Point Hueneme to Torrance, CA 68.2 miles and 1,270 feet

Another difference between northern and southern California is the number of military installations. Since we've been in the southland we passed Vandenbergh AFB, Point Hueneme Naval Air Station, and today we passed Point Mugu Naval Air Station. We have not even reached San Diego where there are many more. I don't recall there being that …

Santa Barbara to Point Hueneme 47.6 miles and 925 feet

We met a former colleague of mine from NetSuite, Tom Buffo, who lives in Santa Barbara for coffee. Tom is a very nice person and I miss working with him. In fact, I miss all of my former colleagues very much. Cycling out of Santa Barbara we rode to the Santa Barbara pier and along …

Lompoc to Santa Barbara 48 miles and 2,067 feet

Had I been a little smarter in High School, I would have applied to UC Santa Barbara (UCSB). Because of the academics? No, because of the beaches, the bike paths, and the warm weather! I think the smartest kids attend UCSB and I have two friends who's daughters are attending UCSB in the fall. Along …

SLO to Lompoc 61 Miles and 2,677 feet

After taking a day off the bike it's always interesting to see how your legs will react. Are my legs rested, sore, or some where in between. In our case we took a week off and I was afraid that the rust had set in. I was happy to find that yes indeed my legs …

California Zephyr to SLO

My mother loved to take the train. She was from Japan and was used to fast, efficient, and on time trains. When she traveled from Tokyo to her home prefecture Niigata, the train was traveled over 100 miles per hour on smooth train tracks. The 300 plus miles to Niigata took less than three hours …

A Week Off

We had to make a decision on our route around Big Sur. The Pacific Coast route from San Francisco follows the coast through San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey country and then to Big Sur. The ride from Monterey to San Simeon has probably the most beautiful scenery of the entire Pacific Coast ride. …

San Rafael to Lark Spur Ferry 7.4 miles and 267 feet

We had a wonderful nights sleep in Cindy and David's comfortable guest bed and were ready for the two ferry rides to Alameda. What a treat to ride the ferry on a sunny days to San Francisco and Alameda! We rode the short ride from San Rafael to Lark Spur and took the first ferry …

Bodega Bay to San Rafael: 55.8 miles and 3,376 feet

Today was a very hot day and we were hoping for the coastal fog and the usually lower temperatures in Bodega Bay. However due to a mini heat wave in CA we had no such luck! We often ride this stretch of the ride with friends and we are very familiar with the roads which …

Anchor Bay/Gualala to Bodega Bay: 52.7 miles and 3,242 feet

Today the road and terrain becomes familiar. We have ridden this stretch of Highway 1 many times and it feels like we are home. We have ridden this on our road bikes not the pack bikes and it's difficult to hold back. We want to, or at least I do, Erika is more civilized, to …

Caspar to Anchor Bay/Gualala: 53.4 miles and 4,370 feet

Today was to be a moderate day of riding with 45 miles and 2,800 feet of climbing. We did not find an open camp spot on a Friday night in Anchor Bay, a popular weekend destination for abalone divers. I found a very interesting off the grid house made of dirt on Airbnb. I contacted …

Leggett to Caspar: 55 miles and 3,988 miles

Today was the first big climbing day. The climbing started fairly early into the ride and we climbed 2k feet over 4-5 miles. It was a not a very steep climb with an average grade of 4 - 5%. The scenery was beautiful and we rode under trees the entire climb so it was nice …

Phillipsville to Leggett: 34.5 miles and 2,647 feet

It was nice to have a rest day in the quiet of the redwoods and the Madrona Inn and wait out the rain. It was the last day of spring rain or so we hope. Today was a short ride and a nice way to rejoin the tour before the big climb out of Legget …

5/16 Rain Day/Zero Day

We are stayed at the Madrona in Phillipsville last night and today. We found it on Airbnb. Despite the mixed reviews we really like the place. It appears to have been a motel at one point and now it seems to be a mixed of nightly rentals and more permanent housing for some locals. Our …

5/15 Eureka to Phillipsville, CA: 72.8 miles and 2,707 feet

We road on and off 101 for the first 35 miles of the day. It's loud on the freeway and we put on ear plugs to drown ou the sound on the vehicles. The last 35 miles of the day was on the Avenue of the Giants. It was magical to ride again among the …

5/14 Day Zero in Eureka, CA

We planned to take a zero day in Eureka to sightsee, though we had a zero rain day in Crescent City a few days ago.We rented a car to visit the Redwood National and State Park to hike. It was interesting to drive the roads that we cycled. A ride that took us five hours …

5/13 Orick to Eureka, CA: 51.2 miles and 1,843 feet

In 1990 Erika was working as an Electrical Engineer and she decided to go back to Graduate School in microbiology. She needed the science course work in Microbiology before she could apply to a Ph.D program and she spent two years at Humbolt State University taking undergraduate course work in microbiology. Coming back to Humbolt …

5/10 Brookings OR to Crescent City, CA: 28.9 miles and 453 ft

Our new friend Richard from The Netherlands told us that he met a man during his ride along the coast from Wisconsin who lost his job two years ago and left by bike with his dog in tow in a trailer. The man was aiming to ride back to Wisconsin. Today we saw a couple …

5/9 Port Orford to Brookings: 60.1 miles and 3,329 ft

Sad to say goodbye to Port Orford. It's a small port town with stunning views from the beacj Turns out my High School friend and basketball team mate Karen Morrison's family owned a hotel in Port Orford and as a child she spent her summers here. Also we learned that Erika's aunt Irene's husband Gene's …

5/12 Crescent City to Orick: 42.2 miles and 2,611 ft

We knew that there was a big climb out to Crescent City. Everyone we met and told where we were going mentioned the climb. The climb was long but not that steep. It was actually nice to have the climb in the morning to warm up. More of a challenge was to safely pass through …

5/11 Zero Day in Crescent City

We do not normally frequent McDonald's unless it's to get an ice cream cone during road trips when we can not find a Wendy's for a frosty or a Berkshire Hathaway owned Dairy Queen for a non dairy ice cream. On this trip the double arches of McDonald's is a place we look for and …

5/7 Florence to Coos Bay: 51 miles and 1,983 feet

Today we met two women 20 year old Juliette from France and 21 year old Ah-Riz from Quebec, Canada. They are on summer break from University where Juliette is studying Biology and Ah-Riz law. They are two very nice women and the road represents a challenge, fun, and adventure. They don't appear to be seeking …

5/8 Coos Bay to Port Orford: 62.8 miles and 2,591 feet

We met a nice woman from Washington DC in the motel parking lot this morning. She was a long distant walker/hiker and was traveling the coast from San Francisco to Portland. Everyday she and her daughter walked about 14 miles along the beach or mountains. A year earlier for her 65th birthday she had walked …

5/6 Newport to Florence: 50.6 miles and 2,003 ft

We met a middle aged rider at the hiker/biker camp in Nehalem Bay State Park.  He had just bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker, panniers, and gear. He took off from his home in Tacoma one day with the goal of riding the coast ride to Los Angeles. His son was in rehab and was …

5/5 Pacific City to Newport by bus

We were done riding in the rain and decided to take a bus to Newport. Thankfully all of the buses are equipped with bike racks to carry threee bikes. Tomorrow there is sun in the forecast!! I generally do not take the bus at home and did not appreciate the convience it provides. In coastal …

5/2 – Rained out! Drove from Longview, WA to Astoria, OR

The forecast showed rain all day in Longview and Astoria and given we had ridden in the rain all day the previous day were not in a hurry to ride in the rain. Looking at the route map and discussing it with Art we felt our best option was to rent a car and drive …

4/30 Cosmopolis to Centralia: 55.9 miles 322 feet

We delayed departing from our Warm Showers host's home due to the rain. The rain would turn on and off like a faucet. Down pour then nothing. At 11:00 am we finally darted out between downpours and took an alternate route our Warm Showers host recommended on a community path along the river with no …

5/4 Nehalem to Pacific City, OR: 53.8 mile and 2,006 ft

It's amazing what a difference a day makes. Yesterday the sun was shinning and I rode with just my cycling jersey without a vest or jacket. We woke to find the coast was socked in with fog. The weather app showed only a 20% chance of rain so we tucked our rain gear in. It …

5/3 Astoria to Nehalem 48.9 miles and 2,489 ft

The sun does shine in Oregon after all! I wasn't sure but I saw it and felt it and I rode without my rain gear today. It was an amazing ride out in the sunshine and I think all of the people felt it too. Many people were at the beach In Seaside even though …

5/1 Centralia to Longview 59 miles and 1,698 feet

People who live in the Pacific North West are hardy people who have learned to live with the high average rain fall. The rain doesn't stop people from mowing their lawns, walking their dogs, or driving in downpours which would be considered a rain storm in California. They have seemed to master living in the …

4/29 Lake Quinault to Cosmopolis, WA: 51.7 miles 846 ft

When we were in Port Townsend we met Fraiser from the U.K.. He was a social worker who quit his job and was on a trip of discovery to find himself. He was in the US for three months Wolfing for part of it and riding when is free. Wolfing I learned is working on …

4/28 Rain Forest Hostel to Lake Quinault, WA: 46.3 miles 1.290 ft

The intermittent rain and wind makes it difficult to dress. Do you bundle up to stay warm or do you ride cold anticipating that you will warm up in 15 minutes? When do you put on your rain gear, after it rains for 5 minutes or 10 minutes?  Our strategy has been to stay ahead …

4/27 Forks to Rain Forest Hostel: 38 miles and 1,387 feet

We stayed in a hotel overnight in Forks. The overnight temperature dropped into the 40s which is tolerable if we were camping out but the rain drove us to stay in doors. I've made this plea out loud to the rain god, "rain rain go away and don't come back until October", but alas my …

4/26 Sequim to Port Angeles to Forks, WA: 20.8 miles and 452 feet

It was difficult to leave in the morning knowing that we would be riding in a light rain and 46 degrees. However, we had a short ride of 20 miles to Port Angeles where we would ride a bus 57 miles to Forks. Highway 101 from Port Angeles goes past Lake Cresent is dangerous and …

4/25 Port Townsend to Sequim: 39 miles 1,712 feet

We went off route in Port Townsend and instead of going east to Elma, WA we are going west to the Olympic Peninsula. I have been intrigued with this area since taking a flight to Seattle from Oakland. From the east side of the plane I saw Mount Rainier and Mount Saint Helens. On the …

4/24 Deception Pass to Port Townsend: 33.6 miles and 1,885 feet

Short mileage doesn't always mean that it's going to be an easy day. 26 flat miles a piece of cake. 26 miles of rollers builds strong legs and character. Today's was the later. The rollers were not steep or long. They were steep enough and long enough to make you feel every pound in your …

4/23 Ferndale WA to Deception Pass: 60 miles and 2,192 feet

We stayed an hour later than we expected because we were enjoying our conversation with our Warm Shower hosts, Roy and Samantha. They are incredibly nice and welcoming. "Our casa is su casa". We had so much in common. I wished we lived closer so we could bike together.   Shortly after leaving Ferndale we …

4/22 Official Start – Pacific Coast Bike Route: Vancouver, BC to Ferndale, WA 54 miles/1,851 ft climbing

So we drove to Bellingham, rode 63 miles to Vancouver, enjoyed touring Vancouver for 2 days, and now we officially begin the Pacific Coast bike route! We reversed the route we took to get to Vancouver and though I bemoaned that the route was "junk miles" (unnecessary waste of energy due to boring or ugly …

Touring Vancouver Day 2

Here's a Canadian joke.  Mayumi (pointing to a large stadium from the sky train): I think that the Canuck's stadium Erika: What's a Canuck? Maple Leafs and Oilers fans don't' laugh. She would ask the same had we passed your stadium. We were back on our bikes today touring Toronto. I can't say enough about …

Touring Vancouver Day One 4/20

The NYTimes had a good article about 4/20 yesterday and I should have paid attention to the date. More on that later...we slept in until 9:00 am rejuvenated from a comfortable nights sleep in a bed. We abandoned our bikes for the day to trek across the city. This is our first time in Vancouver and …

Bellingham to Vancouver – 63 miles/2,500 ft

We drove to the Bellingham, WA airport in the morning to drop off the van and officially started the bike tour. Our plan was to ride the flat fast miles and arrive at our Airbnb in east Vancouver at around 4:00 pm. We arrived at 8:00 pm and managed to climb 2,500! We were thrown …

On the Road Again

Logistics is an important consideration with every bike trip we've taken. When we rode the San Juan Huts we parked our truck in Moab, UT and then we were shuttled to Telluride. Last year on the Great Divide we drove to Kallispell, MT and then  shuttled to Banff. At the end of the ride we …

Last Minute Trip Prep

A few last minute additions to our bikes before we drive to the start of our trip in Vancouver. For the most part we are ready to go. I was not able to train much at all during these last months. I was recovering from my knee surgery and then I had a skiing accident …

Pacific Coast Bike Route

On April 18th, we will drive to Bellingham, WA and ride 55 miles to Vancouver, BC to start the Pacific Coast Bike Route. The route is 1,857 miles with 61,386 elevation gain. Our plan is to ride 70 miles per day and with 3 rest days, it should take us just about a month to complete. …

Gravel Bikes to Street Bikes

As fast as Super Girl is able to change into her crime fitting outfit, the Salsa Fargo is able to change from a gravel grinder to a street machine with a simple switch of the tires. On the GDMBR we rode on Maxxis Ikon EXO 29 x 2.35. The Ikons are sturdy tacky gravel eating tires. …