Oregon Coast Spring Training 3/24

DATE: March 24, 2007
ROUTE: Crescent City/Elk Valley Loop
DISTANCE: 50 miles
TIME: 3 hours 30 minutes
CEG: 1400 feet
WEATHER: perfect 60s sunshine


NOTE: This is a practice blog. I will use this format to post my journal on my bike tour this summer. I'm riding from St. Petersburg to Istanbul and hope this format will work to keep family and friends apprised of my experiences. Comments and suggestions on how to improve the postings would be appreciated.

This year we decided to spend spring vacation on the southern Oregon Coast because of its reputation of mild temperatures and abundent sunshine. Although it is always foolish to count on good riding weather anywhere in Oregon during springtime, I knew it had to be better than the snow still lurking in Sisters. My tour was looming ever closer and I knew had to get serious about training. Jon picked me up at school at noon (half-time teaching is the best!) on Friday March 23 and we headed south --- packed to the gills with bicycles, Jon's motorcycle, and Banjo, our wild and wicked Labradoodle. We rented an ocean-front cabin just a few feet south of the Oregon/California border between Brookings and Crescent City. I had previously cycled this part of the Pacific Coast, but had not spent any time exploring the area. So off we went. It was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day: through the Cascades, past Crater and Diamond Lakes, skirting Grants Pass and down through the Siskyous to the Pacific. We arrived in time to take an evening motorcycle ride along the Smith River through the Redwoods. After a short walk on the beach, I studied my maps while Jon fixed dinner.

I decided to head south to Crescent City along a road west of 101 and then return through Elk Valley. It was a beautiful route through fields of lilies, dairy farms, and the Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge. I cycled through the rural communities of Smith River and Fort Dick and entered Crescent City on Pebble Beach Drive right next to the pounding surf. I returned north on Elk Valley Road. It skirts the Siskyou foothills and consists of homes on small acreages, a golf course, fields, and forests. What a throughally enjoyable introduction to the most northern coast of California!

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