In the morning, we slept in and made breakfast together. The woman who took us in was a caretaker for an elderly man named Bud, and he told us stories from his younger days all morning. The woman was also extremely generous, having gone from a very successful business life to retiring and caring for …
Day 22: Bodega Dunes State Park to Point Reyes (San Rafael)
Ruth and Rob left me behind for a bit because I was struggling due to knee issues. I spent a lot of the morning crying, and even threw my bike on the ground a few times. I had a total meltdown and was so frustrated with myself. It didn't help that the only other cars …
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Day 21: Salt Point State Park to Bodega Dunes State Park
We made this a short day because we had been pushing ourselves too hard. My knee started to feel a stabbing pain, so I had to make a ton of stops. The big hills on highway 1 were beautiful, but also horrifying because there wasn't a guard rail. It was remote and trickled with vacation …
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Day 20: Cleone State Campground to Salt Point State Park
It was a rough day, and we cycled from sunrise to sundown. I had been looking for sea glass the entire trip, and I finally found it at a beach in Fort Bragg! A beach full of sea glass of al different colors. We spent awhile there, and they helped me collect glass. I couldn't …
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Day 19: Benbow SRA to Cleone State Campground
Leggett Day!!! Also known as the day we would have "the worst climb of the trip". We spent the first part of the morning worrying about how bad the hill would actually be. When we finally got to climbing, it was already midday. I can confidently say that Leggett was not the worst hill of …
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Day 16: Brookings to Prarie Creek
Today definitely deviated from the norm. On my way to cross into California, I was joined by a homeless woman who lives on her bike. She told me about the dangers of the area, and repeatedly tried to give me one of her knives, which was actually very thoughtful. She also warned me a million …
Day 18: Eureka to Benbow SRA
Two of us woke up sick in Eureka, so we decided to take the bus for some of the day's planned route. We started cycling somewhere before Avenue of the Giants, and stopped at every large tree stump or fallen log. My butt hurt terribly, and I kept stopping to rub Vaseline everywhere. We skipped …
Day 17: Prairie Creek to Eureka
I started the day by taking the gravel path from the hiker/biker site to the highway 101. It was really hard on my bike, and I should’ve just taken the 101 from the beginning, but I try to find alternate routes when possible. I made a stop in Orick, a small town, to grab snacks …
Day 15: Port Orford to Brookings
Port Orford provided us with free camping (on a cliff, where we precariously pitched our tent). After a few stares from strangers, we were finally warned that the morning wind would blow us away. Apparently the wind was so strong it had knocked over an RV (although I'm not sure if I believe that). We …
Day 14: Winchester Bay to Port Orford
The day started late, and we had a ton of miles ahead of us. The most important thing I learned was that Google Maps and predicted elevation will lead you astray. They must average the elevation, because Google Maps had been messing up the estimated elevation the entire trip. Today it wasn’t even remotely close …