregon coast. Here we stock up on groceries and re-apply sunscreen yet again.<br />
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We decide to take a short detour to a state park to see some more haystacks. What we don't know is that the detour is a full mile straight uphill. The view was not worth it. However, the bakery we happen by on the way down is!! Ice cream sandwiches with freshly baked cookies are amazing. I am never coming home. I guess the biking is pretty cool too!</div>
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Speaking of cool biking, as we leave Port Orford we are treated to stunning coastal views. They may be the best we have seen so far! We're disappointed that our campsite is nestled in a valley and not on the ocean.<br />
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We arrive at our campsite to discover it's beside a beautiful creek that flows out into the ocean, and even though it's tucked in a valley it's only a short walk to one of the most stunning beaches so far!<br />
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We are very spoiled. This coast is stunning!<br />
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Tomorrow is our last day in Oregon... California here we come!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-31311488426035302522019-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:002019-06-17T13:50:07.825-07:00Day 16 - Winchester to Bullards Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Heat, and hills, and wind - oh my!<br />
Distance: 47 miles<br />
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This morning we depart our campsite up a hill yet again, except for some reason it doesn't feel as bad as it did yesterday. We are thankful for that!<br />
We roll up and down a few hills in similar terrain as yesterday, surrounded by pine trees and lakes.<br />
A short 18 miles in we hit a beautiful bridge over Coos Bay into North Bend. It's another one with beautiful scenery where the cross winds try hard to push you into traffic as you desperately try not to overcorrect and smash into the side wall. But it's soooo pretty! But don't look up!<br />
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Almost every side street as we go through North Bend has a cross wind strong enough to make Chris yelp a warning. I look up to see him swerve as I launch in and wobble myself. Weeeheheheee!<br />
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We stop at another local cafe called Top Dog Coffee Co and get amazing breakfast bagels. We did not go back and order another one..... I swear! ;)<br />
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We finally turn south and hope to have the wind at our back as we wind our way up <br />
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Seven Devil's Road. This is a detour from Charleston to Brandon, as bikes are encouraged to stay off hwy 101. Unsure quite what to expect, we launch up a hill that has us in our granny gears right off the start. It's a narrow winding road with no shoulders. The uphills are cruel and our quads burn, but this is the biking we live for and both of us are a bit too jolly as we make the ascent. At the top (of the first devil) we are treated to rolling hills much like we're used to on the gulf islands, some of which are made even better by a tailwind pushing us along. When we get views they're created by clear cutting, but we can see mountains for days! The low clouds are blowing so fast overhead it feels like we're chasing them.<br />
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Halfway-ish through the seven devil's (we forgot to count) we lost our marbles. We think we're on the final descent but another uphill smacks us in the face. Chris takes the uphill while singing a raucus rendition of the Devil Went Down to Georgia. It's like he doesn't even notice it's an uphill! I'm 200m behind him, losing ground quickly as I pant up the hill. I don't even think he stops to breathe. He gets to the chorus and shouts HIT IT! In my defense, I tried. I got a few words out that morphed into I can't sing on this uphill I'm breathing too hard.... How did you even do that?!<br />
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The descent is a super flowy fun winding joyous one. Chris takes off so fast I nearly lost him.<br />
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We arrive at Bullards Beach, set up camp, then discover the wonderful danger of push button showers! Just one more push... ten pushes later. These Oregon campgrounds spoil us!<br />
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Before dinner we walked the 3/4 mile to the beach along the board walk, while swatting at the first real mosquitoes we've encountered this trip. Despite what the guide book said, there was no scenic Oregon sunset to be had. Instead we were greeted by mist and a cold wind.<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-78803695743403268802019-06-16T11:32:00.001-07:002019-06-16T11:32:47.284-07:00Day 15 - Washburne to Winchester Bay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 43 miles<br />
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Okay, we will admit it. We are sore!<br />
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Today we started with an uphill right out of the campground and it wasn't so bad. We passed by the Hecata Head Lighthouse, and smelled one of America's largest sea lion cave on the way by. We were too early to catch the elevator down, but the smell from above was enough.<br />
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Then we entered the dunes! There were dune buggys and ATVs everywhere! We found ourselves wishing we were on those rather than our bikes today. Everything felt like it was uphill.<br />
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We stopped to check out Honeyman Campground, the second largest in the state. We hiked up a dune and watched people boarding down the sand. Maybe it's the Canadian in me... But I think I'd take snow over sand - the falling didn't look very fun. With snow you also don't have to clear sand out of your ears for days! There was a beautiful fresh water lake with people kayaking around it here too. We didn't stop for a swim, the wind was blowing a little cold today!<br />
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We stopped for lunch at the Dunes Day Use Area and looked out overtop the expanse of dunes. There were some hikers down below who we didn't envy, the sand was hot and wind was blowing hard!<br />
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We headed out towards our camp for the night and suffered up one final hill. The scenery switches from dunes to wooded forest with freshwater lakes and back. It reminds us of the BC/Washington coast.<br />
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Finally we arrive at the campground, set up our tent and crawl in for a quick nap.<br />
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Once rested we walk over to Umpqua Lighthouse and out to Winchester Bay for dinner, about 2 miles. The walk takes us past several campsites with no trees, where every site has a massive RV, a truck, and a dune buggy or ATV (or several). The wind is blowing so hard we aren't sure how camping there could be pleasant. We then walk past a site flying a flag that says vote Trump 2020 - Keep America Great. Perhaps that explains it.<br />
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On the walk back to camp we can see our breath! It doesn't feel that cold, but according to the campsite host it is colder than usual.<br />
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We hit the tent before 8pm, hoping for a good night sleep and an easier day tomorrow!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-40879891534517411702019-06-15T10:27:00.001-07:002019-07-17T12:33:15.022-07:00Day 14 - Beverly Beach to Washburne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We woke early to another cloudy day, and some noisy campers next door. We make new friends as we pack up camp... An older gentleman we met the previous night who continues to tell us the same stories on repeat. He brings me a rock to inspect while his friend asks Chris for medical advice on his dog's paw. They're kind and have good intentions, but we eagerly pack our gear and head out on the road. Chris even changed my brake pads and added little time to our morning routine. No... The hills have not been scary and I have not been using my brakes loads. Okay, my brakes were a little worn to start and some of the downhills have been a little scary.<br />
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First stop was a detour to the lighthouse in Agate. The winds are strong this morning and we get blown around by the first cross wind of the day. The sun has come out in full force now!<br />
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We enter the town of Newport and find another cute little bakery for breakfast, the Panini Bakery. This city claims to be 'the friendliest', and our experience doesn't disappoint.<br />
We continue towards the famed Newport bridge and are stopped by a lovely couple who tell us all about what's to come. Several others we meet today tell us everything from nearby restaurants and breweries not to miss to the weather forecast, and many caution us about the winding road at the end of our day.<br />
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We've biked over lots of bridges now, they have the best views, but usually very little shoulder. If you want to look around you'll probably bike right into traffic. Newport was par for the course.<br />
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We stop at many other pullouts, the coastline here is rocky and stunning with beaches all around.<br />
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We stop for lunch just before Yachats (did they just spell yacht wrong?). Look ma I'm not JUST eating donuts and ice cream!<br />
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In Yachats we offset our vegetables by hitting up the local fish n chip stand! Giant bottles of tartar sauce should always be a thing.<br />
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The last 10ish miles through Cape Perpetua is stunning. This coast is so beautiful. The road people warned us about wasnt even as bad as some of the sections we've been through and the hills were made much easier by the crazy tailwind we had. We could feel the wind pushing us up the hill. It was so windy at one point our shirts started blowing up our backs and we thought we may arrive at our campground shirtless!<br />
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The rolling hills to the campground were so much fun. Although the cross winds on the corners made riding unpredictable, the tailwind made us feel like we could fly. As we arrive at he campground for the night, we let out collective "WAAAA's" because we didnt want to stop biking.<br />
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We set up camp (oddly the only cyclists here on a Friday), hike some more nature trails, and prepare to get sandblasted through the land of dunes tomorrow!<br />
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<br />Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-69840991141876621232019-06-14T14:30:00.000-07:002019-06-14T14:30:10.695-07:00Day 13 - Devil's Lake to Beverly Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Distance - 20 miles<br />
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Instead of taking full rest days and having some longer 60+ mile days, we're splitting the long days into two shorter days so we get to rest but don't get restless!<br />
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Today we woke up in a cloud! It was misty but not too cold, a perfect spring day.<br />
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We biked 10 miles out of Lincoln City to Depoe to the Depoe Baykery for breakfast (business card at bottom of post). The biking was mostly just trying not to get hit by houses (oversize loads). The bakery was definitely the highlight. Freshly baked donuts for breakfast are never a bad thing. We went back for seconds.<br />
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Biking through Depoe was awesome, the weather by this point has cleared and it's nice and sunny out. Depoe has one of the world's smallest navigable harbours, and is the closest harbour to the Pacific Ocean so there's lots of activity. There's lots of whale watching tours run out of here. We saw lots of whale watching boats on our ride, but sadly no whales.<br />
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The ride from Depoe is a scenic route past Otter Rock (a giant rock out in the water) and Devil's Punchbowl (a giant hole in the rock in the coast, possibly from a collapsed sea cave). The riding was scenic and had really cool trees with green trunks from all the vines growing up them.<br />
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We arrive at Beverly beach campground in the early afternoon. Sadly the beach is too windy to enjoy, but we have a relaxing afternoon walking the nearby nature trails. <br />
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Now it's time for tea and card games as the mist rolls back in!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-50119164137046384192019-06-13T10:24:00.004-07:002019-06-13T10:24:58.493-07:00Day 12 - Cape Lookout to Devil's Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This morning we are woken up at 1 am to a raccoon pulling one of our pannier bags out from under the tent fly! There isn't any food in it, but I guess it still smelled tastey. I sent Chris out to investigate and we secured everything else, we faired much better than the hikers beside us!<br />
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!<br />
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True to his nature, today starts with a massive uphill climb right out of the campsite - one only someone as crazy as Chris can appreciate. The climbs will get bigger as we approach California, but this is one of the best so far.<br />
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We stop halfway up the hill to take pictures, and Chris receives several text messages from his family wishing him a happy birthday! I'd feel bad that I forgot, but he did too! What day is it? Where are we?<br />
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We continue on through dunes and pines forests that smell a lot like we're at home in the Okanagan, through farm land with loads of cows, then back along the ocean . On our way we see two of the most interesting roadkill so far, a porcupine and a possum? Are there possums here? <br />
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We stop at MegPies, an amazing bakery in Pacific City, and get donuts and rice krispy squares. We decide that's not enough food so we get some waffles too (and eggs and sausages and hash browns). <br />
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After a bit we head up another big winding hill. The hill is the old highway, and is a steady grade for several miles. It's serene and lush and beautiful, and crosses several small rivers and streams. <br />
The ride down the other side is winding and fun... For Chris!! I was maybe a little heavy on the brakes.<br />
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Somewhere along the way I swallowed my first bug.. we figure one in 12 days isn't bad!<br />
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After setting up camp at Devil's Lake, we head into Lincoln City and pick up all the ingredients for a proper camping meal - hot dogs!!! The evening is spent roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire.<br />
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At the camp we meet a couple from New Zealand who is doing the Oregon coast trail in between sections of the PCT. They are very inspiring! Maybe we'll go there next ;)<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-24968286262372019552019-06-12T10:52:00.003-07:002019-06-12T10:52:54.498-07:00Day 11 - Nehalem Bay to Cape Lookout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've got my toes in the water, ass in the sand not a worry in the world, beef jerky in my hand - life is good today!<br />
The best quote of today - "I'm not sure what I thought cycling the west coast would be like, but this isn't what I thought!"<br />
Thankfully we both agree that it's been much better than expected!<br />
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We started today at the usual time, getting up just after 7 am. In Washington the mornings were cool and we were in our down jackets to start. This morning there was not a chill in the breeze as we rolled out in shorts and a t-shirt.<br />
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Our first stop was a quiet little diner where we feasted on french toast and pancakes before heading 25 miles to the famous Tillamook cheese factory!<br />
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The bay views we get today are stunning, and the hills are still rolling!<br />
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We have perfect timing and get to watch the steam engine roll through Rockaway Beach. I love small beach towns. Our favourites so far are Long Beach, Cannon Beach, and Rockaway Beach!<br />
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We stop 4 miles short of the cheese factory at the Tillamook smoke house to pick up some jerky for the road. The staff are incredibly friendly and we are treated to abundant samples of pepperoni and beef jerky. Their sales tactics worked, because we walked out of there with 2.5 lbs of jerky! I'm drooling just writing about it.<br />
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We roll up to the cheese factory and feel a bit like monkeys in a zoo. We stand in a long line to get sub par samples of cheese (in comparison to the meat samples), and then after a brief stop in the gift shop (sorry we didn't get you any souvenirs, we used all our weight for the jerky) we find the ice cream! We are herded through the line and barely have time to contemplate flavours as the place is just packed! The ice cream was delicious, but there were far too many people for our liking - we have been mostly in lonely hiker/biker campsites so far!<br />
We brave the storm of people one last time to get pineapple cream sodas. Yes we have an eating problem... But it's hot outside, okay?<br />
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We stop in town to pick up groceries for the evening, mostly fresh fruit and vegetables ;)<br />
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We wind our way to Cape Lookout, our campsite for the night. The hiker/biker campsites here are nestled in the trees right by the beach (in contrast to some of the other campgrounds that have been open fields near the road, or anything in between).<br />
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Here we are treated to a nice warm beach - finally the wind isn't blowing hard enough to send us running for the hills... err... dunes!<br />
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We finally stayed up late enough to watch the sunset!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-17480791096504236142019-06-11T09:27:00.001-07:002019-06-11T09:27:16.617-07:00Day 10 - Fort Stevens to Nehalem Bay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hellooo Oregon!<br />
My are you ever hot and hilly ;)<br />
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Our first full day in Oregon starts with a trip to Walmart to get fuel. So much excitement!<br />
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We then head into Fort Clatsop and Lewis and Clark National Park! We take a short unitentional detour into the ranger station before we find our way.<br />
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The morning is a beautiful ride through farmers fields, with lots of pretty ponies! Can I have one? We also spot a coyote stalking something in the grasses.<br />
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The hills are rolling. We shoot out onto the promenade in Seaside where we eat breakfast and watch people play beach volleyball.<br />
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It's a short 8 miles into Cannon Beach, which should be our lunch stop, but we're both rather full from breakfast still. We stop at the market to pick up a few snacks for later and accidentally end up in the local candy shop. One ice cream cone, one gingerale, and a large bag of saltwater taffy and we've found ourselves the perfect lunch! So much for not being hungry....<br />
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We haul ourselves over the two final climbs with amazing ocean views and a rather long feeling uphill tunnel before arriving in Manzanita. We stop for dinner groceries, and bike a bit further to our camp for the night - Nehalem Bay.<br />
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We walk out to the beach to get sandblasted by the wind and watch some kite surfers, then wander out to peaceful Nehalem Bay where people are riding horses along the waterfront.<br />
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TOMORROW - CHEESE!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-33774370337425254442019-06-10T12:53:00.000-07:002019-06-10T12:53:30.779-07:00Day 9 - Cape Disappointment to Fort Stevens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's sunny!!!<br />
We have a lazy morning and pack up slowly as the last of our laundry dries.<br />
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We finally understand the name of the park, because we are quite disappointed to be leaving while there's so much more to explore.<br />
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We head out mid-morning and are treated to rolling hills, with a view of the 4 mile long bridge to Astoria. We get to go through our first tunnel, and it was as fun as it sounds. We pressed the bikes in tunnel light and held up an RV which was already holding up traffic. SO FUN! ..But it was actually really cool.<br />
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We pass through McGowan, and wave hello to Chris' ansestry - though there seems to be no resemblance here but the name.<br />
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The 4 mile bridge to Astoria was also rather fun, except for the hill on the far side! There was more shoulder on the bridge than a lot of the highway, and traffic was light.<br />
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WE ARE IN OREGON!<br />
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Astoria has a Sunday market and lots of breweries and cideries. We find a nice cafe for lunch and people watch for a bit. I want to stay and eat kettle corn and cotton candy, but the wind is blowing unfavourably to get to our camp, so we reluctantly leave town.<br />
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We have a headwind for the last 10 miles to camp as we pass through a few more small towns on our way to Fort Stevens.<br />
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Today ends up being 30 miles and not the 22 we were promised. But it's okay. We aren't bitter at all. And our butts aren't at all sore. Ok maybe a little, but it's actually too sunny and beautiful out to be anything more than a little miffed.<br />
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We set up camp - we have pick of the hiker biker sites yet again... Where are you bikers? - and head out to the beach to see an old shipwreck and watch some kite surfers.<br />
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Oh yeah - the campsite has lockers with charging stations and again... showers!!!!<br />
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While eating dinner, a couple bikers roll in and set up. We chat for a bit. They're retired and spending a year or two biking all over the country. Sign me up!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-73526855947027328242019-06-09T12:36:00.000-07:002019-06-09T12:36:37.276-07:00Day 8 - Bruceport to Cape Disappointment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is our last day in Washington, and despite the name - it does not disappoint!<br />
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The ride today was 46 miles. We chose to split the 60+ mile ride to Astoria into two days, today's 46 and tomorrow's 26. We've had a big week of riding and we're both feeling it!<br />
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This morning we rode rolling hills through nature reserves, and several bridges across rivers and streams.<br />
This afternoon was winding highway with no shoulder alongside the ocean, and thankfully very little traffic.<br />
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The town of Long Beach was like a fairground with carousels and go karts lining the main street! The sun even came out as we turned onto the discovery trail to bike a beautiful path along the longest beach in the world! People drive their cars right out on the beach, and it looks awesome! We even rode right past a wedding! Why are we already married? Can we get married again on this beach?<br />
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We wind our way along the beach and then uphill to one of two lighthouses in the area. We find another wedding party taking photos here - it's that incredible!<br />
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We arrive at the campground at Cape Disappointment to full sunshine and free showers! <br />
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As I write this we are sitting on top of a hill in the glorious sunshine, listening to a free concert in the campground with an ocean backdrop. <br />
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Not a day has passed where we haven't been blown away by the people or scenery out here. Thank you Washington!! Can't wait to see what Oregon has in store!<br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-85483680664736418812019-06-08T13:22:00.002-07:002019-06-08T13:22:26.726-07:00Day 7 - Westport to Bruceport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We wake up to sunshine and pack up our tent dry!!! We are so lucky. Then we spent 15 minutes hiding under a tree waiting for a rain shower to pass.<br />
Will this be the day we finally get poured on?!<br />
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Today's ride starts down the coast and is relatively flat. We pass a few nice campgrounds and lots of little touristy shops. Maybe not your typical tourist shops, these ones were loaded with everything you could think of and had so many signs out front it was impossible to tell what they were actually selling! Not sure if you want lawn art, ice cream, kettle corn, or a kettle?! They have it all! We were too afraid to stop.<br />
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We r<span id="goog_176000795"></span><span id="goog_176000796"></span>ode through Grayland Campground and ate our breakfast there. Once again, another beautiful spot! Also have we mentioned Peanut Butter is the new hot sauce? We put that shit on everything! <br />
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<span id="goog_176000801"></span><span id="goog_176000802"></span>The rest of the ride to the town of Raymond is oceanside and stunning! We can see across the bay to where we will be camping tonight, and it doesn't exactly look dry over there. We arrive in Raymond and have lunch at a local diner. This is where the rain starts and doesn't stop.<br />
We hit a grocery store in South Bend, and hang out in McDonald's to wait out the worst of the rain. I ordered a stroop waffle mcflurry with extra stroop and it was about the best think ever! Who said rainy days aren't for ice cream? They are wrong!<br />
As I'm sitting there with my icecream, a gentleman comes up and gives me $20. He says he's been touring a ton of places, and to use it to get our next meal! People are amazing!<br />
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We get a break in the rain and go for it - it's only 10 miles to camp. The break doesn't last long. We finally get what we've been avoiding for days. Rain, rain, rain!!! There's a really nice biking path out of South Bend, I'm sure it would be even more stunning in the sunshine.<br />
We passed a catamaran sales place, and almost bought one to sail back home in!<br />
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We make it to our campsite soaking wet. We thought since it was a weekend the place would be busy - but the weather helped keep people away!<br />
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The camp caretaker is wonderful and let's us set up under the group shelter, so we have a dry place to set up and hang our gear!<br />
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A reflection on week 1 as we sit snuggled in the tent surrounded by warm happy down fluffiness:<br />
-Bike touring is wild and incredible.<br />
-Roadkill is identifiable 75 percent of the time.<br />
-Please send food.<br />
-People are so amazing there isn't a word or feeling to describe it.Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-44593510684671344392019-06-08T13:10:00.004-07:002019-06-08T13:22:52.726-07:00Day 6 - Lake Quinault to Westport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is overcast, but thankfully not raining as we pack up our tent.<br />
We head out on our second longest ride in Washington - 63 miles from Quinault Lake to Westport.<br />
Our guide book says the first 3/4 of today's ride is like yesterdays, and that's a bit concerning because yesterday was hard work. <br />
By some miracle, we work our way between storms and get mostly sunshine for the first 20 miles to Humptulips. The rain starts to pour down just as we pull into the covered gas station, where we wait out the rain for a few minutes as we eat breakfast and put on our rain gear.<br />
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It's a good thing we put on our rain gear, because we didn't get rained on for the next 20 miles to Aberdeen! We were in tshirts by the time we got there - but we kept looking ahead thinking it was about to rain! We took a few side roads along the Wishkah River to get to Aberdeen, and it was beautiful!<br />
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We stopped at Safeway and successfully (or disgustingly) polished off a whole chicken in a matter of minutes. And grapes. And tomatoes. And cucumbers. And cookies. THE HUNGER IS SO REAL.<br />
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We set off again, wondering if we'll actually get rained on this afternoon.<br />
We managed to only go through one breif rain shower and then we're back into sun to dry off. The scenery changed and it was clear we were headed back to the coast, the headwinds told us so!<br />
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We finally see a sign that says 1 mile to our campsite - hooray! And then the next rain storm hits. No idea where it came from, but we were in tshirts and it came like a wall! Luckily the headwind over the stunning Bay Bridge helped dry us off.<br />
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For dinner we dumped an entire container of cream cheese into pasta with a pack of spices, and it was almost as good as the whole chicken we had earlier.<br />
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We stayed at Twin Harbors campsite which was just a short walk from the ocean and dunes! Definitely a different coastline than we are used to! <br />
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Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2449379836589532122.post-82346423197080397372019-06-07T14:33:00.001-07:002019-06-07T14:40:26.550-07:00Day 5 - Kalaloch to Lake Quinault<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we had a nice short day - only 34 miles!<br>
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We have lost our glorious sunshine to typical overcast wet coast weather, but we start out without rain!<br>
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The highway is quite bumpy, the shoulder is non-existent for large portions, and the logging trucks keep on rollin by. I did find a rather tattered looking barbie doll in the bushes, and that may have been the highlight of this section.<br>
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Jenna got her first flat tire. Conveniently a couple miles before we arrived at camp, so we were maybe a little hangry. Didn't take long to change and we were back on our way.<br>
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As we rolled into camp we find our new Australian friends (Ester, Andy, and their daughters Tara and Hayley) They invite us to share their campsite right on the lake, feed us mushroom soup, and set up a vegemite tasting for us! People are amazing, and vegemite is delicious on crackers with butter!!<br>
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We ate lunch in the lodge while watching hummingbirds buzz around. The lodge had a beautiful fireplace and a lawn that looked over the lake.<br>
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We did a short hike to cascade falls up the Falls Creek Trail. It was lush and green and beautiful (and wet)! Luckily, we dried out by the lodge fire before going back to our campsite.<br>
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The sun came out for a bit and we decided to be brave and go for a swim! The water wasn't warm, but we've been in colder!<br>
Our new friends made us hot chocolate which made it even nicer!<br>
They also made us a spaghetti dinner with stir fry, and Jenna got to read bedtime stories to the youngest daughter.<div><br></div><div>We played a game of Splendor with Andy, and then we were off to bed early for another big day of riding tomorrow!<br>
<br></div>Little Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15948515626831787610noreply@blogger.com0