San Francisco

What a shock being in civilisation again is!  There are traffic lights and cars everywhere, one way systems, emergency vehicles, and tricky map reading to be done, as well as countless people, noise and lights demanding attention from every side.  After what seems to be weeks of beautiful cycling down fairly quiet roads, seeing almost no one, and no junctions, shops or buildings it seems such a contrast.  Wearing manky trousers covered in chain oil somehow seems unacceptable, and having to dodge pedestrians on the side walk is simply bizarre.  The hostel is pleasant but the noise of the traffic unpleasant after nights under canvas listening to the dull roar of the ocean.
I have cycled over 800 miles, but it doesn't really feel like it, and the last week or so has been simply super.  The views stunning, the route amazing and every minute a delight.  I know I must be fitter but the hills still feel as hard as they did!  Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by bike was rather unpleasantly brilliant, there was almost no view because of the cloud, and the wind was exhilarating, we stopped half way and I relished in listening to the fog horn; it was exciting crossing such an icon at the end of the ride.
I must plan the next part of the trip, so will leave off for now, but wanted to let you all know I had reached San Francisco!

Fort Bragg

I am in Fort Bragg, and about a week of easy cycling from San Francisco...

The last few days of cycling have been simply AWESOME to coin a very American phrase!  I have joined forces with some other cyclists, and we have been having a whale of a time.  California has been sunny, and the scenery beautiful, more Redwoods, forest and then beautiful beaches, and rivers to swim in when it gets too hot; what more could one want?


 From left: Dillon, Christof, Me, Cecilia, Eric, & Steve



Check out Steve's blog, which is more up to date than mine (He likes technology and has a computer.) http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/TheAmericas2011-2012

California

I have had several compliments on my jacket, I'll have you know!
This morning I cycled 30 very flat miles through northern California to Crescent City (I was very glad that they were flat, yesterday was beautiful, but hard!).  So far California has been as foggy and gloomy as Oregon, but I have been through many fields of lillies, and when I joined the coast again it was to a cacophony of sea lions!
The coast remains picturesque, but tomorrow I hope to see some Redwoods....

Nearly Half Way

I am in Bandon, which is a rather pleasant small coastal town in Oregon, and I have cycled approximately 400 miles!  If I make it all the way to San Francisco it will be a total of about 950 miles.  I am very excited to be about half way, although the cycling is taking longer than I hoped and I still seem to be crawling down the coast.  Oregon seems to be much hillier than Washington, and when I find a flattish bit it is so rare I rejoice!  Coming down the hills I seem to be hanging on my brakes as with all of my gear I can pick up a lot of speed, and going up the hills, well that's another story - but I thought I was supposed to get fitter with all this exercise?!

The mornings are misty and when on a tranquil stretch of road it is so peaceful, and the afternoons are nice and sunny, the beaches are dramatic, with cliffs, stacks and lots of rocks, making them treacherous for boats, Oregon has a fine collection of light houses all the way up and down the coast and yesterdays campsite was within earshot of its loud and mournful fog horn - it was delicious, sent shivers up my spine!

Drat, library computers, and time limits, I have 12 left and still need to find a campsite for the day after tomorrow.

I will try to update again soon!

Cycling Again

I have, so far, cycled from Skamokawa to Tillamook, and have left Washington behind me to explore Oregon.  I am beginning to think of America as being more like Europe, a conglomerate of individual states with distinct personalities and character, and distinct operational differences.  In Washington for example the bus system is amazing, cheap, covers a lot of ground, and takes buses.  In Oregon there appears to be no bus system or public transport at all.  However in Oregon there are better tourist facilities, every town it seems have a visitor information centre with friendly helpful staff, there are free maps galore, and the road is signposted regularly as being the Oregon coast bike route.
For some unknown reason I am finding the cycling much harder than my first stint, so I will say no more about it for now! Also, why do Americans feel the need to honk when they go through narrow tunnels?  I understand the holding your breadth - but honking? It was horrible!!!!
I have seen some beautiful beaches with wrecks of ships, and huge stacks and rock formations.  I went to the Columbia river maritime museum which was very good, and today I visited the Tillamook Air Museum, which was amazing, mainly for its building which is an old world war blimp hanger. It is huge!  You can see it for miles around, and then upon entering it, and looking up, it simply took my breath away, it is vast.  It is a huge tunnel basically with sides that curve upward to form the roof, and it is cathedral like, only far vaster.  It covers an area of seven acres and is 192 feet high, 1,072 feet long, and 296 feet wide.  So big that you can fly a plane through it.

Summer Update Part Two: Skamokawa

I arrived at Dog Song Farm in Skamokawa (pronounced skamuckaway, and meaning smoke on the water) and immediately liked my hosts, Evan and Sarah, just a few years older than myself, and trying to make a go of farming for themselves on a farm leased from someone else as they couldn't afford to buy their own place.  Both of them were extremely knowledgeable and had years of previous experience working on commercial farms, which I really appreciated and both were extremely down to earth.  There was another Wwoofer staying there - Marcella from Australia, which I thought was funny as most Americans ask if I am Australian.  We spent our time harvesting from the farm and selling at the farmers market in Astoria (where the Goonies was filmed and it does look like that) interspersed with visiting their very nice friendly neighbours, exploring the local area, swimming in the Columbia river - or should I say washing (I had my first shower in three weeks the other day) discussing the economics of small scale farming, discussing the state of the world, history, and the use of horses on farms.  I learned all sorts of things about companion planting, crop rotation, fruit and vegetables, market gardening etc.  I loved digging up the potato plants and finding a nest of treasure beneath the soil!  I also had a window into viewing the world in a completely different way, and I think my stay there has shaped my thoughts in a different direction, which is always beneficial!

Skamokawa was an amazing place, very beautiful, lush valleys full of grasses as tall as me and some with cattle grazing, winding rivers and creeks, and wooded hills.  It felt removed from reality in many ways, a place that had been truly forgotten, there were beautiful barns in true American fashion with huge roofs made from cedar shingles which were silver with age; there were ruined falling down houses all over the place, and at night the coyotees sang.  The area had been thriving at the turn of the last century with the timber industry, salmon fishing in the Columbia, fish canning, and a small community thriving.  There were no roads and all access was by boat, the buildings all face the water, the children would paddle themselves to school in boats, the house wives would go to market by steamer in Astoria, and the milk and cream was award winning.  In the thirties all this changed; most of the old growth forest had been harvested, the salmon had been over fished, it was the depression years, damns were built on the Columbia, and roads were built through the town linking it to the wide world.  Now most people hurtle pass on route four and see a peculiar town, (the road takes in the backs of buildings) and miss the quiet places off the main route, and miss the beauty of the place.  I feel so lucky to have stayed there and got to know it.  The community who live there are all very welcoming and friendly, we went out more than I have done in a few years at least! 

Summer Update Part One: Cycling in Washington

So sorry to everyone who has checked and not had an update for a while, computer access has been sparse, and right now I am using a computer in Tillamook library so I can't add pictures, but I hope to fill you in on some of the blanks.
I left Tacoma at the start of August with my bike, and quickly realised that despite trips made in the past there was no was I was going to manager with just rear paniers, and so shortly after setting out I stopped in Olympia for front paniers which are beautiful, shiny and red.  (I confess that I even got the bus to Olympia to avoid the traffic, buses in Washington are fitted with bike carrying racks on the front.)  Whilst having a front rack fitted I enjoyed the local French Patisserie and had a conversation with a very nice local.  That first day was a hard bike ride, mostly due to the traffic on the route I took to the coast (which was recommended in my book) I struggled, but I expected to struggle, and finally reached the campsite and collapsed into my sleeping bag, without even sampling the delights of the lake.  The next morning I lay in bed for at least an hour thinking, I must get up, I have another 10 miles to do on that main road.  I wish I had Naomi and Kate here to make me get up!  I then had the bright idea of going to the grocery store and asking about buses, which I did and caught it to the coast - I could have gone all the way from Tacoma to the coast by bus and avoided the main road altogether - doh!  Once on the coast - cycling was a pleasure, I got up at about 6am and was on the road early.  I had the road to myself, and the creeks and bays were often just loosing their pyjamas of mist.  I saw lots of wildlife too, one morning a mountain lion crossed the road - I couldn't believe my eyes, another morning a deer, and another morning and evil dog ran towards me at full speed barking and snarling, I peddled form my life!  The scenery was lovely, and I averages about fifty miles a day doing ten miles an hour which was comfortable.  It is enough time to see enchanting views, to smell the mudflats, to take in the birds, and to glide through the towns.
My biggest problem with the cycling was eating enough as I wasn't feeling hungry necessarily, and I seemed to be in very remote areas without many grocery stores.  The best bit about that part of the trip were the quiet mudflats, Creeks, secret beaches and beautiful scenery.