Hello California!

200 miles later and we are now in California!


One week ago, we left Coos Bay for a 41 mile ride to Bandon, Oregon. We arrived to the adorable Bandon Wayside Motel and RV Park, where owners Dave and Nicole showed us our tent site and encouraged us to walk through old town. Our one and only stop in old town was Tonys Crab House where to her surprise, Alanna fell in love with pan fried oysters.

Our departure the following morning quickly guided us to Facerock Creamery where we couldn’t pass up a cheese panini, mac n cheese, and overflowing “kid” cones that were a little painful to finish, but delicious non the less. The days ride felt pretty smooth eventually hitting the cute town of Port Orford where everything was closed, even “Tasty Kates” bakery that we were very excited to find but sad we couldn’t experience. The coastline views were incredible, with Humbug Mountain (our final location) in the distance, towering monoliths lining the shore, and kelp beds as far as the eye could see! Little did we know this would be our last full day of sunshine all week. Thankfully we ventured to the beach from our campsite for some river dips, beach stretches, and a glowing sunset.​

We rose the next morning ready for our longest ride yet, (and last full day in Oregon) 52 miles to Brookings! A stop in the “Prehistoric Gardens” where life sized dinosaurs filled the Old Growth Forest and we were on our way. A thick fog rolled reminding us fall has begun and covering all ocean views along the Scenic Corridor.

Our departure from Brookings was very eventful. On our way into the town to scope out Matties Pancake House, where we had read about potential 3 hour waits, Alanna got her first flat tire! It seemed meant to be as Kate rode ahead and put her name on the 45 minute waitlist. We fixed the tire and rode up just in time to be seated and eat the most glorious breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and Swedish crepes. It seemed like a well deserved treat. With very full bellies we quickly reached the border. To our surprise the words “Ride on Renlo” were carved into the post just under the “Welcome to California” sign. After a moment of Alanna thinking Kate wrote it and Kate thinking Alanna wrote it, we discovered that our new bike buds on a similar tour had done it for us. A happy heart moment. An easy 29 miles and we arrived to Crescent City.

A very slow morning allowed us to drink coffee and eat breakfast while watching hundreds of seagulls, pelicans, and black oyster catchers splash around in the bay. Our ride began with a very large hill from the beach straight into the incredible Redwood forest. We even succumbed to the tourist trap of the Trees of Mystery and honestly enjoyed it thoroughly! The canopy bridge walkways were epic, as was the gondola ride to the top of the mountain. The very, very large trees all around were beautiful, though not unlike the many trees you don’t have to pay to see. Very few cars and many long windy downhills made it a very satisfying rest of our day’s ride. We arrived to our campsite in Klamath watching the fog roll into the valley alongside the Klamath River.

Waking up to smoke in the valley was a bit unnerving but feeling okay to ride we began the journey back into the Redwoods. A pedal through the “Tour Through Tree” to start the day off right and straight onto Newton Scenic Roadway. Another day with very few cars, fun windy roads, and many many very large trees. This may have been our favorite day of riding thus far. Near Trinidad, we found the Big Lagoon Campsite which was a magical little place with a treasure filled beach of driftwood, beautifully unique rocks, and very large waves breaking on shore.

Leaving Big Lagoon took us to more scenic backroads and big rocks. Very excited to see good Catalina Islands friends in Arcata, we packed up our very wet tent and got on the road. After reaching a total of 450 miles we’ve been resting and refueling with fellow ocean-loving ladies, Greta and Christina. Our rest days have been very full with fish tacos, 2 surf sessions, hot tub soaks, mashed potato cones, local ice cream and pie, farmers markets and co-ops, and the oyster tour of Kate’s dreams.

We are loving this journey so so much, pedaling through so much beauty, snacking every chance we get, seeing friends new and old, and living moment by moment. Thanks for trucking along with us!