Day 7 - Humbug Mtn to the California border

Near Pistol River.

Today's mileage: 61 miles

Hooray! I made it... Lexie was waiting for me at the California border sign. Total miles biked: 389 miles.

I woke up early...maybe because I knew it was my final day on this trip. Robert & Catherine had said they'd leave at about half-eight, as Robert put it, meaning 8:30. I didn't intend to leave with them, but I seemed to be ready when they were. So, the three of us took off... first we went down to the beach at the end of the campground. We walked under the highway and watched the surf.

We left the campground around 9am, with me heading for the Calif. border and them for Harris Beach, a few miles short of my destination. More hills, but first a decision just a few miles into today's ride: whether to take the Adventure Cycling route, which leaves Highway 101 and heads up Cedar Valley Road for 9 miles, then goes down the Rogue River to Gold Beach. We all decided we liked the beaches...and so went straight to Gold Beach.

Lexie led us to a restaurant along the river. A familiar one for me. At least 20 years earlier I had been there for a meeting just before starting a five-day Sierra Club canoe trip down the Rogue. While we were eating, Randy and Nancy, showed up and joined us. I had seen them a couple times along the way, too. They had become somewhat famous among those of us cycling the coast because they're on their way from the Arctic Circle to Patagonia. They're keeping a blog at hobobiker.com, if you're interested.

After lunch, just when I had hoped for an easy afternoon ride, we were hit by a major hill to climb, long and fairly steep. Then a quick drop to the ocean. I hit 38 mph downhill. But, we had two more steep uphills. All along the way, we watched the ocean waves pour onto the Oregon coast and I realized just how much I miss seeing the ocean. I had lived in Honolulu for 15 years with the ocean right there, then 10 years in Los Angeles and the ocean just a few miles away. I went to high school in La Jolla and college in San Diego with the ocean ever present.

Robert, Catherine and I rode all the way to Harris State Beach together, passing a handful of other cyclists along the way. They turned in and I rode through the lumber town of Brookings and on to the border with California. Lexie was there to take my picture, pick me up and drive me back to Harris. Lexie had picked up some beer, wine and an apple pie to donate to a party at Harris. We spent an hour there and then Lexie & I headed north in the car, trying to scurry home.