Day 50-51: Orick to Cresent City, Ca

Hey Everyone!

Well today I got a really late start I decided to lay in my tent for awile and relax for awile it was still pouring rain I didn't get up till noon then I ate breakfast and packed up and by the time I was done it was almost 3pm! So I hit the road

There was some nice big redwood trees as I biked down the hwy!

I eventually got back on the hwy and made my way to Klamath, Ca whare there were these golden bear statues to welcome you lol!

 

Well soon after I passed the trees of mystery whare Paul Bunyan and his blue ox welcome you to the redwoods!

Well not to long after 101 tuned into redwood hwy and I could see a hill starting just ahead.

Well got to the hill and started climbing it seemed to almost never end! At this point my chain was dirty and wet and was squeaky and my gear was heavier from being waterlogged and it was pouring out so it was a long battle to get to the top and by the time I did it was dark out so then I had a long cold wet decent into Cresent city it was hard to see as I zoomed down hill when the rain drops get in my eyes so I took my time and soon after I finally got to the bottom whare it flattened out and had a easy ride to Crecent city I stopped In the Safeway in town for a bit then called Katie for the directions to St Paul's church whare I would be staying the night once I got ther Katie gave me a warm welcome she showed me the kitchen area whare I could do all my cooking here's a shot!

Also the sitting area with some couches I could sleep on and free wifi!

Well after that she showed me to at that moment the most important thing my warm shower! Well after that she left me the key and headed home then the first thing I did was strip down and got clean that was the nicest shower I had since big sur state park! Well after that I decided to head back to safe way for some ice cream since I had a freezer to store it! So I got back and ate some ice cream and watched some tv shows then headed to bed for the night. Well the next morning I decided to make breakfast.

Of course after that I had quite a mess to clean up!

Well Katie Called and asked if I would help with a monthly dinner they were doing that evening so I decided to head out and bike around town then later that evening I got back and helped with dinner. I met several people from the church it was a great time getting to know everyone well after that I got setteled in for the night and went to bed well that's all for this chapter thanks for reading!

Day 49: Eureka to Orick, Ca

Hey everyone!

Well that morning took my time I decided to do a load of laundry and use the wifi so by the time I got ready it was 1pm so I then hit the road. It was mostly hwy riding for the first 5 miles then once I got to the town of Arcata,Ca I got off the the hwy and made my way to some nice quiet country riding!

I eventually got to the Hammond trail whare I got to cross a sceneic bridge and ride on the path with no traffic!

                        Part way into the trail I got back on the coast for some nice scenery!

It seemed I was making good time I passed Humbolt Lagoons State Park I could of stopped but decided to keep going but soon after I ran into some more hills and slowed way down and it started to get dark.  I then realized I should of stopped at that other state park when I had the chance but at this point It wasn't worth going back so I rode on into the night! I looked at several state parks on the way to Parie creek redwoods state park none of the had camping I did pass a RV park a bit south of Orick, Ca but it had no cyclist rate and it was 25$/night so I move on. I eventually made it to Orick, Ca after some more hill climbs whare I stopped for a quick break I then went the last 5 miles with a few more hills and turned off 101 onto Newton B. Drury Pkwy. Since it wasn't a main road there were no street lights and I was surrounded by redwoods so it blocked out the moon and it got really dark down this road.  Well after about a mile I finally made my way to Pairie Creek Redwoods State Park and got set up for the night it was a battle with all the pouring rain but I eventually got set up and got to bed.  Here's a shot of the hiker/Biker area. 

Well that's all for this chapter thanks for reading!

Day 52: Cresent City to Bookings, OR

Hey Everyone!

Well by the time I got done getting all the left over dinner food from last night packed up and also fixed the front breaks on my bike I didn't leave St. Paul's till almost 2pm not as bad as 2 days ago but still really late! Well it started raining by the time I left but there was a pretty strong tailwind and a nice coastal view which was nice! 

Well I went up the coast then the route cut inland for some country scenery and after about 20 miles I made it to Oregon!!

Well Oregon gave me a welcome of more rain and high winds! I stopped in the town of Anchor for a quick break.

When I took the pic below the winds got so bad when I took this pic almost made me fall over while trying to hold up my bike!

Well after that I made my way to the town of Bookings on the way there I got more high winds which when it was tailwind gave me a big boost in speed! Well after doing a little shopping in town I made the mile and a half ride to Harris beach state park and got regestered!

Then I headed over to the hiker/biker sites they were pretty nice! Here's a few shots!

The biker/hiker sites have their own dish washing stations 

They also have trash running water and recycle in the hiker/biker!

I also found a laundromat!

And for the big bonus: FREE SHOWERS!

Well after taking a really long shower I packed up my stuff and headed back to bed. Well that's it for this chapter thanks for reading!

Day 48 Weott to Eureka, Ca

Hey everyone!

Well I took my time in the Morning and made myself breakfast in the washing area under cover by the bathrooms I also cleaned my bike up as well.

The food safe fit my bike right inside just like at Big Sur state park!

Well after awile I finally got myself packed up!

I hit the road and got more amazing redwoods scenery!

Here was the direction in the pic below I could of gone if I wanted to take the Lost Coast Alternative Route it was really hilly and all the campgrounds on this route were closed for the winter. So I decided to just stick with the main route I figure It just gives me a reason to bike the pacific coast again and do it in the summer when everything would be open!

Well I stopped at Ancient Redwoods rv park and checked out the Immortal Tree!

After that I hit the road again and passed a opening in the redwoods that was quite a sight!

I eventually passed the redwoods and got back on hwy 101 and made my way to Fortuna, Ca for a break I stopped into the Burger King in town to use the wifi and catch up on blogging before I left it started raining pretty hard so I got all my rain gear on and pedaled out. After about 2 hours of hwy biking I finally made it to Eureka,Ca a few miles short I the campground I bought a few supplies and then headed to camp another KOA!

The hot tub was closed at this location and they had no kitchen but they sure had a nice bathroom/shower!

Well after a nice long shower I headed to bed for the night.

Well that's all for this chapter thanks for reading!

Day 47 Benbow to Weott, Ca

Hey everyone! 

Well after hanging out with Sam and Shirley for awile in the morning  till almost noon and also packing me some soup and sandwhiches! They gave me a ride back down to the hwy. We said our goodbyes and then I pedaled off into the avenue of the giants I was only gonna bike about 30 miles today so i took my time. It was quite a sight! I did it by car about four years back but i saw so much more traveling by bike! It was just the right pace to take it all in!

I saw another drive thru tree so I decided to stop in!

There were lots of carvings and little houses in addition to the big tree!

Well only a few miles after that I made my way to the Burlington campground whare the biker/hiker area was closed so they said I could take any site I want! So I got set up for the night and went straight to bed since it was pretty Rainey out.

Well that's it for this entry thanks for reading!

Day 46 Mendicino to Benbow, Ca

Hey everyone!

Well that morning I got up early I had a Warmshowers host in Benbow,Ca I was staying with.  After mapping it out last night I realized this would be the most strenuous day of my trip so far! It was gonna be a 80 mile day with over 3000 ft. of elevation with about 1900 ft. of it occurring in 10 miles! Back when I climbed the mountains heading west to San Diego,Ca it was more elevation but I didn't go 80 miles in one day either! 

So I got up at about 630am and got everything put away and planned on heading out at 730am but right before leaving I realized my front breaks were out of adjustment so by the time I got done fiddling with that it was past 8 but after that I hit the road. 

I stopped in Fort Bragg,Ca about 10 miles in to get some supplies and there was also a seized o-ring on my camp stove I needed to fix cause it was leaking fuel when I used it.  So I stopped into napa auto parts and brought the stove in and eventually found the right size with their help. I also at the last minute realized I should get some more tubing to patch my tent in case my pole breaks again since I used it in Boldega bay,Ca. So I went back to the hardware store and got some  brass tubing that should serve the same purpose.

Well after all that it was getting later so I pedaled on out. The route takes you off hwy 1 at this point to a sceneic bike path! Whare I got some nice costal scenery!

The path was a little sandy on some parts.

I eventually go to a point whare the trail had a break in it!

While I was looking at the dead end before I came to a stop my front tire fell into a crack in the trail!

Upon inspection It didn't bend the rim luckily but it did put some scratches on it and it tore the side of my tire but not all the way through so to to repair the rim I got out the sand paper from my patch kit to sand the metal burrs and flatten it out so the break pad wouldn't rub on it and for the tire I used the rubber cement from the repair kit to glue the tear back together so it wouldn't spread and tear more later.

Well after that I hit the road again since I still had a long day ahead of me and I got  some more nice sceneic views!

Well after a bit the road headed inland and saw the sign to indicate the big hill climb.  So I put it in a low gear and got into climbing mode!

After several hours of mostly all climbing with a few flats and downhills I saw this sign that indicated I made it to the top! 

Well now I started screaming downhill at over 30 mph! And before I knew it I made it to Leggett,Ca.  I saw a sign for the Chandler Drive thru tree 1/4 mile off route so I stopped in! I just remembered several years back I came here with my girlfriend at the time Liz and we drove through it on our way back from a roadtrip to San Fransisco well now I got to bike through it!

        Here's a shot of the gift shop.

   There were a few other exhibits as well.

Well I headed back to town and got on hwy 101 for the first time!

I got some great forest scenery shots !

Here was the believe it or not tree House

I also stopped to check out Confusion hill but all the exhibits I saw on the road were closed being winter.

Well after dark and at about 7pm I made my way to Benbow, Ca and stopped at the Benbow Inn to take a break and call Warmshower hosts Sam and Shirly.

They told me it was a 2 mile 1500ft climb from hwy 101 so they always shuttle guests to and from their house and seeing the terrain from the car I could see why! Well after we arrived they showed me to my room downstairs through a secret door!

Well after I got setteled in they made me dinner and we watched a movie then chatted for a bit Sam and Shirly had moved all over and ran several different businesses and they uset to go on motorcycle trips! Well by the time we were done talking it was past midnight so I headed to bed what a day! I just biked my longest day today and had several delays/problems! Well that's it for this chapter thanks for reading!