I made this itinerary before I left on the trip. I figured I at least needed to figure out when I thought I would get back, so I could tell my boss. However, I didn't bring the Itinerary with me, and figured that I'd only stick to it for the first 5 or 6 days. As it turned out, that's exactly how long I stuck to it. For whatever it's worth, here's my original itinerary.
Start the trip by catching the Green Tortoise bus in San Francisco. The bus leaves in the evening, so I guess the rest of the day is to spend fretting about the trip.
Arrive in Portland, make sure my bike survived the bus trip. Camp out at my brother Tom's apartment.
Ride from Portland to McMinnville, taking Highway 99W out of Portland, and eventually connecting up with Highway 18. Tonight should (hopefully) be the last non-camping night of the trip. 45ish miles.
McMinnville to the coast along Highway 18, heading slightly down Highway 101 to end up at Devil's Lake State Park in Lincoln City. 45ish miles.
Lincoln City to Rock Creek Campground. 60ish miles.
Rock Creek Campground to Highway 38 at Reedsport, go inland about 20 miles, to my relatives place. Nice ride along the Umpqua river. 65ish miles.
Back to the coast, down to Sunset Bay State Park, about 14 miles south of Coos Bay. 60ish miles. This is where the ride is synced up with the route described in the Bicycling the Pacific Coast book. The first cut of the itinerary follows that route down until the San Francisco bay area.
Sunset Bay State Park to Humbug Mountain State Park. 56 miles.
Humbug Mountain State Park to Harris Beach State Park. 56 miles. This is the last full day of Oregon cycling. Harris Beach State Park is about 10 miles north of the California border.
Harris Beach State Park to Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park. 60ish miles. Back in California, please check fruits and vegetables at the door!
Prarie Creek Redwoods State Park to Eureka. 46 miles.
Eureka to Marine Garden Club Grove. 53 miles. This is when 101 curves inland (towards the hills), leaving the coast behind for a while.
Marine Garden Club Grove to Standish-Hickey Stae Park Recreation Area. 47 miles. More inland pedaling. Start of the big uphill part of the trip.
Standish-Hickey State Park Recreation Area to MacKerricher Beach State Park. 41 miles. This is the biggest hill of the trip, when leaving 101 to head out on Highway 1. The hill is near Leggett, and the Pacific Coast book insists that abandoned touring bags don't actually line the sides of the road. The elevation gets to almost 2000 feet (starting at about 600), but returns to almost sea level as Highway 1 brings the route back to the coast.
MacKerricher Beach State Park to Manchester State Beach. 42 miles. RoLlInG HiLLs.
Manchester State Beach to Bodega Dunes State Beach. 65 miles.
Bodega Dunes State Beach to Samuel P. Taylor State Park. 40.6 miles. Here, it may be just time to head into San Francisco, and crash at a friend's place.
Buckle down, and finish riding home. It'll be a long ride (from around San Francisco to Los Gatos), but by now, distance should be no problem!
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