August 25 Crossing America

Pistol River, OR – Crescent City, CA distance 51 miles.
Total miles traveled through today 4,681, on my bike for 4,013 of them.

Having breakfast this morning with Ed and Suzy was good but sad as it was time for me to move on.  They have spoiled me with great food and their hospitality.  Once again, I feel like I’m leaving family.  In a way I guess that is correct as Suzy and Ed are family to this adventure.  Remember what I said yesterday, if you are a touring bicyclists these folks would welcome you with open arms to stay with them for a day or two of your adventure.

Dale and I were on our way by 7:30 driving down to Pistol River to resume my ride.  Upon arriving at today’s starting point I immediately regretted not having gone an extra 10 miles with Suzy on the 23^rd.  Today instead of having a 40 mph tailwind, I have a headwind and there is a fog bank blowing in from the sea making it difficult for motorists to see me.  Also I’m unable to wear my prescription glasses as they are coated with the dew from the fog.

Within 2 miles of Pistol River I encounter my first hill of the day.  It’s not as steep as the hills I climbed with ease on the 23^rd but for some reason it is a chore for me to make it up today.  Oh well, nothing to do but grind it out which I did.  Even with the fog and the first hill I make it to Brookings in good time and much too early for lunch as Dale and I had planned.  I phoned him and we agreed to meet in Smith River for lunch at the intersection of Hwy. 101 and Fred Haight Drive a distance of 40 miles from the beginning of today’s ride.  The downside we won’t be meeting at the Oregon and California border for pictures.  Lucky for me I met a group of half a dozen touring cyclists at the border and one of them agreed to take my picture.  I had him take pictures of both welcome signs as I forgot to get a picture back in Astoria when I began riding in Oregon.  I’ve included both pictures here.

I was actually leaving.

I was actually entering California

Almost immediately after crossing into California the Adventure Cycling map showed turning off Hwy. 101 onto Oceanview Drive.  I was hesitant to do so as Hwy. 101 looked freshly paved with a nice wide shoulder and appeared to be flat at least as far as I could see.  Gee, wish Suzy was my SAG driver today as I bet she would have scouted both roads for me but she’s not, so I took the Oceanvew road.  Within a couple miles I wish I had stayed on Hwy. 101 as I could see it below me.  It was much closer to the ocean, was flat compared to this road was all hills, curves and without a shoulder but had very little traffic.  My thinking it only takes one motorist to run over me, so  I’ll take flat with a wide shoulder and traffic any time over the type road I found myself on.  Eight miles later, tired and hungry and stressed out I left Oceanview Road, oh yea it did have a view of the ocean but so did Hwy. 101.  The remaining six miles to Smith River was flat allowing me to cover it quickly which was good because I needed food to refuel my body.  Arriving at Dale and my prearranged meeting location, Dale was not there.  I phoned him and he said he was at our meeting location.  We discussed who was where and I have to admit I was a bit short with Dale and asked him if he were looking at the Adventure Cycling map as he couldn’t possibly be looking at it and not be where I was.  He wasn’t instead he was at a physical location.  One of the downsides of the Adventure Cycling maps is that they show only the roads they want you to take.  As in this instance the map did not show Fred Haight Drive as going north intersecting with Hwy. 101, it only showed it connecting on the south end.  Anyway, Dale arrived within a few minutes of our discussion and I was able to enjoy my last Egg Salad sandwich and cookies Suzy had made for us.  Once again I was a happy camper and regretted being short with Dale.  It’s Suzy’s fault she spoiled me too much as my SAG driver.  I wish she would have been able to continue on with us though.

The remaining 20 miles to Crescent City was flat and I made fantastic time getting there.  Once again when I arrived at our prearranged final meeting location Dale was no where to be found.  I phoned him to discover he had stopped to check out the beer at a local brewery a couple blocks away from our meeting spot, he didn’t think I’d arrive for another half hour.  OK, you’re forgiven a second time as I did arrive much earlier than I had told you I would.

Larry had arranged for us to camp at a KOA campground just north of Crescent City on Hwy. 101 so Dale and I loaded up my bike and we headed north.  The Adventure Cycling map had kept me along the shoreline and navigated around most of Crescent City so our rendezvous point was on the south side of town.  On the way to the KOA, I had Dale stop and buy some of that good beer he’d just had and took it to camp with us.  We arrived at the KOA ahead of Larry and Kylie.  This was my fourth time staying at a KOA and for the fourth time I was duly impressed with the cleanliness of all the facilities, Wi-Fi service and a great campsite with plenty of room for our tents and though we were close to other campers we were surrounded by giant Redwoods giving the feeling of being by ourselves it was fantastic.  I highly recommend staying at KOA campgrounds.  Especially in California as this KOA cost less then what we were going to pay for a California State Park campsite tomorrow night.

Kylie and me sitting on a giant redwood stump at the KOA campground, it must have been 12' across

Larry and Kylie arrived shortly after we had Dale’s tent set-up.  Dale has this huge dome tent and I asked if he’d mind me sleeping in his tent to allow me to be able to get on the road faster in the morning which he agreed too.  Dale also has a large quantity of Ensolite pads he puts both under the tent and in the tent.  It was so comfortable I didn’t really need to use my air filled mattress but I did anyway and was rewarded with a great night sleep.  Larry set up his tent and provided hotdogs for our dinner.  I like your style Larry you made a great choice for where to stay this night and fed us too.  Good job and I thank you for your fine efforts.

A woman, what firm breasts she had. What can I say, I still haven't grown up.

Follow