The Day After

So here are a few stats and thoughts from the trip:

1553.94-- Total Miles Ridden
24------- Days on the bike
3-------- Days off
11.17---- Avg speed (including roaming around towns and goofing off)
5.28----- Avg hours a day spent in the saddle
94.05---- Longest day in miles
31.71---- Shortest day in miles
14------- Days with rain
8-------- Total number of flats (all on first set of tires)
1-------- Blown out tire
2-------- Sets of tires
3-------- Tubes
1.5------ Bottles of lube

So this trip was over all a good experience in that I pretty much did want I wanted to do. I got to see a ton of stuff I've never seen, I tested myself in the rain and on some of the hills. I was glad I had Mike and other people to talk to at night to keep me sane. Another dream can be checked off the list.

What would I change? Maybe the time of year I went, by a month. There was a good amount of traffic but there would have been more if it were warmer. I would want to camp more and do less miles per day on this route if camping to set up and take down camp. This would be less costly and more into the area and its surroundings.

The scariest part? I don't get scared on the roads riding with cars usually. There were a couple of places just south of Cresent City, CA (not far into CA) where the road was 4 lanes going up into the Redwoods with no shoulder. Then I got high enough to hit the fog and it was a weekend. Lots of RVs going up and down that mtn.

The most fun part? HM, that's a hard one. Seeing the seals, whales, deer, dolphins and other assorted small wildlife definitely rates at the top of the list. Seeing the ocean nearly everyday and how it changes as you come down the coast too. Riding wise though I really liked the roads in Marin county and south of San Fransisco. The roads are curvy, up and down and not too many cars so I can use the whole road. Fun riding.

So now what? I reckon you'll have to watch the regular blog and see. I've got lots more dreams to mark off that list! I'll be making a movie of this trip like the one Jimmy did of the cross country trip. If you want a copy just shoot me an email at mtnbikertaz@yahoo.com with your street address. It'll be done after Christmas sometime.

Day 28

Below Monterey

Santa Barbara


Venice Beach paddle surfing

Santa Barbara to Venice Beach. Today ended up being an 89 miler. The weather was good, the wind was good and I was having a good time just looking around. The first 50 miles were pretty flat and I had a good wind off my right shoulder most of the time. It got a little hilly in Malibu but I was having a good time gaulking at the cars and motorcycles, houses, people, and beaches. I saw some beaches where newbies were learning to surf. The waves were only a foot or two and rolling in just as nice as could be! Anyone could learn here! Don't know about that cold water though!

My plan was to stay in Malibu but as I rolled though I noticed there were all these places with valet parking. Too rich for my blood so I cruised on to Santa Monica. That's where I got off the road and onto the bike path. Bikers, skaters, homeless people, street vendors, and so much more to see! Before I knew it I was in Venice Beach. I stayed there beacuse I wanted to see the Arbor Snowboard shop. That's the kind of snowboard I have, and Venice is where they started. They were closed for the day. Good day.

Day 27

Today put me in Santa Barbara. A large but nice town what I've seen so far. Tons of head wind this morning coming through a canyon and back out towards the water. I was fearing that the wind would persist out by the water but it was not so bad. My old friend "Rain" came back to visit as well once out by the water. Not enough to soak me though. Just got me damp and by the time I got to SB I was pretty much just back to being sweaty. Good for the fire fighters south of here too. I saw some spots of where stuff had been burned but I don't think it was real recent. Didn't have that smell.

So it looks like I'll be done in about two more days. I'm quiting in Seal Beach, which is just south of LA. It's kind of the south end of LA. That's where my Dad lives. I don't see much sense in going down further right now. It'll save me some money and give me an excuse to come back out here to finish that last 150 miles when there are safer breathing conditions. So I think I'll be done on Monday, hang with my Dad and his wife Judy for a few days and be back to work in Carbondale on the 5th, which was the original plan. Think Craig, my boss will be glad to see me?

Day 26

Cambria to Lompoc, CA. How about a 94 mile day? Didn't mean to to that but it felt good and the wind was right so I just kept pedaling! I've had some gray mornings and at noon it clears out. Cambria was the next stop after Big Sur (I think). Big Sur had some big climbs but it was pretty quiet back there. After Cambria was much the same but closer to the water. Today I pretty much goofed off all morning thinking I was going to stop in Pismo beach. I got there at lunch time and decided to keep going. Not to hot, not too cold and wind at my back after lunch. Of course, there was a brutal hill over a mtn at mile 90 but I think my but was more tired of being on the bike than my legs were! A fun downhill down into Lompoc.

I'm having fun but looking forward to being done. I've been gone long enough and spent enough for this year!

Day 24

So now I am in Big Sur pedaling down from Monetrey. I got my cool weather stuff sent off this morning without a hitch and got on my way after saying good bye to Sue and Paul's cats. They have internet but no cell service here in Big Sur. Beautiful day. Sunny and hot! The water I've been passing has been a pretty blue/green color along the shores. Pretty much open road and good riding. I only did 32 miles today. The route map said it was very hilly but I didn't think it was too bad. But I'm calling this short day my day off. More hilly stuff tomorrow. I think I'm going to be able to finish by the 31st. That's a week from today, right? I'm going out right now to explore the state park here. I'll let you know how that went next time I find a computer! Be well!

Day 23

Otters in Moss Landing Harbor.

Pigeon Point Light House. Below San Fransisco.


Sunset in San Fransisco.

I hope you know what this is!

Santa Cruz to Monterey today. Very warm and sunny today. I could get used to this! Went past a lot of produce farms today. Very flat for miles coming into Seaside and Monterey. Lots of wind from the east until about the time I hit the bay area, then it started coming in off the ocean.

The fires are not affecting any of the roads I need to use yet. Malibu will be the closest to my route. They say it has burned clean down to the ocean there and should be out by the time I get there next week. The weather is supposed to change tomorrow and help the firefighters get everything put out and blow the smoke back inland.
I'm at the home of Paul and Sue Lottridge tonight. They are a couple I know from Harrisonburg. They moved out here about 14mos ago. Bike junkies as well. Thank you to them for opening their home up to me!
Paul with his favorite bike "the Redline Six Niner".


My box from home has just arrived with my warm weather gear in it and I'll be glad to get rid of these cold weather shoes. They are getting pretty ripe smelling from all the days of rain and then my feet have been sweating in them for the past four days. I'm still gonna tell you about shoes another day!

Tomorrow I head out to Big Sur. I've always heard about it, and now I get to see it.

Day 22

Happy Birthday Mike! Thanks for all the encouragement through all those rainy days!

So today I'm in Santa Cruz. The past three days have been absolutely awesome. Sunny and warmer and DRY!!! So so good for south of here I hear. Fires may become my next obstacle. I'm checking into road closures tonight. Hopefully the weather will break and all will be passable by the time I get down there sometime next week.

So the past couple of days I've had that sun and I've put it to good use making my way down through San Fransisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge. That was awesome! The roads in Marin Co (famous for mtn biking) before the bridge were awesome too. Curves that were so much fun on the bike. Made me miss my motorcycle though. I will come back for sure just to do that road. The views of the coast were very cool too.

Today from SF to Santa Cruz seemed flatter for the most part with a few big climbs. There was a side wind early but it switched later to no wind or a bit of a tail wind. There was one section of road that took me back to being a kid and when I fell in love with bikes. Brand new pavement, a heavy tail wind and nearly flat. Yikes! Cruising along at 26 mph effortlessly! The coolest part is that when the wind blows hard enough behind you there is NO wind in your ears. You hear nothing except the sound of your bicycle working. In fact I noticed a couple little sounds on mine that I have not been able to hear due to the rain and headwinds over the past couple of weeks. Nothing big, just some fine tuning!

I'm happy to be finding my way through these big cities okay. Big cities always stress me a little. The maps are doing their job pretty well.

Okay everyone...huff and puff and blow that fire out for me!

Day 19

In Piont Arena, pop 450. Been raining hard the past two days. Lots of wind. Expecting sun tomorrow on! Please let it be!!!!

Rain, Rain go away,
Taz wants to ride in sun all day!!!

Day 17 The day of Flats and a Gift

Picks were picked randomly out of the past couple of days. Would have done more but Library kicked me out. Took forever to load these.
Baby Redwood

Adult Redwood next to baby.


Yesterday in the rain.


Back in Lincoln City


Oh my goodness! What a day! It was the prettiest day yet (with the exception of a quick shower I dodged while taking a snack break under a thickly branched tree). I rode 70 miles from Eureka, Ca to Garberville, CA. I got to see some more of the Redwoods, some of the really bike ones, with streams of sunshine streaming through. Oh what and awesome sight! It was still wet and chilly in there though.

The route took me on some really rough back roads as well. I come to be wary of any road that has hill or mtn in it's name. One of the roads I rode today had the word hill in it but I think it should have been called Tompkins MOUNTAIN rd. It took 5 miles of pedaling at some thing between 6-10% grade to get to the top! The view was incredible at the top! I was several miles inland on the road but I could see past all the farms down to the ocean. Then of course, the crazy fast, curvy, fun down hill. That was the fun stuff.

I'm thankful it didn't rain today more than it did. Today was the day that my tires gave out. Total of six flats today and one of them blew out my tire and I had to put on my spare tire. I've had too other in the past week so I knew this was coming. I usually get 1200-1500 miles out of a set of tires but these only made it about 800 miles. Riding in sooo much rain made my tires pick up tons of glass and work into the rubber. Thankfully there was a bike shop in the town I finished in.
I picked up some new tires and tubes to get me down to Monterey Where I'll have good tires waiting on me along with my regular bike shoes. I'll tell you about bikes shoes another day.

Now, to finish the day off I found I had a message waiting for me on my cell. It was Craig,one of my bosses from AJAX, the Carbondale bike shop. He was wishing me happy birthday and also letting me know someone came in and gave him a large sum of money for me to put towards my trip. They didn't want him to tell me who they were. That was soooooo cool! Because of the weather I've been dealing with my expenses have sky rocketed. This helps a ton! Thank you!

Lesson for the day...Think positive and positive things will happen even when things are seemingly not going your way. I made it to town before the bike shop closed and then some one out there in cyber land helps me out. Pass it on! Again thanks!

Day 16

Happy Birthday to me! Today is a day off. My birthday gift to myself plus I need to laundry and such.

The past couple of days has been wet again as it is today. In the past two days I've been traveling through the Redwood National Forrest. Those trees are amazing! It was Rainy, slilent, mossy, foggy, dark and slick in there. You feel sooo small! As soon as you climbed into the fog you would start seeing the big trees. The signs said that they grow mostly from 300ft above sea level to 3000ft. Coming down out of that forrest I was freezing my butt off from the long climb up. It was worth it to see those awesome trees. A surprise coming out of the forrest park was that I got to see a herd of ELK! There were bunch of males laying in someone's yard and in the next field were the rest feeding. Then later I saw another herd of 25-30 down closer to the ocean.
By this time the rain had slowed to a drizzle and the rest of the ride was pretty pleasant and considerably flatter.

Oh yeah, yesterday I walked down this trail behind the hotel though a deep dark forrest to "Hidden Beach". There was tons of driftwood to look at but the SEALS in the breakers were the highlight of the trip.

So Jimmy asked me in a n email what songs were going through my head on this trip. Well, I've got quite a lot of songs going through my head since I have a mp3 with me. I don't always use it, depends on the road I'm on and the traffic and such. But I do listen to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" every time I have it on. For those of you that don't know that was Dusty's favorite song on the cross country trip.

So today I'm in Eureka, CA. I'm looking forward to warmer drier weather but it seems to be taking it's time finding me! See ya next time!

Day 13

Well, another day of sun! I could get used to this. Todays ride has been quite peaceful. It started in Port Orford on 101. The fog was just lifting as the sun was peeking over the mtns to the east. I stopped by the edge of the road to watch the water for a moment to see if I could still see the WHALES out there as I did the night before. But no sign of them. I got to watch them feeding and lumbering around yesterday evening and during and after dinner. They were far away but it was still exciting cause it was my first time seeing them!

Today being Sat morning and the fact that Port Orford is pretty much out there by itself made for a quiet ride on 101 and by the time the world woke up the map had me on a back road til lunch.

I met a couple of more Aussies this morning. I caught up to them going up a hill just like the others. These guys were younger though and on regular bikes. They've been camping through most of this nasty weather. Those Aussies are tough! Their end town tonight is the same as mine so I may run into them again in Brookings.

Lunch at the Port Hole Cafe in Gold Beach. That's what I'm doing here in library in Gold Beach, waiting for my awesome grilled cheese lunch to settle. The map shows a hellaious climb right out of Gold Beach so I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row! I'm on 101 right on the coast the rest of the afternoon. Get to do lots of wave watching and maybe whale watching.

I'll cross into Cally (Clifornia) tomorrow and The Redwoods soon follow!

Day 12

SUN!!! Warm SUN! No seriously. Today it's like 68 degrees and it feels gooood. I'm down to shorts for the first time on the trip. It chills me a little when that north wind blows but at least it's light and at my back. I had a little sun yesterday but it's the real deal today. There is even some blue sky about.

So yesterday, day 11, was a total sight seeing day. I was out for around 8 hrs but my ride time was only 4 1/2 hours. Got off the bike and locked it up to explore some of the parks. Most of the day was on the ocean. Who knew there were dunes in Oregon? Bigger than Kitty Hawk. Lot cliff wave watching too. They are starting to get smaller and bluer. The waves that is. I reckon that last storm is done churning up the ocean.

Today, day 12, has been pedal to the metal day. Most of the ride is inland with few parks and I knew the weather was going to be half decent. There was this one road coming out of Charleston. It was called Seven Devils Rd. There were two devilish hills on that road that reminded me of good old eastern KY! Someone marked each hill to let you know you were not done but the rest of the hills were not that bad. Then an awesome down hill back towards the water. Some of today has reminded also of VA on the east side of the mtns. Lost of tree cutting and replanting. Rolly hills too.

Well, I need to get back out there and catch some more of those rays. I've got 15 more miles to go to get to the end of today's ride in Port Orford, OR. I think on Sunday I'll be hitting the CA state line, looks like maybe more rain too.

day 10

Today started out super wet. It was raining so hard at one point I had to pull into a golf course and got under a bridge with some golfers. They were tough old farts. It let up just a little and they were back out there! After getting thoughly soaked I got back on it and it soon cleared out to a foggy mist. I ran into a couple aussies on trikes with tons of gear. They were moving so slow up a hill that I had to ride in circles to talk to them! A little while later it started to get sunny. I did lots of wave watching as the waves were the biggest I'd ever seen. They bashed up aginst the rocks and cliffs with a fury! I also crossed a couple of good sized bridges today over bays. One in Newport and one in Waldport. The wind was whipping so hard on the bridges that I had to walk my bike accross. I had a head wind anytime I was near the water too but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. So it's on to the YA-Tel Motel in Yachats for tonight. I'm still having no luck getting pics on as these libraries out here are smart and block all access to that stuff. I reckon you'll just have to wait for the movie! Thanks to Mike for helping me get this entry in since this library won't even let me get to my blogger site! Whew!

Day 8

Well, I've offically been on the road a week now. The first five days I never really dried out. I spent Sat and Sunday in Tillamook waiting out a storm. I made my way down to Lincoln City today and I may have to hang here a second day as well. There is storm rolling in that will have 40 mph winds (head wind for me) with gusts of 60 mph. The wind is due to start tonight around mid night.

I gave up on camping. According to the Fed Ex lady I sent 26lbs of geear home today. I am traveling with pretty much only my clothes and break down stuff. Today was the most enjoyable day yet. Between lightening the load and spending nearly the whole day right on the coast and a touch of sunshine here and there it was pretty nice. Tonight (and possibly tomorrow night) I am in a beach side hotel in Lincoln City, OR. My room is on the third floor overlooking the breakers. It has a fireplace and a full kitchen. A steal for $59 a night. This hoteling is going to make my trip a lot more expensive but a lot more enjoyable as the riding goes not lugging so much gear. I'll be warm and dry each night too. I'm glad not to be lugging the gear. The hills/mtns are short but I added the climbs when I was at lunch today and I had climbed as much as climbing Independence Pass twice in 60 miles. That would be like climbing Massanutten from the guard shack about 4-5 times. I feel a lot safer riding by myself than I do camping by myself too. Can you see how I am justifying to myself why I'm spending so much money?

The coast is amazing! It still seems weird to me that there are mtns right on the ocean. Being an easterner the water country was always flat country. I saw some huge dunes today that people were running ATVs on. Sort of like Kitty Hawk but trees sticking up here and there in the dunes. Made me miss my dirt bike. Saw some surfers at Kiwanko (sp?) Cape. There were some cool rock formations there. Then the route turned inland for a few miles and I climbed this big hill. The trees were really huge and it was very wet back in there. No traffic either! I nice down hill later back to the ocean. You can hear it long before you can see it. I think that is one of the best parts of being on a bike for this stuff. You hear as much as you see. Well, my time is up on the computer for today. Still searching for a place to get these pics on!

Day 6

Very, very wet. Again :( I'm in a hotel in Tillamook. Great people. Looks like it's going to be wet tomorrow too. I'm having thoughts of sending my camping stuff home and just moteling it the rest of the way. I can ride in the wet cold but not camp in it too. I'll think about it some more tonight.

I can't get these pics to load to save my neck!

Other than being wet a lot it's good. I've cut down on the mileage as the cold and wet was wearing me down and not letting me enjoy the scenery. Today I saw the hay stack rock in Cannon Beach. Saw three deer muching on some wet grass on a back road and a giant slug crossing a wet road. I also saw this one little bay that was out of the wind and just full of people in little fishing boats. They say I'm crazy! Oh yes, the wind. It would hit me at about 3/4 up each hill as I came over the top and then mess with my steering all the way down. It's not supposed to be coming out of the south!!

Day 5 and a couple previous

Well, it's been wet. It took three days of riding before I saw a dry road. Finally yesterday it was dry most of the day and the roads dried about lunch time. I've traveled through the inland parts of Washington's waterways and today I hit Astoria. It's been quite hilly the past couple of days. For the past 20 miles or so memories of last year have been flooding me as I am on the tail end of out cross country route. I'll be passing by our ending spot later today.

Making today a short day as I am doing some tent shopping and getting caught up on drying out. They say it's going to be wet again starting tomorrow. I've also got to find a shower and do some laundry. I'm tent shopping cause my new tent was made for a different kind of weather or something. It's condensating badly on the inside and gets me wet when I get in and out of it. The outside is dry! I'm hoping that if I can't find one that the wind of the coast will make it have better air flow and fix the prob.

I'm looking forward to some different scenery as well. Most of what I've been through has looked a lot like VA in the fall. Hills are longer though. I'm looking forward to being near the ocean. Hopefully I'll find more libraries too. They been harder than expected to find and this one won't let me put and pictures on! Til next time!

Day 2

I gotta figurre out how to get pics on from public spaces so bear with me. It's not working very good here. Keeps jamming up the computer.

So today was the first day of riding. Had to get a lot of details taken care of AND find my way out of the city and onto the route so not that many miles. I did ride further than I thought though. It was a whole 44 miles for today. The high was 59 degrees and I was damp or wet most of the day. I was surprised that the only time I truely got cold was waiting for the ferry. I got the shivers good then. It drizzled off and on all day, but I was comfy as long as I was peda1ling. I ended up in Shelton (Pop 8400) for the night at a old, old but clean motel. There was no camping on route. Probably tomorrow. Hopefully a little dryer too as the sun is trying to peak out this evening.
Just a reminder to you all that I am three hours behind you so my day of riding is not finishing up until well after dark over your way. I'll change my phone message sometime in the evenings letting you know where I am and I'll blog when I can find a coumputer. Until next time...be well!

It's time! I fly out From Aspen to Seattle here in just a couple of hours!




Okay! I made it to Seattle! I'm in the room and ready to put my bike together. I was excited to see the Space Needle just a couple of blocks over from the hotel and right out my window! Sorry it's sideways, have not firgured out how to turn it yet.