Day 18

Just a quick 50 mile day towards Arcata/Eureka, CA. Spending a rest day in Eureka. 270 miles away from San Francisco.

Day 17

Nearly at the half-way point to Tijuana. If you are reading this, I want to thank you for following me so far! Or at least checking out how I'm doing. So gracias.

I spent $140 more than I wanted to today. I've been getting several flats recently and I haven't felt confident riding on rough surfaces. This was due to using the regular tires that came with my road bike that only have one layer of Kevlar. I bought some Gatorskin tires that should prevent getting flats but they weren't cheap. 

Yesterday after a 70 mile ride, we spent the night at Redwood National Forest in Northern California (Oh yeah, we crossed the Oregon-California Border!!!). The forest consisted of Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia Trees. 
Some awesome tree facts:

Coast Redwood Trees:

• Height: To nearly 380 ft.
• Age: to 2,000 years
• Bark: To 12 in. thick
• Base: To 22 ft. diameter

Giant Sequoia Trees:

• Height: To nearly 311 ft.
• Age: To 3,200 years
• Bark: To 31 in. thick
• Base: To 40 ft. diameter

Both these trees start as seeds the size of an oat! 

The ride has been great. Boyd, the guy from Australia has stuck with us and since then, we've started our ride earlier to avoid traffic and wind. 

California is a bit drier than Oregon and also a bit more pricier, but there is more culture in the people and the towns. It seems more alive. I am currently in Arcata and I will be taking a rest day in Eureka!

Oregon has been so kind to me.

The Crew

After a 1000 foot climb...

Was gifted with a flat on the way down the hill. At least there was a great view.

So thug.

Day 16 Last Day of Oregon

Oregon has a reserved place inside of me. The Oregon Coast Trail showed without say one of nature's finest sceneries. It is described to be like the coast of Hawaii without the heat. The sun shone brightly and the wind delivered a cool breeze. I'm expecting myself to come back and explore this state so if you want to join in, contact me anytime!

Here are the photos of the last night in Oregon. The California border is coming up in 5 miles! (Leave any fruit behind)

To exemplify the tail winds. 

Met Boyd (middle) from Australia!

Spent the last night in Oregon in a yurt!

Day 15

Today we biked through the Seven Devils which is basically seven decently sized hills. I wish I had one of those bike computers to keep track of my miles and altitude gain but I'll save that for the next tour. After 55 miles of beautiful nature, we arrived at Humbug National Park. Apparently June 7th is Camping Day so our campsite was free for the night!

Rolling Four Deep

Made some Mac 'n' Cheese! 

For some reason, we had so much spinach.

Essential

Huge spider in the bathroom. It looked bigger in real life.

Day 14

After a shorter day of biking (35 miles) we arrived at Sunset Bay State Park about 100 mile north of the California border. Three other bikers joined us named Drew, Max, and Jeremy. We had a nice time bonding over the campfire.

Sadly did not watch the sunset at Sunset Bay. But here's the bay.

Oren made a home theatre to watch Game of Thrones.

Camp food's starting to get gourmet.

Nomadic Community Gathering.
(Left to Right) Oren, Max, Jeremy, Drew, Guillaume.

Day 13

Yesterday we covered a good 60 miles. One question always comes up, why bike Canada to Mexico and not vice-versa? Tailwinds. The whole day it was smooth sailing. We stopped by a family BBQ for a hefty lunch and settled down in Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. 

These guys are always the coolest. Jeff (above) gave us his business card if we ever wanted a job in Oregon. These flaggers are making around $36/hour!

Biking Out the Tunnel

Met Heidi biking to Vancouver against the crazy headwind.

2 lbs. Burger. Never again.

Fire Skill +1

Day 12

I've gotten used to sleeping in a tent. But the most cumbersome thing about this journey is packing. At least twice a day, I pack and organize all my things. At least my organization skills have improved dramatically. 

I am currently in the small city of Newport which is about halfway down the Oregon coast. This morning we went to the gorgeous Taquina Lighthouse. At the Astoria bike shop, the owner recommended us to visit a bike shop where we are now. They have a cool gig set up here for bikers to take showers, do free laundry, and lounge with wi-fi. All of this is set up on a overhead deck above the store. Might stay here for awhile..

UPDATE: I got a flat tire on my back wheel about 5 miles away from the bike shop. I had a spare, but while pumping it, I broke the valve?! Presta valves are a skinnier type of valve, but I still felt pretty stupid. Oren and Guillaume started biking towards the bike shop while I stuck my thumb out! After about 5 minutes, I got a ride from a lady in a pick up truck!

Here's a picture of my progress the past 12 days! Hopefully we reach California by the weekend.

About 1/4th of the way!

Yaquina Lighthouse Newport, OR

2nd Flat? No biggie.

Broken Valve. I almost cried.

Thanks for the lift, Toni!

First Sunset on the Beach.